Keeping sheep (in winter and summer): advice and recommendations from veterinarians on the correct conditions for raising sheep on a farm

Winter content

During the winter, livestock are kept in stalls. Sheep tolerate cold well and therefore do not require special conditions. In winter, they are fed with hay, which was prepared in the summer, as well as various purchased feeds. During the winter, an adult eats at least five centners of hay, five centners of silage and other succulent feed and 50 kg of concentrates. If there is a 30% lack of hay, it can be replaced with chaff and straw (oat, spring wheat and legumes). Twig food is also well eaten by sheep. Branches are harvested in summer from young shoots of trees with leaves.

Room

The sheep management system is a very important aspect in sheep breeding. Their health, growth, and immunity depend on the living conditions of livestock. The premises for keeping sheep are divided into stalls, which are either single or group. The area for one individual in the stall should be as follows: for keeping a ram - 3 sq. m., for lambs - 1.5 sq. m., for young individuals - 2 sq. m. For a mother and her baby there must be a separate stall with an area of ​​at least 2.5 square meters. and additionally 0.7 sq. m. for each lamb. The sheepfold must have a ventilation and heating system.

The microclimate that should be in the room for keeping sheep:

• the concentration of carbon atoms does not exceed 3,000 parts per million;
• up to 5 thousand parts per million of hydrogen sulfide;
• ammonia concentration should not exceed 20 thousand parts per million;
• relative air humidity should not exceed 85%.

Since sheep are herd animals and they only enter the sheepfold together, the entrance to the barn must be wide.

The sheepfold must be suitable for ventilation and cleaning. It is very good if it has a utility room. A lack of fresh air in a livestock barn can lead to a decrease in appetite (and this reduces immunity), deterioration in the quality of wool, and other unpleasant consequences. Therefore, this room should have windows without cracks, because a draft is harmful for animals. You need to build a sheep pen not far from the pasture. Feeders and shelves for sheep are made in the form of long troughs. Several individuals can eat from such a trough at once, but expect that the length of the trough for one sheep should be at least 35 cm. The dimensions of the drinking bowl should be approximately 160x48x46 cm.

Nutrition

Its productivity and weight gain directly depend on the animal’s diet. This type of livestock is picky about food

It is very important to monitor the condition of the feed that livestock consumes. It is better to feed 3-4 times a day, the diet should be clearly established

Basic diet: hay, straw. Then they give succulent food - silage, root crops. After feeding, they give water, and then give concentrates and again roughage. At night, 1-2 bundles of hay are left in the stalls for each individual. Sheep are given water that is salted or with mineral additives. It is very important that livestock always have access to fresh water.

The maximum amount of water per day that adults drink is 6-7 liters. In winter, water for animals is heated.

Rules for building a sheepfold

Any rules for keeping sheep, like other farm animals, begin with the construction of the main premises - a sheepfold.

The finished structure must meet a number of specific rules:

1. The area should be calculated in such a way that there is at least 3 square meters per adult.
2. High-quality lighting should be provided in the room.
3. Particular attention is paid to the floor covering. The most suitable option is a clay or wooden floor with necessarily insulated flooring.
4. The gate is a swing gate with a sufficiently sized opening.
5. It is important to organize heating or insulation of walls in order to maintain the air temperature in the building at least 7 degrees. In the lamb compartment the air temperature should not fall below 10 degrees.
6. Be sure to pay attention to ventilation. Stagnant air promotes the development and proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. High humidity is the main risk factor for mold on walls. Pathogenic fungi, in turn, lead to the development of a number of serious respiratory tract diseases in sheep.
7. A separate area with a more comfortable temperature regime should be provided for lambing and young animals.
8. For walking animals, a pen should be provided in which there will be feeders and drinking bowls.

It is better to build a shed for storing tools and cleaning equipment at some distance from the main room.

As an alternative, you can create an area for cleaning work tools. It is better to immediately build a barn with good ventilation near the paddock for storing hay, straw, and grain crops.

This issue is especially relevant when keeping sheep without grazing, since it is necessary to constantly replenish the lack of plant food. If there is free space nearby, a plot of land is sown with cereals, legumes and other types of vegetation.

How to calculate the costs of workers and keeping animals

Starting any business involves spending money, and it is better to start counting them in a timely manner. First of all, you need to decide on purchasing the required number of animals. Medium-sized farms have about 1,000 sheep. Their quantity depends on the size of the farm, the area of ​​the shed and the size of pastures. On average, one head can be bought for 5,000 rubles. Initially, no more than 200 animals are purchased

5000 x 200 = 1,000,000 rubles.

The rental cost of premises and pasture land is 250,000 rubles per year.

The owner will need to purchase feed for the fall-winter. It is worth setting aside at least 50,000 rubles per year for this expense item.

Separately there is a salary for service personnel. If the farm employs one shepherd, a veterinarian, several cowgirls and a shearer, then the amount of expenses will be at least 800,000 rubles. Another 50,000 rubles are added for additional expenses. All that remains is to add everything up and get the starting amount - 2,150,000 rubles.

Advice for a beginner businessman

You need to draw up a competent business plan. It will help determine the approximate size of the initial capital

Usually, when calculating, the amount obtained is less than what is actually required, so there should be a reserve of funds just in case. Before choosing any breed, you need to carefully study its characteristics. It is important to consider the location of the drinking bowl so that the sheep can drink at any convenient time. Seek advice from farmers who have been raising sheep for years. If necessary, use professional help. Pastures that need to be sown are always pre-fertilized. Before you start raising sheep, you need to read all the information regarding their care and nutrition. It is advisable to organize work on the farm taking into account a certain daily routine.

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What to feed the sheep?

Sheep farm

The diet of sheep consists of plant foods. In the summer, animals are driven out to pasture. They feed on grass, which grows everywhere in sufficient quantities during this period of time. Sheep eat all herbs, including weeds and thorns. Water meadows and marshy areas are not used for grazing. Sheep should not be turned out to pasture in dew or after heavy rain. Pastures for them are selected only in dry places.

The best food for feeding animals in a pen is considered to be small grass and legume hay, as well as straw made from grains such as oats, millet and barley. They are best absorbed by animals and contribute to their good growth and development. Diversify the diet of sheep with root crops. Sheep eat pumpkin, potatoes, beets, carrots and zucchini well. At the end of summer there comes a period when the grass begins to lose its beneficial properties. At this time it is necessary to start feeding the animals. Their diet includes cereals specially grown for this purpose. It could be oats or rye. Corn, alfalfa and peas are added to the diet.

Sheep diet approximate

Approximate diet structure

Silage mixed with roughage or legume hay perfectly increases the meat and milk productivity of animals. It can be fed to a sheep of 3 to 4 kg daily. The nutritional value of hay depends on the conditions of its storage and the composition of the herbs included in it. The best hay for sheep is made from hay that contains many vitamins, sugars and protein. All of them are very important for the growth of animals.

Features of feeding sheep

Of the root vegetables, sheep most like fodder beets, pumpkin, zucchini and carrots. Beets and carrots are especially important, as they improve the digestive processes occurring in the animal’s body. These vegetables contain a lot of coarse fiber, vitamins and other microelements necessary for the growth of sheep. The diet of pregnant and lactating females must include melons and melons. This helps to increase milk production in the animal and the uterus to bear healthy offspring. Such food also improves the quality of their wool. The clipping rate increases significantly. A sheep can be given no more than 4 kg of such vegetables per day.

