A question of Brazilian ranchers is to identify the genotype of sheep and goats that will be most productive when finished on native rangeland in the semi-arid region (Caatinga) of northeast Brazil. Therefore, the performance of lambs and kids supplemented with protein blocks was evaluated under grazing/browsing on Brazilian Caatinga scrubland conditions. Forty non-castrated males with an initial average body weight of 19.3± 1.9 kg were used: 20 goats (10 Savanna breed and 10 Boer breed) and 20 sheep (10 Santa-Inês breed and 10 Dorper breed). The experimental design was a complete randomized block with four treatments and ten replications. The animals were allowed to graze in the Caatinga until they achieved 30 kg of body weight. The available forage in the pastures was 1015 kg DM-1 ha-1 and forage quality was DM=46.37%; CP=11.37% and NDF=47.53%. The animals were supplemented ad-libitum with the protein block (DM=89%, CP=24% and ME=2.4Mcal). Blocks composition was: 31% molasses, 5% urea, 18% corn, 4% soybean, 5% salt, 2% mineral-mix, 9% hydrated lime and 26% malt. The stocking rate of each pasture was determined using the forage available at the beginning of the study and 60% of utilization. Animal performance was evaluated using Average Daily Gain (ADG) data. The Dorper breed had a greater ADG (P>0.05) than the Santa-Inês breed, (151 and 114 g day-1, respectively). Supplemental block intake was 151.6 g day-1 and 240 g day-1. for Dorper and Santa-Inês respectively. The Boer goats were superior to the Savana breed in ADG (130 and 92.8 g day-1, respectively). Boer goats consumed 281 g day-1, whereas, the Savana goats consumed 188 g day1 from the supplemental block. The variables evaluated in this research, showed that performance of the Dorper sheep and Boer goats was greater (P>0.05) than that of the Santa-Inês sheep and Savana goats. Therefore, Dorper (sheep) and Boer (goats) are the genotypes recommended for finishing when supplemented with Feed-block under grazing/browsing in the Caatinga ecosystem in northeast Brazil.
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