The Kuibyshev meat and wool breed of sheep is unpretentious in terms of feed and living conditions. These animals can graze in the meadow throughout the warm season, and before wintering they can be sent to slaughter. In six months of life they gain 40 kg of weight. The slaughter yield of the most tender meat in such animals is 50 percent, that is, 20 kilograms (at 6 months of age). Sheep wool is used in the knitting industry to make warm clothes.
History of the breed
Kuibyshev sheep come from the USSR, or rather, these animals were bred by Soviet livestock specialists. Work on obtaining a new breed was carried out in the 30-40s of the 20th century. The project leader was the scientist Alexander Vasiliev, who was awarded the Stalin Prize for his scientific works. Breeding research was carried out on the basis of collective farms in the Kuibyshev region.
The basis was taken from rams of the English meat and wool breed Romney Marsh and coarse-wooled Cherkassy sheep from the Samara region. The purpose of selection: to obtain animals with semi-fine, uniform wool and large meat forms. In addition, the new breed had to be highly adaptable to hot summers and cold winters.
The resulting hybrid sheep were crossed with each other, culling those that were unproductive, until the desired result was achieved. The sheep obtained during selection were called Kuibyshev. The new breed began to be bred in different republics of the USSR and even abroad.
Appearance and characteristics of Kuibyshev sheep
The Kuibyshev breed has a large bone structure, a muscular body, a long and barrel-shaped body, a straight and large back, a short fleshy neck, an oblong head with a convex forehead. Rams and sheep are hornless. The legs are set wide apart, short, with strong hooves, thighs are well developed. The tail is long, usually docked, without fat reserves. The ears are short and erect.
Animals belong to the precocious type. Lambs are born weighing 3-4 kg, and during the suckling period, that is, in just 4 months, they gain a weight of 30 kg.At six months the animals weigh 40 kilograms. The slaughter yield of meat is about 50 percent. At 1.5 years old, the weight of adult sheep is 60-70 kg. Animals are sent for slaughter at 12-18 months; they are not kept longer, as their meat becomes tougher with age. Sheep can be raised longer for their wool. Animals can gain weight equal to 100-130 kg.
Representatives of the Kuibyshev breed have good quality wool. It is light, long (from 12 to 15, sometimes up to 25 cm), uniform, semi-thin. The fur thickly covers the entire body (except for the legs) and reaches the eyes on the head. It is used to make woolen clothing on an industrial scale.
Up to 6 kg of wool is sheared from one ram per year. The productivity of females is slightly lower. Ewes give birth to 1-2 lambs. After lambing, up to 1-2 liters of milk per day (5-6 percent fat content) is given; it can be used to make feta cheese and cheese.
Main pros and cons
Maintenance rules and care
Kuibyshev sheep must graze on pasture throughout the warm period of the year (from early spring to late autumn). Representatives of this breed can be in the meadow in hot and cool weather for 15 hours a day. At night, the animals are driven into a room (sheepfold, shed, barn, stable). It is not recommended to take them outside in the rain.
In winter, sheep are kept in stalls. They are fed mainly with hay 2-3 times a day. Root vegetables and grains are given as supplements.A manger for hay, feeders for vegetables and drinking bowls for water are installed in the room. In the barn where the animals are kept, the temperature is maintained at 5-20 degrees Celsius all year round. The sheepfold should be spacious, light, dry and clean. In daylight, sheep eat more and recover better. There should be 2-3 square meters per animal. meters of area.
A ventilation system is installed in the room, rectangular windows are inserted in the upper part of the walls, near the roof. There should be no protruding nails or sharp objects in the sheepfold that could injure the animals. Bedding is laid on the floor of the shed. Straw is removed as it gets dirty, that is, once every 1-2 days.
Sheep are sheared 1-2 times a year. Preferably not before winter, otherwise the room where the animals are located will have to be heated. Sheep need to have their hooves trimmed once a year. To prevent diseases, young animals undergo routine vaccination at 3 months of age.
Sheep diet
In summer, Kuibyshev rams and sheep should graze in the meadow and eat fresh green grass, preferably legumes and cereals. These animals are not afraid of the heat, since in the spring they are usually sheared before grazing. It is better not to turn sheep out to pasture when it rains, so that they do not catch a cold.
The animals have a good appetite; they constantly have to change their grazing area, as they quickly eat all the vegetation.
In summer, they can be fed with beet and carrot tops, fresh vegetables, and green cereals (oats, barley, wheat). Kuibyshev sheep are given water to drink twice a day (about 5 liters per individual). The diet should contain salt and bone meal. Animals eat up to 6-8 kg of grass per day.
In winter, Kuibyshev sheep are kept indoors.They are fed with hay, vegetables, silage, grain, cake, meal, and mixed feed. In between feedings, give salted or sweetened water. Per day, one animal eats 2-4 kg of hay, 1-2 kg of finely chopped vegetables (fodder and sugar beets, carrots, pumpkins), 200-500 grams of grain mixtures (oats, barley, corn) or 200 grams of mixed feed, 2-3 kg silage. During the winter period, it is recommended to give sheep pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals and always salt (10 g per individual per day).
Nuances of animal breeding
Kuibyshev sheep reach sexual maturity at 6-8 months. True, they cover females at 1.5 years. Mating is carried out in the fall. Pregnancy lasts 5 months. In spring, 1-2 lambs are born. Before lambing, the female is transferred to a cleaner and warmer room, where the air temperature is above 15 degrees Celsius. The ewe is given lighter feed. The area around the genitals and around the udder is cleaned of dirt and hair.
The presence of a person at the time of birth is desirable. Before lambing, the female's genitals swell and her udder increases in size. After the lamb is born, the umbilical cord must be cut and the wound treated with iodine. The baby's nose must be cleared of mucus. The female must be milked immediately. Lambs should eat 30-40 minutes after birth.
The afterbirth comes out on its own after a few hours. It is not advisable to pull it out of the uterus. The main thing is to bury the afterbirth so that the sheep does not eat it and get poisoned. Little lambs need to feed on their mother's milk every 2-3 hours. They are kept under the sheep for up to 2-3 months. As lambs get older, they are accustomed first to hay, then to grass. It is forbidden to suddenly change the diet of animals (diseases of the digestive system may occur).
Diseases and prevention from them
Sheep of the Kuibyshev breed are well adapted to frost, but cannot tolerate dampness. In cold, rain and slush, it is better not to take animals outside, then they will not suffer from colds.
With proper feeding and high-quality feed, animals never develop diseases of the digestive system and metabolism. Nutritional errors can lead to bloating, poisoning, and the birth of non-viable lambs.
Infectious diseases pose a great danger. Contagious diseases are transmitted from sick animals and through contaminated food and drink. Infectious agents (bacteria and viruses) can lead to the death of animals. To prevent the most dangerous diseases, Kuibyshev sheep at 3 months of age are vaccinated against anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, smallpox, leptospirosis, plague, and trichophytosis. Once or twice a year, animals are given medications against worms and fleas.
Distribution area
Representatives of the Kuibyshev breed are bred mainly in Russia. There are numerous herds of these animals in the Samara and Ulyanovsk regions, as well as in Bashkiria, Mordovia, and Tatarstan. Kuibyshev sheep are raised throughout the middle zone.