Feeding sheep

Concentrated feed plays a special role in sheep nutrition. They represent a balanced diet and are prepared from grains of barley, oats, wheat, beans, peas, corn, as well as cake and bran. They contain a large amount of nutrients, starch, protein, fat and minerals. Concentrated feed is indispensable in the nutrition of highly productive breeds of sheep, but the high cost limits the possibilities of its use.

Table 2. Seasonal diet of sheep

Feeding diet for queens

Feeding the uterus and newborn lambs

Pregnant queens are fed only high-quality, balanced feed. Four weeks before lambing, the amount of hay consumed by animals is reduced in the diet. It is replaced by mixed feed. The daily diet consists of cereal hay, which is given to the queen in quantities of up to 500 g, legumes - 300 g and straw - 500 g. Hay and straw are supplemented with 3.0-3.5 kg of vegetables or succulent feed. 300 g is mandatory in the diet of pregnant sheep concentrates and 12-15 g of mineral salt. After lambing, the amount of hay in the sheep’s diet can be increased to 1 kg, vegetables to 4 kg, and concentrate to 500 g.

Feeding diet for young animals

Lambs eat concentrated feed

For the first five days after their birth, lambs feed on colostrum from the uterus. If for some reason such feeding is not possible, then the lambs are fed during this period with special formulas or cow's milk. Milk feeding continues until the lambs are two months old. By this time they should switch to a two-time feeding regimen. Before the lambs reach one month of age, they are given 50 g of concentrated feed daily as bait; after two months, this norm increases to 150 g per day.

How to make a stall for a goat?

A stall for livestock, including goats, is of great importance. Proper organization of this room allows you to avoid many problems associated with keeping animals. If it is not built correctly, it can lead to the development of chronic diseases and death.

First of all, it should be noted that goats are herd animals that are kept at least two individuals per pen.

In addition, it is necessary to ensure sufficient ventilation in the goat shed, otherwise the air will stagnate, an unpleasant odor will be transferred to the food and the goats will not eat it. You can ensure sufficient air exchange by installing a ventilation pipe in the room with a throttle valve, which allows you to regulate the exhaust force.

This makes them feel much better. The area of ​​the pen for 2 goats must be at least 4 m2. If possible, the goat's stall should be made as large as possible. The floors in the stall are made of hard materials, such as metal or flat slate, with a slope of 2-3cm. so that animal waste products are removed by gravity into some container. It is not advisable to make floors from wood, because it is not the most hygienic material. It absorbs moisture and various odors well. The fencing of the stall is made of boards. Its height must be at least 1.2 m. The door must be made of galvanized steel mesh fixed to the frame. Inside the pen you need to place a feeder and a water trough. If a separate building is built to keep goats, then the height of its foundation should rise by 10 cm. above the ground to prevent water from entering from the street. The height of the building must be at least 2.5 m. The building also needs to provide sufficient lighting: natural and artificial. To do this, the goat house must have at least one window and one light bulb. In winter, goats are required to spend at least 8 hours in a lighted area.

In the room where goats are kept, the following conditions must be provided: temperature not lower than 6-10 degrees, humidity not more than 75%. High humidity and low temperature create preconditions for the development of infectious diseases and contribute to the spread of viral infections.

In the same way, you can build a stall for sheep, since the maintenance of these animals is quite similar. They are also kept in groups without a leash in the same room. It should be remembered that the most pugnacious and aggressive individuals should be placed in a separate pen.

Since goats are kept in rather cramped spaces, it is imperative to provide a place for walking. As a rule, for this purpose the area near the goat's rue is fenced off. The height of the fence must be at least 1.2 m.

As you can see, building a stall for goats is quite a simple matter, but it has its own nuances, failure to comply with which can significantly harm the animal and complicate the life of the owner. By following all the tips given above, you can build a pen that meets all the needs of the animals.

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Feeding sheep in winter is somewhat different from summer, primarily in that the animals are not driven out to pasture, but are fed exclusively with prepared feed.

Sheep are gradually transferred to a winter-stall diet as they stop eating enough on pasture. With the deterioration of the grass stand, the sheep begin to be fed with hay before grazing at the rate of 0.3-0.5 kg per head, and then they begin to carry out evening feeding after returning from the pasture.

The best feed is fed at the beginning of stall housing so that the sheep do not lose fatness, and at the end of wintering to pregnant ewes. Coarser varieties of hay and straw are given to lambs entering their first winter with the onset of frost. Feed better quality hay in the fall and early winter, and less valuable hay in late winter. From succulent feed, at the beginning of winter, all groups of sheep are fed root crops, and at the end of winter - silage. Throughout the wintering period, concentrates are fed to growing young animals, pregnant and suckling ewes, and breeding rams.

When feeding sheep during the day, a certain distribution order is followed. Hay and straw are fed separately. In the morning and at night, coarse hay and straw are given. During the day, the best quality roughage is fed. Juicy feed is given to sheep before watering, before the daytime and evening distribution of roughage. They are introduced to succulent food gradually, starting from 200-300 g, and on the fifth day they bring it up to normal. Concentrated feed is given after watering, before the second distribution of hay.

The daily ration is fed two to three times, but the food is distributed when the animals are not present in the animal base, so as not to litter the wool. The suckling queens are given water twice: in the morning, after distributing roughage and silage, and in the evening. The rest are fed once - after feeding the first or second portion of hay.

Fattening and fattening of sheep. The duration of fattening sheep is 3-4 months. In those farms where a sufficient amount of hay has been stored, sheep are fattened mainly on roughage with a slight addition of succulent feed.

Construction of a sheepfold and paddock

Any suitable space can be adapted to keep sheep on a private farm or farm.

When building a sheepfold, the following points must be taken into account:

• Good ventilation must be provided.
• The floor in the machines must be hard. They make concrete floors on which boards are placed.
• There should be no dampness or drafts in the room.
• Nursery-type hay feeders (one or two-sided) with a grid, this does not allow sheep to scatter and trample down the feed, are installed so that the sheep have free access to them, at the rate of 25 cm per sheep, 15 cm per lamb. In order for the lambs to get food, they make a 10-12cm stand.
• In regions with a cold climate, heating is done so that the air temperature in winter is not lower than 10-12 degrees. In regions with warm climates, sheds are well insulated.

Premises intended for keeping sheep are divided into stalls. They can be either single or group.

There should be a separate room for ewes with small lambs.

When calculating the area of ​​a barn for keeping sheep, it is necessary to proceed from the following:

• For a ewe with young animals, 2-3 square meters are needed. meters.
• For an adult ram -1.5 sq. m.
• For lambs - 0.8-4 sq.m.
• The windows in the sheepfold should be 1.5 meters high to prevent the sheep from reaching them.
• For better entry and exit of sheep from the sheds, it is better to make the doors double-leaf.

Wood, brick, etc. are used as building materials for walls.

We provide space for large drinking bowls in the room.

Walking. The sheep paddock is located on the south side of the sheepfold. The area should be twice the size of the sheepfold or at the rate of 1 sq.m. for brightness and 10 sq. m. per adult ram. The walking surface must be hard.

Sheep are characterized by stages and forgetfulness, therefore, in all flocks of sheep, a goat is kept as a leader, so that the sheep do not get lost in the pasture and come home.

