Sheep Breed Variations: Effects on Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility

Background: In Saudi Arabia, sheep are the majority of the livestock population, although it imported by large numbers to meet their people demands. The shortage between production and consumption in order to reduce the import proportions of sheep meat is our aim in this study through the evaluation effect of Saudi sheep breeds on feed intake, growth performance, digestibility and nitrogen utilization. Methods: Forty-five intact male sheep, comprising the Awassi, Harri and Najdi breeds (approximately 23.4±2 kg), were used in this research. Three breed sheep groups, each consisting of 15 animals, were established. At the end of the 12-week growth period, five animals from each group were selected for digestibility and nitrogen balance trials. Result: The results indicated that sheep breed significantly (p less than 0.05) affected final live weight, average daily feed intake, average daily gain and feed conversion ratio. However, there was no significant effect (p greater than 0.05) of breed on the digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, crude fiber, nitrogen-free extract, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber. Similarly, no significant differences were observed between breeds in terms of digestible organic matter, digestible crude protein, total digestible nutrients and nitrogen retention. In conclusion, the sheep breeds influenced average daily feed intake, average daily gain and feed conversion ratio, with the Awassi breed demonstrating the best performance regarding average daily gain and feed conversion ratio.