Abstract

The objective was to assess the productive performance of hair sheep fed with fresh orange peel through gain weight from birth until weaning on three hair sheep breeds. The experiment was conducted at the Zootechnic post of the Engineering and Science Faculty in Güemez, Tamaulipas, Mexico. 74 Blackbelly sheep (n = 19), Katahdin (n = 24) and Pelibuey (n = 31) were placed randomly in three pens and three levels of supplementation (300, 450 and 600 g per animal-1 day-1). The lambs' weight was registered at birth and at 60 days of age, as well as the daily weight gain pre-weaning. None of the variables were affected (P > 0.05) by the genotype and supplementation level or by the genotype interaction with the supplement, except the weight at weaning by the type of delivery (P < 0.05). The average birth weight, weaning weight and daily weight gain pre-weaning were 2.50 ± 0.15, 9.25 ± 1.57 and 0.11 ± 0.01 kg respectively. It is concluded that the genotype and the supplementation level did not affect the productive performance of the lambs of hair breeds.

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