The average life expectancy of sheep is about 10-12 years (rarely up to 20). The average age of economic use is 6-7 years. The live weight of sheep, depending on the direction of productivity, breed and individual characteristics, ranges from 60 kg to 180 kg for adult rams, from 28-30 kg to 100-110 kg for queens. Fattened sheep of fat-tailed breeds weigh up to 190 kg.

Owners keep breeding stock of sheep for economic purposes for no more than 6 years. Young sheep raised for meat are slaughtered before they are one year old, and wool-producing breeds are kept a little longer.

Sexual maturity in most sheep breeds occurs at 5-6 months of age. In conditions of extensive sheep breeding, the optimal mating period for all areas of productivity is considered to be 1.5 years of age. However, with intensive cultivation of early maturing breeds, it is advisable to breed at the age of 8-9 months, when their live weight reaches 45 kg. The Romanov breed can also be covered at 8-9 months of age with a live weight of at least 37 kg. Rams begin to be prepared for mating 1.5 months before the start of the breeding season. They are transferred to enhanced nutritious feeding. Two weeks before mating, the rams' sperm is checked.

The sexual cycle of a sheep lasts on average 17-18 days, heat lasts from 1 to 2 days, ovulation occurs 22-32 hours after the start of heat. Most breeds of sheep come into heat in the second half of the year.

Sheep of the Romanov breed, Finnish Landrace and northern short-tailed sheep are in heat all year round, and they can produce two litters per year or three litters in two years.

Sheep are mated in such a way that lambing occurs at the most favorable time of year for specific conditions. Large sheep farms use both artificial insemination with the producer's sperm and natural mating, which is divided into class, manual and free mating. During class mating, rams tested for the quality of the offspring are allowed into a flock of queens of a certain class for 35-40 days, at the rate of one ram per 30-50 queens. In manual mating, queens that are in heat are mated with specially selected rams. During free mating, the rams are kept together with their ewes.

Pregnancy (pregnancy) in sheep lasts an average of 150 days (with fluctuations from 145 to 157 days). Fertility in most breeds is most often 100-120 lambs from 100 ewes. Romanov sheep annually give birth to an average of 200-250 lambs from 100 queens. Sometimes individual ewes of the Romanov breed produce 5-6 lambs or more per lambing. Ewes of the Romanov breed are polyestrous, that is, they are able to be fertilized and bear offspring at any time of the year. Thanks to this, they can lamb twice a year or three times every two years.

Lambing of queens

Depending on economic conditions, winter or spring lambing of sheep is distinguished. Winter lambing is usually carried out in January–February. In this case, the mating of ewes occurs in August - September, when the ewes are on pastures and have good body condition. The fertility of ewes is 20-25% higher than during spring lambing (mating in November-December). Winter lambs are able to eat grass at the start of the grazing season. They develop well on pastures and by autumn provide their owners with a full-bodied carcass and fairly high wool clips. Spring lambing is used on farms, private household plots and peasant farms that do not have warm sheds and a sufficient amount of feed. In time, it usually coincides with the beginning of grazing. During spring lambing, mating is carried out in November - December, during periods of cold weather, which negatively affects the fertility of the queen. Spring lambs develop worse than winter born lambs. This is due to the fact that at the time when the lambs begin to eat grass (at 1.5-2 months of age), the pastures burn out and the grass becomes coarse and nutritious.

On mechanized farms, lambing of the queens occurs in group cages - shacks on a deep straw bedding. The capacity of each lamb is 15-25 sheep. On ordinary farms, private household plots and peasant farms, queens lamb in individual cages - groups, where the sheep and lamb are usually kept for 24 hours after giving birth, and then they are placed in group cages of 4-8 heads, depending on the number of lambs under the uterus.

Lambing lasts 30-40 minutes. A newborn lamb's nose and mouth are cleared of mucus, the umbilical cord is cut with disinfected scissors at a distance of 8-10 cm from the lamb's body, lubricating it with tar mixed with 2-3% Lysol or creolin. The lamb is allowed to lick the uterus. After lambing, the contaminated bedding and afterbirth are removed, the hair on the inner thighs, around the udder and anus is trimmed off the uterus, and the udder is washed. If this is not done, the lambs suck contaminated wool and often die due to digestive disorders (bezoar disease of young animals). Before suckling (no later than 30 minutes after the end of lambing), the first streams of colostrum are milked.

Raising lambs

The first days in the life of a newborn lamb are the most critical in raising and preserving lambs.

The only food that a lamb's stomach is able to digest during the first week of life is mother's milk. The lamb should be fed with mother's milk until the 10th day of life, after which special feeding must be introduced into the lambs' feeding ration. It has been proven that in order for a newborn lamb to gain 1 kg in weight, it requires a minimum of 5 kg of sheep milk, and for this the ewe must produce enough milk to feed the lambs. For this purpose, ewes are intensively fed with concentrated feed and given a sufficient amount of succulent feed (silage, beets, potatoes, etc.). Immediately after birth, the newborn lamb must be brought to the uterus as quickly as possible for its first feeding. So that with colostrum lambs can receive all the necessary substances, including immunoglobulins, which they need for high body resistance.

The first feeding of the lamb should be no later than 30-45 minutes after birth (the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract during this period is able to pass through the largest amount of immune globulins, which provide them with passive immunity in the first days of life). If the lamb is unable to drink colostrum 2 hours after birth, then the ewe must be milked and the lamb must be given colostrum from a mug or bottle with a nipple; this is especially important at low room temperatures. At low temperatures, lambs quickly lose their warmth and freeze. In such cases, it is advisable to place the lambs under incandescent lamps.

The chemical composition and biological value of colostrum changes almost every hour. With this in mind, pet owners should allow their lamb to nurse as often as possible. The ewe produces colostrum only in the first 2-3 days, after which the ewe begins to produce normal milk. Colostrum has high acidity (3 times higher than milk), which has a detrimental effect on pathogenic microorganisms of the gastrointestinal tract.

Before feeding, we milk the first streams of colostrum, which prevents the entry of microbes into the digestive tract of the newborn lamb. Weak lambs need help finding the ewe's teat. For the first two days, lambs are fed frequently (6-8 times a day). Some sheep will not allow the lamb near their teats. Such a sheep, along with the lamb, is placed in a separate cage for several days so that the sheep gets used to the lamb. To avoid starvation of the lamb and speed up training, it is necessary to bring it closer to the mother's teats more often.

In the first period, lambs feed exclusively on mother’s milk, so it must satisfy the needs of a young, developing organism. It has been established that during the suckling period, lambs produce about ¾ of the total annual increase, i.e. 25-27kg. Thus, merino lambs at birth have a body weight of about 4.5 kg, and when weaned from their mother at 3.5-4 months of age - 25-30 kg; over the next 6 months the gain is 12-15 kg.

Feeding lambs during the first 2-3 weeks requires a lot of work and a caring, attentive attitude from owners of private farms, peasant farms and shepherds. On good farms, suckling ewes with lambs are kept in sheds and pastures in small groups, the so-called sakmans. The younger the lambs, the fewer ewes should be combined into one sakman. In each sakman, sheep with lambs of the same age should be selected. Sheep with twins are separated into separate sakmans.

From the first days of life, newborn lambs are allowed out with their mother for a walk in good weather, and from a week of age they are kept in the open air for the whole day, driven into sheds only in bad weather or at night. It must be borne in mind that lambs are easily and quickly susceptible to colds.

