{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T18:18:42Z","timestamp":1787681922271,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The study evaluated the morphometric traits, productive, and reproductive performance of Sipli sheep in Punjab, Pakistan, aiming to provide a baseline for breed characterization, management, and breeding strategies. The study was conducted at the Sheep Breeding Centre, involving the collection of morphometric data, productive traits (wool and milk), and reproductive parameters. Morphometric measurements, including body length, height at withers, and heart girth, were taken on 35 rams and 47 ewes. Wool samples (n\u2009=\u200933) were collected bi-annually from the same sheep during autumn and spring to assess fiber diameter, length, staple length, and wool yield. Milk yield and composition were analyzed from 14 ewes. Reproductive data, including pregnancy rates, birth type, and lambing rates, were collected during the spring and autumn seasons of 2021 and 2022. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson\u2019s correlation, and ANOVA with Duncan\u2019s multiple range test, in addition to evaluating four non-linear growth models (Brody, Von Bertalanffy, Gompertz, and Logistic) for growth curve analysis. Results revealed that rams had significantly larger body dimensions than ewes. The study showed a highly significant (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.001) positive correlation between body length and diagonal body length (r\u2009=\u20090.814) and height at withers (r\u2009=\u20090.774) in rams. In lambs, body length increased with age, with a substantial reduction in the coefficient of variation, from 12.22% at 1\u20133 months to 8.81% at 10\u201312 months. The Brody model provided the best fit (R\u00b2adj\u2009=\u20090.6267; RMSE\u2009=\u200914.941) for growth curve analysis. Male lambs showed consistently higher weights than female lambs (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.005) across all ages. Rams had a significantly higher medullated fiber content (19.27%) compared to ewes (12.56%), with autumn-sheared wool exhibiting thicker fiber diameters (34.94 \u00b5m). The pregnancy rate was 78% in the spring of 2021 and significantly reduced to 53.06% in the autumn of the same year. The highest lambing rate of 143.48% was observed in spring 2022. The study concluded that Sipli sheep demonstrate significant sexual dimorphism and the Brody model effectively described the growth dynamics in this breed. Environmental factors like the year of birth and seasons significantly impacted growth and reproduction. Male lambs and single births showed improved growth, with seasonal effects on wool production and significant variations in reproductive traits. These findings provide a basis for breeding practices by considering key phenotypic characters and their association with body weight. In the future, it is recommended that environmental effects should be included in selection programs to optimize growth performance, alongside further genetic studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0355695","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T17:24:09Z","timestamp":1787678649000},"page":"e0355695","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluation of morphometric traits and productive and reproductive performance of Sipli sheep in Punjab, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-7603-7874","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Aqsa","family":"Rubab","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mushtaq Hussain","family":"Lashari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Musarrat Abbas","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mubarra","family":"Anam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shazia","family":"Tahreem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"reference":[{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355695.ref001","article-title":"Rural households\u2019 livelihood adaptation strategies in the face of changing climate: a case study from Pakistan","volume":"10","author":"NA Khan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0355695.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.1007\/s11250-024-04246-x","article-title":"Pakistan sheep industry its constrains and future trends","volume":"56","author":"N Ahmad","year":"2024","journal-title":"Trop Anim Health Prod"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0355695.ref003","article-title":"Goat production systems in Punjab, Pakistan","volume":"25","author":"M Muhammad","year":"2015","journal-title":"JAPS: J Animal Plant Sci"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355695.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.3844\/ajavsp.2020.291.299","article-title":"Population, world production and quality of sheep and goat products","volume":"15","author":"M Mazinani","year":"2020","journal-title":"Am J Animal Vet Sci"},{"key":"pone.0355695.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100250","DOI":"10.1016\/j.egg.2024.100250","article-title":"The role of reproductive technologies and cryopreservation of genetic materials in the conservation of animal genetic resources","volume":"31","author":"A Engdawork","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ecological Genetics and Genomics"},{"key":"pone.0355695.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107208","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smallrumres.2024.107208","article-title":"Adaptive, morphometric and productive responses of Brazilian hair lambs: Crossing between indigenous breeds - A machine learning approach","volume":"232","author":"RMF Silveira","year":"2024","journal-title":"Small Ruminant Res"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355695.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.1002\/jez.2765","article-title":"A preliminary study on the dynamics of serum color in perspective to hemoglobin and bilirubin in indigenous sheep of Pakistan","volume":"341","author":"M Idris","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Exp Zool Part A: Ecol Integrative Physiol"},{"key":"pone.0355695.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/jas\/skae038","article-title":"Comparison between multiple-trait and random regression models for genetic evaluation of weight traits in Australian meat sheep","volume":"102","author":"U Paneru","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Anim Sci"},{"key":"pone.0355695.ref009","unstructured":"Qureshi ZI, Farid AH, Babar ME, Tanveer Hussain TH. 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