Meat sheep are kept on private farms and bred on large farms. Much attention should be paid to the diet of animals. Balanced food promotes rapid weight gain. The purchase, maintenance and breeding of meat sheep pays off within two years, subject to demand for the product. But unpretentious animals can be kept on pasture, saving on sheepfold equipment.
Advantages of raising meat sheep
It is profitable to engage in lamb production for the following reasons:
- one sheep produces a large amount of meat and fat;
- meat breeds can be kept on open grazing and save on nutrition;
- Animals tolerate cold well and can stay on Tebenevka in winter.
Sheep of meat breeds quickly gain weight even with a meager diet. They are easier to care for than cattle. Free grazing in summer and winter will increase the amount of production and save on feed and barn equipment. When kept indoors, animals readily eat feed.
Breed selection rules
To choose a breed, you need to decide on the type of product. There are two types of meat breeds: meat-greasy and meat-wool. In addition to meat, they produce lard or fat tail and wool. Meat breeds produce a lot of milk. Therefore, when they are bred, at least two valuable products are obtained - meat and milk. Among the domestic breeds, the Romanovskaya, Gorky, Katumskaya, and West Siberian breeds are popular. Of the foreign breeds, Dorper, Texel, and Prekos are distinguished by their high productivity. When choosing meat and wool sheep, you should pay attention to the Edilbaevskaya, Gissarskaya and Saradzhinskaya breeds. Main selection criteria:
- multiple births;
- endurance;
- high rate of weight gain;
- strong immunity.
Unpretentious breeds that are resistant to cold climates - Romanov and Gorky - are suitable for starting breeding. Kuibyshev sheep are highly productive. They can be kept on pasture all year round, and the lambs gain weight quickly. At 6 months they weigh 60 kilograms and are ready for slaughter.
Conditions and care
The choice of maintenance method depends on the financial capabilities of the farmer and the climate in the region. The most economical option is to graze on open pasture all year round. The meat of such sheep is valued higher - as an environmentally friendly product.It is convenient to keep sheep on pasture in the southern regions. But usually free grazing is combined with barn keeping, since animals and shepherds need shelter from bad weather and the midday sun. In the shed the sheep are looked after more carefully:
- trim the hooves once every 2 months;
- for the winter, heated drinking bowls are installed;
- fed 3 times a day.
In the stalls, it is necessary to change the bedding and remove manure so that the valuable animal hair does not get dirty. Sheep on pasture do not come into contact with manure, so their wool is cleaner than that of cattle in a sheepfold.
Pasture
Meat breed sheep are grazed on natural or artificial pasture. The best terrain for grazing is dry land, steppe, and mountain slopes. Steppe pastures provide vitamin nutrition in the spring. Dry and mountainous areas are the most valuable and versatile.
When choosing a location, pay attention to the growing grasses. Hogweed, legumes, white clover and timothy are useful for meat sheep. Dangerous and poisonous plants are red clover, the ranunculaceae family, horsetail and feather grass.
In the first year of growth, red clover and buttercups contain a nerve poison that causes convulsions in animals. Horsetail is dangerous for male sheep, as it causes miscarriage. Feather grass seeds spoil the wool, and the stems are too sharp to chew. You should also avoid grazing sheep after rain or when there is dew, especially in an alfalfa field. The wet green mass ferments in the stomach and is not digested.
Raising beef sheep on artificial pasture is safer, but labor-intensive. The fields are cleared of weeds, sown with perennial grasses and care is taken to ensure that no pests are introduced. Gopher burrows become a breeding ground for helminths, to which lambs are sensitive.
In summer, the flock is taken out after the dew has disappeared. Animals feed until noon.Then they are led to the river for a watering hole or to a shelter with supplied water. When the heat subsides, the sheep are led out to feed again. They are on the pasture from approximately five in the morning until ten in the evening.
Koshara
Keeping in a sheepfold is used as the main method of raising meat sheep. If animals will be constantly indoors, it is necessary to provide them with comfortable conditions:
- bright lighting - in the dark the reproductive capacity of rams decreases, so daylight hours need to be increased with lamps;
- warm floor - you need to pour a layer of straw on a hard clay surface;
- fresh air - in a closed sheepfold it is necessary to equip a ventilation system.
When building a building, they calculate how many square meters of stall are required per herd.
Number of cubic meters per animal:
- lamb - 0.7;
- ram - 3;
- sheep with newborn lambs - 2.5.
