Blood Parameters that Affect Awasi Sheep Production

S. H. Alsamarrae

Abstract: This experiment was conducted to demonstrate the genetic relationship be-tween potassium concentration in the blood and some productive and reproductive characters of Iraqi Awasi sheep. Awasi ewes, rams and their offspring, they have been adopted in this experiment, blood potassium HK gene frequencies for ewes, rams, and lambs were of the order of 0.91, 0.95 and 0.92, respectively. HK ewes had a significantly higher lambing percentage, fleece weight, fiber diameter, wax percentage of the fleece and alkali solubility percentage. LK ewes produced significantly more female lambs while LK lambs, compared with HK ones, had significantly higher birth and weaning weights. The association between HK types and fitness was proposed as the explanation of the high gene frequency of this type.

Keywords: blood parameters, reproduction, sheep, Iraq