The most important feature of sheep breeding is that they are unpretentious in food and maintenance. Thanks to this, a large number of breeds have been bred, which are widespread throughout Russia. Each breed is able to survive in the desert, mountainous areas, steppes.

Sheep breeding

Sheep have a very valuable quality. They are able to eat the most inexpensive food. By comparison, if eight hundred species of different plants grow on a pasture, then sheep eat at least four hundred of them, at this time cows eat only one hundred and fifty species, and horses - only ninety.

Animals have the ability to move actively and endure the most difficult conditions. Due to the anatomy of the structure of the head and teeth, they can graze on very low grasses, can find food for themselves even in places where there is practically no vegetation.

The stomach of a sheep is able to over-etch even rough food and at the same time assimilate nutrients. Unfortunately, individuals do not tolerate high humidity, but their wool cover helps them withstand severe cold. During a period when there is practically no food, animals spend their fat reserves, which they deposit at a favorable time on the tail and fat tail.

Sheep breeding

Sheep live for fourteen years, but the most productive age is considered to be six or eight years old. Adults can be called little girls who are six to seven months old. It is customary to let them mate not earlier than a year and a half after birth.

Lambs suckle the uterus for five months. If the daisies are bred to produce milk, then the period must be reduced to forty-five days. In most cases, the udder of sheep has two teats, but there are times when there are much more of them.

Most often, animals are bred to obtain wool. It is used for the manufacture of fabrics, woolen threads, from which excellent warm things are knitted, as well as shoes.

In addition, excellent meat is obtained from them - lamb. It is distinguished by useful properties, it contains a large amount of proteins. An excellent cheese is made from animal milk, which is also very much appreciated for its useful qualities.

Sheep breeds suitable for breeding

For domestic sheep breeding, the best breeds remain those that provide a large amount of meat and wool. It is best to start raising these animals with the most common breed, which remains the Romanovskaya. It is this breed that is able to provide humanity with milk, meat and wool.

Balabas

Sheep breeds

There are other breeds that are not much inferior to the Romanovskaya.

Among them it should be noted:

  • Balabas,
  • Tushinskaya,
  • Karachaevskaya.

In fact, there are at least thirty-nine of them that are suitable for home breeding.

Among the felt breeds, the best sheep is the Gissar breed, which belongs to the fat-tailed species. In Russia, there are about one hundred seventy-five breeding breeds. Among them, ninety-eight are fine-wooled, twenty-eight are semi-fine-wooled, forty-five are coarse-haired, four are semi-coarse-haired and only two breeds are meat.

Each region has its own special breed of sheep.

The main regions of sheep breeding remain:

  • North Caucasus,
  • Southern Federal District,
  • Volga region,
  • Central Black Earth zone of Russia,
  • Southern Urals.

Important! When buying an animal, you should carefully examine it to make sure that it is healthy, has a good physique, thick coat with shine, healthy teeth and not loose. In no case should you buy a sheep whose mucous membrane is inflamed, there are formations and growths on the body.

Breeding for meat

Hissar breed of sheep

It doesn't take much effort to succeed in raising lambs for meat production. Even if the conditions of their detention are not too comfortable, they will quickly gain the necessary muscle mass. To breed rams for meat, you need to take only young rams.

Breeding for meat

Among all the lambs, it is necessary to select the most active ones for the production of offspring. The rest are driven out to pasture and grazed. As soon as autumn comes, they are sent for meat.

In addition to vegetable food, lambs that are prepared for slaughter should be given:

  • Combined feed;
  • Trim the animal to improve its appetite.

Adhering to these rules, the farmer will quickly receive quality and at the same time tasty meat.

How to contain: place and care

Romanov breed of sheep

Before breeding rams, you need to take care of their grazing throughout the season and a sheepfold for keeping them in winter. Pasture is searched based on the desired animal population. One sheep for the whole season must fall at least one hectare of area.

It is best to choose pastures that are close to water bodies as the sheep need to drink. One sheep is able to drink about ten liters of water per day.

For wintering, it is necessary to build a sheepfold. Moreover, it must be at least nine degrees above zero, and there must be no tolerance for drafts.

Caring for sheep is not difficult, but you still have to adhere to a certain plan:

  1. First of all, in order to breed livestock, sheep are vaccinated to prevent their diseases. It is worth taking into account that such a vaccination is valid for six months.
  2. It is necessary to constantly monitor the health of the herd and regularly invite a veterinarian for examination.
  3. Sheep are able to withstand low temperatures, but, nevertheless, their hooves are their weak points. On the plank floor of the sheepfold, you need to constantly lay bedding. The hooves also need to be cleaned and trimmed.
  4. Salt must be added to animal food.
  5. Disobedient sheep should not be beaten or pulled by the wool, so that they do not experience stress.

Apart from this, there are some more important tips:

  1. The pasture should be located in a place where it is quiet and no noise. Otherwise, animals may scatter.
  2. To protect the flock from predators, it is best to protect the pasture with an electric fence.
  3. There must be a leader in the pasture with the sheep. Its absence can be replaced by guard dogs or several goats can be driven there.

The diet

Sheep are picky about food. Throughout the season, that is, spring, summer and autumn, they are able to find food on their own. In winter they still need to be fed. To do this, you need to prepare hay and root crops. To get these products, in addition to the farm, you need to be engaged in vegetable growing.

Reproduction

Sheep breeding is very profitable as they are very fertile. This is the profitability of raising sheep. If someone is interested in the question: "How many times a year does a sheep give birth?", Then the answer is very simple. A sheep gives birth once a year, while for one lambing sheep of some breeds bring five lambs. Young lambs quickly adapt to living conditions. Thanks to this, there is no need to take additional care of the young. Sheep mothers take good care of their babies, which allows the farmer not to worry about the offspring.

Reproduction

Very often, sheep give birth to babies on their own, but the presence of a veterinarian is still desirable. After all, when babies are born, you need to remove the lamb from the amniotic fluid and free the airways from mucus.

For three or four hours, babies need to be fed with mother's milk. Since after giving birth, the female is greatly weakened, then you need to feed her cubs yourself.To do this, you first need to milk and feed the lambs.

During the period when the sheep feeds the lambs, it gives a large amount of milk. Some farmers remove babies and make cheese from milk.

Note! Despite the demand for cheese, this process is not profitable; the farmer will not receive much profit for its sale. In order to produce smushki and cheese, first of all, you need to take care of the sale of goods.

Breeding sheep at home for beginners is completely easy. But the implementation of the recommendations of experienced specialists must always be followed.