Gradually, the amount of milk in the ewe decreases, and to prevent the lambs’ live weight gain from decreasing, they begin to be fed with concentrates and hay from 12-14 days of age. The lambs are given the best hay, meadow, small-leaved hay. From the concentrates they produce rolled grain, a mixture of oatmeal, wheat bran, peas and barley, starting with 30 g and gradually increasing to 200 grams per day. When the portion reaches 50 grams, we begin to add minerals to it - salt, chalk, bone meal, 5-7 g per day per lamb. Giving them brooms made from aspen, willow, and birch has a very positive effect on the formation of the gastrointestinal tract and teeth of lambs. From 2 weeks of age, succulent feed (beets, chopped carrots) begins to be introduced into the feeding diet of lambs. Three-month-old lambs can eat the same feed as adult sheep. By this age, lambs no longer have enough mother's milk, in addition, ewes are freed from lambs in order to bring them into a state of good fatness and prepare them for the next breeding season. Owners of private household plots and peasant farms most often wean lambs from their uterus at 3.5-4 months of age. In the case when ewes are used for milking, the lambs are weaned at 2.5-3 months of age. After lambs are weaned, sheep owners should carefully monitor the condition of the ewes' udders. At this time, sheep are grazed on poor pastures with dry grass, and watering is reduced to once a day. All this will prevent the formation of milk in ewes and prevent the occurrence of mastitis in them. High-milk ewes are milked for the first 2-3 days.

The sakmans are driven out to pasture after the weather has warmed up, the earth has warmed up and the dew on the grass has disappeared. At the same time, the senior sakmans kick out first, and then the middle sakmans. The youngest sakman can be released to pasture only in good and calm weather.

Lambs can be released to pasture for the first time when they are at least 20 days old. Before grazing sheep on a pasture, it is inspected and divided into sections.

You can graze sheep in each plot for no more than 5 days; shepherds must return to this plot no earlier than after 2 months.

Grazing of areas is carried out in the following order - feeding begins from the worst area, and additional feeding is carried out on a fresh area that has not yet been used for grazing.

The grazing regime is usually adopted as follows: from 4-5 o’clock to 8-9 o’clock in the morning until 16 o’clock, the sheep rest, the second time the sheep are driven out to pasture at 16-17 o’clock and graze until 18-19 o’clock.

On hot days, it is recommended to organize night grazing. During grazing, shepherds must ensure that the lambs do not tear up molehills and other earthen heaps because the book becomes clogged and the lambs die.

On pasture, sheep and lambs are watered in clean running water twice a day. Under no circumstances should you drink from dirty, stagnant bodies of water, as this can lead to helminthic infestation. In order for lambs to grow and develop well, they and the ewes must be healthy. To do this, sheep must be kept in premises that meet normal veterinary, sanitary and zoohygienic conditions, maintain a normal indoor microclimate (air exchange, humidity, temperature and other parameters), receive good quality feed, and be promptly vaccinated against certain infectious diseases that are common in the region of residence. .

It is prohibited to keep dogs (except guard dogs or herding dogs) on the territory of a sheep farm. Dogs must be vaccinated against rabies, tested for brucellosis, dewormed against taeniasis and other necessary veterinary treatments.

How to keep sheep

If the winter in the region where animals are kept is not very severe, then the barn does not need to be insulated. The main purpose of a sheepfold can be considered to be the ability to shelter animals from strong winds and precipitation.

The premises for lambing queens are built at a rate of two square meters per sheep. The premises for keeping animals must also meet certain requirements:

1. It must be kept dry.
2. It should have ventilation, but animals should be protected from drafts.
3. The floor should be covered with sand and straw.

To avoid intestinal upset, sheep are gradually transferred to pasture feed after the winter period. It is better to start grazing when lateral stems form in forbs and reach a height of five centimeters in cereals and legumes.

When the grass is mowed, sheep can be grazed in this area only after 25 days. To keep animals exclusively on pasture, their grazing time should be 14 hours per day.

Breeding sheep at home begins when the animals reach sexual maturity, which, depending on the breed, occurs between 4 and 8 months. A sheep can produce good offspring only after reaching one year of age. The average gestation time is about 145 days.

Approximately 25 days before the expected lambing, the sheep is cut off the wool near the tail and udder. The sheep endures childbirth on its own, without resorting to human help. After a week of age, the lamb can be switched to concentrated feed.

Recommendations from care professionals

If the farmer needs to improve the quality of meat, then the care of the lamb should be taken into his own hands and weaned from the mother on the third day after birth. Such lambs are fed artificially.

This method is beneficial for a small personal farm and allows you to get new offspring in a short time. To breed sheep, both artificial insemination and natural methods can be used.

Caring for sheep is not particularly difficult. It only takes a few months to keep and raise sheep for meat. From the age of three months, lambs can be slaughtered for meat. And it is advisable to slaughter before the lambs reach nine months.

Hair trimming is carried out up to twice a year. In spring, sheep with uniform wool are predominantly shorn. If the animals have mixed hair, then the haircut is carried out in the autumn and spring periods.

When breeding sheep in the northern regions and keeping animals of coarse-haired breeds, they are shorn up to three times a year. If you miss the favorable period for trimming, you can lose half of the animal’s fur as a result of the animal’s shedding.

What breeds of sheep are suitable for keeping in a household?

Sheep farming has different directions. Its integral condition is not only the competent keeping of animals in the household and caring for them, but also the choice of breed related to the direction of production.

The Romanov breed of sheep is considered universal in all directions. These sheep can be raised for meat as they produce good offspring. Romanov sheep have high-quality wool and excellent milk yield.

Merino sheep, Altai, Stavropol and Caucasian breeds of sheep can be raised to produce high-quality fine wool. Semi-fine wool can be obtained from meat-wool breeds. Sheep of these breeds can be divided into long-haired and short-haired. The live weight of sheep is about 80 kilograms.

Breeds such as Russian Longhair, Tien Shan, Kuibyshev, North Caucasian are classified as semi-fine-haired. Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian sheep breeds are considered short-haired. Sheep with short wool have undeniable advantages: they quickly gain weight and produce unusually tasty meat.

The Romanov and Karakul breeds of sheep are indispensable in the production of fur coats. And sheep of the Gissar breed belong to the fat-tailed breed and are distinguished by their weight, which can reach 200 kilograms. These sheep are primarily raised for lard and meat, and their wool is used to make felt.

Advantages and disadvantages

Keeping sheep in stalls all year round or for 7-8 months has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's first consider the advantages of this method:

1. The food supply is controlled by humans. Animals receive the amount of food they should. The food is checked for signs of spoilage, which eliminates the possibility of poisoning and other health problems.
2. Animals gain weight faster because they do not expend energy on long journeys. The quality of the meat improves, it is tender and juicy.
3. Animals that live permanently in sheds are less susceptible to infection by helminths and ectoparasites.
4. This method of keeping sheep eliminates dependence on weather conditions.
5. Animal fur remains clean, weed seeds do not cling to it, and dirt does not stick.

The disadvantages of stall housing include:

1. Increased costs for purchasing feed. When sheep graze on pasture, they are hardly fed, but when they are constantly indoors, they need to be provided with a complete diet.
2. Animals are more susceptible to stress due to monotony.
3. There is a possibility of developing obesity. Without movement, pets develop a layer of fat, which gives the meat an unpleasant odor.
4. Low mobility negatively affects the condition of the hooves.
5. In animals deprived of walks in the fresh air, their appetite worsens and their metabolism slows down.

