Improving performance of Zackel sheep through cross-breeding with prolific Bluefaced Leicester under semi-intensive and extensive production systems

The aim of the current research was to evaluate the effects of cross-breeding Romanian indigenous Turcana (TA) ewes belonging to the Zackel breed group with prolific Bluefaced Leicester (BL) rams on the performance and reproduction rates of F ₁ cross-bred descendants under semi-intensive and extensive production systems. The UK stratified sheep production system was applied for the development of the cross-breeding scheme. F ₁ Bluefaced Leicester×Turcana (F ₁BL×TA) cross-bred ewes proved to be highly precocious and registered an average fertility rate of 94.7% when mated as ewe lambs, compared with 9.52% (p ≤0.001) of the pure-bred TA. F ₁BL×TA cross females registered an average prolificacy of 159 and 202% when mated at the ages of 8 and 18 months, respectively, while the TA ewes produced on average 112 and 127% (p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.001, respectively). ₃W: Dorper×(F ₁BL×TA) cross-breds had different (p ≤ 0.001) weaning weights at the age of 90 days when reared semi-intensively (31.0 kg) and extensively (27.6 kg). Introducing the stratified sheep production system into Central, Eastern and Southern Europe could prove valuable for improving meat performance on farms that keep Zackel sheep under semi-intensive and extensive production systems.