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The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of metabolizable energy intake (MEI) on changes in fat depots of adult Pelibuey ewes fed roughage diets under tropical conditions. Eighteen 3-year-old Pelibuey ewes with similar body weight (BW) of 37.6 ± 4.0 kg and body condition score (BCS) of 2.5 ± 0.20 were randomly assigned to three groups of six ewes each in a completely randomized design. Ewes were housed in metabolic crates and fed three levels of MEI: low (L), medium (M), and high (H) for 65 days to achieve different BW and BCS. At the end of the experiment, the ewes were slaughtered. Data recorded at slaughter were: weights of viscera and carcass. Internal fat (IF, internal adipose tissue) was dissected, weighed, and grouped as pelvic (around kidneys and pelvic region), omental, and mesenteric regions. Carcass was split at the dorsal midline in two equal halves, weighed, and chilled at 6°C during 24 h. After refrigeration, the left half of the carcass was completely dissected into subcutaneous and intermuscular fat (carcass fat). Dissected carcass fat (CF) of the left carcass was adjusted as whole carcass. At low levels of MEI, proportion of IF and CF was approximately 50%; however, as the MEI was increased, the proportion of IF was increased up to 57% and 60% for M and H, respectively. Omental and pelvic fat depots were those which increased in a larger proportion with respect to the mesenteric fat depot. Regression equations between the weight of each body fat depot and BW had a coefficient of determination (r (2)) that ranged between 0.37 for mesenteric fat and 0.87 for CF. The regression with BCS had a r (2) that ranged between 0.57 for mesenteric and 0.71 for TBF. BW was the best predictor for TBF, CF, omental fat, and pelvic fat; whereas, BCS was better than BW in predicting IF and mesenteric fat. Inclusion of both BW and BCS in multiple regressions improved the prediction for all fat depots, except for pelvic fat, which was best estimated by BCS alone. The greater slope of the regression for the pelvic fat depot equation, relative to TBF (1.40), EBW (4.02), and BCS (2.36), suggested that pelvic fat has a greater capacity to accumulate and mobilize fat. These results indicated that adult Pelibuey ewes seem to store a considerable proportion of absorbed energy in the IF depots rather than in the carcass.

Pre-weaning is an important stage in sheep production systems focussed on meat production. In this stage, maternal ability has a key role in lamb development and productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of breed and litter size at birth on the ewe and lamb pre-weaning performance under tropical conditions. The lambs and their dams were managed in a feedlot system during 56 days in individual pens. Milk production was estimated weekly by the weight-suck-weight method. Daily milk production (DMY), total milk production (TMY), body weight change during the lactation (BWC), litter weaning weight (LWW) and ewe weaning efficiency (EE) were estimated as ewe pre-weaning performance; and, birth weight, weaning weight at 56 days and average daily gain were estimated as lamb pre-weaning performance. Katahdin ewes produced more TMY than Pelibuey ewes (p < .001) but ewes from both breeds had similar overall LWW and EE. Pelibuey ewes had a more negative BWC than Kathadin ewes (p < .05). Katahdin lambs had greater birth weights (p < .05), but similar preweaning growth and live weight at weaning compared with Pelibuey lambs. Litter size effect was significant for all the traits except for BWC in both breeds. Compared to Katahdin twin-born lambs, Pelibuey twin-born lambs were lighter at birth but of similar weight at weaning. Litter size is an important factor conditioning pre-weaning performance of ewes and lambs of Pelibuey and Katahdin breeds under humid tropical conditions. HIGHLIGHTS Some indicators of ewe and lamb pre-weaning performance of Pelibuey and Katahdin hair sheep under tropical conditions were evaluated. The Katahdin ewes produced more milk than Pelibuey ewes, yet ewes from both breeds had similar litter weaning weight. Litter size is an important factor determining pre-weaning performance in Pelibuey and Katahdin hair sheep breeds under humid tropical conditions. ARTICLE HISTORY

The objective was to evaluate the reproductive performance and productivity of Pelibuey ewes in two flocks in Southeastern Mexico. Animals grazed on irrigated star grass (Cynodon plectostachyus). In flock 1, lambs grazed with their mothers from 7 to 70 days of age (weaning age), whereas in flock 2, they were confined and offered chopped grass, a commercial concentrated and managed under restricted suckling until weaning at 60 days of age.. The statistical model included the fixed effects of flock, year and season of lambing, parity number, litter size at weaning, first order interactions and the random effects of ewe and the error term. The means ± SD for age at first lambing, prolificacy, lambing interval (LI), weaning weight, and productivity were 477 ± 85.5 days, 1.41 ± 0.51 lambs, 255.9 ± 51.8 days, 16.5 ± 4 kg, and 18.1 ± 4.42 kg of lamb weaned, respectively. Repeatability estimates for the latter four traits were 0.09, 0.07, 0.11, and 0.13, respectively. All main effects in the models were significant (P < 0.001), except for year on LI. Prolificacy and productivity increased with parity number. The shortest LI was in the rainy season. Ewes with two or three lambs produced 8 and 14 kg of lamb more at weaning than single lamb ewes. In conclusion, reproductive performance and productivity could be improved, and the low repeatability estimates suggest that management should be used in a short term rather than genetic approaches.

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