Within this wide geographical zone are variation in type. The mature rams have heavy white mane. Sheep and goat have a great role in the economy of the pastoral communities which have inhabited in the lowland parts Ethiopia. Domestic sheep had reached Egypt and other parts of North Africa by 5000 BC (Epstein 1971). Until the third Millennium BC, the hairy thin-tailed sheep was the only type of sheep on the African continent. Dressing %: 54%. The males have horns while the females are hornless. The breed is free of wool, polled, and of a distinctive red-brown color with black belly and badger face pattern. Twenty rams weighing an average of 15.3 ± 0.79 kg live weight and with an average age of 18 months were allotted at random to five dietary treatments of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% maize hay (MH) for a period of 105 days. The west African dwarf sheep is widely distributed in the southern Nigeria, the breed is small compact hardy breed with a wide range of coat-colour which may be all white, black or brown or spotted black or brown on a white coat. Photo courtesy of: Susan Schoenian . The breed’s U.S. population has increased from 100 sheep in 2004 to over 1700 registered animals in 2017. Studies on the relationship of body weight with the linear body measurements of the West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep were carried out at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) outstation located in Ubiaja, Edo stati of Nigeria. Some of the ewes have wattles. They are also called “West African” in Trinidad but in Barbados would be described as an off-colour variety of the Blackbelly. Average Birth Weight (Lbs): 8.0 lbs. • average weight: ewes 32-43 kg and rams 50-60 kg 2.3.4 West African • Originated from West Africa • reddish brown or rust in colour with the under parts, inner sides of the legs, ears and face of a lighter colour • long-legged and dwarf types • low twinning rate (1.15 - 1.50 lambs/lambing) • average weight: ewes 25 kg; and rams 37 kg Mature live weight are 30 to 45kg in rams and 25 to 40 kg in ewes. ST. CROIX. A sixty-three day study with twenty West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep aged 8-9 months with average live weight of 9.98±0.21kg was carried out to determine feed intake and weight gain when a sole diet of fresh forage of Pennisetum purpureum was replaced at five levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) with fresh leaves of mulberry (Morus alba). Origin: Developed in the Virgin Islands for crosses of West African hair sheep and Wiltshire Horn. Barbados Blackbelly sheep, of predominantly West African origin, were imported into the United States in the early 1900s. This breed referred to as dwarf because it is small and has short legs. Data for West African Dwarf goat and Djallonké sheep included birth weight (BW), weaning weight (W120), yearling weight (W360), pre-weaning (GR0–4) and post-weaning (GR4–12) growth rate. West African Dwarf Sheep: The breed is found in the whole area south of Latitude 14°N. A study was conducted to determine the growth performance and meat yield and quality of West African dwarf sheep. It is small and short-legged. Mature weights are 25 – 40 kg for ewes and 35 – 50 kg for rams. Weight Gain/Daily: 0.57 lbs under intensive production. Body weight was studied from birth to 5½ years of age and six linear measures of body size from birth to 4¼ years for sheep of five breeds, Scottish Blackface, Cheviot, Welsh Mountain, Lincoln Longwool and Southdown, and of crosses of these breeds with each other and with the Tasmanian Merino, but not in all possible combinations. Market Weight/Live/Age: 80 – 110 lbs / 5.5 – 6 months. The study was conducted in Borana low land southern Ethiopia to predict the body weight of blackhead Somali (BHS) sheep using linear body measurements under farm condition. The rams carry horns.