Attention! Considering the advantages and disadvantages of stabling, it is recommended to combine it with grazing in the summer.

The best sheep breeds for home breeding

Meat and wool breeds are the most widespread in domestic sheep breeding in Russia. The most popular of them is Romanovskaya. It is universal. Such animals are capable of providing humans with meat, milk and wool.

Pedigree Romanov sheep

Other universal breeds are also well suited for home breeding. Among them are Balabas, Tushino, Karachay. In total, 39 main breeds of animals suitable for home breeding are cultivated in the country.

Sheep breed Balbas

Sheep farming, sheep breeds

To obtain lard, meat and wool used for felt, fat-tailed breeds are bred. The most popular of them is Gissar.

Gissar sheep

They buy animals for raising and breeding in breeding farms that exist in various regions of the country. Today there are 175 of them in the country. Of these, 98 are engaged in breeding fine-fleece breeds, 28 - semi-fine-wool, 45 - coarse-wool, 4 - semi-coarse-wool and 2 - meat.

Each region of the country is focused on breeding certain breeds of sheep. This is due to local climatic conditions. The main areas where domestic sheep breeding is widely developed are the North Caucasus, the Southern Federal District, the Volga region, the Central Black Earth zone of Russia and the Southern Urals. Sheep are also raised in other areas of the country, but this is not widespread.

Table 1. The most common breeds of sheep in peasant farms in various regions of the country

Kuibyshev breed of sheep

Tashlin breed of sheep

When purchasing sheep of any breed, you must carefully inspect the animals. A healthy sheep or ram should have a good constitution, thick skin and thick, shiny wool. The hooves of a healthy animal are shiny, free of cracks, and teeth are not loose. You should not buy an animal that has inflammation of the mucous membrane, epidermal formations and growths.

Biological characteristics of sheep

Sheep of most breeds are characterized by the presence of fairly developed, spirally curved horns in males; in females there are rudiments of horns or poorly developed horns. The coat color of sheep with uniform wool is often white; sheep with patchy wool are white, black, red or gray. Adult sheep have 32 teeth: 12 molars on the upper and lower jaws and 8 incisors on the lower jaw.

Sheep, thanks to their pointed muzzle, thin mobile lips and sharp incisors, set at an obtuse angle to the lower jaw, can eat low and sparse vegetation, as well as pick up individual leaves, ears and grains, and make good use of various types of pastures.

The biological characteristics of sheep make it possible to engage in sheep farming in mountainous and extremely arid regions of Russia, where other productive branches of livestock farming cannot develop.

Modern breeds of sheep, when bred in the conditions of private farms and peasant farms, are capable of giving their owners high ecological productivity (fattening live body weight, producing milk and high-quality wool).

Breed selection

The decline in the cost of wool over the past 20-25 years has led to a sharp drop in the profitability of wool sheep breeding. Moreover, during the USSR, the main branch of sheep breeding was wool production, so most of the livestock belongs to such breeds. The small number of meat breeds and the lack of targeted selection work with this herd complicate the production of marketable lamb. Therefore, for a successful business plan for sheep breeding, it is necessary to purchase quality producers (or their seed) for subsequent pedigree sheep breeding or obtaining productive crosses.

Meat-saling

A common type of sheep in the Asian region, used exclusively for meat and fat. They are distinguished by their large mass (rams of some breeds can reach 190 kg of live weight), the presence of fat tail (fat deposits on the rump, tail and lower back) and low reproductive qualities.

Animals of fat-tailed breeds are excellent for fattening meat, but profitability is greatly reduced due to low reproductive capacity. Sheep of the Gissar, Edinbaevskaya, Kalmyk and other breeds produce 1 lamb each; twins are very rare. Therefore, based on the resulting weight of young animals per queen, they are inferior to the Romanov sheep that are common in our country (36 kg/queen for the Romanov sheep versus 32 kg/queen for the Gissar sheep).

Fur coats

Sheep in this group are raised for both meat and sheepskin. In Russia, the most common sheep are the Romanov breed. Its main advantage, in addition to good coat and meat qualities, is high fertility, which allows you to get 2-4 lambs from the uterus per lamb.

There are several subtypes; the coarse type of Romanov sheep, characterized by its high weight, is ideal for breeding sheep for meat. Wool can become an additional source of income - the first shearing is done at 9 months, yielding up to 1.5 kg of wool per lamb. But since during meat breeding slaughter is carried out at 6-8 months, wool is usually obtained from adult ewes and rams, which are sheared 3 times a year.

Meat qualities of Romanov sheep:

• weight of adult queens – 50 kg or more;
• weight of young animals at 5-6 months – up to 35 kg;
• lambs by 10 months – up to 45 kg;
• slaughter yield – 45-50%.

In recent years, a systematic selection of Romanov breed sheep has been carried out by weight, since the current market situation requires more lamb in comparison with wool and fur raw materials. Through selection, they strive to improve the early maturity of the breed, increase weight gain per unit of feed, while trying to maintain outstanding reproductive qualities.

Mixed breeding

Hybrids, descendants of two or more breeds, will inherit part of the productivity of both ancestors and can significantly improve their performance. The main disadvantage of crossbred ram raising is that an improving effect can only be expected in the first generation. The offspring obtained from hybrid rams and sheep are much inferior to their parents and pure lines in productivity.

The Romanov breed and other common sheep are used as the mother flock. The improvers are rams of meat breeds - Edinbaevskaya, Gissarskaya, Prekos. The queens of the second and older lambing are suitable for mating; the females of the first year of life are not suitable, since the young animals born are large in size, which complicates childbirth. All resulting lambs are sent for fattening and slaughter; hybrid individuals are not used to repair the main herd.

Covered sheep stall

Sheep raised in this stall produce more wool than normal ones.

Lamb growth time: 12 hours.

Break: 6 hours

If the stall becomes worn, it can be repaired using a pack of construction wood. In case of illness of its inhabitants, medicine for livestock will be useful.

Recipes to create

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What should be in an ideal household

The business will develop successfully if the farm is not limited to just a shed for keeping sheep. It is recommended to have pasture land available where the flock will be located during the warm season. Animals need green mass for food; moreover, a sufficient amount of grass can significantly save on feed.

The size of the pasture will depend on the number of sheep on the farm, usually requiring several hectares of land. The best option would be to obtain rented land located far from large populated areas: here the cost will not be prohibitively high. Existing buildings or newly built ones can be used as premises for animals.

Grasslands

A good farm should have:

• pens with containers for feed and water installed in them;
• winter room. The sheep will be kept here during the cold season. It is possible to install a heating system inside, but this requirement is not mandatory;
• building for accommodation of service personnel;
• a number of industrial premises where equipment will be located and stockpiled feed will be stored.

To calculate the amount of land required, it is worth making a calculation based on the fact that one animal will need 1.5 tons of hay and 550 kg of grain for 365 days. In the summer, it is recommended to drive sheep outside. The farm must have:

• land for harvesting feed in the required quantity;
• pasture land with pre-sown grass or natural grass.

Sheep shelter

Recommendations for farmers

Since keeping sheep in stalls is associated with many negative factors that affect the health of the animals, the farmer’s task is to minimize its consequences.

