Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXV, Issue 1
Written by Evgeniya ACHKAKANOVA, Genoveva STAYKOVA
Subject of a scientific experiment were 16 male lambs of the Ile de France breed, divided into 2 groups of 8, with different types of birth, fattened for a period of 60 days. The aim of the experiment was to study the growth and fattening abilities of lambs with different types of birth. Live weight was recorded at birth, at 60, at 75, at 90, at 105 days and pre-slaughter live weight at 120 days. The average daily gain by groups and subperiods was calculated. The quantities of feed consumed and the residual quantities were reported daily. The data were processed by the methods of variation statistics with Data Analysis, EXCEL, 2016 by Microsoft. It was found that male twin lambs of the Ile de France breed started the experiment with 12.81% lower average live weight, but in 60 days achieved 8.74% significantly higher absolute gain of 25.312 kg, compared to the group of singles – 23.100 kg. The twins achieved a 7.42% higher average daily gain of 0.445 g compared to singles for the entire experimental period. The twin lambs achieved 1 kg increase with lower consumption, respectively by 5.57% of dry matter, 6.36% of energy and crude protein by 7.18% of the group of singles, which shows better feed utilization and the indication of compensatory growth in lambs born as twins.
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