Efficiency of metabolizable energy utilization for maintenance and gain and evaluation of Small Ruminant Nutrition System model in Santa Ines sheep

This study was carried out to estimate efficiencies of the utilization of metabolizable energy for maintenance (k m) and weight gain (k g) and to evaluate the Small Ruminant Nutrition System (SRNS) model in predicting dry matter intake and average daily gain of growing Santa Ines sheep. Twenty-four non-castrated Santa Ines sheep, at 50 days of age and with average body weight of 13.00 ± 0.56 kg, respectively, were used. After a 10-day adaptation period, four animals were slaughtered to be used as reference for estimating initial empty body weight and body composition of the other animals. The...