Effect of management practices in the productive performance of three sheep breeds in the Chiloé Archipelago, Chile

The effect of the application of winter supplementation (experiment A), deworming (experiment B) and foot trimming (experiment C) in three sheep breedsfound in the Chiloé Archipelago (Chile): Chilota (CH), Romney Marsh (RM) and Suffolk Down (SD) was evaluated with the aim of assessing the productive performance of the exotic breeds (RM and SD) in relation to the native one (CH) under the agro-ecological conditions of the Archipelago. Ninety (A), 108 (B) and 41 (C) sheep from the three mentioned breeds were used for the study. In experiment A, sheep were divided into three groups; two received two levels of prepartum supplementation, while the third did not receive supplementary food. The weight of lambs was measured at 100 days after birth. In experiment B, animals were divided into 4 groups; three received different deworming treatments, while the fourth was not dewormed. In this case, the weight of lambs was also measured at 100 days after birth. In experiment C, sheep did not undergo foot trimming for eight months; once this time was passed, the incidence and level of injury of each hoof was observed. In absence of prepartum supplementation of ewes and deworming treatment in both sheep and lambs, Chilota lambs showed higher weights at 100 days when compared to RM and SD lambs. In the other way, in absence of hoof trimming, Chilota sheep showed a lower incidence of moderate and severe hoof lesions in comparison with RM and SD. Results show that, under the agroecological conditions of the Chiloé archipelago, Chilota sheep breed evidence a greater adaptation since in absence of managing practices it proved out to be more productive and resistant in comparison with two introduced sheep breeds.