The place and potential for sheep em tropical and subtropical regions; Available genetic resources: the origin and classification of the world's sheep; Improvement programs; Nutrient requirement of hair sheep in tropical and subtropical regions; Forage resources in northeast Brazil: their value and management; Supplemental feed resources and their utilization by hair sheep; Reproduction in sheep; Herd health management of sheep in the semiarid tropics; Facilities and installations for hair sheep production; Products and marketing; Tropical sheep production systems; Some suggestions for improved productivity through management; Recommendations for further research.

Perhaps less than 10 percent of the world's sheep have hair coats instead of wool fleeces, but as an animal resource, these sheep are important far out of proportion to their numbers. Hair coats provide an advantage in the face of the heat, humidity, and other stresses of the tropics. Small in body size, early to mature, and often highly prolific,

Projects for the development of small ruminant production, particularly sheep production, are now underway in many countries in tropical Africa. While this trend is occurring in all climatic zones, it is especially so in the humid and subhumid tropics, where disease and social and psychological factors may be major impediments to the development of cattle or pig production. There is therefore a growing need for information on sheep production in tropical regions.

The aim of this book is to collect all available informations about sheep production to improve traditional methods. Most of the previous sheep books have concentrated on wool, but the emphasis in the present book is more in lamb with trend of the increasing importance of meat and milk from sheep. It is hoped that this book will be able to fill a gap in the literature for the students of sheep production, working for their graduate and post-graduate degrees in the field of veterinary and agricultural sciences. It is hoped that the book should also meet the need of the great number of those with veterinary and agricultural degrees in every walk of life-farmers and advisors alike. It is also hoped that it will provide reference materials and additional self study guide for research workers and veterinary practitioners.

In the sub-tropical hot region, the sheep are either fat- or thin-tailed. The fat-tailed sheep represent about 20-25% of the world s sheep population and are concentrated mainly in the very dry parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, although they are raised in many countries throughout the world. Among the thin-tailed in the same region, there are some prolific breeds such as the D man in Morocco, Chios in Cyprus (and Greece), Javanese in Indonesia, Horro in Ethiopia, Hu-Yang in China and Priangan (the rams are used for fighting in some areas) in Java. Efforts can be focused on developing effective programs that could help to optimize sheep productivity by increasing awareness of both the potential and the limitations of their production.

This book describes the major components of sheep production and ecology and reviews the "sheep environment," including aspects of climate, vegetation, disease, wildlife, and socioeconomic factors. The major breeds and types relevant to the tropics are described in terms of the main biological characteristics that affect productivity. Also examined are the techniques required in applying the principles of genetics, nutrition, disease prevention, and economics to sheep production systems.