PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 1 SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION Bakht Baidar Khan Arshad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal Mustafa Department of Livestock Management University of Agriculture Faisalabad 2003 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 2 FOREWORD The past more than half a century is a witness to the fact that except a few, no serious attempts have been made to write books even on a few of the so many wide open aspects of the field of animal sciences. Among other factors that keep the animal science sector lagging behind, utter lack of relevant books of local origin is probably the most important. The dearth of documented information concerning various species of our farm animals adversely affects the learning potential of our students, who have been reported to complain about the non-availability of professional books written in Pakistan. I personally feel that as animal scientists we cannot exonerate ourselves of this responsibility. Of course, not all of us would have the aptitude to write books. However, those who opt to take up this tiresome and time-consuming job, their efforts must be appreciated. We must not forget that beginnings are always small. It is really encouraging to learn that sheep and goats being the victims of a long neglect, have attracted the attention of experienced animal scientists and teachers of long standing to write a book on them. A look into the contents of the book ‘Sheep and Goat Production’, makes me believe that it would adequately serve the purpose for which it has been produced. Its made-easy format would be rather more helpful to the students, field workers and progressive farmers. A collection of over 650 questions along with their answers should more than suffice to cover the discussion on important topics in relation to sheep and goat production. Sajjad Zaheer Malik Director General (Ext.) L & DD Dept., Punjab PREFACE Innumerable publications on sheep and goat farming/production are there in the world market. More than 98% of them are of foreign origin and are thus either not available here or their prices are beyond the means of a common man. The book under discussion has not been produced to burden the market with another such publication rather it has been brought out employing a novice format to meet the requirements of beginners who venture to plan a small ruminant enterprise, but are found confronted with a series of questions. Answers to many of such questions are already embodied in this ‘easy to read and understand’ book. In addition, feasibilities in respect of keeping sheep and goats (pertaining to one breed of each spp.) have been outlined herein to facilitate the solution of their input: output dilemma. Another section of society most pertinent to books is professional students community. It often happens that even at the end of an academic session/semester, many students in a class, would not know what type of questions, relevant to a course, may be asked in the Exam. This book, for sure, would create an awareness in them as to the type of Exam. questions and as to the manner of answering them. Among other features of the book are: the discussion on behaviour and welfare of small ruminants and clues on the application of biotechnology in animals. A comprehensive review on terminology related to various aspects of small ruminants is also a part of this book. Most of the answers to the questions included in this book have been picked up as such from various sources of literature listed under references at the end. We feel highly obliged in sharing the fruit of hardwork of those so many authors/editors. Under the circumstances it does not seem possible for us to individually convey to them our grateful thanks, but indeed we remain indebted to all of them. No book will ever be complete and this one is no exception since knowledge about sheep and goats is increasing so rapidly that no book can be an absolute ultimate. We feel no hesitation to mention here that at places details of a few most sophisticated techniques used abroad in small ruminant production have been intentionally avoided simply because farmers/producers here have yet to go a long way to enable themselves to take full advantage of such costly tools and techniques. We would like to record our thanks to our colleagues, namely Drs. Muhammad Younas, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Yaqoob, Syed Hassan Raza and Prof. William Hohenboken, a friend from USA; all of them provided us a lot of useful literature for this book. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Farooq Ahmed, Dr. Akhter Saeed and Dr. Asad Saeed for arranging recent literature for the purpose from abroad. Suggestions in black and white from any quarter to effect further improvement and to remove any omissions in the contents of this book will always be welcome. March, 2003 Bakht Baidar Khan Arshad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal Mustafa PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 3 PART- II includes following contents of the book: • BREEDING AND REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT • PROBLEMS OF PREGNANT EWES/DOES • PRE-LAMBING/PRE-KIDDING AND LAMBING/KIDDING • BABY LAMBS/KIDS • ORPHAN LAMBS/KIDS • PROBLEMS OF NEWBORNS PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 4 BREEDING AND REPRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT Q. Write a detailed note on