SUMMARYEFFECTS OF DOCKING ANDDOCKrNG METHODS ON THEGROWTH AND MATlNG ABILlTYOF MOR KARAMAN (BLACKKARAMAN) FAT-TAILEDNATIVE SHEEP OF ANATOLlAMor Karaman (Black Karaman)sheep are natiye animals of Anatolia;they form the quassi-totality of sheep inTurkey. The characteristics of this breedare:1.- Cearse weel;2.-Very big, large fat-tail.The animal saves part of the supernuousnutrients which he receives duringthe abudant periods and keeps them asfat in its tail for more severe seasons ofthe year.Consequently, in order to amelioratethe quality of the wool of the abovementionedstock, an intensive cross-breedingprogram with the use of Merinorams of Central Anatolia has been underapp1ication since 1950. But owingto the fat-tail of Karaman ewes, theslender-tailed Merino rams are unabIeto jump on them; and as such, it becomesalmost always necessary to recourseto the artificiaı insemination in the frameworkai tbe cross-breeding program.Howevet, this artificial inseminationturns out to be a very difficu1t as wellas expensive method under hard conditionsthat prevail in most parts ofAnatolioSut in 'spite of the above-mentionedhandicaps, the first worker of our teamhas done a more or less sııccessfuI experimenton Mor Karaman ewe lambsby cutting their tails at first and thenmating them with merina rams. Howe-.'>er, sonn after the experiment samequestions are raised as to -1. The docking of the fat-tailed Karamanlams; and2. the effects of docking and dockingmethods produced on the rate ofgrowth and mating abilit)' of Mor Karaman ewes with merino ram lambs.There different implements havebeen used in the docking methods:-1. Burdjzzo forcepts and a knife(for cutting the taiI);2. A mbber ring (elastration ring);3. A string or cord (used for tyingthe tail).Docking the animals with burdizzoforceps and a knife was veryeasy andpracticable. The tail was squeezed withburdizzo forceps between the secondand the third node of the tail-bone, !J,ndthan was cut with a knife. Wouıidsrecovered in about 8 days.Application of the rubber ring waseasy, too. Tails that had been squeezedwith rubber rings, eventually broke downand dropped by themselves ten orfifteen days after the application of thembber ring; and wounds located in placesof articulations, recovered completely,in about twenty-one days after theapplication of the rubber ring.The third but the worst and mostpainful of aU the three docking methodswas the method where tails were tiedand squeezed with a cord or string, inartinılation places. After the tying tails97swelled and anİmals la id down, losttheir appetites, owing to the pain, till aftera fortnight when tails were separetedfrom the body by amputation.in every of the three docking methodsthe following order was observed:-i. For every method, newly-borneight ewe lambs and eight ram lambs ofMorkaraman stock were usedas experiment animals.2. The ewe and ram lambs used,aged between one and three days;3. Against 24 ram lambs and 24ewe lambs that underwent the dockingprocedure, an equal number of maleand female lambs were kept as controlgroup for corİıparison purposes.Rate of GrowthIn order to find out the effects ofevery method produced on the rate ofgrowth, lambs were weighed at an intervalof fifteen days, as from the date oftheir birth, until the end of the experiment.Besides, even after the animals hadbeeome twenty-one days old, measurementsof different parts of their bodieswere taken in every fortnihgt. Weighingand measurement proeedures eontinueduntil the end of the experiment,i. e. until 112 th day.i. Thus, we can analyse from theweight increase point of view the effectsof docking and docking methods onthe rate of growth, in this way :i. with the exception of the cordappIiedgroup lambs, the average gainof ewe lambs was generally less than98th ose of the ram lambs, and the effectsof docking and docking methods 00their weight İncrease, too, were hardlynotieeable; they were significantly moreon the ram lambs, so mueh so that, byvarious different method appIications,important differences were obser vablebetween the taiJed and the docked ones.2. In comparİson to the controlgroup and the other two docking methodgroups, in the first twenty-one-dayperiod of the experiment, the greatestgain, both in male and in female lambs,was observable in the group where thecut of the tail was done with burdiııoforeeps.3. With the exception of the cordappliedgroup, the average gain (5.10Kg.) of the other two groups was morethan that of the tailed (control) group(4,71 kg.).4. The least gain was observablein those whose tails were squeezed witha cord.ıl. As from the twenty -fİrst day,until the one hundred and twelvth day,i,e. until the weaning period or durİngthe ninty-one days of the second periodof the experiment, the greatest gainwas again at the burdiızo group, whilstthe least gain was again observable inthe eord-applied group. Thus, the resultsin the second or completing periodwere the same as those ofthe fİrst21-day period.ııı. During the experimental periodof one hundred and twelve days, theburdizzo group had a gain more than theremaining groups, i.e. the control groupand the remaining other two groups;whereas the cord-applied group had theleast gain. Statistically, differences ınlive weight gap were singificant.There were no dilIerences betweenthe ewe lambs of the (tailed) controlgroup and those of the docked (group).Measurement!:.Effect of docking and docking methodsproduced on the body growth, i.e., onbody length, on withers height, on heartgjrth, on width and depth ofchest, wereexamined one by one, with the followingresults:1. Docking and docking methodshad little effect 011 the ewe lambs fromthe increase poin t ofview of body measurements.How ever, the ewc lambsof the cord-applied group showed a slowerdevelopment in their mesurements.2. In ram lambs of all the doekedgroups. the most conspicuous elIect ofdoeking and docking methods was seenon the chest dept. In comparison tocontrol group, chest-depth in dockedones, was more developped; width ofchest, hearth girth, withers height, lengtho f body, width and heigbt increased aswell, in the docked ram lambs. Statisticaııy, however, these were insigni ficant.Mating abilityDoeking had eaused a confortableapproaeh of merinos ram with M orkaraınanewes at moments of mating andruled out insemination problems.84,3%of all the doeked ewes produeed lambsunder this normal condition.