All about sheep and their maintenance at home. Sheep breeding: breeding sheep at home for beginners. What a Newbie Needs to Know

Sheep breeding in Russia began quite a long time ago, this moment this type of animal husbandry already has its own traditions and established technologies. Sheep are quite unpretentious, they allow you to get wool, meat, lard and milk, which is why they are popular in those areas where there are suitable pastures.

Let's talk about the features of breeding sheep at home for beginners, about the choice of breed, preparatory activities, rational feeding and health care. Only with the right approach will the business be profitable.

The sheep is a representative of the artiodactyl genus of rams of the bovid family. The average life expectancy of an animal is up to 25 years.

In reality, this period is much shorter:

• when grown for meat, they live up to 1.5 years, further fattening is unprofitable;
• queens grown for breeding are used up to 10 years.

Sheep allow the farmer to obtain several products:

• meat;
• wool (used for making warm clothes and felted shoes);
• milk (used in its pure form or for making cheese).

Benefits of breeding

Despite the fact that sheep breeding is considered a rather difficult line of business, it has a lot of advantages.

Among the advantages:

1. Rapid weight gain.
2. Possibility to have offspring twice a year.
3. Disease resistance.
4. Sheep are practically not afraid of temperature changes.
5. Caring for sheep is much easier than caring for cattle.

In addition, novice farmers can take part in specialized government programs and receive either financing or a loan for preferential terms to start your own business.

Disadvantages and possible difficulties

The disadvantages include:

1. The high cost of breeding animals. At the first stage of the business, there are serious expenses.
2. Pasture is needed, the rent of which is also quite expensive.
3. For rapid weight gain, animals need high-quality feed, which is an additional expense.
4. For the profitability of the business, you need a fairly large herd, hiring qualified personnel. But even in case of success, the profitability indicator will be low, no more than 15-20%.
5. The demand for skins and wool is gradually falling, only meat is always in demand.

For everyone who decides to start own business on sheep, it should be remembered that almost all the profits made in the first years will be spent on the development of the livestock.

Choosing the Right Breed

Growing sheep begins with the choice of direction, that is, the product that the farmer wants to receive in the end. Based on this, preference is given to one or another group of breeds.

Meat

Differ in large body weight and high speed weight gain. Sheep adapt well even to harsh conditions, can graze all year round, and have strong immunity.

The main breeds include:

• Romanovskaya;
• Katumskaya;
• West Siberian;
• Kuibyshev;
• Karachay;
• Frolovskaya;
• North Caucasian;
• Gorky;
• Volgograd;
• dorper;
• Suffolk;
• Tashlinskaya;
• buubey.

Meat-sebaceous

Also known as fat tails.

Popular breeds include:

• Hissar;
• Tajik;
• Kalmyk;
• edilbaevskaya.

Thanks to fat tails, such sheep make it possible to obtain fat, which is highly valued in cooking.

Dairy

Bred for cheese. Breeding sheep with proper care can produce up to 700 liters of fat (7%) milk per year.

The breeds of sheep are:

• colorbles;
• East Frisian.

Breeds are practically not used for domestic sheep breeding.

Woolen

Sheep produce quality wool.

The main breeds are:

• Grozny;
• merinoland;
• Karakul;
• Tushinskaya;
• lincoln;
• caucasian.

From one animal you can get from 2 to 23 kg of wool per year. Sheep are hardy and unpretentious, they give not only wool, but also high-quality tasty meat.

For beginners, it is better to choose universal options:

1. Romanov sheep. Productive, prolific, undemanding in care, can be bred in regions with different climatic conditions. At 6 months, lambs reach 35 kg, adult rams weigh up to 100 kg, sheep - about 50 kg.
2. Gorky. They have strong immunity, quickly gain muscle mass. An adult ram weighs up to 100 kg, a sheep - about 80 kg.
3. Kuibyshev. They can be kept on pasture all year round, a ram reaches 100 kg, a sheep - 70 kg. The lamb reaches a weight of 30 kg at 4 months, and at 6 months it is ready for slaughter.

Sheepfold construction

If in summer sheep should be kept on a pasture, then for winter it is necessary to build a sheepfold for them in advance, the temperature in which should not fall below + 7-10 ° C. Usually brick or wood is used for such buildings.

Requirements for the premises

Get acquainted with the key rules for arranging a sheepfold:

1. Good lighting. Windows should be approximately 1/15 of the wall area. At night, artificial lights are used.
2. Sizes are determined based on the number and age of animals. For a lamb, at least 0.7 m 2 of space is needed, for an adult ram - at least 3 m 2. Females with offspring need 2.5 m 2.
3. The floor is only solid, most often made of clay, straw is laid on top.
4. Required ventilation.
5. If the sheepfold is small, it is enough to make one door 1.5 m wide. In large rooms, double-leaf gates are installed at the entrance and internal doors.

Feeders and drinkers

The simplest option is a long feeder installed along the stalls, each sheep should have 35 cm in length. It should be equipped with a grate that will protect food from trampling, but allow animals to stick their heads out. You will also need wooden troughs and small containers for mineral additives.

The volume of the drinker should be impressive, at least 10 liters per day per head.

Necessary equipment and inventory

A beginner sheep breeder will need:

• inventory for cutting carcasses;
• haircut equipment;
• refrigerators (will allow you to save meat);
• truck or tractor (required if there are more than 300 heads).

Organization of a walking area

If sheep are raised in paddocks and not on pastures, then a walking area must be organized to obtain the necessary fresh air. These herbivores need active movement, because without walking their muscles weaken.

The area of ​​​​the walking area should be 2-4 m 2 for each individual. It is important to install a metal or wooden fence 1.5 m high. Sheep should walk both in summer and in winter (with the exception of severe frosts).

Vetpack

It should contain:

• antihistamines;
• sprays for the treatment of external skin lesions;
• remedies for hoof rot (Kubatol, tar);
• enema;
• syringes;
• cotton wool and bandages;
• tourniquet

In the absence of experience, it is unacceptable to treat animals on your own, you should seek help from a veterinarian.

Content types

There are three ways to breed sheep at home:

1. Pasture. In the southern regions, its duration is 10-11 months, in the middle lane - 5-7 months. Considered the most the best view to achieve maximum animal productivity and product quality.
2. Stoilov, in sheepfolds.
3. Combined.

When grazing, it is very important to choose the right pasture, which can be natural or artificial. The best are steppe, mountain and upland (natural) or artificial with perennial grass. The most valuable plants are alfalfa, wheatgrass, fescue, white clover.

Care in spring, summer, autumn

For beginners, the pasture-stall method is best suited, allowing animals to be both outdoors and indoors.

