Sheep breeding: instructions for beginners

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In today's world, quite a lot of people are engaged in livestock breeding. In fact, this is a profitable occupation, just remember that any living creature needs proper care. Among the branches of farming, sheep breeding is considered to be quite a profitable business. These animals are hardy and unpretentious. This area of animal husbandry allows you to get a fairly large list of products: these are skins, and wool, and meat, and milk. For the successful management of a sheep farm, it is necessary to be well versed in the physiological characteristics and intricacies of keeping animals. Only in this case you will be able to give them quality care. So where do you start? Let's look at this issue in more detail.

Choose the breed of sheep

So, you have decided to learn more about sheep breeding. How to start a farmer? First of all, it is necessary to determine the goals of breeding. Based on this, you can choose the right breed. Here the choice is quite wide: meat-wool, meat, fat-tailed and so on.

To obtain high-quality wool, it is recommended to purchaseanimals of the following breeds:

• Stavropol;
• Altai;
• Caucasian;
• merino.

Breeds related to meat-wool, allow you to get a fairly thin coat. They can be further subdivided into short-haired and long-haired. The latter type includes breeds: Tien Shan, Russian Longhair, Romney March, Kuibyshev, North Caucasian. Short-haired sheep include Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian. Individuals grow rapidly. The meat of this breed is of excellent quality. If you plan to engage in the production of cloth, carpets, fur, then Georgian and Tsigai sheep are best suited for this purpose. Those who are interested in coat breeds should pay attention to the Romanov and Karakul breeds.

The Romanov look deserves special praise. First, it is considered universal. Individuals of this breed demonstrate high rates of both milk and meat productivity. Plus, they grow well and almost do not get sick. This option is considered optimal for beginners. If you have never been involved in sheep breeding, then the Romanov breed is perfect for you.

Tushinsky, Karachay and Balbas breeds are distinguished by high rates of milk, wool and meat. Many farmers are trying to find the ideal breed for lard, wool, meat and felt. In this case, it is better to give preference to Hissar or Edilbaev sheep. Animals of these breeds are considered the largest. The weight of an adult can reach 200 kg.

Selecting a room

If you are planning to farm sheep, you should carefully study the conditions for raising sheep.

Animals in the sheepfold should feel comfortable, so there are a number of requirements for the premises:

1. The room temperature is from 7 degrees.
2. 1/15 part of the space should be occupied by windows. Sheep need good lighting.
3. The area of the room should be quite large. An adult individual accounts for from 2.5 to 3 meters. There should be approximately 0.7 square meters per lamb.
4. The floor in the sheepfold should be hard and warm. It is best if it is wooden or clay.
5. The room should be equipped with large double doors.

The sheepfold requires regular cleaning and airing. Also, the room should be equipped with a high-quality ventilation system. The area is better to lay a little more. In this case, you will have a place to keep the sheep along with the offspring.

Sheep keeping conditions in summer

In the warm season, you can use a simple corral with a canopy to keep animals. In addition to grass, sheep need to be given additional cake, hay, root crops, and so on. It is extremely important to provide animals with water. Sheep need to be watered twice a day. Water is usually drawn from a well.

When choosing a place for a pasture, you need to pay attention to the fact that there is a reservoir nearby. Swampy areas are not suitable for grazing sheep. Animals may react poorly to dampness. The herd must be in the pasture for at least 14 hours a day.

How to properly keep sheep in the cold?

In winter, sheep are usually kept in a sheepfold. Grazing a flock in the rain is not recommended, this can lead to an increase in morbidity. You should also prepare enough food for the winter. An adult can eat up to 4 kg of hay per day. In the event that you plan to start a large herd, you may need special equipment. With the help of equipment, you can easily provide livestock with food in cold weather. You will also need grain to feed the animals. A day for one sheep lay 1.5-2 kg. In addition, bean silage and root crops can be used as top dressing.

