Effect of weaning system on lamb growth and commercial milk production of Awassi dairy sheep

To determine the effect of weaning system on Awassi sheep milk production and lamb growth, 68 Awassi ewes and their lambs (n=104) were assigned to one of the following treatment groups: a) after 3 days from birth (MIX), ewes were separated from their lambs during the evening for 15 h and milked once daily in the morning, their lambs were allowed to suckle for 9 h during the day or b) ewes were not milked, they were suckled by their lambs (DY60) during the first 60 days of lactation. All lambs were weaned at 60 days of age and the ewes were milked twice daily. Average lactation lengths (including suckling and milking) were similar in both groups (171.21+/-5.40 and 168.36+/-4.87 days, respectively). Differences between MIX and DY60 group in commercial milk yield (103.25+/-7.93 and 63.59+/-5.41 kg, respectively) and milk fat yield (5.88+/-0.64 and 3.62+/-0.31 kg, respectively) were highly significant. Growth performance of lambs was similar in both groups, however, male lambs grew significantly faster than female lambs. The effect of birth type at 210 days of age for the female lambs in MIX group was significant. Our results show that Awassi lambs can be successfully reared in MIX suckling system and ewes produce more commercial milk than in the traditional rearing system.