What to pay attention to:

1. It is important to properly prepare a diet for pets, including hay, root vegetables, grains, vitamins and minerals.
2. Animals should be outdoors at least a little. If possible, you should equip a walking area with a canopy. Walking outside near the sheepfold will have a beneficial effect on the animals' appetite and general well-being.
3. You need to monitor the humidity level inside the shed. Exceeding the permissible values ​​leads to unpleasant consequences. One of them is the disease hoof rot.
4. It is correct to keep young animals separately. If all age groups live together, the lambs will constantly be malnourished.
5. Purity. Regularly changing the bedding - this measure cannot be neglected, otherwise the fibers of the sheep's wool will begin to collapse when urea, which accumulates in the bedding, gets on them.
6. When kept in stalls, animals' hooves are inspected every 2 weeks and, if necessary, they are trimmed.

Stall housing is not the best option for sheep, although it has a number of advantages. In most cases, it is forced, for example, due to the remoteness of pastures. But even in regions with harsh and long winters, it is recommended to graze animals on pasture in spring and summer. It is there that they get vitamins and exercise actively, which is good for health.

Productivity

During the year, sheep are sheared three times - in autumn, spring and summer. This is due to molting seasons, since being late can lead to loss of wool quality. The Romanov breed is very productive:

1. A ram produces up to 3 kg of wool.
2. A farmer gets 1.5 kg of wool from a sheep.

But the breed is mainly bred as a meat breed. The average ram weighs 70 kg, some individuals reach 100 kg, and a sheep - from 40 to 50 kg.

Due to the constant readiness of sheep for reproduction, it is possible to select the most convenient time for the appearance of offspring. Basically, up to 3 lambs are born, that is, one uterus can provide up to 100 kg of young lamb and 3 high-quality fleece if the lambs are slaughtered at 8 months. Because of these qualities, Romanov sheep are used for intensive meat production.

Advantages of the breed

1. High quality fleece. The wool has a bluish-gray color with a steel tint, is not prone to matting, and the core is strong. The awn ratio to fluff is 1:4-1:10.
2. Polyesticity - the breed is able to inseminate all year round.
3. Large offspring. There are 300 lambs per 100 queens, with the most fertile individuals producing up to 9 young.
4. Precocity is high. At one year the animals are ready for insemination. At the same time, ewes carry offspring for a week less than other breeds of sheep.
5. The first product can be obtained at 5 months - this is white wool. And at 9 months – young meat of high quality.

Disadvantages of the breed

You should pay attention to the following nuances:

1. Animals are susceptible to diseases of the respiratory system.
2. Excessively timid.
3. They do not tolerate drafts and high humidity.

Romanov sheep are very popular for breeding at home due to their high productivity and easy care. This is of particular importance for the novice sheep breeder. But it should be remembered that it is necessary to purchase an animal only from responsible producers who conduct breeding work and adhere to breed standards.

How to make a stall for a goat?

A stall for livestock, including goats, is of great importance. Proper organization of this room allows you to avoid many problems associated with keeping animals. If it is not built correctly, it can lead to the development of chronic diseases and death.

First of all, it should be noted that goats are herd animals that are kept at least two individuals per pen.

In addition, it is necessary to ensure sufficient ventilation in the goat shed, otherwise the air will stagnate, an unpleasant odor will be transferred to the food and the goats will not eat it. You can ensure sufficient air exchange by installing a ventilation pipe in the room with a throttle valve, which allows you to regulate the exhaust force.

This makes them feel much better. The area of ​​the pen for 2 goats must be at least 4 m2. If possible, the goat's stall should be made as large as possible. The floors in the stall are made of hard materials, such as metal or flat slate, with a slope of 2-3cm. so that animal waste products are removed by gravity into some container. It is not advisable to make floors from wood, because it is not the most hygienic material. It absorbs moisture and various odors well. The fencing of the stall is made of boards. Its height must be at least 1.2 m. The door must be made of galvanized steel mesh fixed to the frame. Inside the pen you need to place a feeder and a water trough. If a separate building is built to keep goats, then the height of its foundation should rise by 10 cm. above the ground to prevent water from entering from the street. The height of the building must be at least 2.5 m. The building also needs to provide sufficient lighting: natural and artificial. To do this, the goat house must have at least one window and one light bulb. In winter, goats are required to spend at least 8 hours in a lighted area.

In the room where goats are kept, the following conditions must be provided: temperature not lower than 6-10 degrees, humidity not more than 75%. High humidity and low temperature create preconditions for the development of infectious diseases and contribute to the spread of viral infections.

In the same way, you can build a stall for sheep, since the maintenance of these animals is quite similar. They are also kept in groups without a leash in the same room. It should be remembered that the most pugnacious and aggressive individuals should be placed in a separate pen.

Since goats are kept in rather cramped spaces, it is imperative to provide a place for walking. As a rule, for this purpose the area near the goat's rue is fenced off. The height of the fence must be at least 1.2 m.

As you can see, building a stall for goats is quite a simple matter, but it has its own nuances, failure to comply with which can significantly harm the animal and complicate the life of the owner. By following all the tips given above, you can build a pen that meets all the needs of the animals.

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Feeding sheep during the grazing period

Most sheep farms practice summer feeding. The fattening animals, culled ewes and super-replacement lambs of the current year of birth are put on feeding, the fattening period of which is usually 7.5-8 months.

The increase in live weight during fattening primarily depends on the proper use of pastures and their quality. Sheep do not effectively use rough green fodder; this must be taken into account when grazing; meadows must be mowed in a timely manner with further grazing after retrieval. On low-quality pastures, forage grasses are reseeded and fertilized, and their quality indicators are improved, if necessary, through reclamation measures and liming. When planning pastures, you should calculate the sequence of grazing areas and select suitable places for arranging trenches and watering holes.

Types of pastures for fattening sheep

Mountain pastures. This is one of the best natural pastures for sheep. In mountain meadows, the grass consists of legumes and cereals with a high content of protein and other nutrients, which contributes to a rapid increase in the live weight of animals.

Water meadows. They are also one of the best types of pastures for fattening sheep, typical for central Russia.

Virgin steppe. They consist mostly of sheep's fescue, feather grass, thin-legged grass and forbs. By the end of summer, as a rule, they burn out heavily and become unsuitable for feeding, but after the autumn rains, the feather grass-fescue pastures are again covered with green vegetation. Well suited for fattening flocks in the first half of summer and autumn.

Steppe semi-desert pastures. The steppes of Central Asia and other regions with similar climatic conditions are unsuitable for effective feeding of most sheep breeds. Due to the low level of precipitation, the semi-desert steppes have sparse vegetation (wormwood, camel thorn, sandy oats, etc.), which completely burns out by mid-summer, as a result of which animals are forced to eat dry grass.

Wet pastures. They are not suitable for grazing sheep because serve as a source of spread of various parasitic diseases.

Artificial pastures. Human-cultivated natural meadows consisting of crops of annual and perennial grasses. On perennial pastures, clover, sweet clover, alfalfa, sainfoin, fescue, bluegrass, etc. are sown; on annual pastures: sorghum, sudanese, vetch-oat mixture and other grasses.

Keeping sheep as a business

The advantages of the business of raising sheep for meat are as follows:

• Animals are simply ideal for beginners: they are unpretentious in maintenance and nutrition.
• The farmer chooses the required number of heads depending on the potential of his farm.
• Sheep can be raised almost anywhere.
• Animals are resistant to most diseases.
• They allow you to get several products at once: nutrient-rich meat, wool, milk, and offspring.

Such an impressive list of advantages has led to the widespread use of sheep farming for meat as a family business.

