The experiment was carried out with the objective of evaluating the weight gain, intake of nutrients, and the apparent digestibility of diets based on spineless cactus in native ewes in feedlot system in Brazilian semiarid region. Two spineless cactus feeding strategies were evaluated: spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) separated from the Tifton hay + concentrated mixture, and with Tifton hay mixture + concentrate. It was used forty native breed ewes (Barriga Preta, Cara Curta, Cariri and Morada Nova), with average initial body weight of 36.76 kg, distributed in a complete randomized design in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme (four breed and two feeding strategies). The genotypes and feeding strategies neutral fiber detergent had effect on the average intake of neutral fiber detergent and total digestible nutrient, and on the coefficients of neutral fiber detergent. Genotypes affect weight gain and food conversion in ewes fed spineless cactus diets since Cariri and Cara curta breeds show greater weight gain.
intake; feeding management; sheep without fleece; weight gain
