Morada Nova newborns: care after birth, evaluation of levels of infection by gastrointestinal nematodes and its impact on weight gain

Abstract

The sheep production in Brazil still does not supply the domestic market with efficiency and quality. There is no constant supply, which hinders the structuring of the sector, including the formation of slaughtering scales. Hair breeds, such as Santa Inês and Morada Nova, are more resistant to worms, which is an extremely important feature due to the impact of this disease in sheep production. This demonstrates the permanent need for studies directed to hosts resistant to parasites, in order to promote future availability of animals with desirable characteristics. The Morada Nova breed also presents hardiness, prolificacy, excellent leather quality, sexual precocity, maternal ability, lack of reproductive seasonality and excellent adaptation to tropical climate, besides larger number of lambs produced per hectare. In the first year of the FAPESP Project 2017/01626-1 it was observed that the phase from the birth until the weaning, decisively impacts on the characteristics of infection and production of the animal, until its slaughter. Therefore, the present proposal aims to monitor around 150 Morada Nova lambs in relation to postpartum care until weaning, as well as to evaluate the infection by gastrointestinal nematodes and its impact on the animals' weight gain (second year of the project). Thus, we will study the susceptibility characteristics of lambs to endoparasites and its effects on characteristics of performance (mean of daily weight gain and total gain), as well as blood parameters, from weaning (3 months) to 9 months of age. (AU)