Abstract
This study was conducted in the animal husbandry station Al-Rashidiya, a branch of the general enterprise of animal researches in Mosul Governorate. Twenty one single female lambs at weaning age 90 days were divided randomly into three groups, fed on three rations different in protein levels 12, 15 and 18%. The rations was offered restricted feeding at a rate of 1 kg/head/day until the age of puberty. Weight of female lambs were recorded monthly after weaning age up to age of nine months. Blood samples were collected monthly at age of six months from Jugular vein to determine the concentrations of FSH hormone. All the female lambs were subjected to the rams at age of 7 months to determine the age and weight of early breeding. The results indicated that protein levels had no significant effect on the age and weight of lambs at puberty. The female lambs which were fed 12% ration reached the age of puberty at 242 days and were faster than other lambs which fed 15 and 18% rations. However, lambs fed on 18% protein reached the age of puberty at weight of 41.30kg when compared with other lambs fed other level of protein and were 42.88 and 44.83 kg, respectively. Protein levels had a significant ( < 0.05) effect on the concentration of F S H at age of 7 and 9 months only. However, only 15 female lambs were successfully breed. Mating was take place between 246-319 days of age.
