Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of breed and some non-genetic factors on the weight at birth. This study was carried out on eighty four Libyan Barbary lambs and their crosses Sudanese Kababish at a private sheep farm at Misurata region northern Libya, during the spring and autumn of 2020. The lambs were weighed immediately after birth. SPSS statistical program was used to estimate the effect of breed, sex of lamb, season of lambing and type of birth. The results showed `that the breed, sex of lamb and type of birth are important factors that affect birth weight (P<0.05), while the effect of season of birth on birth weight was not significant (P>0.05). The average birth weight for Libyan Barbary sheep and hybrids for spring and autumn births were 3.98 ± 0.89, 4.78 ± 0.90, 4.38 ± 0.84, 4.38 ± 1.1 kg, respectively, and the average birth weight for single births, twins, males and females were 4.58. ± 1.00, 4.16 ± 0.91, 4.59 ± 0.95, 4.01 ± 0.94 kg, respectively. It was concluded that consideration of non-genetic factors to design management strategies in combination with genetic selection strategies to improve future performance of the herd.