Sheep of the Karachay breed: description, characteristics, features of keeping and feeding

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

Sheep of the Karachay breed are coarse-wooled, meat and dairy. Representatives of this breed have a fatty growth on the tail. The breed was bred in the Caucasus, in Karachay, which now belongs to Karachay-Cherkessia, it is not exactly defined when, but it began to be widely bred from the end of the 19th century.

Sheep of the Karachay breed differ from other breeds in their high endurance, the ability to graze high in the mountains. They perfectly tolerate temperature extremes, adverse conditions. They give birth to their offspring in the open air, have excellent immunity and almost do not get sick.

Appearance

Sheep of the Karachay breed are mostly black, with a white tip of the tail. Some representatives of the breed have a white spot on the back of the head. There are animals of other colors.

Sheep have a strong build, well-developed legs. The head is small, narrow, the nose is aquiline. The breed is horned. Sheep have large, spiral-shaped horns, while queens have small ones. The tail at the base is wide, with a lyre-shaped tail and a peculiarly shaped tip resembling a snake. In rams, the fat tail measures 40 cm, and in females - 45 cm. In the tail, animals fatten up a huge amount of fat - more than four kilograms.

Sizes

Sheep of the Karachai breed are medium in size. The weight of rams ranges from 60 to 95 kilograms, and that of females - from 40 to 75 kg. At the age of three months, young animals weigh about 20 kg, at six months - 25 kg, and by nine months - 35 kg.

Because of its characteristics, the Karachay breed of sheep is considered early maturing. Already by three months, its representatives are gaining up to 40% of their weight, and six months - up to 60%. The coat of the animal is coarse, with a high axis content - up to 20%. But the fecundity of sheep is low - only 105 lambs per 100 queens.

Value

Black sheep is valued for the taste of meat. Among all breeds, it is from the Karachay that they receive the best products of the elite class.

Besides meat, sheep give excellent milk with high fat content. The milk yield of sheep reaches three liters per day, making the breed the leader among sheep in terms of milk yield.

Sheep wool is coarse, but of high quality. It has amazing properties - it rolls perfectly. Due to this, various felt products are made from wool. Up to three kilograms of wool can be obtained from one animal per year. The skin of the animal is used to make sheepskin. In addition to all of the above, representatives of the breed give up to six kilograms of fat tail fat.

Features

Growing sheep of this breed is a profitable business. This is due not only to the excellent quality of meat and the possibility of obtaining other types of products, but also to the fact that sheep are resistant to various diseases and sudden changes in temperature.

To note the peculiarity of the breed, various experiments were carried out in Soviet times. They helped to prove that Karachai sheep are an independent breed that has no impurities.

To prove it, breeders conducted a series of crosses: a sheep of the Karachay breed was crossed with a Russian breed. The result was offspring that had nothing to do with the uterus, but very much like the father. Experiments were carried out on crossing the Karachay breed with others. As a result, weak offspring were born, with a low level of immunity and practically did not adopt the breed qualities from the producer. Based on various studies, scientists have concluded that sheep are completely independent animals and do not have any admixtures of other breeds.

Subtypes

Karachai breed is divided into three subtypes.

1. Cuff. This type includes animals that do not have horns. Their coat color is black. More cuff refers to the meat direction. Their meat is hearty, high-calorie, with an excellent, refined taste and aroma. It has virtually no cholesterol.
2. Kara-music. The coat is long, black. Animals with horns.
3. Kekbash. Wool is grey. Compared to other subspecies, theylarger sizes.

Contents

To breed sheep at home, you need to prepare a stall or paddock. When keeping animals in the northern and central regions, an insulated stand should be prepared. Sheep will be housed in it during the winter. For sunny, southern areas, there is no need for a stall.

The room is kept clean and aired regularly. The size of the stall depends on the number of animals - one sheep needs 2 square meters. m. The floors are covered with sand or straw. Special insulation is not required, but the roof over the animals should be good.

For sheep provide walking. With home breeding, it is not always possible to provide it. The main condition for the walker is the absence of swamps. Animals are grazing on pastures. Sheep will always find among the herbs the one that suits their taste. During grazing, there are no problems with the herd. This is due to the fact that sheep are herd animals, they always walk nearby, they try not to fight back from the herd.

Care and feeding

Keeping and feeding Karachai sheep is a simple task. Sheep are independent animals. In the morning they are fed and watered. If there is grazing, then they are released to pasture. In the evening, they are driven back to the stall and fed and watered again. Of the mandatory procedures for caring for animals, the following are distinguished:

1. Change bedding as it gets dirty. This is a necessary procedure to keep the coat clean.
2. Washing the feeders, drinkers every three days.
3. Collection of wool.
4. Scheduled vaccinations.

For feeding the animal, dried greens are used, as well as silage, hay, roughage, s alt, minerals.

Concentrated feed is used for breeding rams. They are mixed with food. However, they are not cheap, so they are used to feed single individuals.

Breeding

Sheep reach reproductive age by 5-8 months, but it is best to happen after a year. The pregnancy of a sheep lasts about 145 days. Usually it proceeds without any pathologies.

Three weeks before the expected date of birth, the hair is cut off around the udder, at the tail. Lambs are born strong, quickly get to their feet. After a week, they can eat concentrated feed. Upon reaching the age of three months, the young can be slaughtered.

From a week old, lambs can be fed hay. It is given without restrictions. This type of feed helps to properly form the rumen of young animals. From the age of ten, mineral food is introduced into the diet: chalk, s alt, meat and bone meal. They help to properly develop the skeleton, build muscle mass. For the proper development of teeth and the normal functioning of the stomach, willow, birch, and aspen twigs are introduced into the diet. They are soft and he althy, well absorbed, contain a large amount of nutrients. From two weeks on, the menu has been supplemented with juicy feed, boiled potatoes, and a small amount of greens.

If the lambs are kept together with the female, then they themselves find food for themselves in the pasture. But even with this methodraising animals should not forget that they need milk. Lambs should receive it up to two months of age, in parallel with other types of feed.