Morphological assessment of the ewe udder in different breeds and their productivity

Dairy productivity of sheep is extremely important for rearing lambs, although insufficient attention is paid to the milking of sheep during selection and selection of sheep during mating. The milk yield of ewes is determined by measuring expressed, sucked milk, or by weight gain of lambs for a certain period of life. But in sheep breeding the greatest application is to determine this indicator by the increase in live weight of lambs in the first 20 days of life. This is due to the fact that in the first month of lactation, the ewes' mammary gland synthesizes the largest amount of milk, and lambs are fed exclusively on mother's milk for up to 20 days after birth. The milk yielding capacity of ewes depends on many factors, including the breed characteristics of the morpho-functional properties of their udder. Studies had been carried out on the morphological properties of the udder of ewes of such breedsas Tsigai, Merinolandschaf and Dorper. Some differences were noted in the linear assessment of their udder and the amount of milk obtained from them (milk yield). It was found that Merinolandschaf ewes exceed their peers of Tsigai and Dorper breeds by 2.6 cm or 17.5% (P <0.95) and 4.3 cm or 32.8%, respectively (P˃0.99), udder girth - by 3.9 cm or 11.9% (P˃0.99) and 7.3 cm or 24.8% (P˃0.999). The length of teats in Dorper ewes is greater than in Tsigai ewes by 0.47 cm or 23.1%, and in the Merinolandschaf - by 0.2 cm or 8.7% (P <0.95). Ewes with male lambs in their offspring were more milk-producing than ewes with female lambs. This advantage was in ewes of Tsigai breed 2.2 kg or 9.5% (P≤ 0.95), Merinolandschaf - 2.0 kg or 10.2% (P≥ 0.95), Dorper - 1.5 kg or 7.51% (P≥0.95) During the lactation period of 180 days more milk was obtained from ewes of Tsigai breed than from ewes of the Merinolandschaf breed by 1.8 kg or 16.9% (P≤ 0.95), and from the Dorper breed - by 19.17 kg or 16.9% (P≥ 0.999). Thus, for milk production the most desirable of the studied breeds are Tsigai and Merinolandschaf breeds.