Meat breeds of sheep: description, maintenance and breeding

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

Sheep breeding has long been considered a profitable industry in agriculture. Even in the old days, mountain nomadic peoples survived due to the productivity and endurance of these animals. Farmers like them for their unpretentiousness and fast growth. Meat breeds of rams proved to be especially advantageous in this regard. The breeding base was replenished with new varieties of animals. This article will describe the breeds that domestic sheep breeders are engaged in keeping and breeding.

Profitability of sheep farming

Several decades earlier, the most valuable varieties of sheep were considered universal pets, supplying their owners with skins, wool, meat, milk and he althy fat. Now they are clearly separated by the direction of productive returns, and many farmers find this profitable. Depending on the region andconsumer demand, small farms grow the following breeds:

• meat-woolly animals;
• individuals for obtaining dairy dietary products;
• meat-greasy varieties;
• rams and sheep capable of providing quality skin and wool;
• sheep meat breeds.

Sheep farms in some parts of the country are the only way to provide the main population with jobs. It is absolutely not profitable to keep animals for wool production in such regions: it is rather problematic or even impossible to sell it.

In Russia, sheep of meat breeds are bred for the reason that they endure harsh climatic conditions and sharp temperature fluctuations. At the same time, individuals are able to produce a high return on production. They endure difficult conditions due to the growth of a decent supply of fat. Such accumulations in animals are observed in the tail area, farmers call it a fat tail. In addition, the fat pad helps the sheep survive during the period when there are problems with food.

There is a good demand for meat in the country. For these purposes, long-haired breeds are grown - North Caucasian and Kuibyshev. From representatives with a short coat, Lithuanian, Estonian and Latvian varieties are bred.

Distinguishing Features

Newbies in this industry should be especially careful when choosing a sheep breed. Breeding sheep in this case will provide the owner with a stable income throughout the entireof the year. Let's highlight the main advantages of meat specimens:

• unpretentious care;
• possibility of grazing at any time of the year;
• good fertility;
• rapid growth of lambs;
• high rates of meat and fat;
• animals are not picky about food;
• resistance to cold and high temperatures in summer;
• the ability to form a fat layer (even with poor nutrition);
• strong immunity to various diseases;
• good young activity.

Selection criteria

The profitability of farming largely depends on the correct choice of variety and the he alth of the animal. Therefore, when buying individuals, you should pay attention to the following signs:

• general affiliation;
• degree of animal development;
• sheep must have a strong physique;
• have enough voluminous muscles;
• need to check the skeleton to make it thin;
• internal organs should not be enlarged;
• the breed is characterized by a thin skin (it is because of this feature that the accumulation of the subcutaneous fat layer occurs);
• normal he alth.

Females have good milk characteristics. This is important in order to feed the young and for their enhanced growth. Below you can find a description of the meat breeds of sheep and photos of animals.

Domestic breeds

Not all farms have the opportunity to purchase breeding animals forabroad. Therefore, domestic farmers, in particular, specialize in keeping individuals bred in Russia. Meat breeds of sheep have spread to many regions of the country. The industry is well developed in the North Caucasus, Eastern and Western Siberia, the Volga region and the Urals.

Currently, traditional breeds can be observed on farms, for example, Romanov, Soviet - Kuibyshev, Gorky. There are also those that were created relatively recently. These include West Siberian and Katum.

Traditional breed

Romanovskaya is the most popular and best breed of sheep. This is due to the fact that they are distinguished by high rates of meat, although they also partially belong to the dairy direction. The slaughter weight of an adult animal averages about 90 kg. Females have established themselves as prolific sheep. The uterus is able to give birth to lambs twice a year (about 5 babies), their milk is fat (up to 7%), nutritious. During this period, they reach a weight of 45 kg. Young growth is rapidly gaining mass. The coat of animals is thick and long. Due to these characteristics, breeding animals are used for crossing with other varieties.

North Caucasian

The youngest breed was obtained in the last century with the participation of three varieties - Stavropol representatives, Lincolns and Rovni-March. Animals are unpretentious, prolific, love to spend time on pastures. The so-called sheep breed has overall parameters - a strong back, well developed, powerfulchest. The animal looks massive due to the structure of the cervical region, which is too short, but fleshy. One ram is able to provide the farmer with 45 kg of meat. Sheep have a rich, winding coat of gray color, the wool is very long. For some farms, this feature serves as additional income.

West Siberian

Modern breed with rare characteristics. Its main advantage is that ewes are able to give birth to lambs in the off-season, while other individuals of the meat direction cannot continuously provide their owners with young animals. The progenitors of the animals are the producers of the texel variety and the Kulunda sheep. The new breed has no horns, erect ears, and an even profile. They have a barrel-shaped body. The back, sacrum and chest are wide. Males reach a weight of 100 kg, uterus - up to 60. Lambs can be sent for meat at six months.

Gorkovskaya

Has been bred with the participation of local coarse wool sheep and Hampshire individuals. As a result, good characteristics were obtained: fertility, high productivity rates (140%), accelerated growth of young animals, excellent quality of the resulting product. Meat sheep are famous for their powerful body constitution, voluminous muscles, and light bones. If the lambs feed on mother's milk, then their weight gain is observed up to 190-200 g daily. The weight of an adult male is 100-120 kg, females - 70 and above.