selection for breeding of small ruminants. Most people who farm sheep/goats or for that matter any farm animal, would expect to gradually improve the productivity of their stock. Big improvements can often be made by changes in husbandry practices so that the animals become fitter, healthier and better fed. However, there will be limitations on how much productivity can be increased in this way. These limitations will be the result of the genetic make-up of the animals. In other words all animals are born with a potential for production and that potential is the result of mixing of characteristics inherited from the animals’ parents, grandparents and, in fact, all of its ancestors. By selecting animals with certain characteristics and mating them it is possible to gradually improve the performance of that line, generation by generation. Some characteristics are readily passed on and are highly heritable while others are not readily passed on and are referred to as of low heritability. Since it is not possible to discuss genetic gain or improvement without a basic understanding of genetics, therefore, for the purposes of this book only a simplified explanation is given. All inherited characteristics are carried by genes, which occur in pairs, one from the sire and one from the dam. A pair or more of genes will control a particular characteristic and thus in the case of colour a goat will either be coloured or white (most of the discussion made here in respect of goat, just as an example, is equally applicable to sheep). If the goat has a gene for colour from one parent and one for white from the other, it will, in fact, be white because white is what is called a dominant gene and colour is what is called a recessive gene. If two different genes for a particular colour come together, the dominant gene will always be expressed. If in this example the goat had received genes for colour from both its parents, it would then have been coloured. If an animal is carrying a pair of identical genes for a particular character such as the coloured offspring in the example, it is known as homozygous for that particular character. If it carries different genes like the goat in our example with the genes for white and colour, it is termed heterozygous. The appearance of an animal as controlled by its genetic make-up is referred to as its phenotype. In this example, the white goat is phenotypically white but its genotype is white/coloured. This is shown in Figure 6 where two goats are mated. One is homozygous for white and will be genotypically white. The other is heterozygous and will be phenotypically white because white is dominant. When these two are mated, their kids or what is called F1 generation, could be like the parents either heterozygous or homozygous white. If, however, both parents were heterozygous white, the offspring would be either white or coloured in the ratio 3:1 (Figure 7) with 1 homozygous and phenotypically white, whereas the other 2 whites would be heterozygous and 1 would be homozygous for colour and would therefore be (phenotypically) coloured. It is rare for a single gene to control a characteristic or trait as shown in the simple example but it serves to show how characters are inherited. With selective breeding the intention is to cross animals together in such a way that the progeny will hopefully be even better than their parents. It helps if the genetic make-up of the parents is known. Some characteristics are linked to others and it may be, in selecting PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 5 for one desirable feature or trait, that one also selects for an undesirable feature, which may cancel out or be even less desirable than the trait that was being selected for. One such trait in goats is polledness or hornlessness. If a naturally polled male is mated with a female carrying the gene for polledness, there is a good chance of producing female offspring that will be homozygous (pure) polled animals. These will be inter-sexed, which means they may have some parts of the male and female reproductive tract and characteristics and they will be infertile. They are not, as some people describe, hermaphrodites, which means possessing both female and male sexual organs. Naturally polled males do occur without the problem of inter-sex but evidence suggests that fertility is lower in these. If traits or characteristics are of low heritability, the genetic gain achieved by selecting specific animals showing those characteristics will be less than for traits of high heritability. Thus the hope for improvement will be achieved only slowly over a number of generations. Q. Discuss the importance of breed improvement. There is an old saying “breed the best to the best and cull the rest”. It sounds no less than a universal truth. Your chances of improving your flock are practically nil if you breed your ewes/does to the neighbour’s nondescript ram/buck simply because it happens to be cheap and available. You are not going to milk the buck, but never forget that you are going to get milk from its daughters and meat from its male offspring. If the sire is not better than the ewe/doe, you are not working for breed improvement. In fact, you are not even breeding sheep/goats, you are merely freshening them. To further elaborate, a reference to commercial dairy farming in several western countries appears logical. Almost invariably these practical, tough-minded, cost-conscious farmers use the best purebred registered