This trial was conducted to evaluate production levels of native breed ewes of Northeast Brazil mated to rams of specialized meat-type breeds. A total of 305 lambings from 134 ewes over three periods of mating were used to determine weaning rate, survival rate and live weight at weaning and total weight of weaned lamb. The hairsheep ewes were mated in a rotational scheme of the use of rams from Santa Inês, Hampshire-Down, Ile-de-France, Suffolk and Texel breeds. Live weight at weaning did not differ among lamb genotypes. Weaning rate was lower for Suffolk and Texel crossbred lambs. Whereas, the lowest survival rates were observed for Hampshire-Down and Ile-de-France crossbred lambs. There was a compensatory effect among the weight at birth, weaning weight; weaning and survival rate, so that the total weight of weaned lamb did not differ among lamb genotypes except for Hampshire Down crossbred, due to its lower survival rate (71.4%) as compared to Ile-de-France crossbred lambs. The mating throughout the rainy season accounted for the decreased levels of productivity of the ewes. The Santa Inês hairsheep lamb performance compared to the other specialized meat-type sheep breeds and could be indicated as ram breed in crossbreeding programs for hairsheep in Northeast Brazil.
sheep; crossbreeding; weaning
