Birth and weaning weights of Awassi lambs raised in the GAP International Agricultural Research and Training Center

Summary: In this study, the data were collected from 1271 heads of Awassi lambs raised in the GAP International Agricultural Research and Training Center in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Birth and weaning weight (at 90 days) of lambs were measured and average daily weight gain from birth to weaning was calculated. The effect of the years and season of lambing, age of dam, sex and birth type on birth weight (BWT), weaning weight (WWT) and average daily weight gain (ADWG) from birth to weaning were investigated. Overall means were 4.81±0.022 kg for BWT, 22.99±0.196 kg for WWT and 201.67±1.173 g for ADWG. The all tarits in the analyses were significantly (P<0.05) affected by all factors in the model. In addition, lambs born heavier grew faster and reached heavier WWT (p<0.01). Based on the single and multiple trait analyses, heritability estimates ranged from 0.21 to 0.25 for BWT, from 0.13 to 0.17 for WWT and from 0.13 to 0.17 for ADWG. Estimates of genetic correlations between BWT with WWT and ADWG were 0.61 and 0.61, respectively.