Reproductive soundness in Uda rams: The role of horn and scrotal morphology

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the possible relationship between some morphological traits and reproductive soundness of 185 Uda rams from three different locations: Saki and Ago-Are (Oyo state), and Ilesha-Ibariba (Kwara state). Data was collected on horn length, horn circumference, and scrotal circumference using a flexible tape. The data was subjected to descriptive statistics, correlation, analysis of variance and regression analysis. The mean values obtained for horn length, horn circumference and scrotal circumference were 27.44, 16.40, and 29.24cm, respectively. Horn circumference had the highest coefficient of variation (51.22%), while scrotal circumference had the least (21.37%). Horn length correlated significantly and positively with horn and scrotal circumference (r = 0.514, P<0.001; r = 0.446, P<0.01, respectively). Horn circumference and scrotal circumference also showed positive and significant correlation (r = 0.238, P<0.05). The location of the farmers had an effect (P<0.001; 0.008) on horn length, horn circumference and scrotal circumference, respectively. The results also showed a positive relationship among horn length, horn circumference, and scrotal circumference of the Uda rams; rams with longer horns were found to have thicker horns and larger scrotal sizes (R² = 0.27 and 0.19), while the link between horn circumference and scrotal size was weaker (R² = 0.06). It was concluded that the horn morphometric traits evaluated in the study could serve as a simple physical sign of assessing the reproductive ability of Uda rams due to their positive correlation with scrotal circumference.