Abstract
The study analysed smallholder fatteners’ preference for breed of sheep attributes under feedlot
system in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria. A Snowball sampling technique was used to select 70 sheep
fatteners. Five locations were purposively selected due to high concentration of sheep fatteners
operators. Primary data was collected through the use of structured questionnaire and was
subjected to descriptive statistics. The results revealed that all (100%) of the fatteners were male
and most (84.3%) of the fatteners were married. The average age and years of fattening experience
of the respondents were 46 and 26 years respectively, with average household size of 10 persons
and a mean flock size of 8. Majority (61.4%) of the sheep fatteners received western education and
85.7% of the sheep fatteners belonged to farmer cooperatives. The management practices carried
out by the sheep fatteners were feeding, watering, housing, animal health treatment and fattening
duration. Also, the result shows that almost all (95.9%) of the sheep fatteners preferred the Uda
and Balami breeds of sheep to any other breed because of the Carcass quality, body size, skin
type/colour, horn type, tail type and type of ear. The study concluded that Uda and Balami were
the most preferred breeds by fatteners in the study area. High cost of feed (100%) ranked as first
constraint followed by pest and disease problems and insecurity with 94.3% each and high cost of
medication (93%). The study recommends that provision of adequate and affordable feed and
medication, veterinary services to carter for pest and diseases and improvement in security are
essential in improving sheep fattening enterprise.
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