Abstract:
Modern problems of sheep breeding development put forward the need for in-depth research
into the possibility of improving existing breeds of sheep, and first of all, the assessment of
breeding and productive qualities of sheep. Thanks to such approaches, it is possible to achieve
higher breeding rates of progress in the main characteristics of productivity quite quickly.
The selection of indicators and their analysis was carried out based on the materials of
the grading of the Tavrian type of the Ascanian fine-wool breed. The experimental groups were
formed taking into account the indicators of the amount of fat (excellent, good, satisfactory) and
their origin (lines 224, 369 and 0058).
The aim of the work was to study the features of the productivity indicators of the Tavrian type
of the Ascanian fine-wool breed, taking into account the origin and amount of fat, using the data
obtained in the selection and breeding work with the breed.
It was found that the highest live weight was in the ewes with an excellent amount of fat
(50.2 kg), which is 0.4–0.5 kg more than in animals with a good (group II) and satisfactory
(group III) amount of fat. No specific pattern of the advantage of ewes in live weight, taking into
account the origin, was found.
The yield of washed fiber in the experimental groups was 51.5–61.3%, which corresponds to
breed standards and depends on the origin of the animals and the amount of fat. The shearing
of washed wool is positively correlated with live weight: in ewes with a larger mass, a higher
shearing was recorded. In the first group, it was 3.3 kg, which is 0.1 kg (3.0%) more than in the
second group. The lowest yield of washed fiber in the first group was found in the yarks of line
369 – 58.9%, which is 2.4% less compared to line 0058 and 0.3% – with line 224. A similar trend
was observed in other groups.
The greatest length of wool was also noted in the first group of yarks – 11.8–12.7 cm. The
difference with the second group was 0.7 cm (5.8%), and with the third – 0.3 cm (2.5%). No
difference in wool thickness was found between the analyzed yarks. All wool was thin and
classified as 64 quality.
