Sheep breeding at home for beginners

They start breeding sheep in order to obtain milk, meat, lard and valuable wool. The process of growing sheep is associated with the characteristics of keeping and feeding. Traditions and certain conditions have been formed in the field of sheep breeding. If you follow the rules and follow the advice of experienced sheep breeders, you can raise he althy animals and make good profits.

Biological features

Sheep give wool, meat, milk, lard, interior fat. Skins after dressing are used as a decorative coating, as well as a material for making warm clothes and shoes. The characteristics of animals allow you to plan the process of growing while simultaneously making a profit from the accompanying animal waste products:

• sheep gaining weight quickly;
• females are capable of producing offspring twice a year;
• sheep are resistant to diseases, temperature extremes.

Help! Farmers claim that caring for artiodactyls is easier to organize than caring for cattle.

Choice of breed for breeding

When choosing a breed, the priorities set in advance are taken into account. Growing for fattening involves a short-term content and an increased amount of protein feed. If sheep are kept for dairy products, then special breeds are chosen.

Meat

Animals of meat breeds are distinguished by large size, high rate of weight gain. The following breeds are recommended for meat:

• Romanovskaya;
• West Siberian;
• Kuibyshev;
• Volgograd;
• dopper;
• sufflock.

Meat-greasy

Meat-greasy breeds are called fat-tailed. Animals tend to accumulate fat. The following breeds are recommended:

• Hissar;
• Kalmyk;
• Edilbaevskaya.

Dairy

Dairy breeds are purchased to obtain cheese from sheep's milk. Breeds with a narrow specification are almost never used in home breeding, as the production of cheese has many nuances:

• tswartbles;
• East Frisian.

Woolen

One wool sheep produces up to 23 kilograms of wool annually. breeding of the following breeds is common:

• karakul;
• Tushino;
• Lincoln;
• Caucasian.

Recommendations for beginners

For novice breeders who plan to keep at home, it will be easier to start by raising all-purpose breeds:

1. Romanov breed. Sheep are able to adapt to different conditions, they are prolific, reach large sizes. Males weigh about 100 kilograms, females 50 kilograms.
2. Gorky breed. It is intended for obtaining meat, wool, milk. Males and females quickly gain weight and muscle mass. Animals are disease resistant.
3. Kuibyshev breed. Suitable for grazing. Female sheep reach 70 kilograms, are capable of producing offspring in the amount of 3-4 lambs.

Homesteading should be organized in such a way that it is convenient for both pets and owners.It is not recommended to keep even one ram or sheep in an apartment. Breeding several heads requires the construction of equipped premises. At the same time, it is necessary to make special pens for sheep so that they can move freely inside the fenced area.

Maintenance of 50-100 heads requires a special approach. For sheep, special premises are built, which must be equipped in accordance with the basic requirements. Qualified personnel are required to maintain the farm.

Preparation of the premises

The room for keeping sheep is called a sheepfold. It is being built on a specially selected site that meets the basic requirements.

Seat Requirements

In sheep breeding, the practice of using summer and winter premises is common. For the summer, a temporary hut is built for the animals, and for the winter, the rams are transferred to a warm, heated room.This technique helps to solve several problems. In summer, animals receive sunlight at a temporary place, freely walk around the territory, and feed on grass. In winter, they live under artificial lighting at a comfortable air temperature. When choosing a place for the construction of a temporary summer dwelling or a winter shepherd, it should be borne in mind that the room must be erected on a flat surface, protected from dampness and drafts.

Installation of feeders and drinkers

An important condition for growing is catering. Animals should have access to food and drink throughout the day. Feeders and drinkers are installed at a height of 1-1.5 meters from the floor. To prevent loss of feed, special traps are installed under the feeders to collect leftovers. The simplest option for a feeder device is to mount a long rack installed along the stalls. For free, but controlled access, the stall is surrounded by a special lattice.It allows you to save food from spoilage and stick the sheep's head to the feed. Feeders and drinkers are made common or individual if the animals are kept separately.

