Garole - A Promising Sheep Breed in Coastal West Bengal

Abstract

Garole is a highly prolific micro-sheep breed whose breeding tract falls under the coastal saline zone of Sundarbans in West Bengal, India. Generally, this sheep breed is mainly reared for meat production by the small, marginal and landless farmers. The breed is highly resistant to foot rot disease and has a high mothering instinct for the lambs. Adaptability to hot humid conditions in the saline marshy lands of Sundarbans, survivability under low-input system and grazing capability in knee-deep water makes it the suitable breed in this region. The average weights of Garole sheep at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age ranged from 0.06-1.00, 4.1-5.8, 6.0-8.68, 7.81-8.01 and 10.4-14.4 kg, respectively. The average daily weight gain (ADG) of this breed at pre-weaning (0-3 months) age is 32.4 g, while ADGs at post-weaning ages, i.e. at 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 and 3-12 months of ages are 22.11, 20.41, 21.93 and 21.28 g, respectively. On an average, male lambs attain puberty at the age of 8-9 months. The highest average litter size of this breed is observed as 1.94 in the third lambing. The incidence of twining is 66%. The optimum age of slaughter is 12 months of age. The dressing percentage of this sheep is almost 53% at 12 months of age. This breed produces coarse-quality fleece with a staple length of 4.99 cm and a fibre diameter of 53.02 microns. The original source of the FecB gene (Fecundity gene) is proclaimed to be the Garole sheep. In India, this breed is also being utilized to improve the prolificacy rate of non-prolific sheep breeds. The population of Garole sheep has declined from 0.27 to 0.16 million from 2003 to 2013 in its native tract. The breed needs the utmost attention in conservation efforts.