animals they can find. Milk production per cow has more than doubled during the last century. While some of that, of course, is due to better feeding practices, surely a large share of the credit must go to genetics. No animal is perfect, all have faults. It is the job of the breeder to eliminate those faults as much as possible in future generations, while at the same time preventing new ones from showing up. Q. Briefly indicate the importance of twins. Although multiple births certainly require more attention and care, yet the profits seem worth the effort. In USA, at one of the universities the data were analysed in this respect and it was stated that it would require 5721 ewes producing one lamb each to yield a $25000 profit, while 353 ewes producing two lambs each to equal it. These figures seemingly sound strange, but consider the vast reduction in the amount of grain and hay expenses (grain feeding not largely practised under our conditions) for the smaller number of ewes, to produce double the number of lambs. The same is applicable to goats. Choose your potential replacement ewes/does from among your earlier-born twin ewes/does. Turn these twin ewe lambs/doe kids in with a ram/buck wearing a marking harness. The ones that are marked and presumably bred, can be kept for your own flock and sell the rest. Ewe lambs/doe kids that have twins the first time are more valuable than those who lamb/kid with a single, even though ewes/does with a future history of twinning may have only a single that first time. Still they pass on both the inherited ability to breed early and to have twins and they will produce more lambs/kids during their lifetime. However, it all depends on how well fed the animals are. Q. Discuss the sheep breeding management as it does prevail in Pakistan. PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 6 Some mating occurs throughout the year but the principal breeding seasons remain autumn and spring. Hand mating is not known since it may be impracticable in the case of transhument and sedentary breeders because of absence of mating facilities. Breeders who practice seasonal breeding tie an apron around the belly of ram in the off-season to avoid mating. Others tie a cord on the opening of the sheath to check mating. In some areas (D.I. Khan), many small farmers do not maintain their own rams, but hire them at Rs. 4 to 5 per day for 4 to 5 days. A ram is usually put with a flock of 40 to 50 ewes but in some cases as many as 80 to 90. In the bigger flocks, two or more rams may be allowed to mate at a time. In such cases the stronger ram is overused and the weaker underused and as a result some of the ewes are not mated and others are served by overused rams and do not conceive. Some breeders in Balochistan believe that breeding twice a year ensures regular milk supply for the families. Rams are not allowed to breed before 2 years of age. A comparison of spring and autumn breeding seasons indicated that: i) Fertility was 83% in autumn and 73% in spring; ii) The number of lambs born per ewe was 1.04 in autumn but 0.88 in spring; iii) The number of lambs born per ewe conceived was 1.25 in autumn and 1.21 in spring; and iv) The incidence of twin births was 36% in autumn and 21% in spring. A study of the incidence of post-lambing oestrus in Lohi, Kachhi from Sindh and Awasi from Lebanon and its crosses showed that oestrus occurred: i) In the second to fourth month after lambing, 70% Lohi came into oestrus; ii) During the same period 65% Kachhi were in oestrus; but iii) The crosses behaved mid way between two parents. Selection is largely subjective in the absence of records such as birth and weaning weights, fecundity, or quality and quantity of wool produced, but at public experimental farms due attention is paid to such traits. Private breeders do care for growth as the larger PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 7 and heavier ram lambs would attract the attention of the breeders. Lambs are allowed to suckle for 4 to 5 months. Lambs are not allowed to accompany the mothers to pasture. In most parts of the Punjab province, lambs accompany their mothers as soon as they are able to walk. In parts of Balochistan lambs are grazed separately by children near the camp. Where lambs are kept separate, suckling is allowed morning and evening after the families have removed part of the milk especially from good milkers. Since white wool fetches the highest price, ram lambs with a white coat, well developed body and strong constitution are selected for future breeding. Breed uniformity is keenly maintained for an all−white body and recognized spots, if any, on the extremities. The incidence of mismothering is high in cases where lambs are kept separate from their mothers. Mismothered lambs are reared on foster ewes by forced suckling. Mortality in such lambs is high and the growth rate generally below average. The shepherds of Balochistan take extra care to avoid mismothering. There the flock is halted at a distance from the lamb enclosure and ewes are freed one by one to allow them to recognize their lambs when rejoining occurs. The records at public sheep farms show that the incidence of mismotheirnbg varies in different breeds (1.5 to 3%), being the highest in Kachhi breed (4 to 23%), probably due to poor mothering instinct. In most of the cases culling of sheep is not very systematic. It is practised in ewes and male lambs and is generally done when the family needs money or 2 to 3 months before