Development of Efficient Industrial Crossbreeding Methods in Sheep to Maximize Heterosis Effect

The article presents the results of studies on rams of the meat breeds Dorper (in the North Kazakhstan and Abai regions) and Suffolk (in the Abai region) when crossed with ewes of the Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool and Edilbay breeds. The aim of the study was to investigate the meat productivity and meat quality of crossbred lambs at the age of 4–4.5 months. Additionally, the morphological composition of the carcasses was determined. It was found that all variants of industrial crossbreeding ensured an improvement in meat productivity indicators compared to purebred animals. In the “Dorper × Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool” cross, an increase in the proportion of lean meat in the carcass (82.7%), the meat yield coefficient (4.68), and a reduction in fat-tail size were observed. The “Dorper × Edilbay” cross provided the highest lean meat yield (82.9%) and meat yield coefficient (4.86), as well as an improvement in carcass marketability due to the uniform distribution of fat. The use of Suffolk rams on Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool ewes led to an increase in carcass yield, lean meat content (81.2%), meat yield coefficient (4.32), and the absence of a fat-tail. The results confirm that industrial crossbreeding with Dorper and Suffolk rams effectively enhances the meat traits of the offspring, improves the commercial characteristics of the carcasses, and contributes to increased economic efficiency of mutton production.