“Weight like a ram” - this is what they say about a thin person whose weight does not exceed 45-50 kg. This is how much ordinary sheep weigh. The exception is the Katun meat breed of sheep. Males of this breed weigh more than 100 kilograms. They were bred specifically for meat, not wool, and were sometimes called Katunsky by the people. Although you need to pronounce Katumsky correctly. The name of the sheep was given by the breeding livestock farm “Katumy”.
History of the breed
Work on breeding meat sheep with good weight gain was carried out in Tatarstan, where by 2013 the Karmalinskaya, also known as Nizhnekamsk, or Tatar sheep was obtained. Males weighed about 90 kg. However, in 2018, a new breed was presented; the weight of males exceeded 100-110 kilograms. They called the breed Katumskaya.
At the beginning of the 21st century, at the Katumy farm, which specialized in animals of the Romanov breed, selection work began on breeding a meat breed of sheep. It had to meet a number of characteristics. The main ones were good stable weight gain, high meat productivity and the absence of long hair that needed to be trimmed regularly. This is due to the rising cost of the shearing process and the falling demand for sheep wool and skins.
Breeding specialist Lebed O.S. seriously approached the issue of selecting parent pairs for the new breed. 20 heads of pedigree shorthair rams of the Katahdin breed were brought from North America. Local Romanov breed sheep were used as breeding stock. They have already been adapted to the climatic conditions of the northwestern region of Russia. A new breed was obtained using the method of absorbent crossing and strict culling. In 2018, it was registered as a meat sheep breed with short natural wool.
Description and characteristics of Katum sheep
Animals of both sexes are distinguished by a strong, barrel-shaped body with well-developed muscles. The body is covered with coarse short hair. With the onset of autumn, an undercoat appears, which disappears during the spring molting. The color is light fawn or brown, with various spots, most often white and red. The muzzle, front and hind legs do not have fleece.The head is small, the profile is straight. The ears are semi-erect, and both the female and the male have no horns.
The live weight of adult rams is 100-130 kilograms, height at the withers reaches 80-90 centimeters. Yarki weigh up to 80 kilograms, their height is 70-80 centimeters.
Main positive and negative aspects
The breed has numerous positive characteristics:
- precocity;
- strong immunity;
- weight gain even on meager feed;
- rapid growth of young animals, monthly lambs weigh up to 12-15 kg;
- high fertility, mainly twins and triplets are born;
- all the body’s strength is spent on growth and weight gain, and not on long, thick hair;
- no need to cut, shedding occurs naturally, which does not require additional physical and material costs;
- there is no pronounced seasonal cyclicity in sexual behavior;
- rams recover very quickly after intense mating;
- calm, phlegmatic character;
- high slaughter yield of meat, it is 53-59%.
The biggest advantage of the breed is considered to be tasty and healthy meat. Its characteristics do not change with the age of the animal. It does not have a specific lamb flavor and is similar to veal. Even the best breed has flaws. The disadvantages of the Katun sheep are:
- heterogeneous, from a genetic point of view, population;
- approximately 5% of the livestock is culled for black coat color and horn buds;
- in the warm season they need tall grass.
Despite the fact that the breed has been officially registered, traits of Romanov sheep may appear in the offspring. Therefore, work to improve the livestock continues
Nuances of maintenance and care
Sheep of the Katun breed tolerate both heat and cold well.As a rule, a windproof barn is built for them for the winter, in a well-lit place, and a pen of three walls with a canopy for the summer.
IN
Sand allows everything unnecessary to pass through and traps odor. The cushion renewal procedure is carried out in the summer, when the herd is grazing.
Diet
In the cold season, the main diet of Katun sheep is high-quality hay. It should always be in animal feeders. In summer, animals eat green grass in pastures. Despite the fact that sheep prefer to choose tastier grass, in lean years they can graze in areas with scanty grass and maintain weight gain at the level stated in the breed characteristics.
The diet must include salt licks. It is advisable to add a small amount of grain and feed to the animal menu, especially in winter. Lactating queens require slightly more grain than sheep at other periods of life.
You can add silage, vegetables, and mineral supplements to the diet of Katum breed animals. It is useful to give swill from steamed feed and boiled vegetables. They need water at least twice a day; in winter, the water is heated.
Animal breeding
Animals of the Katum breed reach puberty at 16-20 weeks. Mating can begin if the weight of the queens exceeds 70% of the weight of the adult animal. A month before this, the animals begin to be well fed, including vitamins and mineral supplements in the diet. Mating is usually carried out in a free manner.In some farms, frozen sperm is used, and a month later the presence of a fetus is determined using ultrasound.
The gestation period lasts about 150 days. After which one, two, or even three lambs are born. It is important to ensure that their first food is maternal colostrum.
Diseases and prevention from them
Sheep of the Katum breed are resistant to hoof diseases; they are rarely subject to helminthic infestations. They inherited strong immunity to major sheep diseases from the American Katadines.
Animals of this breed should be systematically checked for the presence of skin parasites. To prevent diseases, sheep must be vaccinated. The most dangerous diseases are:
- Hemorrhagic enteritis or etherotoxemia, type C - the disease affects young animals during the period of transfer from mother's milk to other feeds; timely vaccination is effective.
- Tetanus is dangerous for animals during the period of castration, other operations and wounds; vaccination is carried out to prevent it.
Breeding area
The first territory where Katum sheep began to be bred was the Leningrad region. Here, meat sheep are bred in the Boksitogorsky, Vsevolzhsky, and Priozersky districts. Today, breeding animals are sold to other regions. Sheep farmers from foreign countries, including England, also showed interest in this breed.