the annual religious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. Others avail the occasions of weekly/monthly/sheep goat markets to sell their surplus/culled stock. Male surplus stock is commonly castrated and reared to one year age and in other cases to 2 years age to sell at high prices. Culling of ewe lambs is rare. The ewes are culled for broken mouths, damaged udders, permanent lameness or infertility. Q. Briefly discuss the anatomy and physiology of sex organs of a small ruminant male. Anatomy: The most obvious part of the male’s reproductive system is the scrotum containing the testes, which are suspended herein by spermatic cord. This may vary in size according to breed but, in general, abnormally small testes are a sign of likely low PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 8 fertility. The scrotum not only supports and protects the testes but also it is an important means of temperature regulation. Normal production of spermatozoa occurs at a temperature 4 to 7°C lower than body temperature. Thus in hot weather the scrotum will allow the testes to hang down from the wall of the abdomen and conversely when cold they will be drawn up close to the body. In extremely hot weather this temperature regulatory mechanism may break down resulting in poor spermatozoa production. In some goat breeds especially in some Angoras, the scrotum may be almost completely bifurcated (split purse). It is considered a fault in show animals. However, this may not cause a severe fertility problem. Failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum will also cause problems of fertility. One testis may not descend (called monorchid) or in some cases both may not (called cryptorchid). When purchasing males for stud, it is the most important to ensure that both testes are in place in the scrotum and that they are of reasonable size with no abnormal swellings and that they feel firm and not soft and spongy. The other external sex organ is the penis. In the male sheep/goat, the penis is normally retracted into a tube called the prepuce. To give extra length during copulation, the penis has a S-bend known as the sigmoid flexure (Figure 8). On the end of the penis is the thin tubular protrusion of the urethra called the urethral process. When the penis is protruded from the prepuce, especially during the breeding season, the male (goat) is able, with remarkable directional accuracy, to spray urine over himself or anyone who is standing close enough. Physiology: The rams/bucks, except in temperate regions, show year round sexual activity, especially when stimulated by receptive females. Young males are particularly precocious and fertile matings have been recorded from kids of 4 months of age. Males of Teddy goat breed exhibit quite a bit sexual activity at 5 to 6 months of age. Spermatozoa are formed from cells in the testes called spermatogonia. These spermatogonia divide repeatedly to form spermatids, which eventually form the spermatozoa, which are discharged into the lumen of seminiferous tubules. The spermatozoa travel along in fluid secreted by the tubules, until they reach the epididymis where they are stored. These newly formed immature spermatozoa are immotile and are very sensitive to unfavourable temperature and nutritional conditions. Full maturation occurs in the tail of the epididymis and the spermatozoa become motile during ejaculation when they come in contact with the secretions of the accessory glands (the vesicular or the seminal vesicular gland, prostate and bulbo-urethral glands). It takes about 50 days from the formation of the spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules to the time they are stored in the tail of the epididymis. During periods of intense sexual activity, this duration may be reduced as the movement of the spermatozoa through the epididymis may be speeded up. Another important function of the testes is the production of the hormone testosterone. The secretion of this hormone is controlled by gonadotrophic hormones secreted by the pituitary gland situated at the base of the brain. Although sexual desire in ram/buck is influenced a great deal by the presence of receptive females, nutritional status and environmental factors also play an important part. Prior to mating a ram/buck will spend varying amounts of time in courtship behaviour, which certainly is an important stimulation for both male and female. During hand mating of pedigree animals, when a female is led to a specific male, it is important that PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 9 restraints are not imposed on this behaviour and the most successful results will always be from animals that are allowed some time together in an enclosure. Q. Briefly discuss the anatomy and physiology of sex organs of a small ruminant female. Anatomy: Unlike the male most of the female’s reproductive organs are internal and would only be seen by attending a post-mortem examination or by obtaining the relative part of the body from a slaughtered animal. The only external feature is the vulva which undergoes some changes during oestrus and when parturition (lambing/kidding) is imminent. The vulva opens into the vagina wherein the male’s penis deposits semen during copulation. In a normal adult ewe/doe, the vagina is approximately 7 to 8 cm in length. At the end of the vagina is the cervix or neck of the uterus (Figure 9). The cervix varies in length from about 4 to 8 cm and is made up of 5 to 6 muscular