Performance of goats and sheep grazing in Brazilian semi-arid scrubland supplemented with feed-blocks

Abstract

The performance of four types of animals (two ovine and two caprine) was evaluated under grazing/browsing in Brazilian Caatinga scrubland, with ad libitum feed-block supplementation. Forty noncastrated males with an initial body weight of 19.3 ± 1.9 kg were used: 20 goats (10 Savanna x local undefined breed [LUB]) and 10 Boer x LUB and 20 sheep (10 Santa-Inês x local undefined hair sheep [LUHS]) breed and 10 Dorper x LUHS. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks with four treatments and ten replications. The genotypes were compared based on growth performance and carcass characteristics. The ½ Dorper sheep had a better productive performance than the ½ Santa-Inês sheep. For goats, the ½ Boer was superior to ½ Savanna in daily gain and final body weight (P>0.05). The ½ Dorper sheep gave the best carcass characteristics of all genotypes studied. In conclusion, the Dorper (sheep) and Boer (goats) are the genotypes recommended for crossing with local animals of undefined breeds to provide animals for finishing under grazing/browsing conditions in the Caatinga ecosystem of northeast Brazil with feed-block supplementation.