Morphometric characterization of two breeds of hair sheep from the Pastaza Experimental Station

Abstract

Sheep of the Blackbelly and Pelibuey breeds adapted to the extreme conditions of the Amazon despite being an introduced species. The objective of this study was to characterize the morphometry of the Pelibuey and Blackbelly breeds belonging to the flock of the Pastaza Experimental Station of ESPOCH that are studied in the project: Amazonian Hairy Sheep Program (PROPEA). Thirty sheep of the Blackbelly (n=15) and Pelibuey (n=15) breeds were used. The following variables were studied: height at withers (ALC), height at rump (ALG), thoracic diameter (DT), anterior rump width (AAG), posterior rump width (APG), chest width (AP), length (L), shank diameter (DC) and live weight (LW), which were analyzed with the Student's t-test for comparison of two independent means. It was observed that the variables ALC, ALG, DT and AAG, showed significant differences (p˂0.001) and allowed the identification of two morphometrically different groups. It was possible to characterize the two breeds of hair sheep used for the trial through their morphometry; the two breeds present values close to the racial standard and can be used as a basis for other types of crossbreeding.