rings, which effectively act as a seal between the vagina and the uterus. The uterus is made up of two large tubes or horns and at the end of each of these horns are the oviducts and ovaries. The ovaries change in appearance according to the stage in the reproductive cycle. The eggs or ova are shed from what are called the Graafian follicles and these can be seen during a postmortem examination if they are near to maturation. When an ovum is shed, the remaining structure is called a corpus luteum, meaning yellow body, and these also can be seen on the ovary and are an indication of an ewe/doe that is ovulating normally. If the ewe/doe is pregnant, the corpus luteum remains and plays a part in maintaining the state of pregnancy. If she is not pregnant, the corpus luteum regresses. Physiology: The decreasing daylight triggers off breeding activity in small ruminants. The lengthening nights cause increased release of the hormone melatonin from the pineal gland within the brain. It then causes the release of gonadotrophin releasing hormone, which stimulates the pituitary gland into secreting follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). As its name suggests, FSH stimulates the development of the follicle within which an ovum will develop and from which it will be released. The onset of the sequence of events gives rise to oestrus behaviour, or heat, in an ewe/doe and the whole cycle of events is called the oestrous cycle. As the Graafian follicle matures, it secretes the hormone estrogen, which eventually stimulates the brain into triggering off the release of luteinising hormone (LH) into the bloodstream. The release of LH causes the follicle to rupture and an ovum will be released into the oviduct. The ovum remains viable in the oviduct for 10 to 12 hours. About 30 to 36 hours before ovulation occurs, the ewe/doe will normally begin to show oestrus or heat behaviour. Pheromones (specific odours) are released by the female, which also stimulate the male to sexual excitement. This behaviour is a combination of signals to the male that she is at the correct period in her ovulation cycle for mating when changes in the reproductive tract, to facilitate mating, have occurred. The vulva becomes somewhat swollen, copious mucus is produced and the cervix dilates. If a fertile mating takes place, the fertilised embryo develops freely in the uterus for about 21 days until implantation takes place and the embryo becomes attached to the wall of the uterus by way of the placenta. The caruncles which form the points of attachment on the uterine wall are present all the time. If an ewe/doe is pregnant, the corpus luteum, formed after rupturing of the follicle, remains and produces the hormone progesterone. Progesterone acts as a signal to the PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 10 brain to shut down the cycling mechanism and prepares for and helps maintain pregnancy. In some animals, but not the goat, the role of corpus luteum is taken over by the placenta. In case conception does not occur, the corpus luteum regresses and the level of circulating progesterone consequently falls. The cycle then starts again and a non- pregnant ewe and doe will continue to cycle in this way every 16 to 17 days and 19 to 21 days respectively until the end of the breeding season. Q. What do you understand by Induced Cryptorchidism or Short Scrotum? This is still another approach where the elastrator rubber ring is used on the scrotum, but the testes are pushed back up into the body cavity. This sterilizes the animal due to increased body heat. While the male hormones are still present to increase weight gain with more lean meat, the animal shows little or no sex activity. This method is used at about four weeks of age and the animal is called an induced cryptorchid (having hidden testicles). Extensive tests (Figure 10) in Australia have shown such animals gain weight faster, get to market faster and have more lean meat than either castrated or uncastrated males. Q. Discuss the salient points in respect of proper breeding age and care of a ram/buck. Ordinarily a well-grown ram/buck is considered the best. However, if he is a lamb/kid, use him sparingly during his first breeding season. One way to conserve his energy is to separate him from the females for several hours during the day, at which time he can be fed and watered and allowed to rest. One good ram/buck can handle 25 to 30 ewes/does. On a small flock where the ram/buck gets good feed, about six years of service can be expected of him. On open range there may be overuse with more females per ram/buck, fighting with other males and little or no supplemental feed, rams/bucks (get run down) lose condition during the breeding season from eating so little and chasing the females. They then succumb to diseases because of their low resistance. If you are buying a new ram/buck, do this long enough before breeding season so that he becomes acclimated to his new surroundings. Keep him separate on good feed and pasture until breeding time. In case you are going to feed him a different ration than he had previously, be sure to change gradually. Excess weight results in a lowering of potency and efficiency. Keep him in good condition but not fat. A buck may be ready to breed at about six to seven months, depending on his breed (Teddy bucks at four to five months), but it is better not to use him until one year. Use him two or three times a week from the age of one year to one and a half