The daily routine for a flock can be something like this:

1. 5:00 - departure to the pasture.
2. 12:00 - return to the stall for watering.
3. 15:00 - the second departure to the pasture.
4. 23:00 - return to the stall for the night.

in winter

In the cold season, animals kept in stalls suffer from excessive humidity and drafts. Therefore, you should prepare the room for wintering in advance, close up the cracks and cover the floor with clean straw. Do not forget that even in the winter months, sheep need clean air, so the stall or barn must be ventilated.

Also, winter care for sheep should include:

• timely cleaning of manure;
• feeding three times a day (in the morning - rough, lunch - juicy, dinner - concentrated feed);
• watering, preferably from heated drinkers, strictly after feeding;
• hoof trimming (every 6 weeks);
• health care, quarantine of sick animals.

Features of caring for young animals

Lambs are best grown under the uterus for at least 4 months, fed with milk, not transferred to artificial feeding. The room where the young animals are kept should be warm and clean, the animals should be provided with round-the-clock access to water.

Lambs that have reached 4 months are transferred to a separate pen.

Feeding

In order for animals to gain weight and maintain health, it is necessary to feed them well.

General information about the diet

In the summer, sheep should be fed abundantly with grass, including thorns and weeds. It is very important to avoid accidental contact with grass with dew or after rain, as this can lead to swelling of the scar. For top dressing at the end of summer, hay is used.

Animals also need mineral supplements:

• source of calcium, chalk;
• salt (at least 10 g per day per ram or sheep and 5 g per lamb);
• meat and bone meal;
• bone ash.

The basis of the winter diet is hay (preferably legumes).

In addition, sheep are given:

• vegetables (carrots, beets, pumpkin, potatoes, zucchini);
• cereals;
• wheat bran.

To increase milk and meat productivity silage mixed with bean hay or roughage should be used. In free access there should always be a drinking bowl with clean water, in winter it must be warmed up.

The transition from grass to hay and vice versa should be smooth and carried out for at least a week. Otherwise, the risk of gastrointestinal upset is high.

Uterus

Pregnant queens should be fed with balanced high quality feed, a month before lambing, reduce the amount of hay in the diet, replacing it with mixed feed. Juicy food is also necessary - sources of vitamins. After lambing, the hay rate increases.

The body of lactating queens is depleted, so it is imperative to give them lick salt. The approximate amount of supplements for pregnant and lactating females is presented in the table.

young growth

The first week after birth is the time when newborns feed on mother's milk. If the uterus refused offspring, then it is permissible to offer infant formula and cow's milk to babies.

The milk period continues until the young animals reach the age of 2 months, after which it is necessary to transfer the animals to two meals a day.

Baranov

It is very important that manufacturers receive all the necessary vitamins and substances, as this will directly affect the quality of sperm.

The ration of a sheep for a day is as follows:

• hay - 2 kg;
• succulent feed (vegetables, herbs, silage) - 3 kg;
• grain, cake, compound feed - 0.6 kg.

During the mating period, the diet is changed, increasing the amount of concentrates to 1.4 kg per day and reducing the amount of hay to 1.5 kg, and vegetables to 0.5 kg. In addition, to increase the energy of males, they are given 2 chicken eggs and cottage cheese, as well as mineral supplements.

What not to give

There are some types of herbs that are poisonous, as well as individual plants.

It is forbidden to give sheep the following plants:

• dope;
• henbane;
• celandine;
• hemlock;
• spurge;
• lily of the valley;
• growing in wetlands (bulrush, horsetail);
• sugar beets;
• acidic cereals (rush, sedge).

In addition, you can not feed sheep with hay with traces of mold, spoiled food, green potatoes, breads and pastries.

Usage

A haircut

The fleece of coarse-haired and semi-coarse-haired breeds begins to be removed in the first weeks of spring, the second wool sampling is carried out in the fall. Fine-fleece breeds are sheared once a year, more often in the spring, since they are not subject to molting. The first wool sampling from spring lambs takes place a year later, from winter lambs - in the fall. Shear always before drinking and feeding.

In the process, you need to ensure that the wool is not moistened, and after 14 days the animals are treated with disinfectants to prevent diseases.

slaughter

This is the most unpleasant stage of domestic sheep breeding, but necessary. The technology will not cause any particular difficulties, since sheep are distinguished by a calm, peaceful disposition and do not feel danger at all, unlike other farm animals.

There are two types of slaughter:

• in a supine position;
• in a hanging state.

Most often, the second method is used, which allows you to save both meat and skin.

A month before slaughter, the selected animals are sheared, separated from the flock a day before, their feeding is stopped, but it is not recommended to limit them in water.

It is important to kill the animal quickly, delay will negatively affect the quality of the meat.

After slaughter, blood is drained from the carcass, the skin is removed, the internal organs are carefully removed and butchered. It is not recommended to cut finely, since large pieces of lamb are stored much longer.

Breeding

The most important stage of sheep breeding at home is to obtain offspring. This is not an easy task, it requires special knowledge and experience from the farmer.

signs of heat

These include:

• secretion of mucus from the genital loop;
• redness and swelling of the vulva.

Animals selected for mating must be of normal fatness. Wasting, as well as obesity, are unacceptable.

To get healthy offspring will help the correct diet of sheep, varied and rich in minerals. Sheep-producers are given crushed oats, barley and good hay, fed with salt.

The mating takes place from August to mid-January. However, it is important to take into account the characteristics of your region and conduct it at a time when it is possible to give animals a variety of feed. Sheep are allowed near the queens during the daytime, at night they are transferred to a separate paddock for rest.

Preparing for lambing

The duration of a sheep's pregnancy is 142-150 days, during this period it is important to provide animals with high-quality balanced nutrition, clean water, and monitor their health.

Preparation includes:

1. About 10 days before lambing, clean the room: clear the floor of manure, lay a new bedding.
2. Cut the wool from the uterus in the anus and genitals.

Permissible temperature in the room for lambing is 15-17 °C.

Lambing

Sheep can give birth both lying down and standing up. That is why you need to prepare a thick layer of bedding in advance: it will help the newborn avoid injury. Childbirth lasts about 45-60 minutes and, as a rule, sheep do not need human intervention. After the birth of the offspring, the farmer needs to check the integrity of the released placenta and give the ewe water.

Lambs are cleared of mucus from the airways, then wiped and allowed to lick the uterus. It is important to ensure that the babies drink colostrum as quickly as possible. One sheep can feed no more than two cubs, so if more are born, you need to prepare for artificial feeding.

Diseases

It is very important to take care of the health of the livestock, to take timely measures in case of illness. Of course, not every novice sheep breeder has a veterinary education, but anyone should understand the first symptoms of diseases.

These include:

• increase in body temperature;
• twitching of the ears;
• loss of appetite;
• slight weight loss
• mild lameness;
• cough.

If the animal lies on the ground and cannot rise, this is a serious sign that the sheep is dying.

