Comparative Production Performance of Fullblood, F1, and F2 Dorper Rams at Barokah Farm, Kediri

Abstract

Barokah Farm, Kediri, is a commercial sheep breeding farm that has recently implemented a breeding program involving fullblood Dorper sheep to improve the genetic potential and production performance of its flock. This study aimed to compare the production performance of fullblood Dorper rams with that of F1 and F2 Dorper × Texel crossbred rams. A total of 30 male sheep, consisting of 10 fullblood Dorper, 10 F1, and 10 F2 sheep aged approximately 12 months with an average initial body weight of 63.4 ± 3.8 kg, were observed for 29 days. Production performance was evaluated based on body measurements, feed intake, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The results showed that fullblood Dorper rams exhibited superior body size, with an average chest girth of 100 cm, body length of 87 cm, and height at withers of 73 cm, followed by F2 and F1 sheep. Average daily feed intake was highest in fullblood Dorper sheep (1,493 g/head/day), followed by F2 sheep (1,425 g/head/day) and F1 sheep (1,271 g/head/day). Similarly, the highest ADG was recorded in fullblood Dorper sheep (316 g/head/day), followed by F2 (240 g/head/day) and F1 sheep (198 g/head/day). Feed utilization efficiency was also greatest in fullblood Dorper sheep, with the lowest FCR (4.72), compared with F2 (5.90) and F1 sheep (6.42). Overall, fullblood Dorper sheep consistently outperformed both F1 and F2 crossbred sheep in all production parameters evaluated. These findings indicate that crossbreeding fullblood Dorper with Texel sheep has not yet produced offspring with production performance comparable to or exceeding that of fullblood Dorper sheep under the management conditions of Barokah Farm.