Biometric measurements of Santa Ines meat sheep reared on Brachiaria brizantha pastures in Northeast Brazil

This study was undertaken to examine biometric measurements during the growth phase of male and female Santa Ines sheep reared in Brachiaria brizantha pastures in northeastern Brazil. The experiment involved 24 castrated males and 24 females at an initial age of 90 days, with an average body weight of 19.04 +/- 0.96 kg. Treatments consisted of the effect of four cultivars (Marandu, Xarae's, Piata and Paiagua's) and two sexes. Six animals were used per treatment, in a randomized-block experimental design. The following characteristics were evaluated: abdominal circumference (AC), body condition score (BCS), body length (BL), body weight (BW), body capacity 1 (BC1), body capacity 2 (BC2), chest width (CW), heart girth (HG), leg circumference (LC), leg length (LL), rump height (RH), rump width (RW) and withers height (WH). Data were subjected to descriptive analysis, Pearson's correlation, ANOVA and Tukey's, Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Univariate and multiple regressions were applied to estimate BW with a maximum error level of 5%. Significant differences were observed for the biometric measurements between sexes and cultivars (p< 0.05). Body weight was highly correlated (> 70%) with AC, WH, CG, RW, BC1 and BC2. The male sheep grazed on cultivars Piata showed the best values for BW (40.43 kg), HG, RW, WH, LL, LC (102.46; 20.8; 65.23; 60.44; 42.54 cm respectively) and BC1 (4.25 kg/cm). Females grazed on cultivar Marandu had higher values for RW, CW, LL (17.26; 20.1; 75.98 cm respectively), BC1 (6.03 kg/cm) and BC2 (0.422 kg/cm). The equations that best estimated live weight were BC1 and HG. In male and female Santa Ines sheep, biometric parameters grow differently depending on the cultivar where they are grazed during the growth phase. Cultivars Marandu and Piata are the most recommended for sheep production, as they provided the best performance and body development in those animals.