Edilbaev breed of sheep: description and characteristics, breeding rules

Sheep breeders appreciate in edelbay sheep carelessness in care, endurance, meat, lard and milk productivity. The Edilbaevskaya breed of sheep was bred specifically for the arid and poor in vegetation steppe regions. Unpretentious fat-tailed animals are adapted to many days of transition between pastures, frosty winters and dry summers, gaining weight on stunted pasture.

History of the breed

Edilbaevskaya breed was obtained by breeders in the 19th century, crossing a fat-tailed Kazakh sheep with an Astrakhan ram. In the process of selection, specialists selected the strongest and most enduring offspring, which are highly adaptable to both drought and severe frost, able to travel long distances without losing weight, feeding on stunted steppe grass.

Representatives of the edelbay breed are distinguished by their fertility, they give not only meat, but also valuable tail fat. The breed fell in love with the shepherds roaming the steppes and semi-deserts of Kazakhstan. The fat accumulated in the fat tail allows the body of the sheep not to lose meat and milk productivity in the unfavorable climate of the steppe zone.

For several decades, the Edilbaev breed was bred by Kazakh sheep breeders. By the 1950s, the unpretentious and productive breed became popular in other Soviet republics. Today, edilbaev sheep are raised by Kazakh, Uzbek, Ukrainian livestock breeders.

Appearance and characteristics

Edilbaev sheep are of the fat tail type. In the sacral region, they accumulate a fatty mass that forms a fat tail, which grows as the animal ages.

External features and characteristics of the Edilbaev breed are shown in the table.

chest circumferenceup to 1 mweight color black (traditional), brown (dark and light), redhorns none strong, knocked down, with smooth outlines and a developed skeleton, the spine is strong and flexible, the back of the body looks more massive than the front medium size, narrowed, with an elongated muzzle and hunchbacked bridge of the nose, teeth strong and thick, adapted to eating rough plant foods strong, sinewy, slender, well-muscled dense, thick, has heat-insulating properties, the length of the hairs is 10-15 cm, half of the wool mass is down

Height at the withers	80-85 cm

ram - 110-120 kg, sheep - 65-70 kg

	body
	head
	limbs
	wool

Lambs actively gain weight from the first day of life. A newborn male cub weighs, on average, 6 kg, a female - 5.2-5.5 kg. The average daily weight gain of a lamb up to 3 months of age is 200-250 g, and males develop more slowly than females.

A young individual of 4 months of age weighs up to 25 kg, and the weight of a fat tail reaches 3 kg. Edilbaev sheep, which have reached 5-7 months, are suitable for slaughter, weigh up to 40 kg, and half of the weight is slaughter, and 4 kg is fat tail fat. The productivity of Edilbaev sheep depends on color. Black animals are more productive in terms of meat and wool.

Advantages and disadvantages of Edelbaev sheep

Pros and consquick adaptation to any climate;immunity to temperature fluctuations, frost and heat;non-capriciousness in nutrition;active weight gain with a constant poor diet;high meat, milk, wool, lard productivity.low fertility (Edilbaevskaya sheep does not give birth to more than one cub);coarse and heterogeneous structure of wool (raw materials are not suitable for the production of soft and high-quality wool products);susceptibility to hoof diseases associated with dampness and decay of tissues;polled (rams in the pasture are not able to defend themselves from the attack of animals, therefore the presence of a shepherd and shepherd dogs is required).

Maintenance and care requirements

Despite their endurance and high adaptability, Edelbaev sheep need good conditions. The barn must be clean and the bedding dry. High air humidity is unacceptable, it negatively affects the immune system and livestock productivity. The temperature in the barn must not be allowed to drop below +8 °C, during the winter months the heating must be turned on in the room.

A sedentary lifestyle has a negative effect on muscle mass and general well-being of Edilbaev sheep. Therefore, the herd must be walked daily.

Edilbaevsky sheep are supposed to be sheared once every 10 months. But some sheep breeders do it more often - once every 6 months, to prevent dermatological and parasitic diseases.

What to feed animals

The basis of the sheep diet is fresh pasture grass, which animals eat for at least 200 days during the year. Moreover, sheep are able to find grass even under the snow, if its layer is low.

Edilbay sheep are transferred to roughage as a last resort: when snowy winter does not allow grazing to continue, or when precipitation falls, the vegetation on the pasture is damp.

Sheep should not be allowed to eat wet or marsh grass, they will have a serious indigestion. Also, livestock can catch a cold while in a damp pasture.

Daily portion of food for one individual - 2 kg of hay, 1 kg of grain concentrates.In winter, edilbaevsky sheep are given bran, cake, silage, and root crops to intensively gain muscle mass and make up for vitamin deficiencies. Of the mineral supplements, the best option is s alt stone, which can be bought at a pet store. Animals must have clean water available at all times.

Nuances of breeding

Edilbaevsky sheep are characterized by low fertility. The only lamb is born 1-2 times a year. The appearance of two cubs in a sheep is a rarity. Females reach sexual maturity at 7 months of age. For the onset of pregnancy, the female has to be inseminated several times. Breeding males remain productive until 5 years of age. For mating, the strongest and he althiest individuals are selected, the corresponding mark is attached to their ear.

Edilbaevskaya sheep walks pregnant for 5 months. The birth process lasts about an hour. Edelbaev sheep give birth on their own, no human assistance is required.

The owner only needs to prepare the birth stall, clean it of dirt and manure, put fresh bedding, cut the hair around the external genitalia of the giving birth female.

Possible complications during childbirth - the appearance of the baby in the amniotic sac or getting stuck in the birth canal due to the wrong position. In these cases, you need to urgently call a veterinarian. The owner cleans the nasal passages and oral cavity of the newborn lamb from mucus. It is not necessary to wash the cub: the mother will lick it herself. The female with the lamb is kept in a separate pen.

Diseases of the breed and possible problems

Edelbaev sheep have strong immunity, but certain diseases occur:

Tick-borne encephalitis. The carrier is a tick moving onto the skin of animals from pasture grass. A sick sheep has a fever, and if left untreated, the nervous system is affected.
Smallpox is a fatal viral pathology.
Listeriosis is a bacterial disease that affects the nervous system, reproductive organs, and mammary glands. If left untreated, the sick animal becomes paralyzed and dies.
Melophagosis is a parasitic disease that affects the skin. The parasite is a wingless fly called the sheep bloodsucker. The insect lays eggs in sheep's wool. The infected animal suffers from unbearable itching and loses weight.
White muscle disease occurs in lambs with hypovitaminosis. In a sick animal, coordination of movements is disturbed, convulsions occur, and muscle tone decreases.
Helminthiasis - damage to the intestines by worms. Sheep swallow larvae with pasture grass. Left untreated, there is a high chance of a fatal hemorrhage in the digestive tract.
Infectious mastitis in females is accompanied by the appearance of purulent ulcers on the mammary glands. In a neglected case, the animal dies.
Flatulence - swelling of the cicatricial section of the stomach.
Bezoar disease of young animals - a perversion of appetite due to violations of the rules of feeding. The lamb plucks and swallows its wool, eats earth, sawdust, rags. As a result, undigested lumps accumulate in the abomasum, preventing food from moving.

Prospects for breeding

Farmers get wool, meat, fat, milk from Edilbaev sheep. Fat tail fat, saturated with vitamins and nutrients, is used for culinary purposes, to create cosmetics. The weight of meat obtained after slaughter reaches 50-60% of the animal's body weight. Kurdyuk weighs 4-5 kg, and the weight of the fat content is about 1 kg. One sheep provides a person with 4 kg of wool.

Lactation lasts 4 months. The amount of milk obtained from edilbay sheep is small, but the product is fatty, suitable for the production of sour cream, cheeses, cottage cheese.For dairy production to be profitable, the farm must have at least 15 milking individuals. The hard wool of the Edilbaev sheep is suitable for the production of carpets and winter wardrobe items. Residents of the steppe regions of Kazakhstan use sheepskin to produce comfortable and wearable clothing.

The most productive in terms of meat are rams of six months of age. It is unprofitable to grow meat breeds longer, since the meat of aging edilbaev sheep is not in demand. Meat and tallow products are exotic, popular only in the steppe regions, where local dishes are prepared from it. This should be taken into account when drawing up a business plan for a person who decides to breed the Edilbaev breed.

Approximate cost and where to buy

Edilbaev breed is popular. Thoroughbred sheep are sold by both large breeding enterprises and private traders engaged in sheep breeding. It is better to contact breeding farms, where breed qualities are more carefully controlled, individuals with genetic pathologies are culled.

The price of an Edilbayev sheep is determined by the status and reputation of the farm, the he alth and pedigree qualities of the animals, and the region in which livestock is raised. On average, a he althy thoroughbred lamb is asked for $200.

Edilbaevskaya is a productive breed of sheep that adapts to the most severe climatic conditions. The unpretentiousness of the Kazakh breed contributed to its rapid popularization. However, the quality of meat and lard products depends on the content and feeding, the regularity of pasture walking.