DETERMINATION OF NUTRITIONAL-REQUIREMENTS OF GROWING HAIR SHEEP

Data from five experiments with growing Pelibuey sheep in a tropical environment were used to study some factors affecting dry matter intake (DMI) and to estimate metabolizable energy requirements. DMI was affected (P < 0.01) by live weight (LW) and energy density of the diet (EDD): DMI = -126.18 + 27.5 LW + 0.26 EDD. Metabolizable energy requirement was estimated (r2 = 0.43) from: average daily weight gain (g) = -83.11 + 13.2 LW -0.28 LW2 + 0.111 MEI + 0.25 CPI -0.26 DMI, where MEI and CPI are daily metabolizable energy and crude protein intakes in kcal and g, respectively; LW is in kg. DMI and energy requirements obtained with this equation were higher in comparison with those proposed by other authors that have worked with wool sheep in temperate environments. This difference could be attributed to the fact that this breed of sheep has never been submitted to a genetic program to improve growth and body composition.