IMPACT OF FEED SHORTAGE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF DESERT BARKI SHEEP AND GOATS UNDER ARID CONDITIONS: I. SHORT AND MEDIUM FEED SHORTAGE PERIODS

Document Type : Original Article

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Animal production research institute (APRI), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Arid and semi-arid areas are characterized by frequent incidence of hot drought waves, and consequently shortage in feed availability, which affects the performance of sheep and goats raised there. The present study investigates the effect of feed shortage (FS) on the performance of Barki desert sheep (BS) and goats (BG) under hot dry conditions. Two trials were conducted:1) one week feed shortage (WFS),2) one month feed shortage (MFS).
Body weight (BW)of treated (T)desert Barki ewes and does decrease significantly (P<0.01) with WFS, through the mobilization of their body fat reserves, including fat-tail, to provide nutrients for milk production   to feed their offspring. Total milk yield (TMY)of T ewes also decreased significantly with FS. Treated desert sheep and goats expressed compensatory BW gain, once returned to normal feeding.
The MFS significantly decreased BW of the treated ewes by 8.7 kg and milk yield by15.9 kg than the control (C) group. Treated Barki does lost 4.4 kg of their BW and 13.1kg of their TMY, with wide variation in the lactation curve. Persistency in milk production was higher in Barki sheep than that in Barki goats, a desirable character for desert animals. Desert Barki sheep and goats can tolerate feed shortage for a period up to one month, with significant impact on their production performance.

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