Comparison of Morphometry, Physiological Status, and Protein Total in Twin and Single Ewes of Fat-Tail Sheep (Sapudi Indonesian Local Sheep) and Their Crossbred

Abstract

The genetic resources of local Indonesian sheep that must be protected and preserved include the Sapudi sheep and their crosses, which produce meat with highly adaptive and sigmoid fat tails. This study aims to determine the differences in the relationship between physiological status, morphology, and total protein of the single and twin ewe sheep and their crosses. The research method was a field study with quantitative and laboratory analysis, with statistical analysis using ANOVA and LSD with SPSS Statistic 9 software. The research design used descriptive with total sample of 60 heads (morphometry and physiological status) and 24 heads (total protein). There are three breeds of sheep: Sapudi, Dormas (Dormer x Sapudi), and Suffas (Suffolk x Sapudi). Sapudi, Dormas, and Suffas Ewes with only one child each lambing were abbreviated as SAS, DOS, and SUS. The ewe has twin lambs designated by SAT, DOT, and SUT abbreviations. The criteria for the sheep sampled were 2-3 years old, healthy condition (good activity), good appetite with feed given in the form of concentrate (2% of body weight), and forage (10% of body weight). The results showed that morphology, physiology, and total protein did not show a significant relationship (p>0.05) to differentiate broodstock in a single or twin brood in Sapudi sheep or their crosses, except for Suffas sheep. Total protein could show the difference between twin lambs having total protein > 6.36 g/dL and single lambs having total protein < 6.36 g/dL. The conclusion was that there was no relationship between physiological status, morphology, and total protein of the single and twin ewe in Sapudi sheep and their crosses, except for Suffas sheep. The ewes' activity in twin lambing was higher than in single lambing, indicated by the total protein concentration. This research implied that it was necessary to provide feed with a minimum crude protein content of 14.4% -24.22% since the beginning of pregnancy.