Characterization and comparative evaluation of sheep production under traditional and improved management conditions of Central Syria

This study was conducted on-farm with the aims of characterizing sheep production in Central Syria and comparing the production aspects of sheep managed under traditional and improved feeding during reproduction, lactation, and growth stages. Five farmers in three villages were selected for the experiment. The flock of each farmer was divided into two groups randomly to apply improved feeding practices to one half of the ewes while the other half were fed according to the farmers? traditional practices. The traditional group of each farm was followed regularly in order to characterize sheep production.Ewes? performances were generally similar and no significant differences were observed between treatments due to the long breeding season that the ewes had, accompanied by drought and poor grazing. The effect of diets on the weight and body condition score of ewes was highly significant during the trial (P<0.01). However, lamb weight at birth and at 60 days of age were not affected by the treatments (P>0.05). The alternative experimental diet used in the improved treatment promoted a better performance in mean daily milk yield during 69 days and 62 days after weaning in improved and traditional treatments respectively (P< 0.01).