Characterization of the Mayo-Kebbi Sheep: a Previously Unrecognised Ovine Breed of the Agro-Pastoral Zone of South-West Chad

The characterisation is main activitie in order to identify important trait of ruminants. Information of phenotypic and morpho-biometric characteristics of the Mayo-Kebbi sheep is not available yet. The aim of the study is to describe the qualitative and morpho-biometric characteristics of Mayo-Kebbi sheep. The location of the study was South-West of Chad. A total of 1511 sheep from 50 sites and 350 farms were inventoried. The samples were taken as many as possible based on the field conditions to observe pattern of colour, other visible traits and morphobiometric data. The results indicate that the Mayo-Kebbi sheep is closer to the Arab, the bicolour or white Peul ovine rather than to the local Djallonke breed called "kirdimi” in Chad. The dominant distinctive visible traits are the straight to hooked chamfer (90.3%), the tail length (hock level, 62.1%), the close-cropped hair (70.1%), the short hair (70.9%) and the white dress with black spots on the head (65.0%) or more specifically ocular spots (25.3%), also referred to as "black glasses". The averages wither height, body length, chest depth and ear length were 75.25±3.72, 65.25±4.11, 30.00±4.05 and 15.50±1.95 cm by males respectively. Wither height, tail length and chamfer length were affected by sex (p?0.05). The zoo-economic parameters include prolificacy and better than average fertility. High frequency of twining and average daily gains for both sexes of 87.5 g between days 8 and weaning (4 months) are worth mentioning. The characteristics reported here suggest that this sheep represented rather a distinct breed than a local variety or race, of an already recognized breed.