Structural Indices of Bapedi Sheep Reared Under Extensive Management Systems in Limpopo Province, South Africa

BACKGROUND: Function and type of the animal are regarded as superior measures of the adequacy of an animal compared to body weight. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the different structural indices obtained from measured morphometric traits to determine the function and type of 127 purposively sampled Bapedi sheep breed. METHODS: Eighteen structural indices such as height index (HI), height slope (HS) over increase index (OII), length index (LI), index of compaction (IC), index of chest compression (ICC), cephalic index (Cel), body index (BI), dactyl thorax index (DTI), transverse pelvic (TrP), body ratio (BR), compact index-1 (CO-1), conformation index (COI), compact index-2 (CO-2), pectoral index (Pec), thoracic development (TD), rump-length index (RLI) and pelvic index (PI) were calculated using Excel and analysed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) from measured body weight and nine morphometric traits. RESULTS: The results indicated intermediate BI values (85.24 and 87.64) that showed that Bapedi sheep is a medigline breed with a rectangular conformation. The results further indicated relatively higher LI values (0.97 and 1.00) that describe longer bodied animals, whereas BR index revealed that Bapedi sheep are low in the front. Lastly, Bapedi sheep are light animal with a well-developed thoracic region enabling them to walk long distances and high PI values (89.78 and 92.86) indicating wider birth passage making them advantageous during parturition. CONCLUSION: Bapedi sheep is a meat-producing breed with a well-developed thoracic area and pelvic area making it suitable for rough terrain, walking long distances and less susceptible to dystocia. Therefore, the comprehensive information on structural index of Bapedi sheep will aid towards the breeding strategies that aim to improve the breed production performance and guarantee their conservation.