The Post-weaning Growth of Lambs from Crossbreeding Between Garut Ewes with Dorper Rams

This study investigates the performance of post-weaning growth of Garut lambs and the results of crossing Garut ewes with Dorper rams. This research phase occurred in the postweaning phase period of 3–7 months using 168 lambs consisting of 85 Garut lambs and 83 crossed Dorper lambs in the post-weaning phase with an average body weight of 15.15±3.23 kg. The lambs were assigned to a factorial completely randomized design (2 x 2 factorial experiment). They were then divided into two groups based on breed (Garut and Crossed Dorper) and two sex groups (male and female). Data observed included feed consumption, as fed feed consumption, dry matter (DM) consumption, DM consumption per body weight, crude protein (CP) consumption, total digestible nutrient (TDN) consumption, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion. Results showed that consumption of as fed, DM, CP, TDN, and ADG were higher (P<0.05) in crossed Dorper lambs than in Garut lambs; a total ADG of crossed Dorper, Garut, male, and female lambs were 106.92±11.68, 79.25±10.02, 102.49±17.54, and 86.79±14.48 g/day, respectively. Male lambs showed higher results (P<0.05) in as-fed feed consumption, DM, DM consumption per body weight, CP, TDN, and ADG than female lambs. The feed conversion of crossed Dorper lamb and male lamb was lower (P<0.05) than that of Garut and female lamb. There was an interaction between male breed and sex at seven months ADG and feed conversion at 4 and 7 months. Sheep from Garut ewes crossed with Dorper rams improved the growth performance of their offspring. © 2024 Universiti Putra Malaysia. All rights reserved.