TITLE:
Study on Management Practices and Constraints of Black Head Somali Sheep Reared in Awbarre District of Fafen Zone, Somali Region, Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Abdi Abdilahi, Mohammed Beyan, Sandip Banerjee, Kawnin Abdimahad
KEYWORDS:
Black Head Somali Sheep, Management Practice, Constraints, Pastoral & Agro-Pastoral
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.12 No.3,
July
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: The
study was conducted to assess management practices and constraints of Black
head Somali sheep in Awbarre district of Fafen zone, Somali regional state, Ethiopia.
A total of 120 households were purposively selected for this study using
purposive sampling technique. The data were collected through the questionnaire,
key informants interview, focus group discussions & field observations. The
primary purpose of keeping sheep was for income generation followed by saving,
meat production, milk, social and cultural functions. The main feeds for sheep
during wet season were communal & private natural pastures. In dry season,
communal natural pasture, crop residues & private
natural pasture were used. The major source of water during wet season was
dam/pond, whereas in the dry season spring & pipe water were used. The
majority of the respondents (85.8%) used houses enclosed with thorn woody trees
and houses enclosed with stone/brick fence were also reported. Majority of the respondents used
controlled mating system and sheep are bred to lamb when forage is plentiful
because they are less drought tolerant than goats and to avoid unwanted lambing
in dry season. Majority (90%) of respondents own their breeding ram and those
who have no breeding males used their neighbors’ rams and borrow from others.
The breeding rams were born in the flock implying that animals within the flock
are very closely related which leads to inbreeding. The most important health
problems affecting sheep were circling disease, sheep pox, tick lameness (tick
paralysis), Peste des Petits Ruminants
(PPR), bloating, and Foot & mouth disease (FMD). The
major constraints hindering sheep production in the study area were shortage of
veterinary service, feed shortage, scarcity of water, predators, diseases, and
marketing. Therefore, to improve and increase the productivity of sheep
production in the study area, better management practices and establishing of
veterinary service centers are necessary.