The objective of the present study was to determine the needs of milk intake (MI) and their components (i.e., lactose, fat, protein, and energy) to increase the average daily gain (ADG) of Pelibuey lambs during the pre-weaning period. Data of 62 lambs were used (35 males and 27 females; 32 of single lambing and 30 twins). All lambs were housed in individual pens with their mothers during the first 45 days post-lambing, without access to mother's food. Every 10 d, MI was estimated by the double lamb weighing method, and then, the intake of each milk component was calculated, considering both milk chemical composition and its estimated intake. The ADG was associated with MI and its components through a linear regression analysis. All milk variables were highly (P < 0.05; 0.69 ≤ r ≤ 0.85) correlated with ADG. The ADG explained (P < 0.0001) between 48 and 72% of the variation observed for MI and its components, being lower for fat intake and higher for MI. Given the positive slope parameter (β1), an increase of one kilogram of body weight required intakes of 3.1 kg of milk, 117 g of fat, 203 g of protein, 187 g of lactose, or 16.8 MJ of energy. In conclusion, Pelibuey lambs to gain one kilogram of live weight during the pre-weaning period need to consume 3.1 kg of milk having an adequate amount of protein, fat, lactose, and energy.

Department of Animal Science Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czechia

División Académica de Ciencias Agropecuarias Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco Carretera Villahermosa Teapa km 25 R A La Huasteca 2a Sección CP 86280 Villahermosa Tabasco Mexico

Instituto de Ciencias Agrícolas Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Ejido Nuevo León S N CP 21705 Mexicali B C Mexico

Tecnológico Nacional de México C A Bioprocesos Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Calkiní Av Ah Canul C P 24900 Calkiní Campeche Mexico

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