Determination of animal unit weight and daily energy requirement of Moghani sheep breed

More than 27 breeds of sheep with different body size are grazing on rangeland in different climatic conditions of Iran. So it is not correct to consider same animal unit weight for these regions. It is necessary to determine animal unit for each breed of sheep which is essential for correct utilization from rangeland as well as to achieve desirable animal productivity. For this purpose two herds of Moghani breed were selected. Sixty heads of animal including three and four years old ewes (15 each), 20 heads 3 and 6 month old lambs (10 each), and 10 heads of 3 and 4 years old rams (5 each) were weighted and marked in lowland. In upland the same livestock were weighted except lambs those were sold in that time. Average weight of 3 and 4 years ewes was considered as animal unit weight of Moghani breed which was 51 kg. Average weight of 3 and 4 years old rams was 71.1 and for 3 and 6 months old lambs were 21.5 and 32 kg respectively. Indices for converting ram, 3 months and 6 months old lamb to animal unit obtained 1.4, 0.4 and 0.6. Finally daily metabolizable energy required for each animal unit for maintenance condition was calculated 10.35 MJ using MAFF formula.