For walking, a platform measuring 4 square meters per individual and with a fence 1.5 meters high is built. Depending on the size of the building and the number of animals, the entrance is designed. In a small shed, a door 1.5 meters wide is installed so that one sheep can freely pass through the opening. For large herds, double-leaf gates are installed.
They also provide a separate entrance to the feed room and an entrance for trucks.
Feeders with large-mesh protective mesh are installed along the stalls. The sheep will stick their heads through the mesh, but will not trample the food. Drinkers with a volume of 10 liters will provide livestock with plenty of water. The material for feeders and drinkers is wood. The following technical rooms are being set up in the sheepfold:
- feed storage;
- haircut room;
- slaughter department.
You will also need a separate cold room for storing carcasses.
Diet
The menu for ram meat breeds consists of three components:
- green food - fresh grass for pasture, silage in winter;
- roughage - straw from green legumes, barley, oats, alfalfa hay, clover, canned haylage;
- vegetables - fodder beets, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini;
- concentrates - grains of wheat, oats, corn, bran, sunflower cake.
Daily ration of adult sheep for fattening:
| Product | Norm in kilograms | |
| For adult animals | For lambs up to 6 months | |
| Clover or alfalfa hay | 1,5-2 | 1,5 |
| Silage, fresh grass | 2-5 | 1,5 |
| Concentrate | 0,5 | 0,3 |
To quickly gain weight, animals require proteins. Their highest content is in concentrates from peas, barley and corn. They also give mineral supplements - chalk is mixed into the crushed grain. Feeders for fattened animals are constantly filled. Concentrates are given after the sheep have drunk, and green and roughage - before the water is supplied.
How long does a sheep grow to slaughter weight?
Lambs of meat breeds quickly increase in weight. At four months they gain half the weight of adult animals, and by one year they almost completely catch up with them. Fattening begins at four months of age, and after 4 months the lambs are released for meat. Daily weight gain depends on the breed and diet. Muscle mass increases up to six months.
Experienced farmers sell meat when the rams reach ten months of age. Animals reach their maximum weight at this age, so fattening them further is not profitable. Sheep eat a lot, but gain little weight. Adult rams and ewes are fattened for 2 months after lambing.On average, rams grow from birth to slaughter for 8-9 months.
Slaughter
Animal preparation and procedure:
- hair is cut a month before the procedure;
- transferred to a separate room one day before;
- They don’t feed you, but they give you something to drink;
- the sheep is tied up and its throat is cut in a lying or hanging position;
- drain blood;
- skinned and butchered.
The carcass should be cut into large pieces, since small ones are stored less. Sheep are calm and intellectually undeveloped animals. Therefore, they do not anticipate danger before slaughter.
Subtleties of reproduction
The breeding season for meat sheep begins in the fall, in October, and lasts until January. The gestation period is 5.5 months. During the mating period, breeding rams are supplemented with oat and barley chaff and hay. Sheep need to diversify their diet with vegetables and provide plenty of fluids.
For lambing, the premises must be clean, manure must be removed and bedding changed. Sheep can stand or lie down while giving birth. Therefore, you need to put a thick layer of clean straw on the floor to prevent the baby from getting injured or contracting an infection.
A sheep licks a newborn lamb and feeds it milk. If there are more than two cubs in the litter, they will have to be artificially fed. One female can feed no more than two lambs.
After childbirth, you need to check whether the afterbirth - the membrane of the fetus - has come out. Usually it comes out immediately or after feeding newborns. If the placenta does not come out or comes out partially, you need to contact a veterinarian. Due to the retention of the membrane during the day, inflammation of the uterus develops.
Purchasing sheep
When buying meat breed rams, pay attention to the appearance of adult animals and the weight of the lambs.
Adults
Signs of a healthy ram:
- strong physique;
- wide chest;
- clean fur, eyes and ears.
Breeding males should weigh 100 kilograms. Yarok is distinguished by an elastic, round udder.
Young animals
Young meat lambs are selected for the same qualities as adults. The seller should clarify what vaccinations the animal has received. It is important to check the bite of young animals. If the teeth are not positioned correctly, sheep will be unable to chew solid food and gain weight.
Lambs
Lambs at the age of four months must meet the development standards established by the breed standard. The weight norm for grown lambs is 45 kilograms and above. Healthy lambs get scared and run away when people approach.
