Black belly sheep breeding exercise sees success – GLDA

…over 300 lamb births recorded locally

Since the arrival of some 707 Black Belly Sheep from Barbados, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) has been able to breed over 100 Of the 367 local births, there were 104 single births, 109 twin births, nine triplets and two sets of quadruplet sheep birth.
Additionally, a total of 95 sheep were recently impregnated, and of that number 89 pregnancies were confirmed.
These figures were provided by GLDA to a visiting team of Agriculture Engineers from the Barbados, who were assigned to conduct an assessment of the project.
During a presentation, GLDA Extension Officer Trishanna Allen informed the delegation that the agency utilizes a grouping method when breeding animals. This requires them to group the sheep in batches of 15 per pen with one Ram for 14 days.
However, she explained that while this method is successful, due to challenges associated with availability of labour and other climate related factors, GLDA was forced to implement a number of new measures to care for the new born lambs.
This includes moderate isolation and having them foster fed in the cubicles in which they are kept.
“Feeding has a direct impact on the growth rate, production capacity and health status of the animal…Presently we are utilizing a total mix ration and this carries significant importance and benefits for the overall heath and productivity of the animals. Our team provides a balanced diet by combining various ingredients such as grain, protein sources and supplements in precise proportions tailored to meet the specific nutritional needs of the Barbados black belly sheep,” Allen explained.
Meanwhile, Consultant to the Government of Barbados, Dr. Leroy McLean says the Barbados Government is pleased with the progress recorded thus far, and believes the project is on a “positive upward trajectory”.
However, as it related to the arrival of the last batch of 293 black belly sheep from Barbados to Guyana, McLean explained that Barbados plans to delay the transfer due to Guyana’s drought like weather condition.
“To move the animal from Barbados to Guyana and you have drought condition, the stress of moving and then having this heat and lack of vegetation that might be detrimental to the animal. So, we will probably wait until the weather changes before we bring the next set,” McLean said.
McLean added that the Barbados and Guyana Governments will be participating in a series of research exchange in the meantime. This is geared towards expanding the project in both countries.
The Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) is currently utilizing a state-of-the-art data management software called Data Mars Livestock, to keep track of every animal in the programme.
According to Allen, maintaining and tracking data throughout the chain is crucial to the expansion of this project, as Guyana fulfills its commitment to aid in the reduction of the regional food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
“The data transformed should be stored in a secured and immutable manner and this is what Data Mars does for us, it cannot be altered, as long as that data is clocked into the system nobody can go in and tamper with it. So, this gives us a real clear picture our data set,” Allen added.
Black Belly Sheep project
The first cargo of 132 sheep, including 20 rams and 112 ewes, landed in Guyana in August, 2022.
The programme was launched with an estimated $600 million (US$3 million) investment from the administration, and a flock of 1,000 sheep is slated to arrive.
The Black Belly Sheep breed is primarily raised for meat and other high-demand by-products.
The establishment of the project in Guyana and Barbados will allow the Caribbean to develop its own brand, replacing the New Zealand lamb and Australian lamb that are being imported to this side of the globe.
It will also allow Caribbean Member states to cut CARICOM’s food import costs by 25 per cent by 2025. (G1)