Purchase

The first step to creating your own business raising sheep for meat is purchasing a flock.

Important! Experts strongly recommend purchasing livestock from special breeding farms, this will allow you to be confident in the breed and the health of the animals. In addition, serious manufacturers provide buyers with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with certificates of conformity

However, rams for breeding can often be purchased at a lower price from private owners

Before purchasing, it is very important to find out in as much detail as possible what conditions the sheep are kept in, and to be careful

In order to avoid mistakes at the stage of planning your own business, it is extremely important to decide on the breed of sheep. All breeds can be classified as follows depending on productivity:

• meat-fat;
• woolen;
• meat and wool;
• wool and meat;
• meat-fur coats;
• meat-wool-dairy.

If you plan to breed sheep for meat, then you should opt for meat-fat breeds. You should also take into account the ability of a particular breed to feel comfortable in the climatic conditions of your region.

Beginners can opt for the Romanov breed of sheep; they are surprisingly unpretentious and are highly fertile. The advantages of the breed are:

• Excellent wool, which can be used in the production of yarn (indicators: a ram produces from 2 to 4 kg, a sheep - 1.5 - 2 kg).
• Haircut three times a year.
• The first haircut is possible at the age of 9 months.
• Remarkable fertility (one ewe gives birth to up to 4 lambs per lamb).
• Excellent meat productivity, rams quickly gain weight.
• Sheep produce milk in normal quantities (up to 100 liters per lamb when artificially feeding lambs). It can be used to produce cheese or other fermented milk products.

If the business plan involves obtaining more meat, the choice should be made on fat-tailed breeds that came to us from Central Asia. Such breeds include Gissar, Kalmyk, Edinbaevskaya. The advantages are:

• The body weight of a ram is up to 190 kg, while the meat yield is 60%.
• They perfectly adapt to living in dry climatic conditions, so keeping them will not cause any difficulties.
• Wool, of course, is of low quality, but can be used to make felt.

The following meat breeds are also popular: Edilbaevskaya, Gorky, Belt-March. They are more capricious in maintenance and care, they will not be able to gain weight normally in dry conditions, therefore they are suitable only for the middle zone or southern latitudes, but they allow you to get a lot of meat. Foreign breeds that are also suitable for beginners:

• Zwartbles. Fragrant, sweetish meat is an advantage of this breed.
• Dorper. It has amazingly tasty delicacy meat.
• Vendée.
• Texel. He has a peaceful disposition and gets along well with other breeds.

It is important to decide what exactly will be the main goal of the business - breeding or fattening for slaughter; the choice of breed also depends on this. If the goal is to slaughter an animal for meat as quickly as possible, then it should quickly gain weight - from 300 to 600 grams daily, but if breeding is more important, then less attention can be paid to this characteristic

Fattening sheep during the stall period

If, after the end of the grazing period, the live weight of sheep intended for slaughter does not meet the planned indicators, they switch to stall fattening of animals. Livestock are sorted by age and fatness, placed in separate groups in dry pens. If climatic conditions allow, during the daytime sheep can be kept in bases under sheds, with free access to the sheepfold at night. While the sheep are resting, Belarusian shepherds are fishing on the beautiful lakes of the Vitebsk region, catching large pikes, discussing their catches here, showing photos of large catches.

During stall fattening, special attention should be paid to organizing the correct feeding regimen and the overall nutritional value of the daily diet. It is better to give food at certain hours, accustoming sheep to a daily routine, usually twice a day - in the morning and evening hours

The sheepfold should have free access to water and salt.

Feeding standards for lambs during intensive fattening:

An approximate diet for fattening lambs aged 5.5 - 6.5 months should be equal to or exceed the following indicators: high-quality cereal hay - 350 g; Pea-oat haylage – 250 g; herbal flour – 350 g; compound feed (concentrates) – 700-800 g.

To control weight gain, the livestock is weighed monthly; if live weight gain lags behind the planned results, the diet is adjusted; if necessary, vitamins and mineral feed additives are introduced into the diet.

The production of high-quality young lamb largely depends on the conditions of the herd and the quality of feed. Under proper conditions, lambs are usually fattened to 7-8 months of age. It is at this age that their meat is most valuable and in demand on the market.

Covered sheep stall

Sheep raised in this stall produce more wool than normal ones.

Lamb growth time: 12 hours.

Break: 6 hours

If the stall becomes worn, it can be repaired using a pack of construction wood. In case of illness of its inhabitants, medicine for livestock will be useful.

Recipes to create

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Diseases in sheep

Like any living creature, a sheep can get sick. Sheep diseases can be non-infectious and infectious:

• mastitis – during lactation in females, the mammary gland can be damaged by stagnation of milk, mechanically or by microbes,
• vitamin deficiency – most often sheep suffer from a lack of vitamins A and D.
• leptospirosis - animals are affected by leptospira,
• bronchopneumonia - the disease is provoked by improper conditions of detention - hypothermia or overheating, lack of vitamins in the diet,
• enteroxemia – poisoning from food contaminated with toxins.

In order for keeping sheep at home to become profitable, it is necessary to take care of this side of the issue - be sure to vaccinate the animals, and at the slightest suspicion of disease, contact competent veterinarians in order to prevent the massive spread of the disease in the herd.

Sheep farming today is actively developing and can become a gold mine for a farmer: with a competent approach to keeping sheep, in a short period of time you can increase the herd by 2-3 times and not only recoup costs, but also achieve good profitability of the farm.

List of sources

• svoimi-rykami.ru
• xn--80ajgpcpbhkds4a4g.xn--p1ai
• ovcevod.com
• yarus-spb.ru
• vetvo.ru
• mnogo-krolikov.ru
• selskoehozjajstvo.ru
• fermers.ru
• hrunya.ru

Hygienic care of animals

Due to the presence of long and thick wool, in practice there are certain peculiarities in keeping sheep and hygienic care. If there is stuck dirt, it is necessary to wash the animal, for example, using a hose. An alternative option is swimming in a pond.

Haircut rules:

1. Special scissors are used for cutting.
2. The most suitable periods for removing fur are April and the end of August.

Timely haircut allows new fur to grow and the animal to feel more comfortable, especially in hot weather.

Once every 2 months, it is necessary to trim the sheep’s hooves, having first securely fixed the animal in one position (as a rule, the manipulation is performed with an assistant).

Which form of business to choose

Before purchasing livestock, (according to the law of the Russian Federation) it is necessary to register as a farm or peasant enterprise.

Organizing a legal entity is not necessary, but many prefer to form an LLC or obtain individual entrepreneur status.

This makes it possible to purchase a favorable loan, select an investor and save on taxes. In addition, many large buyers prefer to work with a legal entity, so timely registration will be useful in the long run. Livestock raised must obtain veterinary passports.

A peasant (farm) enterprise will require permanent registration in a specific selected area. Not all citizens like experiments with changing registration (like me); For this purpose, it is better, at the first stages of life and adaptation in the village, to choose the form of private subsidiary farming - personal subsidiary plot, which does not even need to be registered with the tax authorities. Accounting for private household plots is carried out by municipal (local) authorities (administrations of rural settlements) in the “household book”. It takes into account the address, the owner of the private plot, the size of the plot and the number of farm animals.

Perspective in sheep farming

Having made the right decision and purchased 3-4 sheep, in 2 years you will have a herd of 15-16 heads. Next is progression. I see one of the promising options for a sheep herd as follows. Today, without much difficulty, I cope with a small flock of 36 sheep.

If it were possible to naturally increase the herd to 200–300 heads and then distribute it among personal subsidiary farms (farms), such farming would bring collective income to residents of nearby villages, if, of course, they found the trouble to take up farming. And if there is no problem with increasing the number of sheep, then there are only a few people in modern villages who want to take on the labor of keeping sheep, using the example of the Vologda region.

The reasons, in my opinion, are simple and transparent: people have been discouraged from working for years (even for themselves, which is what actually attracts me to the farming field, this is the same entrepreneurship with a rural bias), running a farm, and earning money.

Today, an even stranger prospect is noticeable: every year in the countryside, even the number of plantings of potatoes and other vegetable crops is decreasing; because you can buy it in the store.

The trend is that soon summer residents, seasonally coming to the village for the summer and pensioners will plant more vegetable crops than indigenous villagers. This is the “stalemate” situation that occurs in some villages.

Walking area

The walking area is an important part of the barn. Here animals can simply breathe fresh air and build muscle tissue.

For these purposes, a large area should be fenced off on the southern side of the sheepfold. Its dimensions must be calculated based on the following standards:

• one brightness requires 1 m2;
• an adult ram needs 10 m2.

If the size of the farm allows, the space for walking should be equal in area to two areas of the barn. Moreover, the surface of the site must be hard. This will help prevent possible injuries and also make the process of cleaning up feces easier.

Sheep milk

In addition to meat and wool, breeding sheep produce milk, the beneficial properties of which have been known to mankind since ancient times. Among other things, it has a pleasant sweetish taste. If we compare its composition with the most common cow's milk, then sheep's milk is several times superior to it in all respects.

It is impossible to store sheep's milk for a long time: it begins to sour already on the 4th day after milking.

Sheep's milk is especially important for allergy sufferers - many refuse cow's milk in favor of sheep's milk. Sheep milk, judging by the reviews, is more tasty and delicate in taste, and the products made from it are the same.

All of these positive properties make the product indispensable in the dairy market; as a result, the sheep farmer has the opportunity to make good money selling it.

Organizing a farm: advice from professionals

Before starting work, a detailed business plan is drawn up, including a feasibility study of the project. This information may be useful when obtaining a loan or selecting a partner.

For break-even production, it is important to correctly calculate the size of the future herd. It is better to start a family enterprise with 1000 animals; by autumn it naturally increases by 700 - 800 animals. Raising animals for meat does not require long-term cultivation; products from young animals are in great demand on the market.

If it is not possible to provide the necessary livestock, you can purchase 200 heads.

Experts believe that this is the minimum amount to ensure the operation of the farm throughout the year. It is worth considering that some animals may die (this percentage is especially high among young animals).

Proper selection of personnel is very important. It is advisable to have at least one specialist with a veterinary education on staff. Methods for raising sheep can be different, but you can’t do without a good shepherd (or better yet two) with free grazing. The well-being of the herd depends on these people, so there is no need to save. An experienced shepherd must understand how to properly maintain sheep; he is responsible for all livestock. Sometimes this role is played by one of the farmer's family members.

The main care of the sheep will be taken over by unskilled workers who come under the supervision of a shepherd. They can be hired in the nearest locality; wages depend on the region and can be calculated by the hour.

Photos of sheep breeding

• https://FermoVed.ru/ovtsyi/ovcevodstvo.html
• https://selskoehozjajstvo.ru/ovcevodstvo/
• https://zverovod.info/ovtsy/pravilnoe-razvedenie.html
• https://selo-exp.com/ovcy/razvedenie-ovec-opisanie-luchshix-porod-sozdanie-uslovij-dlya-soderzhaniya.html
• https://dachadesign.ru/ovcevodstvo/
• https://oselhoze.ru/zhivotnovodstvo/ovtsy/soderzhanie-ovets
• https://FermoVed.ru/ovtsyi/razvedenie-ovec.html
• https://fermilon.ru/hozyajstvo/zhivotnovodstvo/soderzhanie-ovets-v-domashnih-usloviyah-dlya-nachinayushhih.html
• https://okorovah.ru/ovtsy/razvedenie-myasnyh-ovets.html
• https://dachadesign.ru/razvedenie-ovec/

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How to properly slaughter a sheep

In addition to wool and milk, sheep produce excellent meat after slaughter. In this procedure, it is important to comply with all sanitary and veterinary requirements, main technologies and rules; this is the only way to obtain a truly high-quality product.

Experienced sheep breeders do not recommend feeding sheep on the eve of slaughter. This is explained by the fact that when cutting a carcass, the contents of the intestines will significantly complicate the disassembly of the meat; many videos and photos have been shot about this. In addition, such a carcass is difficult to bleed, and undigested food can contaminate the meat. There are no restrictions regarding water.

Direct slaughter of a sheep is carried out when the animal is hung by the legs or placed on a bench. With a sharp movement of the hand, a knife is pierced into the neck of the individual near the auricle, then the main blood arteries located nearby are cut. The carcass must lie or hang in this state for at least 5-7 minutes, this is necessary for the blood to flow out.

How to slaughter a sheep

After this, you need to start cutting off the head, ligating the esophagus and further separating the skin. This is done correctly, starting from the abdomen, this is where the first incision is made. After this, cuts are made on the limbs, which is where the process of separating the skin from the meat begins. To do this, you need to use special knives that minimize the risk of ruining the skin. After removing all the skin, you need to leave it alone for a while.

After 2 hours, you can begin to preserve the skins, but you need to decide in advance exactly how this will be done. Currently, the most common type of preservation is considered to be a mixed type, or, as it is also called, wet-salted.

It is important to show the sheep to a veterinarian before slaughter: this will help make sure that the animal is completely healthy and there will be no problems with selling its meat.

Recruitment of personnel for farming

Recruiting staff requires planning, especially in the early stages when you have limited funds. For a herd of 200-300 sheep, several employees will be needed:

• shepherd;
• milkmaid;
• employee to feed animals and maintain cleanliness.

To save money, duties can be combined. You will also have to contact a veterinarian and a shearer, but if there are a large number of heads, they are hired on a permanent basis.

Choose a shepherd carefully, because you are not going to hire an ordinary shepherd. Find a hereditary specialist: he performs the functions of a veterinarian, shearer, and livestock specialist. On what terms will he agree? When hiring, many people ask to transfer 50 heads into their possession, stipulating a percentage of income, bonuses for the safety of offspring, etc. But giving sheep as payment makes sense when you start with a herd of 1000 heads. In other cases, agree on a monetary form of remuneration.

The problem arises with the staff for feeding the sheep and cleaning. Since the work is dirty, candidates are often marginalized. If possible, pay more, but hire decent, ideally light-drinking people.

What kind of sheep should I raise?

In order for keeping and breeding sheep to be profitable, you need to purchase young individuals of the breed that corresponds to the line of business. Before purchasing, it is important to clearly clarify this point and take lambs taking into account your “rate” for sale. It is believed that meat-wool and meat-fat sheep breeds have the highest profitability. They are resistant to temperature changes, survive winter well and produce high offspring. Experienced sheep breeders recommend them. However, you have a lot of choice.

Sheep breeds

1. Wool (Soviet merino, Grozny, Stavropol).
2. Meat-haired (Altai, South Ural, Russian longhair, Dagestan).
3. Meat (Saradzhinskaya, Altai).
4. Sheep and meat (Romanovskaya).