years. During the breeding season, feed the ram buck at least 300 g concentrate mixture per day. After separating him from the bred females, a maintenance ration of at least 100 to 150 g per day, plus leafy hay as necessary during the winter should carry him through until good pasture is available again. Since summers here are very hot, therefore, provide him a cool shady place to protect from the heat. An elevated body temperature whether from heat or due to an infection, can cause infertility. Semen quality is affected at 100 degrees and is seriously damaged at air temperatures beyond that. Several hours at that temperature may leave him infertile for weeks. The scrotum of ram should be sheared before the onset of severe summer. The ram/buck may be run with the ewes/does at night and in the early morning, but keep him [...]... may be provided some supplementary ration to enhance their marketability so that they may fetch better prices 31 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 32 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 33 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 34 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 35 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION PROBLEMS OF PREGNANT EWES/DOES Q Give a list of diseases which pertain to pregnant ewes/does Vaginal prolapse,... technical equipment and 29 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION good transport and communications as well as highly motivated farmers /goat keepers exist It may be possible to run a goat AI programme alongside a buffalo/cattle AI programme, making use of the same laboratory and technicians Q Discuss embryo transfer in goats In recent years the techniques for preserving fertile embryos and transplanting... do this since it will affect the production of colostrum at lambing/kidding Q What are the important measures of reproductive efficiency in small ruminants? Discuss briefly 25 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION Reproduction is said to be the engine of the flock, ensuring that sheep and goats are able to generate enough replacements for themselves, expand the flock and supply excess stock for sale The... 21 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION Do not get excited by your early success, which may give you a false sense of satisfaction This is especially true if you start with unrelated sheep/ goats so that your first few matings produce exceptionally fine lambs/kids, the result of hybrid vigour Only years of careful selection can make you certain of the pedigree of each sheep/ goat in your breeding team and. .. inseminator The owner or handler stands astride the goat s neck, facing the goat s rear The inseminator lifts the goat by her hocks and brings her up so that the handler can hold the hocks tight up against the goat s lower abdomen pulling her up against his chest It is best if the handler can lean into and rest his back into a corner By doing so it is possible to restrain even quite large goats for insemination... lambing/kidding and can leave the female infertile Hereditary Condition: Hereditary deformities do occur, but are rare Age: Eventually females become too old to breed 27 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION Q What do you understand by metritis? Normally after lambing/kidding there is a reddish discharge from the vulva for up to 14 days However, if the discharge is dark red and sticky, there may be an infection and. .. wide range of superior rams/bucks from across the country And you can keep a closed flock to prevent the spread of diseases, since AI sires are screened for health problems transmitted through sexual contact 28 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION In several countries, more and more small flocks owners especially goat- keepers are learning how to do and many are willing to do it for others The initial investment... was also suggested 16 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION that the males should also be kept in the same extended light conditions if they were to work satisfactorily out of season Q Is heat detection a problem in goats? Unlike cows and more particularly buffaloes, heat or oestrus detection in goats is not normally a problem Those with large herds, especially if there are male goats on the farm, rarely... dairy 23 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION character In addition, showring placement is mostly determined by comparing the exhibited animals to each other rather than to an ideal Another means of evaluation is through classification, a system of scoring by comparing each animal to an established standard of excellence for its breed Classifiers are trained and licensed by the various sheep/ goat registered... foot problems; udder abnormalities; any illnesses and their treatment At culling time review the records as well as inspect teeth, udders and feet Cull out ewes/does with defective udders, broken mouth (teeth missing), limpers who do not respond to regular trimming and foot baths or those with insufficient milk and whose 30 PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION lambs/kids grow slowly There may be some . PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 1 SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION Bakht Baidar Khan Arshad. Iqbal Mustafa PART- II SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION 3 PART- II includes following contents of the book: • BREEDING AND REPRODUCTIVE