Diseases and their treatment

The most common diseases in sheep are:

1. Pneumonia. Antibiotics are used for treatment, in order to prevent, the sheepfold is regularly ventilated and protected from drafts.
2. Pulp inflammation. Injured hooves get purulent bacteria that cause lameness. The rot should be cut off, and the diet of animals should be diversified and enriched with mineral supplements.
3. Skeletal degeneration. Caused by a lack of vitamin E.
4. Scar flatulence. The main reason is a violation in feeding the animal. To alleviate the condition of the sheep, the introduction of a gas outlet tube into the mouth or a puncture of the scar, performed professional veterinarian.
5. Poisoning with poisonous herbs. It is treated by gastric lavage with Glauber's salt and vegetable oil.
6. Bezoar disease. The reason is eating their own wool during those periods when the animals lack nutrients in the feed.

The most dangerous are individual diseases.

• listeriosis;
• bradzot;
• pasteurellosis;
• enterotoxemia;
• smallpox;
• rabies;
• brucellosis;
• hyperplasia;
• salmonellosis;
• foot and mouth disease;
• anthrax;
• mastitis.

Many diseases are not treatable, so it is important to vaccinate livestock. If a sheep becomes ill, it is immediately isolated.

The most common cause of infectious diseases is a violation of the conditions of detention and feeding.

Many of the helminths of sheep are dangerous to humans, so it is necessary to carry out timely processing of animals.

Diseases caused by worms include:

• fasciolosis;
• dicroceliosis;
• echinococcosis;
• hemonhoz;
• moniesiosis;
• coenurosis.

For treatment, a drug prescribed by a veterinarian is used, for the purpose of prevention, deworming is carried out, hygiene of the stall and feeding of animals are monitored.

Sheep breeding business plan

Sheep farming is fascinating family business, which requires an impressive amount of labor. In addition, serious investments are required for maintenance and breeding. Consider a business plan with calculations using the Romanov breed of sheep as an example.

Expenses

Get acquainted with the main costs that you need to be prepared for when deciding to start your own sheep farm.

1. Buying a farm (building) - 500,000 rubles.
2. Arrangement of the farm, repair / reconstruction of the sheepfold - 1,800,000 rubles.
3. Purchase of animals - 750,000 rubles. (of which: ewes - 100 heads of 6,000 rubles each, sires - 5 heads of 30,000 rubles each).
4. Pasture preparation (sowing with grass, erecting a fence, building a paddock) - 500,000 rubles.
5. Purchase of transport (MPZ tractor) - 1,500,000 rubles.
6. Purchase of tools, inventory - 200,000 rubles.
7. Stocks of feed, straw - 300,000 rubles.
8. Additional costs - 50,000 rubles.

Total - 5,600,000 rubles.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account current expenses.

1. Remuneration for workers - 520,000 rubles.
2. Utility payments - 75,000 rubles.
3. Feed - 200,000 rubles.
4. Transportation costs - 100,000 rubles.
5. Veterinary services - 100,000 rubles.

Total - 995,000 rubles. in year.

The calculation was made taking into account the fact that part of the feed can be independently stored on pasture in the summer. The number of employees who will take care of the livestock is three.

Profit and payback

To see if it's profitable home breeding sheep, you need to calculate the planned profit. The average price of a kilogram of lamb is 350 rubles. Besides, additional income can be obtained from the sale of young lambs weighing up to 15 kg.

Based on this, the revenue will be as follows:

1. The first year - the sale of a ton of lamb for 350,000 rubles.
2. Starting from the second year - the sale of 5 tons of lamb for 1,750,000 rubles. and 100 heads of breeding yarochek for 600,000 rubles.

From the second year, the revenue will be 2,350,000 rubles.

The profit in the second year is: 2,350,000 - 995,000 = 1,355,000 rubles. From this amount, the amount of taxes and insurance premiums should be deducted (depending on the chosen taxation system), and the net profit will be obtained.

The payback period of a sheep farm is about two years.

However, it is important to remember that such a development of events is possible only if there is demand in a particular region.

Choice of sales channels

It is best to focus on long-term cooperation and sell meat in bulk.

Video

The following video details the experience of keeping sheep.

From the next video you will learn how to give birth to a ewe.

In this video you can see how to properly shear sheep.

One of the profitable areas of home business is sheep breeding. Depending on the breed, a sheep can provide the farmer with meat, milk, fat, and wool. In this article, you can find answers to questions about keeping and breeding sheep at home for beginners.

Before buying sheep, a novice farmer needs to familiarize himself with the features of keeping and breeding these animals at home.

Sheep belong to herd animals, which do not have the habit of scattering in different directions, but prefer to graze all together. Thanks to this feature of their lifestyle, a farmer can keep a large livestock in a small sheepfold.

For a beginner sheep breeder, there are no better animals to be found. Growing sheep is not a particularly laborious process. Sheep unpretentious in feed and any field with grass will suit them for walking. But, damp and wet places should be excluded. After such walks, animals can get sick.

According to the quality of wool, rams are:

• fine-fleeced;
• semi-fine-wool;
• coarse-haired.

The sheep breeding process begins after the business plan for breeding sheep, choosing the right breed and acquiring the required number of cattle. Farmers divide the content of sheep into the following stages:

• For regions with a warm climate, a year-round pasture method is suitable.
• For cold regions in sheepfolds.
• A combined method that allows you to adjust the content of animals depending on the season.

On the initial stage sheep breeding, it will be enough to purchase up to 20 heads. The main criteria for evaluating animals is their ability to quickly gain weight and female fertility. With the implementation of wool, too, there will be no problems.

Today there are enough enterprises that accept sheepskin for processing. It is advisable to find all the enterprises and clarify prices even before buying livestock.

Before buying and breeding animals, it is advisable to choose suitable place for pasture. It is advisable to choose a flat place without lowlands and swamps. With a poor diet, animals will need additional food.

If the animals are kept in a sheepfold, then they are recommended to give corn and grass silage, cereal hay. One ram per day should be spent at least 3 kilograms of silage.

Feed should be prepared taking into account the following proportions: 6 quintals of silage, 5 quintals of roughage, 2 quintals of hay. First of all, weakened nursing queens and breeding rams need concentrated feed.

As an alternative to their nutrition, you can use bean silage or hay. Add a small amount of lick salt to the feeders. If animal hair is a priority in home business, then animal feed should consist of legumes and cereals in a ratio of 40% to 60%.

For the rapid growth of rams used concentrated feed but they are not cheap. Animals need minerals, so chalk, fluorine-free phosphate, bone meal. The productivity of sheep is reduced in all directions with a lack of minerals in the animal body.

Animals do not need much water to drink. In the summer, it is enough to water the animals twice a day. You can solder one more time at night at high temperatures. In winter, the drinking regime is reduced to one time. It is better to take water for drinking animals from a well to avoid health problems.

How to keep sheep

If the winter in the region where animals are kept is not very fierce, then the barn can not be insulated. The main purpose of the sheepfold can be considered the possibility of sheltering animals from strong winds and precipitation.

Premises for lambing queens are built at the rate of two square meters per sheep. Animal housing should also meet some requirements:

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

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

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

Breeding sheep at home begins when the animals reach puberty, which, depending on the breed, occurs between 4 and 8 months. Good offspring a sheep can only give upon reaching one year of age. The average gestation time is about 145 days.

Approximately 25 days before the expected lambing sheep being sheared near the tail and udder. A sheep endures childbirth on its own, without resorting to human help. Lamb can be transferred to concentrated feed after a week of age.

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

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

Caring for sheep is not difficult. It takes only a few months to keep and raise sheep for meat. Already from the age of three months, lambs can be slaughtered for meat. And it is desirable to slaughter until the lambs are nine months old.

Haircut is carried out up to two times a year. In spring, rams with uniform wool are predominantly sheared. If the animals have mixed wool, then the haircut is made in the autumn and spring periods.

When breeding sheep in the northern regions when keeping animals of coarse-haired breeds, their cut up to three times a year. If you miss the favorable period for trimming, then you can lose half of the wool as a result of the molting that has begun in the animal.

What breeds of sheep are suitable for keeping in the household

Sheep breeding has different directions. Its essential condition is not only the competent maintenance of animals in the household and care for them, but also the choice of breed associated with the direction of production.

Romanov breed of sheep considered universal in all directions. These sheep can be raised for meat, as they give a good offspring. Romanov sheep have high-quality wool and excellent milk yields.

Merino, sheep of the Altai, Stavropol and Caucasian breeds can be grown to obtain high-quality fine wool. Semi-fine wool can be obtained from meat-wool breeds. Sheep of these breeds can be divided into longhair and shorthair. The live weight of sheep is about 80 kilograms.

Breeds such as the Russian Longhair, Tien Shan, Kuibyshev, North Caucasian are semi-fine-haired. Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian breeds of sheep are considered short-haired. Sheep with short hair there are undeniable advantages: quickly put on weight and give unusually tasty meat.

Romanov and Karakul breeds of sheep are indispensable in the production of fur coats. And the sheep of the Hissar breed belong to the fat-tailed breed and differ in their mass which can reach 200 kilograms. Mostly these sheep are grown for lard and meat, and felt is made from wool.

Breeding sheep at home for beginners, as well as their content, is not much different from a professional one. The only difference is in the number of animals.

How to care for sheep has been discussed above. These animals the least expensive to maintain, due to the fact that most of the time they spend in natural conditions on the pasture.

Sheep are able to feed themselves with pasture and do not show much selectivity when choosing food. When kept in a stall, the farmer needs to fill the feeders in time and keep the room clean.

The average life expectancy of sheep ranges between 20 and 25 years. But the manufacturer and queens are recommended to keep no more than seven years. After this age, it is better to replace them. This is due to a drop in overall productivity and tooth wear.

When keeping sheep, a beginner should take into account that these animals are caught exclusively by the legs with a special wooden stick with a hook. If caught by the wool, then a shred of it will certainly remain in the hands, and the animal will run away. If there is no certainty that the animal will remain in one place during the day, then you can walk on a leash moving the animal to a new location.

To answer this question, before buying animals, you need to draw up a business plan. If there is a desire to breed sheep not only for yourself, but also to turn this occupation into a source of income, then you should approach this occupation thoughtfully.

With proper maintenance and care, this business is very profitable. The Romanov breed shows the highest profit from keeping. Females of this breed are able to lamb twice a year and give birth to several lambs at a time.

When drawing up a plan, it should be taken into account that in order to keep one sheep with offspring, it is necessary about a hectare of land. These lands can be rented and sown with grass in the spring if natural vegetation does not grow for some reason.

About ten kilograms of feed required per animal per day. It is better to find a site with a fresh reservoir or make an artificial one yourself. For walking animals need about 3 square meters for one animal.

It is recommended to give to animals opportunity to run, outside the restricted enclosure. As the number of livestock increases, so will the profit from the sale of meat, milk and animal hair.

Attention, only TODAY!

Keeping and raising sheep at home is not difficult. Sheep breeding is one of the oldest human occupations, because these domestic animals can be a source of meat, wool, fat and milk. In the modern world, most farmers start their business with sheep. The fact is that the maintenance of even a large flock is an economically profitable occupation and, accordingly, brings a good income.

The advantages of sheep breeding are as follows: they do not need special conditions of keeping, feeding takes place mainly on pasture, good fertility and high survival rate of young animals. These features give sheep a great advantage over other livestock species.

Features of keeping and rearing young animals

Sheep are distinguished by excellent health, of course, subject to the correct system of keeping. This feature is inherited, so the survival rate of lambs is 90-100%.

Growing young animals does not cause much trouble to the farmer. Yarki are endowed with a strong maternal instinct, therefore they are able to take care of their offspring on their own. The participation of the farmer in this process is minimal, but still required.

First, you need to take care of the room. The corral where the lambs will be kept must be insulated and cleaned.

Within two to three hours after lambing, it is necessary to put the lamb to the mother. She will give him milk to drink and lick him.

Important! It is a must to drink the lamb with colostrum! If the female is not able to do this herself, she must be milked on her own, and the lamb should be watered from a bowl.

After that, the baby should be kept with the mother for several days. After a short quarantine, the sheep and lamb can be released to the rest of the flock.

The grazing of young animals is reduced to the fact that the lambs should not be grazing separately. At least two. This makes it easier for them to endure separation from their mother.

Despite the fact that adults are quite hardy and some breeds are able to do without water for 2-3 days, young stock should have unrestricted access to water.

In addition to green fodder, it is useful to include cereals and root crops in the diet of young animals. In addition, for faster weight gain, you can use combined feeds.

Remember that keeping young animals includes mandatory vaccination of the entire livestock!

Features of keeping and raising sheep

There are two main systems for keeping adults: stall and pasture. On the territory of our country, sheep are kept in a combined way. From early spring to late autumn, the animals are on the pasture and only with the onset of cold weather are transferred to the stall content.

Almost all breeds of sheep endure low temperatures. Therefore, it is possible to keep 3-4 animals from the sheep family at home in almost any shed or utility room.

If you have a flock of a hundred heads, then it is worth making a more spacious room for keeping. There is nothing tricky about this, so many farmers lead on their own.

Since sheep endure the cold, you can save on heating. A conventional oven is enough to maintain desired temperature+8 degrees.

The only thing you need to take care of is ventilation and floors. The fact is that in sheep, the weak point is the hooves. In order for your flock to be healthy, the floor in the sheepfold must be plank.

And the presence of ventilation in the room - required condition for any livestock. Not a single living creature tamed by man is able to live in dampness.

Raising sheep in winter requires a special diet. Stall content implies that you will have to feed your wards. The good news is that sheep are practically omnivores. In winter, they willingly consume hay, straw, root crops. It is useful to give animals thin branches of trees. It is the main source of vitamins.

With the onset of spring, the animals move to grazing. During this period, they can be left grazing around the clock. Of course, under reliable protection.

The fact is that sheep are herd animals and cowardly. From any sharp and loud sound, the flock can scatter over a fairly large area. It is noteworthy that rams and lambs will not be able to find their way on their own, so you will have to look for them.

But feeding the flock will no longer bother you. Sheep are quite capable of gaining weight quite well even on grassed pastures. The only thing worth taking care of is access to water. Even the juiciest grass will not replace a plentiful watering hole. Per day, an adult is able to drink up to 10 liters of liquid. Consider this fact when choosing a pasture.

Features of keeping and growing sheep

Raising sheep and keeping rams do not have key features. Animals belong to the same species, so the conditions of keeping and feeding are identical.

There are usually fewer sheep in a flock. After all, they are needed mainly for the insemination of sheep. Therefore, usually a few especially prolific males are left for the tribe, and the rest are slaughtered for meat after summer fattening.

If you want to control the appearance of young, then males are recommended to be kept separately from females. Animals are brought together only for mating, usually in autumn.

The number of males, depending on the breed and fertility, may be different. There are cases when one breeding ram can cover the entire flock.

True, such fertility is achieved only as a result of excellent health. So don't forget to take care of your sires. good feeding, regular check-ups by a veterinarian and mandatory vaccinations. By the way, these preventive measures apply to other animals.

Sheep, like sheep, willingly eat almost any feed. It is worth noting the fact that grazing animals on wet pastures is not recommended. Despite their natural resistance to external influences, sheep can get sick from dampness.

Sheep usually gain weight faster than ewes, so by 4-5 months they can already be slaughtered for meat. In addition, males usually differ in impressive dimensions, so some breeds are able to independently protect the flock from predators.

Considering that sheep are able to spend the entire summer on the pasture, it makes sense to take care of the purchase. This will reduce the cost of maintenance personnel.

Do not forget to vaccinate and regularly invite an experienced livestock specialist to inspect animals. Some infections, such as or, do not appear in the initial stage, but are fatal.

Although animals can live up to 14 years, keeping them up to a maximum of eight years of age is considered cost-effective. After that, the quality of wool and meat drops significantly.

Don't forget to clean and trim your sheep's hooves regularly. Otherwise, they may have health problems.

In order for the animals not to scatter from any rustle, it is recommended to graze goats or horses with them. Sheep very often copy the behavior of other animals, so a goat or a horse may well become a role model for them.

Despite the fact that females are able to reproduce offspring at the age of 7-8 months, experienced farmers advise to postpone mating. The optimal age for mating is 10-12 months. The fact is that early lambing can bring unhealthy offspring and harm the mother herself.

With the right approach to developing a business plan and planning the profitability of sheep farming, the farmer will be able to build a profitable and highly efficient business! Having become acquainted with the nuances of growing and breeding sheep, every novice entrepreneur will see their unpretentiousness and high usefulness of products (milk, meat, wool, skins and fat).

One of the most promising and popular types animal husbandry is currently considered sheep breeding. Many novice farmers start their business by raising sheep. This is facilitated by a number of unique features of the animal, such as unpretentiousness to conditions external environment, ease of maintenance and feeding. It is worth noting that rams and sheep are resistant to death and their young animals are excellent at fighting diseases. One of the main factors in the cultivation of these artiodactyls is the presence of pastures of large areas. Before a beginner plans to set up a profitable farm for raising these unique pets, accurate cost and profitability calculations should be made. Sheep are not among the agricultural species that bring maximum profits. However, with an integrated approach, you can get about 25% of income per year from one individual.

Sheep breeding basics

If you have never been engaged in the cultivation of this species and are not familiar with the peculiarities of its life, then first of all it is worth visiting an existing farm, consulting with specialists and professional sheep breeders. Depending on the breed and climatic conditions, the breeding of animals may vary slightly. But before delving into the intricacies of management methods, you need to find out what materials can be obtained from adults and how the costs of the sheepfold will be covered.

Main products of sheep breeding:

1. Meat.
2. Milk.
3. Wool.
4. Skin.

All of the above is successfully sent to markets and shops, as well as to specialized factories.

Lamb or lamb belongs to the dietary varieties of meat products. Therefore, breeding sheep for meat is one of the most promising areas of animal husbandry. Its main advantage is the presence of a large number of vitamins, trace elements and amino acids. The carcass of this species contains 2-3 times less fat than pork and beef. In adipose tissue, 4 times less cholesterol is determined than in other animals. And, as you know, the less cholesterol is contained in human blood, the lower the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In other words, fewer heart attacks and strokes. Maybe this is the secret of the longevity of peoples for whom the diet of this meat is a cultural feature.

Dairy products are traditionally used by residents of Europe, Central Asia, North Caucasus and Crimea. But now it has become available to a wide consumer and on the shelves of dairy departments you can increasingly find such products from sheep milk as:

1. Matsoni.
2. Yogurt.
3. Katyk.
4. Ayran etc.

Roquefort, Feta and cheese are also made from the milk of these animals.

It is impossible not to note such a classic material for shepherds as wool. This is the most popular type of sheep farm. You will have no difficulty in implementing it. Factories for tailoring clothes and other fabric materials buy it in bulk.

The skins are sold for the manufacture of leather goods. Lamb skin is one of the softest. Exclusive clothing and accessories are made from it. Many well-known fashion houses use only this variety. With the right dressing, you can make a significant profit only from the skins.

How to start sheep breeding?

When drawing up a plan for a sheep farm, it is recommended that you first of all pay attention to the following points:

1. IP registration.
2. Breed selection.
3. Conditions of maintenance and care.
4. Features of feeding in summer and winter.
5. hired staff.
6. Implementation.

Starting capital and material and technical base will depend entirely on the number of herds. With a small amount, you can build a stall yourself and graze on available and free land, which significantly reduces costs. Equipment for the pasture method is contained in any rural yard. This is another positive factor for beginners to start profitable raising such livestock from scratch.

Beginners are not recommended to immediately start herds of thousands of heads. To master this business, you should start with 7-10 sheep. In this case, registration of activities is optional. However, if you are engaged in sheep breeding on a large scale, this should be done officially. The OKVED code "Cultivation of sheep and goats" will allow carrying out breeding work and selling products. If you choose to process milk, you will need to expand your legal authority and re-register.

What sheep to raise?

In order for the maintenance and breeding of sheep to be profitable, it is necessary to purchase young individuals of the breed that corresponds to the direction of the business. Before buying, it is important to clearly clarify this point and take the lambs, taking into account your "rate" for implementation. It is believed that meat-wool and meat-fat breeds of sheep have the highest profitability. They are resistant to temperature extremes, survive the winter well and give a high offspring. Experienced sheep breeders advise them. However, you have a lot of choices.

Sheep breeds

1. Woolen (Soviet merino, Grozny, Stavropol).
2. Meat-haired (Altai, South Ural, Russian long-haired, Dagestan).
3. Meat (Saraja, Altai).
4. Sheepskin and meat (Romanovskaya).

General content rules

When and how to feed the herd?

In summer, feeding sheep is completely easy and inexpensive. It is enough just to organize a simple grazing. Lambs and adults find their own food and, moving through vast pastures, quickly gain weight. They prefer fresh grass in all its diversity. When hauling, you need to pay attention to the speed of movement of livestock. There is no need to stop in one place for a long time, as the herd will simply begin to trample down the plantation and will not fully eat food.

The winter diet is different from the summer one. It includes hay and supplements. Compound feed and root crops are used as top dressing. It is necessary to provide a sufficient amount of water, as a thick coat can lead to a violation of the thermoregulation of individuals.

hired personnel

If you have a small herd, then, of course, you can take care of it yourself. With a full-scale business project, you will need shepherds. It is best to choose staff from local residents who are well versed in the locations of abundant pastures and will easily “attack” the flock. Shepherds must have a good understanding of the animals themselves. So, often lambing occurs right during grazing and you need to properly take the lambs, keeping them until they get into the stall. For keeping a small group of 300-400 animals. With the right organization of work, 3 people are enough. It is necessary to feed and water animals in a timely manner, take offspring and be able to cut them. It is not difficult to master these techniques, therefore, in a group of shepherds, one professional is enough to teach others his skills.

Sheep breeding in a stall

The stall type of farming has a number of differences from the pasture. It can be called forced. This method is practiced in areas where there is not enough green land. The stall growing has an extremely low profitability and a number of other negative factors which make it currently less attractive in Russia than free range. These include:

1. Low economic efficiency.
2. High incidence in the herd.
3. Poor care and maintenance.
4. Unnatural conditions for sheep.

The possibility of stall breeding is more relevant in arid areas with dense urban development. It is typical for Western countries with a different vector of livestock development. There, the content in the stall is constantly modified and developed.

Reasons for low profitability

1. Increasing spending on cereals, as the main type of feed.
2. The cost of wages employees, transport costs, maintenance of appropriate sanitary conditions.
3. Includes a section on the prevention of various diseases.

We sell goods and count money

The profitability of the farm will vary quite a lot depending on the area where the production is located. Also, the income part can increase if the right breed of artiodactyls is chosen. The cost of renting land throughout Russia can vary widely and differ significantly. For an example of calculation, let's take a flock of 300 heads with average indicators for turnover and cost.

Rent land plot- 100,000 rubles. in year.

Stall - 100,000 rubles. in year.

Staff - 600,000 rubles. in year.

Legal expenses - 50,000 rubles. in year.

General: 850,000 rubles. start-up capital for one season.

Meat - 500,000 rubles. in year. (50 individuals - 100 rubles / kg).

Live weight - 500,000 rubles. per year (100 individuals 5,000 rubles / piece).

Wool - 100,000 rubles.

General: 1,100,000 rubles.

It can be seen that the payback of a small livestock, even at the lowest prices for meat and wool, is one year. At the moment, some sellers are asking for up to 160 rubles per kilogram. With a successful marketing system and the ability to save on transportation costs, profitability will exceed 25%.

Is this business profitable?

On the territory of Russia there are hundreds of profitable enterprises in this area Agriculture. This is the sheep farm of the Zaikins. This is one of the largest firms in the Lyudinovsky district of the Kaluga region. Currently, the farm contains more than 700 head of cattle. 380 of them are ewes. Grow mainly meat breed of sheep - Romanov. The farm is constantly growing and facilities have now been built to keep another 2,500 heads. The success of the company lies in effective care. Experienced employees adhere to all norms for the proper maintenance of these animals.

It should be noted that the mutton market in Russia is experiencing a constant shortage. The presence of favorable climatic conditions and a huge number of pastures in our country allows today to engage in profitable sheep breeding.

When growing livestock at home, preference should be given to species common in a particular area. Firstly, such individuals are better prepared for the climatic and food conditions of the region. Secondly, to replenish the livestock, sheep can be purchased from the nearest large livestock farms. And thirdly, the process of insemination is greatly simplified, since you can still find a good sire at the same local breeding stations.

From the article you will learn how to start breeding sheep, how to choose the right individuals for mating and breeding young animals, and what features it has this direction animal husbandry.

Breeding sheep at home - video

Breeding sheep at home is a profitable area of ​​agriculture. But, despite the calm nature and unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention, the sheep still need some care.

Features of care and breeding of sheep are shown in detail in the video. From it you will learn how to properly maintain animals, how to feed them and what other features sheep breeding differs from.

To produce healthy offspring, only healthy individuals of a strong physique are needed. Therefore, when selecting, the general state of health of the animal, its skeleton and the development of individual parts of the body are assessed.

In addition, breed-specific features also play an important role.:

• In individuals of the woolly direction, the skin and skeleton are well developed, and the muscle tissue and fiber are weak;
• In meat animals, the opposite is true: the main development is in muscles and fiber;
• Productive dairy sheep should have a well-developed udder and digestive organs;
• In one-year-old animals of fine-fleece breeds, the length of the coat should be at least 7 centimeters. Fine wool indicates a fragile physique of the animal, which is not suitable for breeding;
• Representatives of the meat-wool and semi-fine-wool direction should have a good body weight and thick hair covering the legs and head;
• For meat-fat breeds, the determining role in the selection of producers is played by the exterior, the size of the fat tail, its shape, as well as body weight;
• For Karakul sheep, the most important indicator is the quality of the smushka, but it can be assessed only in the first few days after the birth of the lamb. At other times, the score of the Astrakhan is not an objective indicator for the selection of queens and rams for breeding;
• When selecting sheep of the Romanov breed, it is necessary to pay attention to the ratio of awn and down in the wool, as well as the level of fertility and milk production of females;
• Sheep of meat-wool-milk breeds are designed to obtain a large amount of meat and milk. That is why, when selecting, you need to choose animals of medium size and strong physique. Females should have a well developed udder, the coat should be white, rough, shiny and strong. The deposition of fat on the tail and belly should be moderate.

Figure 1 shows characteristics sheep of various kinds. If difficulties or questions arise during the selection process, it is best to consult a veterinarian or breeder. An important role for the replenishment of the herd is played by the age of the animals. If there is no relevant documentary data, you can determine the age of a sheep by its teeth.

Figure 1. Breeds and directions of productivity of sheep: 1 - meat and wool direction, 2 - sheep of the Romanov breed, 3 - sheep of the meat and tallow direction of productivity

Sheep have 32 teeth in total. Of these, 8 incisors on the lower jaw and 12 molars at the top and bottom. From the age of one year, the central teeth change from milk to permanent, they are larger and have an ivory color. With age, all other teeth change, and from the age of four, their destruction begins, and gaps appear between the teeth.

Basics of sheep breeding

In order for the breeding of sheep and rams to be successful, you need to draw up a business plan in advance and determine the main areas of activity. First of all, for cultivation, several pastures will be required, on which the flock will spend most of the time during the warm season. It is desirable that the grazing is located next to a natural body of water (Figure 2).

Note: The pasture for keeping sheep must be large enough, since one female with a lamb per year requires about a hectare of area. If there is no such site, you will have to purchase additional feed.

For winter breeding of sheep, it is necessary to build a sheepfold with a paddock. The building is insulated, and the walking area is fenced off. The room is equipped with ventilation and, if necessary, heating equipment is installed.

After preparing the pasture and sheepfold, you can begin to acquire the sheep themselves. At the initial stage, you can limit yourself to a few females without a sire, but in the future, for mating, you will have to take the females to the male or carry out artificial insemination.

Figure 2. Summer and winter maintenance

Sheep can be bred not only for meat, but also for wool. The average life expectancy of an animal is 20-25 years, but it is optimal to send them for slaughter at 7 years, since in the future both females and males significantly reduce productivity.

It is better to raise lambs under the female. Despite the high viability and the possibility of artificial feeding through the nipple, it is better for lambs to feed on mother's milk directly (Figure 3).

Note: Growing lambs under the uterus lasts an average of 4 months. After that, the young are transferred to a separate paddock and accustomed to an adult diet.

Figure 3. Keeping newborn lambs under the uterus

In addition, a separate warm room with clean feeders and constant access to water is equipped for lambs and queens. In the warm season, it is desirable for animals to be on the range most of the day, but since many lambs are born in winter, they spend a lot of time indoors. At the same time, it is impossible to reduce the number of walks and take young animals out into the fresh air every day.

Raising sheep for meat

Breeding sheep for meat is a fairly profitable area of ​​agriculture, since the animals quickly gain weight and are ready for slaughter in a few months. As a rule, young rams are selected for this purpose. The most active and viable are left to reproduce, and the rest are transferred to a special diet for rapid weight gain.

During fattening for meat, the basis of the diet is grain concentrates, which are supplemented with juicy, green and roughage. It is also advisable to shear sheep before fattening to increase appetite.

Conditions for breeding sheep

Females (flyers) reach sexual maturity at about 7-9 months. But it is not recommended to carry out the first mating during this period, since the animal's body is not yet fully formed. Early pregnancy (pregnancy) will retard the development of the sheep, since all the nutrients will be absorbed by the growing fetus, and after its birth will be spent on milk production.

However, too late mating harms the animals. If pregnancy does not occur before 12-18 months (the most favorable age for the first pregnancy), the nutrients are transformed into fat mass. In the future, the overweight of the female will interfere with fertilization (Figure 4).

Sexual hunting in females is accompanied by estrus. It has the following features:

• The tissues of the external genital organs turn red;
• The mucous membrane of the vagina and cervix swells;
• Mucus begins to stand out, which first enters the vagina from the cervix, and then out;
• At the initial stage of the hunt, the mucus is transparent, but gradually becomes thicker, and at the end of the cycle it acquires a mushy consistency. It is by this indicator that you can determine the time of onset of ovulation.

Figure 4. The main symptoms of hunting in females

Often, hunting causes the maturation of germ cells, and the process ends when the egg leaves the ovary. The duration of the hunt can be from several hours to several days, depending on the breed, the general condition of the animal and the climatic conditions of its maintenance.

Determining hunting in sheep is quite easy. In addition to discharge from the genitals, the following signs are observed:

• Loss of appetite;
• Nervousness and restless behavior;
• The female does not run away from the ram and stands calmly when he tries to cover her.

Most ewes ovulate about 30 days after the start of the hunt. The last few hours of hunting are considered the most favorable for insemination, but since this period is quite difficult to determine, mating is carried out twice: at the very beginning of the hunt and a day after that.

Note: When selecting females for replenishment, it is important to consider that those who hunt for less than 24 hours often bring one lamb. If the hunt lasts longer, there is a chance of getting a multiple offspring.

If fertilization does not occur, the sheep will show signs of heat again in a few weeks.

To obtain a healthy and numerous offspring, both females and rams must be properly prepared for mating.

To do this, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

• Queens are allocated pasture areas with good food, they are watered at least twice a day;
• It is necessary to include mineral supplements in the diet, and, if necessary, concentrated feed. It was found that the uterus, which before mating ate high-quality green fodder, fertilized much faster than animals that were on a different diet (Figure 5).
• Sheep-producers are fed with oats, crushed barley and high-quality hay. In winter, when a non-coincident period sets in, the daily ration of a sheep should consist of a kilogram of hay, half a kilogram of concentrated feed and 3-4 kg of root crops;
• Sheep are necessarily fed with salt; During the breeding season, producers need to be given more concentrated feed (peas, barley, oats), and preparation for mating should begin one and a half to two months before it takes place.

Figure 5. Main feed for queens and rams (from left to right): juicy, concentrated feed, compound feed and lick salt

As a rule, mating in sheep occurs at the same time of the year: from late summer to mid-winter. However, in different climatic zones, these terms may differ. When carrying out mating, it must be taken into account that the suckling period should fall on the season with the greatest variety of feed.

Note: On home farms, mating is recommended at the same time as in large farms. To do this, you can conclude an agreement on the lease of a ram or the provision of artificial insemination services.

Depending on the type of mating, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work:

• Females are collected in one flock and kept in a separate pen next to the artificial insemination site;
• If free mating is carried out, rams and queens are kept in the same pen for one and a half to two months. In order for the ram to maintain sexual activity, it is allowed to the uterus only in the daytime, and at night they are transferred to a separate pen and fed heavily.

You can also give the ram a rest during the day, transferring it to the uterus at night.

Preparing and conducting lambing

For the birth of healthy and viable lambs, it is necessary to provide nutritious feed to pregnant ewes. At the end of pregnancy, the need for nutrient-rich feed increases by up to 75 percent.

Pregnant queens should never be given frozen or spoiled food, and the feeders should always be clean. In winter, pregnant females are kept in the yard during the daytime, and they are transferred indoors only in frosty weather and at night.

You also need to carefully monitor the condition of a pregnant sheep, and at the first sign of malaise, seek help from a veterinarian. This measure is necessary because many infectious diseases or helminthic infestations can cause abortion and death of the uterus.

You need to prepare in advance for lambing. Approximately ten days before the expected lambing, the room where the lambing will be held is cleaned. The floor is thoroughly cleaned of manure and covered with clean bedding. The room should not be damp or drafty. The internal temperature should be 15-17 degrees. It is also recommended to cut the hair between the hind legs of the queens.

Figure 6. The process of natural lambing in sheep

Often, childbirth in sheep is easy. The beginning of lambing is indicated by the restless behavior of the uterus, she begins to bleat, often looks back and constantly lies down. Such an animal must be transferred to a lambing room.

Note: Normal childbirth begins with attempts, during which the amniotic sac comes out of the genital tract. It bursts quickly and the front legs and head of the lamb can be seen. The average duration of labor in healthy and strong uterus is 40 minutes (Figure 6).

However, there are cases when the lambing is delayed and in this case the animal needs to be helped. Possible complications may include fetal size that is too large or malpositioned:

• The legs come out of the birth canal, and the head is thrown back;
• The legs are tucked under the chest of the lamb;
• The lamb comes out backwards with bent legs.

Possible pathologies during childbirth in sheep and large cattle are shown in Figure 7. To facilitate and speed up lambing, you need to thoroughly wash your hands, lubricate them with iodine or liquid paraffin and insert them into the sheep's vagina. Between attempts, the fetus is slightly pushed back and its position is straightened. If the lamb comes out backwards, the legs should be tied with a clean rope and the fetus should be slightly pulled out during the attempts. How to conduct a pathological lambing in a sheep is shown in a short video clip.

A qualified veterinarian will be able to provide proper assistance during lambing, so seek help in this case.

Note: Approximately two hours after birth, the afterbirth should separate from the sheep. In no case can it be cut or pulled, it must separate on its own. If the afterbirth does not come out within five hours, you need to seek help from a veterinarian, since the retention of the afterbirth can cause blood poisoning and death of the animal.

Figure 7. The course of pathological childbirth: 1 - turning the head to one side, 2 - throwing the head behind the back, 3 - legs bent at the wrist, 4 - legs bent at the hock joint

After that, the placenta and dirty bedding must be removed, the room must be disinfected, and the sheep washed with warm soda solution and wiped dry with a clean cloth.

Growing and caring for young animals

Newborn lambs are sometimes very weak, but even if the animal is healthy, it requires careful care. If complications arise, do the following::

• If the lamb does not show signs of life after birth, its nose and mouth should be cleared of mucus as quickly as possible. After that, the animal is placed on the bed and the air is inhaled through the mouth, while tucking in the front legs and patting the sides of the lamb until breathing appears.
• If the lamb was born in an unruptured amniotic sac, its membrane is pierced so that the animal does not suffocate.
• Normally, in newborn lambs, the umbilical cord separates on its own, but if this does not happen, it can be cut 8-10 centimeters from the abdomen, and the edge of the cut should be treated with an iodine solution.
• Immediately after the birth of the lamb, you need to warm and dry it. To do this, heaters are installed in the premises.

About forty minutes after giving birth, the ewe is ready to feed her young for the first time. The first few portions of milk must be milked in a separate jar and destroyed. In the first few days, the lambs suckle their mother every few hours, and in order for the baby to find the udder faster, it must be kept under the uterus during feeding.

After lambing, attention should also be paid to the uterus. Usually, after giving birth, animals are very thirsty, so after two hours they need to drink warm water. In the first few days after birth, the uterus is not given concentrated feed, and the basis of the diet is high-quality hay. Succulent feed, concentrates or other components of a complete diet can only be introduced 3-5 days after lambing.

Note: An hour and a half after each feeding, the uterus must be given water, and there should always be salt in the feeder. If the lamb does not completely suck out the udder, the sheep must be additionally milked.

In the first month of life, lambs need a lot of nutrients that they can only absorb with milk. Therefore, it is important to establish a complete diet for sheep. As the lamb grows older, they begin to feed: hay, concentrates and crushed succulent feed. Already from the second month of life, the amount of feeding is gradually increased, transferring the young to solid food.

Queens and lambs should be kept separately, and an open paddock for walking animals should be arranged near the premises. The site should be warm and calm. Separate maintenance of queens and cubs is necessary in order to preserve lactation as much as possible. With this method of keeping, the queens can eat in peace, since the lambs do not bother them. Cubs also get stronger from such maintenance, as they become accustomed to complementary foods faster and become more resistant to diseases (Figure 8).

To feed such a lamb, you need to follow these recommendations:

1. First of all, you should plant it in a high-milk uterus, which has only one lamb;
2. In order for the female to accept someone else's lamb, it is smeared with mucus from the uterus of a nursing sheep or lightly sprinkled with milk. So the uterus does not distinguish the smell of her lamb from someone else's;
3. Feed someone else's lamb better in the morning or in the evening, when the sheep are calm and have trouble seeing;
4. You can feed lambs from a teat using goat or cow milk. The initial daily allowance is 200 grams, and from the age of two weeks the dosage is doubled.

When the lambs reach three or four months, they are weaned from their mothers. Young rams are immediately transferred to a separate paddock, and females are weaned from their mothers for about two weeks, after which they can again be kept in the same paddock.

Figure 8. Room equipment for keeping and walking queens with lambs

To quickly stop lactation, after weaning the lambs, the queens are given more dry food for a week and watered only once a day. Lambs after weaning are fed succulent feed and concentrates, and watered at least twice a day. It is better to graze lambs during the weaning period close to the paddock so that in case of bad weather they can be quickly transferred from open pasture to the premises.

Note: An important step in caring for lambs of fine-fleeced and semi-fine-fleeced breeds is tail trimming. The procedure is carried out on the 5th-7th day of the lamb's life. This measure is necessary because the long tail of lambs is constantly contaminated with feces and urine, which can lead to infection or damage to the wool.

Trimming the tail is a fairly simple process. One person holds the lamb by the legs, and the second, using a sharp disinfected knife, cuts off the tail at the border of the third and fourth vertebrae, after which the cut is treated with iodine.

It is also necessary to castrate rams unsuitable for breeding in time. Castration is carried out at two or three weeks of age. This will allow adult castrated rams (valukhs) to gain weight faster.

Sheep breeding for beginners

Breeding sheep at home is no different from raising sheep. Males, like females, need a constant pasture in the summer and a warm room for the winter.

The only difference is that in most cases rams are fattened for further slaughter for meat, selecting one or two for reproduction. The rest of the sheep are transferred to a special diet that promotes rapid weight gain.