Help! Many farms have established rules for feeding by the hour, but it is necessary to leave grass feed and water available around the clock.

Necessary equipment and supplies

Sheep breeders recommend purchasing special equipment in advance. When maintaining and caring for, you will need a tool for cleaning and cleaning the cost, as well as a machine for shearing sheep.

When slaughtering animals, you will need special equipment:

• knives for cutting carcasses;
• wool shearing scissors;
• meat cold rooms.

To get milk from sheep, provide for the installation of a milking machine. This device helps to freely milk the animal. The milking cluster is a specially designed device with a ladder for lifting the animal, a platform and a head holder.

Organization of a walking area

Without walking, the muscles begin to weaken in the sheep. Each sheep needs an area of 2 to 4 square meters for walking. To avoid losing the animal, the walking area must be fenced around the perimeter with a fence at least 1.5 meters high.

Vet first aid kit

A veterinary kit is formed in case of an unexpected illness in sheep.

The following items should be kept in the arsenal of a sheep breeder:

• treatment spray for skin damage;
• tar;
• antihistamines;
• enema;
• syringes;
• cotton wool;
• harnesses.

Information! If serious damage is found, or a change in the behavior of the animal, it is necessary to call a veterinarian.

Rules for keeping and caring for animals

There are many ways to keep and raise sheep. The choice depends on the capabilities of the owners, as well as the direction of the goals of the content.

There are 3 main types of breeding:

1. Pasture. The best option for a large farm, when the area allows you to provide sheep pasture for walking.
2. Stall. This is a way when sheep are cared for in sheepfolds, for grazing it is necessary to accompany the animals to the herd, pay for the services of the shepherd.
3. Mixed. The method in which sheep are kept in the yard with other domestic animals and come into contact with birds or cattle.

Each of the ways dictates its own rules. Sheep owners find unique solutions for their own farm that make it easier to care for.

Diet

Catering is an important condition for keeping. The elements that should be in the diet of each animal can vary depending on the age and purpose of rearing.

For adults

Feeding adult sheep should be regular and balanced. The basis of the diet is plant foods, as sheep are herbivores. In summer, grasses occupy 80% of the total volume. Young branches of trees are useful for animals.

In addition to herbs, the following items are included in the diet:

• hay, vegetables, cereals;
• juicy food;
• meat and bone meal;
• chalk;
• s alt.

Adult animals are fed with combined feeds. These are mixtures that are pre-mixed with vitamins and minerals needed by animals.

You can determine the lack of elements by the behavior of a sheep:

• if they start chewing rags, tree bark or wool, this indicates a lack of calcium and phosphorus;
• involuntary muscle contraction indicates a lack of magnesium;
• skin cracks, eczema, hair loss require zinc supplementation.

An excess of vitamins can be harmful to he alth, so a balanced diet of an animal is of great importance for a novice and experienced sheep breeder.

Advice! Warm clean water should be freely available to the sheep around the clock to compensate for natural fluid loss.

For youngsters

The young stay with their mother during the first weeks. If the female cannot feed for some reason, then the young animals are offered cow's milk diluted with water, or infant formula prepared according to the rules.

Features of reproduction

One of the conditions of sheep breeding is the directed breeding of sheep. Females reach reproductive age by 7 months. Males reach this age by 1.5 years. For mating, they choose well-fed, calm animals that do not have any deviations.

Sheep breeding begins in the warm season. The female is brought to the ram for 5-7 hours, then taken away for a good rest. One ram is able to cover up to 10-15 sheep, but experienced breeders advise having two rams on the farm for this. Breeding Tips:

• the period favorable for mating lasts from late July to early October;
• male animals during this period are kept in a dark room, away from the sheep, released for directional shrinkage;
• the female cycle lasts from 14 to 19 days;
• pregnancy can be diagnosed by laboratory methods or determined by a change in behavior;
• Sheep pregnancy lasts about 5 months.