Kuibyshevskaya

Related to numbermodern varieties, it was possible to breed it by crossing female Romney March with inseminators of Czech breeds. The animals turned out to be polled, with a short tail process and strong hooves. They also have their own unique feature in the exterior - the absence of wool on the muzzle. Like most meat breeds, sheep are capable of good returns. An adult representative weighs up to 135 kg, a bright one - a little more, 80, babies daily add 19-22 kg in weight. The disadvantage of the breed is that the animals have excessively soft wool, which is prone to rolling. When caring for an animal, you will have to deal with tangles.

Foreign

The first foreign representative, which cannot be overlooked, is prekos. A French breed ram appeared as a result of crossing an individual rambouillet with a British variety. As a result, breeders received animals with well-developed muscles. Prekos has a barrel-shaped body, rounded hips and a powerful sacrum. These parameters serve as indicators that the animal belongs to the meat type. At the same time, sheep and rams have rich wool. The meat is distinguished by high palatability and even distribution of the fat layer. Based on the description of the breed, a French ram weighs about 120 kg, a female individual weighs an average of 75. Young animals gain up to 30 kg by 120 days. At five months, the ewe ends the lactation period.

Texel. Dutch breed, which in its exterior features differs from the English and French representatives. Atanimal straight, long body. Ewes give birth to rather large, massive lambs, usually in twins. The breed appeared on the island of Texel as a result of crossing local individuals with British varieties.

The average weight of a ram with proper maintenance is 130 kg, sheep - 115-120. The meat has a distinct structure, quite juicy, no specific smell is observed. Animals are prone to solitary grazing, extremely resistant to infections, parasites.

Blue Doo Maine. Another kind of narrow focus appeared in France, representatives were included in the rating of the best meat breeds of sheep. The weight of the largest male reaches 160 kg, the sheep are also quite massive - 80-120 kg. The young are developing very quickly. Lambs daily gain 0.5 kg in weight. Animals give tender, lean meat. They survive harsh weather conditions well and are quickly drawn into grazing mode. Sheep of this breed are hornless, have an elongated head, and a wide forehead. The ears are located at the level of one vertical line, due to this feature, the animals look pretty cute.

Vendey sheep. A variety of meat and wool purpose has French roots. Animals are protected by a reliable fur coat, belong to the group of fine-wooled. In appearance, they correspond to all signs of the meat direction. The product obtained from them is lean, distinguished by clear fatty streaks, and has a marble structure. Farmers are attracted by the productivity of this breed. The rams are large, in the presence of good food and pasture conditions reach 145 kg in weight.

Saving processtribal features

The breeding process begins with the selection of breeding animals. The higher the characteristics of such individuals, the he althier the offspring will be. The preparation of the future breeding herd takes place in three stages.

1. Among the two-week-old young animals, lambs are selected that are distinguished by regular body shapes and strength.
2. The second selection is carried out during the period of weaning babies from the ewe. By this time they should be well developed. This criterion is evaluated by the weight of the lamb, the allowable indicator of which is 15-17 kg.
3. At the next stage, six-month-olds are selected for wool quality. A culling is also carried out, unsuitable animals are allowed for meat. The rest are divided into two parties: one is left as their own herd, the second is for further preservation of the tribe and sale.

Reproduction

The choice of elite representatives in sheep breeding is practiced in two ways:

• Group. The best batch of females is selected, for which a breeding inseminator is allocated. This takes into account the productive potential of the ram relative to the number of queens, there should be no more than 18.
• Individual way. It is used to improve the specific characteristics of the breed of sheep and rams. In this case, the best sire is assigned to an individual female.

The readiness of the female is determined by the increase in the genital organs and the discharge from them, and their significant redness is also observed. The behavior of the future uterusbecomes restless. During this period, sheep breeders launch a male probe into the group. The task of the farmer is to identify the readiness of the sheep, but at the same time prevent insemination. Just before mating, a suitable sire is admitted.

Three breeding methods are practiced:

• freestyle;
• manual;
• artificial.

The latter, in particular, is used on large farms, is very labor intensive, but at the same time effective. The method makes it possible to examine the quality of male sperm and protects females from infections.

Young stock

For newborn lambs, maternal care and milk are of the utmost importance. If for some reason the ewe cannot feed the babies, they must be immediately placed with another that is able to do this. Before giving the baby to the new uterus, he needs to be coated with her milk.

Due to the high fertility (for example, in the Romanov breed), sometimes the ewes are not able to provide the young with proper care and feeding. Therefore, artificial feeding may be required. Mother's milk is replaced with goat or cow.

On the eighth day after birth, lambs are boiled oatmeal with barley. At the same time, compound feed is introduced into the diet. Silage can be started by the end of the month.

Young animals should be weaned from natural feeding gradually, by separating them into different rooms with a sheep. At 3-3, 5 months they should eat on their own. The feed norm during this period is at least 300 g.

Despite the fact that many farms are engaged in breeding different breeds of sheep, the best and most famous still remains Romanovskaya. She is characterized by unpretentiousness, high fertility, and her females - increased maternal feelings.