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Malpura sheep (Rajasthan mutton-type)

Malpura is a medium-sized mutton-type sheep breed of central Rajasthan, registered with the ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR). It is the principal indigenous mutton sheep used by the ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (CSWRI) at Avikanagar — the institute is located inside the Malpura breeding tract — and is the dam-line in several Indian mutton and prolificacy improvement programmes.

Origin and distribution

The breeding tract centres on Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Ajmer and Bhilwara districts of central Rajasthan. The tract is semi-arid with annual rainfall of 400-600 mm, supporting groundnut, bajra, jowar, mustard and pulses cultivation and seasonal grazing on harvested fields and on ber, neem and khejri lopping. Flocks are managed by the Raika, Gujar and Sindhi-Sipahi households as a complement to crop cultivation.

Morphology

Malpura sheep are medium-sized with a long, deep body and a typical mutton conformation. The face is light brown, the body fleece off-white with light-brown spots in some animals. The body coat is coarse and hairy rather than woolly. Ears are medium and slightly drooping. Both sexes are usually polled. The tail is short and thin. Adult body weight averages 36-42 kg in rams and 28-32 kg in ewes — heavier than most Rajasthani carpet-wool sheep.

Performance

Malpura is reared primarily for mutton; the coarse fleece is of low commercial value. Annual greasy fleece yield is around 0.8-1.0 kg, taken in two shearings. Lambing is single, with an annual lambing interval and age at first lambing of 18-22 months. Post-weaning growth is rapid: well-fed ram lambs reach 30-35 kg at 6 months and are heavily traded for the festival ram market (Ram Fattening Bakrid). Carcass dressing percentage is 48-52 percent.

Management

Flocks are managed under a mix of stationary village grazing and seasonal local migration. ICAR-CSWRI Avikanagar runs a long-term Malpura selection programme for body weight at 6 months and has used Malpura as the recipient breed in FecB introgression from Garole (Garole Fecb Prolificacy Gene) to create the prolific GMM synthetic strain. PPR (Ppr Vaccination Detailed) and structured small-ruminant vaccination (Small Ruminant Vaccination Schedule) anchor the herd-health calendar; sheep pox and contagious ecthyma are recurring losses.

See also: Marwari sheep, Chokla sheep, FecB prolificacy gene, Ram fattening for Bakrid.

Sources

  1. Malpura — NBAGR breed descriptor. ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.
  2. Malpura sheep improvement programme. ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar.