Effect of the age and the feeding levels on the weight increasing and final weight in pure and hetrosis Awassi rams
Authors: AL-Brkat Hadi Awad Hassooni , Alkenane Hasanain Jihad Neamah 
Published: March 2022

This study was carried out in the field of animal production belonging to the Department of Animal production - Agriculture College- of Baghdad University. These animals were fed on a common ration consisting of (green or dry roughages and 2% of body weight feed a consetrate) for two months period ,The concentrated diet consisted of 35% bran, 35% barley, 15% yellow corn, 13% soybean meal, 2% salt + limestone. The animals were then divided to treat hybrid Awassi rams, and the pure Awassi rams (8 animals per treatment). Each treatment was divided into two age groups: less than 2 years and more than 2 years, Each treatment was fed on two levels of concentrated feed:1.5% and 3% of the animal weight. The results showed a significant increase in hybrid rams with a mean total weight gain compared with pure rams less than two years old that fed on concentrates by 3% at 6.75 and 3.25 kg respectively. While ,there was no significant difference between the two treatments in the final weight and the hot weight, the hybrids older than 2 years were superior to the final weight and the average total weight gain when fed on concentrates by 1.5% of body weight,the final weight of both treatments was 67.25 and 62.50 kg respectively, the mean weight gain of the hybrid and pure rams was 7.25 and 3.75 kg, respectively, No significant difference was observed between hot weight treatments for both treatments. The hybrid Awassi rams outperformed the pure (less than 2 years) when fed by 1.5% with an average totla weight gain of 3.25 and 2 kg respectively, The hybrids also outperformed the hot weight by 17 kg compared to the pure by 14.87 kg. While no significant differences were observed between the treatments at the final weight. There was a significant superiority (P≤0.05) of the hybrid rams more than two years in primary and final weight, the weight gain and the hot body weight of 59, 66 and 7 kg respectively, compared to the less than 2 year old hybrids that which reported weights 45, 48.75, 3.75 and 20 kg Respectively with a feed rate of 3%.The hybrids rams (older than 2 year), significantly higher of the average weight and the average weight gain and the hot weight at 1.5%. The final weight and the hot weight of the more than 2 years were 60 and 27 kg respectively, while the less than 2 year old rams were 42 and 17 kg Respectively, While no significant difference was found between the two age groups. The comparison between the pure and fertile rams for two age groups at 3% feeding rate showed no significant differences between the primary and final weights, the mean weight increase and the warm weight of the rams aged by 57.25, 60.50, 3.25 And 31 kg, respectively, while no significant difference was found between the two age groups of pure rams with a 3% increase in weight. The primary and final weights, the mean weight and the hot weight of the rams older than 2 years old were 57.25, 60.50, 3.25 and 31 kg respectively, while the primary weight in the rams The less than two years were 48.75 kg and the final weight was 52.5 kg and the average weight gain was 3.75 kg while the hot weight was 25.5 kg. There were significant differences between the two groups in weights for the benefit of the older, the primary and final weight and hot weight of rams larger than two years was 55.75, 57.75 and 24.5 kg, respectively, while the same weights were smaller than two years 39.5, 41 and 14.87 kg respectively.