Maataloustieteellinen Aikakauskirja Vol. 60: 576—584, 1988 Characteristics and experiences of Chios breed N. P. ZERVAS, J. HATJIMINAOGLOU, A. GEORGOUDIS, J. G. BOYAZOGLU Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece Abstract. Discussed are the reproductive and productive characteristics of the dairy and prolific Chios sheep breed, originating from the homonymous Greek island. Besides the is- land, the breed is also raised in the Greek mainland, the westcoast of Turkey and in Cyprus. It is early maturing, with long reproductive reason and lambing period, extending from Oc- tober to March. Inspite its high ovulation rate, repeatabilityestimates do not suggest the pres- ence of fecundity genes. The average prolificacy ratio ranges between 1.80 and 2.0, with triplets and quadruplets not uncommon. The average exploitable milk yield varies between 180 and 200 kg, with occasionally reported productions of up to 400 and 500 kg. Repeatabilities of prolificacy and milk production based on island data were found 0.15 and 0.40, respectively. Heritability of milk yield from the island was 0.31 and 0.40, respectively, for second and third lactations. Recent estimates from Cyprus report values of 0.30 and 0.39 for 90-day milk and total milk yield, respectively. Other parameters and information on udder (mechanical milk- ing), growth, and carcass characteristics as well as on crossbreeding trials are also reported. Someconsiderations are given with regard to potential and valorization of this highly produc- tive sheep breed. Index words: Chios, reproduction, early maturity, ovulation rate, milk yield, growth, carcass, crossbreeding Raising and testing of Chios sheep The highly productive Chios (C) sheep breed originates from the homonymous Greek island, of the Aegean sea, but must have been influenced by fat-tailed animals of Asian provenance. The contribution of foreign blood is also suggested by its finer wool and more uniform fleece than that of the Greek Zackel (19). Besides the original small insu- lar nucleus, numbering at present about 2000 animals (21), purebreds and crossbreds found in the Greek mainland and some islands are estimated to approach 100 000 head (12). C breed under Sakiz is found in the neighbour- ing western Turkish coastal area, numbering some 13 000 head (37). Higher numbers reported by other Turkish authors might in- clude purebreds and crossbreds as well (2). A sizeable population of 80 000 purebreds and 115 000 crossbreds occurs in Cyprus and a limitednumber, used primarily for upgrading 576 JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN FINLAND https://www.c-info.fi/en/info/?token=FKn4Jid76J770S0U.CTEa2Vz988gc1OuR9ohpJQ.k1BPwX-ijJv0aSljvMkkuZwMfjaJQyrJwRh27RTIXgDmc_P-vfrzHK8jtLfsBnROzmNGRY-QShhiOezmUW6KmVLYgbmI2Ij9o75A_mhkzrJ6kNtWxPI_pyiSviYTSuNFDfa0cWhc0eWN2p6KGaRCW-vqpfxnHL9T7qvLzYGxtuQDBefqV_A-0EItT1-z4aE_iDBNocPuZusnl_GMt7xVdbrowSf1fJGv-e11ack 577 purposes, is found in North African, Middle East and other Mediterranean countries (30). The animals under study are medium to large in size, with long body and legs, sugges- tive of a pronounced dairy conformation. The tail is characterized as semi-fat and cone- shaped. The males have long spiral horns. The udder is large but pendulous, often with ex- tra teats. The wool is essentially coarse but more uniform and thinner than that of the Greek Zackel. The colouring is white, with some black or dark spots around the eyes, at the tip of the ears and nose and often around the belly and legs. In the island of Chios they are kept as stall-fed animals on a family basis (1 —lO head). Their feeding is based on poor grazing or on dry roughages and little grain whenkept indoors, which coincides withpreg- nancy and parturition. In the mainland, the flock size is around 50—100 head and the management is more intensive. In Turkey, conditions of Sakiz are similar to those of the Chios island, with small flocks of 2—4 animals kept by individual families. These animals are not milk recorded. There are two recorded flocks at the Boztepe Station and at the Aegean University Farm (37). The significance and the possibilities of C were recognized a long time ago and as a con- sequence, a systematic scheme was started in 1953 by the Ministry of Agriculture, with 17 communities of the central part of the island joining the milk control programme. In this first phase, 652 individuals were ear-marked, registered at the regional service and tested monthly for milk yield. Ever since, the programme was extended to 39 communities and between 1975 and 1978 the controlled ewes reached the number of 3500 (21). Test- ed ewes with annual milk production below 100 kg were culled. Rams from good mothers owned by local producers (private studs) were leased for natural service of ewes for a fee. Pedigree information, phenotypic characteris- tics and production data were collected, recorded and filed by the Agricultural Serv- ice of Chios. Annual milk production was es- timated as the yield measured after lambs weaning (commercialised), but not earlier than 61 days after parturition. Reports on the reproductive and productive traits of C have been occasionally presented by Greek experts. A more detailed quantitative analysis of over 4500 observations was carried out by thefirst author in 1965 (38). Since 1977, the Halkidiki Agricultural Re- search Station (H. Station), near the village Agios Mamas, has been assigned the task to investigate the physiological and zootechnical aspects of C. The above programme, support- ed by AGRIMED and financed by European Communities and the Greek Ministry of Agriculture, aimed at establishing a sizeable closed flock, with new facilities and additional technical personnel to help the development of the research scheme (6). The animals are housed in large open-front buildings and kept in confinement, except during summer and re- stricted grazing periods. Feeding of ewes, lambs and rams is based mainly on alfalfa hay and concentrates and only secondarily on grazing. Grazing during winter and spring is limited to barley grass, natural vegetation and temporary light grazing on cereal and alfalfa fields. No hormonal treatments are regularly used for breeding purposes except in specific cases of physiology studies. Lactating ewes are milked by machine and the milk and butter- fat is measured at 15-dayintervals. The selec- tion of lambs for breeding is based on paren- tal records (mainly milk production and secondarily prolificacy) and on their growth rate. By 1983 the flock attained the size of about 500 head. Data were fed to the com- puter of the University of Thessaloniki Farm. Complementary to the main experimental ob- jectives, a number of ad-hoc studies have been conducted to untangle specific problems, e.g.: physiology of reproduction, feed utilisation, mechanical milking and carcass quality. Quantitative characteristics Reproduction C is early maturing and can be bred at B—98 —9 months of age. Studies at the H. Station found the first estrus occurring between 243 and 290 days, with corresponding ewe-lamb weight of 37—43 kg (31). C ewes show a long reproduc- tive season with a rather limited anestrous period occurring between December and March. Observations on 27 ewes disclosed that from September to March more than 80 % of females showed at least one estrus per month (1). Under experimental conditions and the presence of rams, 60 % of lactating ewes demonstrated estrus during 42-day suckling (31). Distribution of parturitions showed that at the H. Station (2991 cases) and in the Is- land (4707 cases) peak months were Novem- ber with 40 % and January with 42 % lamb- ings, respectively. It is also reported that some ewes may lamb two times during the same year. The average gestation length in 2131 cases was found to be 149.21 ±2.54 days (31). Detailed research at the H. Station on the ovulatory activity with laparoscopy and progesterone determinationrevealed that the average ovulationrate was 3.2510.81, and the repeatability 0.33. The relatively low estimate of repeatability suggests that the high ovula- tion rate of the C ewes is not controlled by fecundity genes (1). C demonstrates high prolificacy, signifi- cantly superior to that of mainland breeds. Average prolificacy in the Island during the periods 1957—62 (38) and 1980—86 (21), as well as in mainland units, was found to be ap- prox. 1.80, as shown in Table 1, where is also given its breakdown by lactation. Prolificacy ratios and frequency of multiple births by lit- ter size (LS) from H. Station data(6), are giv- en in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. One can at- tribute the relatively higher prolificacy at the H. Station (1.8 to 2.2) mostly to improved en- vironmental factors and secondarily to selec- tion. Observations made in Turkey (35, 32, 37) on Sakiz give prolificacy ratios varying be- tween 1.98 and 2.27, with 16 % single, 54 % twins, 19 % triplets and 11 % quadruplets and quintuplets. Work at Lebanon (4) reports prolificacy for the first lactation 1.76 and productivity (lambs weaned/ewes presented Table I. Prolificacy ratios (lambs born alive). Lactation Mainland Island units 1957—62 1980—86 1984—1985 1" 1.52 1.55 1.54 2"" 1.69 1.73 1.83 3rd plus 1.76 1.76 1.83 Average 1.76 1.75 1.75 Lambings 5356 3705 890 Table 2. Prolificacy ratios (Halkidiki Station). Lacta- Lambings Lambs Prolif. Lambs Prolif. tion alive + ratio born ratio dead alive I s " 885 1597 1.80 1511 1.71 2"" 573 1184 2.07 1105 1.93 3' d 316 691 2.19 638 2.02 4"> plus 290 647 2.23 584 2.01 Total or average 2064 4119 2.00 3838 1.86 Table 3. Percentage litter size (Halkidiki Station). Litter size Lambings % Total lambs per lambing alive + dead Single 641 31.1 641 Twins 924 44.8 1848 Triplets 388 18.8 1164 Quadruplets 94 4.6 376 Quintuplets 13 0.6 65 Sextuplets 4 0.2 24 Total 2064 100.0 4118 for service) 1.22. From 211 ewes in the Island, with a total of 736 parturitions and average LS 1.85 (lambs born alive), the repeatability of prolificacy was found to be r = 0.15 (38). However, heritability estimates ofLS at birth and at weaning based on 852 parturitions in two state farms in Cyprus were for lambs born, lambs born alive and lambs weaned 0.4410.12, 0.28 ±O.lO and 0.20110, respec- tively (28). These estimates are much higher than others reported in the literature. Milk production C breed combines superior fertility and high 578 Table 4. Annual milk production (post weaning), Kg. Lactation 1957—62 1979—83 1977—86 1984—86 Island Island H. Station Units N N N N 1" 461 128.9 377 165.5 886 174.7 256 137.9 2 nd 919 165.9 560 189.5 572 215.0 224 178.5 3