INTENSITY OF GROWTH, PRODUCTIVITY AND BODY CONDITION SCORE OF YOUNG BREEDING ANIMALS OF THE THRACIAN MERINO BREED
Petya Slavova, Nedka Dimova, Milena Mihaylova, Yovka Popova, Staika Laleva, Nikola Pacinovski, Stanimira Slavova
Agricultural Institute of Stara Zagora, 6000 Stara Zagora, Republic of Bulgaria
pkslavova@abv.bg
The study was carried out to establish dependence between some exterior measurements, productivity and body condition score (BCS) of ewe lambs from the Thracian merino breed, reared in the Agricultural Institute in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Ewe lambs included in the research were born during 2011-2015. The growth rate, as well as the main breeding traits as live weight, staple length, wool yield and pure fiber were studied, and body condition score was estimated at the age of 6, 9 and 18 months. Conclusions: 1) The lambs of the Thracian merino breed had high growth rates at an early age. 2) The increase in body weight and bone mass is more intensive from 6 to 9 months of age, followed by the increase of the body condition score. 3) Productive traits as wool production, staple length, wool yield and pure fiber showed high level in ewe lambs at the age of 18 months, when they have their first breeding season.
Keywords: body condition score; exterior measurements; ewe lambs; merino sheep; productive traitsovi
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