Diet

Sheep spend most of their time on pastures in summer. The basis of their diet is fresh grass. Grain hay and corn silage can be used as feed. Sheep can also be fed grain mixes, vegetables, and hay. Regardless of the season, the diet of animals should include table s alt at the rate of 10-15 grams for an adult sheep and 5-8 grams for a lamb. The daily menu must include chalk. It is a source of calcium, phosphate and bone meal. With the onset of cold weather, when food on pastures becomes more scarce, animals need to be given beets, carrots, cereals, legumes, cake, bran, and so on. If you want sheep to gain weight and be he althy, they need good nutrition. In the event of a lack of feed, weight loss may occur.

What to feed the young and queens?

Breeding sheep at home is necessarily associated with the issue of developing a diet. For example, queens need high-quality balanced food.

The following components must be included in daily meals:

• cereals and grains;
• legumes;
• vegetables;
• straw;
• s alt.

Cow's milk can sometimes be used to feed lambs. About a month before giving birth, a sheep should be fed with mixed fodder instead of hay. When the lamb is born, the mother can be given 1 kilogram of hay, 4 kilograms of vegetables and half a kilogram of concentrates per day.

As for lambs, they only feed on their mother's milk for the first 5 days. If this is not possible, at first they can eat special mixtures or cow's milk. Upon reaching one month of age, lambs can begin to be transferred to concentrated feed. From two months a day, you can give 150 grams of food.

Disease prevention

Many novice farmers are interested in the question: where to start breeding sheep? It would be useful to learn about the main diseases of these animals. It is believed that the main enemy of sheep is dampness. Prolonged exposure to damp environments can lead to the development of pneumonia.

This disease can cause the following symptoms:

• shortness of breath;
• high temperature;
• cough;
• loss of appetite.

The course of treatment necessarily includes takingantibiotics. To prevent the animals from getting sick, it is recommended to keep them warm and dry. Also, don't graze sheep in the rain.

Another common disease is scar flatulence. There is malaise in case of improper feeding. The sheep loses its appetite and becomes nervous. There may also be signs of flatulence and bloating. To eliminate these symptoms, the sheep is introduced into the mouth of a tube to remove gases. In emergency cases, even surgery may be required.

What other problems can be associated with sheep breeding at home? For beginners, one of the most pressing issues is pasture poisoning. A sign in this case may be loss of appetite, diarrhea or vomiting. At the first symptoms, it is necessary to wash the sheep's stomach with Glauber's s alt and vegetable oil.

Another common problem new farmers may encounter is hoof festering in sheep. In this case, the growths must be cut off, otherwise the animal will limp. To prevent the development of the disease in time, you need to monitor the condition of the sheep. Only balanced feeds rich in trace elements should be fed to animals.

Sheep breeding basics

What other questions might a farmer face when raising sheep? The Romanov and Edelbaev breeds are characterized by high fertility. For one lamb, a sheep can bring 5 lambs. Usually childbirth takes place without complications and takes up to 40 minutes. Sometimesthe fetus comes out with the bladder. If you do not break it in time, the lamb may die. During the first two hours, the lamb should be fed. If the sheep cannot feed it on its own, then it is necessary to give milk to the lamb on its own. Individuals grow quite quickly. They feed on milk for the first two months. The first complementary foods can be introduced at the age of 4-5 weeks. Lambs grow up very quickly. As early as a month, they can start tasting food for adult sheep.

Haircut

The breeding of Romanov sheep is usually associated with shearing issues. The time for this procedure usually depends on the climatic features of the region. With the onset of warm days in sheep of coarse-haired and semi-coarse-haired breeds, you can begin to remove the hair covering. If this is not done in time, there is a risk of losing part of the cover. As a rule, a haircut is carried out twice a year - in autumn and spring.

Sheep of fine-fleeced breeds do not shed in the warm season. It is not recommended to cut them too early. For such animals, this procedure should be performed only once a year.

Helpful tips

What else awaits those who decide to do such a difficult thing as sheep breeding?

For beginners, here are some valuable tips:

• animal hair needs to be moistened when shearing;
• you can not cut the animal immediately after watering or feeding;
• 2 weeks after grooming, animals must be washed with a special disinfectant.

Conclusion

Breedingsheep is a rather complicated process. But if you take into account the recommendations presented in this article, you can easily deal with all the problems that arise. The main thing is to provide animals with comfortable conditions, make the right diet and constantly monitor their condition. In this case, you will be able to achieve positive results, and your herd will always be in perfect order.