A female may have 2-3 lambs. It is better to keep lambs in the first weeks of life next to the female. The animal will be able to give full nutrition only to two lambs, therefore, if there is a third or fourth lamb, it is necessary to arrange supplementary feeding.

Diseases and their treatment

The he alth of livestock is one of the priority conditions for keeping. It is necessary to monitor the condition of the animals.

The following symptoms are dangerous signs of the disease:

• a sharp increase in body temperature;
• unexplained twitching of ears;
• lack of appetite;
• development of conjunctivitis;
• weight loss;
• limping;
• cough.

Common sheep diseases can be cured if timely measures are taken.

SignsPneumoniaPrescribe a course of antibiotics, give plenty of fluids, leave the sheep in an individual pen until improvement conditions.Loss of appetite, coughing, sudden change in body temperature.Pulp inflammationThe rot is cut off, the hooves are treated with special compounds.Bacteria that provoke rot get into the hollow places on the hooves. The condition causes lameness.Skeletal dystrophyPrescribe a course of vitamins, revise the diet, add an increased amount of vitamin E.Weight loss, lethargy, weakness, muscle atrophy.Scar flatulence Poisoning Bezoar disease

Disease	How to Treat
To alleviate the condition of the animal, a gas tube is inserted, the diet is revised, sour-milk products are introduced for a while.	Violation of the diet provokes flatulence, bloating, loss of appetite, weight loss.
Washing with s alts and vegetable oil.	Vomiting, weakness, loss of coordination.
Treat with vitamin supplements, injections of special preparations.	Eating their own wool begins when animals lack certain substances in the diet.

A lot of inconvenience brings the appearance of lice on the body of sheep. Animals begin to itch, behave restlessly. If the sheep are lice, it is necessary to wash them with special products. Specially sheared sheep are treated with a solution of "Diazinon".The next treatment is carried out after 2 weeks.

Information! In addition to treatment with solutions, it is customary to carry out injections. Suitable drugs such as: "Iverlong", "Ivermek".

Sheep Raising Business Plan

Before you start breeding sheep, you need to draw up a clear plan that takes into account the necessary costs. Selling products is an important part of the plan.

Costs

The initial capital for the purchase of sheep is planned taking into account the cost of maintaining the site. Sheep need a lot of space. If it is owned, then they plan only to pay utility bills. A separate line of expenses is the rent or purchase of a land plot. For each region of the country, prices will be different.

The financial plan for breeding 80-100 animals includes the following items:

• expenses for the necessary equipment (laptop, printer, cash register, refrigerators, commercial equipment) - 440 thousand rubles;
• investment in opening an individual entrepreneur (rent, purchase of sheep, construction of premises) - 1.5 million rubles;
• staff salaries.

Help! Risk factors at each stage may be the risk of the absence of the consumer of the goods, as well as the risk of losing the goods due to unpredictable conditions.

Profit and payback

The payback of the business plan is calculated for a period of 19 months. At the same time, it is planned that the losses will be fully paid off for the 4th month of the existence of the economy. The investment of funds should be returned by profit from the sale of products: milk, meat, wool. One of the payback conditions is the sale of grown sheep. At the same time, the replacement of sold heads should be justified by rearing young animals from females.

Choosing sales channels for products

The market needs to be taken care of in advance. Agreement with those who will purchase products is an important part of the implementation plan.

Methods of selling goods:

• slaughter grown sheep and sell one by one through our own outlet;
• sale of reared young animals without exception;
• cutting meat, selling to retail chains and intermediaries;
• sale of wool, milk for cheese production.

Meat can be sold through retail chains, cafes or restaurants. A good income brings independent implementation. When working with intermediaries, it is recommended to use special marketing moves. Provide special discounts for concluding long-term contracts. When planning the implementation, it is necessary to consider the principles of product promotion: advertising in the media, distribution of flyers.

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