Sheep breeds: what are and descriptions of species, which ones to choose

A huge variety of breeds of rams and sheep satisfies the needs of people in meat, wool, leather, milk, from which gourmet cheeses are made. These are animals that eat only grass and hay all year round. Maintenance costs are minimal. In adulthood, rams weigh from 65 to 180 kilograms (depending on the breed). In addition, some varieties of these animals give the finest high-class wool.

Meat breeds

For centuries, sheep have been bred for their meat. In the course of folk (natural) selection, the most productive animals were bred. Meat breeds are distinguished by their large weight, muscular body and precocity. The slaughter yield after slaughter is more than 50 percent.

Any animal of the meat direction intensively recovers in the first months of life. During this period, all the food eaten by sheep goes to weight gain. Sheep grow up to 2-3 years, then their growth stops. Domestic animals are usually sent to slaughter at the age of 8-12 months. By this time, they are gaining 50-70 kilograms of weight.

Meat breeds: Suffolk, Romanov, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Romney March. This group includes: North Caucasian, Latvian dark-headed, South African dorper, French Vendée, zvartbles, texel, prekos. All these animals are united by such main features as large weight (75-130 kg), muscular (meat) physique, high slaughter yield of meat (50-55%). Females are usually smaller than rams. But they give birth to 1-3 cubs, the weight of which at birth is 3-5.5 kilograms.

Pros and consmeat forms, developed muscle mass;precocity;slaughter yield of meat more than 50%;immunity to colds and unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention.low quality wool;low fertility.

Meat-greasy sheep

Animals of the meat-fat direction are bred for meat and fat tail fat. This group, as a rule, includes Asian breeds of sheep. The most famous coarse-haired: Hissar, Edilbaev, Jaidara. Semi-coarse: saraja, tajik, alay, degeres.

All rams of the meat-fat direction are related by such signs: large forms, large weight (70-130 kg), the presence of a fat tail in the back of the body. The wool of these animals is usually of poor quality. Fat tail fat accumulates from 5 to 35 kilograms of fat tail fat.

Animals are bred in the republics of Central Asia and in the steppe regions of Russia, where sheep breeding is the main direction of animal husbandry. In Asian countries, there are even separate areas for breeding meat and lard sheep. Breeding animals are highly productive. Different meat, fat tail and meat-fat direction.

Pros and consmeat forms;versatility (meat and tail fat);precocity;excellent adaptation to the conditions of the middle lane;resistance to colds.low quality wool;low fertility.

Dairy Destination

Sheep after the birth of lambs give from 1 to 3 liters of milk per day.In terms of fat content, it is one and a half times higher than goat and three times cow. The fat content is 5-7 percent, protein - 6 percent. Sheep milk is used to make gourmet cheeses (roquefort, feta, pecorino, ricotta), yogurt and cheese. Of course, all sheep lactate after lambing. However, there are animals with the highest milk yields. Scientists are working on breeding productive breeds, and dairy sheep farming in some countries enjoys state support.

Purebred dairy females are real record holders. They can produce up to 5 liters of full fat milk per day.

Dairy sheep breeds: German East Frisian, White Sardinian, Laconian, British Dairy, Chios with black spots on the horned head and ears, Arabian Aussian with a brown head, Israeli Assaf with long ears, Dutch zwartbles. Females are milked after lambing. Sheep usually give birth to lambs in the spring. Until autumn, they remain lactating.When the lambs grow up, the milk disappears. The next lactation occurs after the next birth.

All dairy animals are united by the following common features: for lactation from one sheep they receive up to 300-600 liters of milk, females are fertile, the weight of animals is, on average, 50-70 kilograms.

Pros and consmilk 5-7% fat, suitable for making cheeses;versatility (meat and milk);high fertility.low slaughter yield of meat (less than 40%);short lactation period (3-5 months).

Meat-wool rams

For the sake of the highest quality wool, fine-fleeced and semi-fine-fleeced sheep are bred. These two main groups of animals are divided into subgroups according to the prevailing productivity.Fine-fleece are woolen (Grozny, Australian merino, Salskaya), wool-meat (Altai, Askanian), meat-wool (Volgograd, Vyatka).

Semi-fine-fleece varieties: long-haired (Kuibyshev, Romney-March, North Caucasian), short-haired (Gorky), wool-meat (Tsigay, Gorno-Altai).

Lambs are sheared from 3 to 15 kilograms of high-quality wool every year. The fleece of sheep of fine-fleeced and semi-fine-fleeced breeds is fluffy, thin and soft. Animal wool is used in the knitting industry. When breeding meat-wool breeds, not only fleece is obtained, but also meat. True, the weight of adult animals is inferior to meat breeds and averages 50-70 kilograms.

Pros and consthe finest wool;high wool productivity;versatility (meat and wool);fast adaptation to any climatic conditions.slaughter yield of meat - 45%;low fertility.

How to choose the right breed

Sheep and rams are selected depending on the purpose of breeding. For the sake of obtaining meat, it is better to purchase animals of meat breed. Usually they buy rams, which have been raised in a particular area for many years. Animals are bred for sale by breeding farms and ordinary farmers. Sheep of meat breed already at the age of 5 months should weigh 40-45 kilograms. Usually these are hornless individuals with well-developed muscle mass.

It is better to buy young animals aged 6-12 months. Adult sheep are rarely sold, only if they are sick, old or have low productivity (low wool, milk, poor weight gain, low fertility).

You can find out the age of sheep by looking into their mouths. In young animals, all teeth are he althy, white and intact. With age, they begin to fall out. Toothless animals are deprived of the most important thing - they have nothing to chew on grass and hay. Of course, such sheep will not live long.

A he althy animal should have proportionately developed body parts. Pay attention to the chest, back, limbs, head shape. A he althy domestic animal of a rectangular appearance has a muscular body, straight and wide-set legs, a short neck, and an oblong, hornless head. Some breeds (dairy, fine wool) are horned.

When buying wool (fine-wool or semi-fine-wool) rams, pay attention to the quantity and quality of wool. It is important to remember that a large amount of hair in animals should be everywhere, even on the belly. Sheep with short fine wool have folds on the skin, the optimal number of them is 3 on the neck and several on the body.The fineness of the rune is determined by eye, while making sure that there are at least 6 curls in 1 cm. The length of the coat must be 6 cm or longer. When choosing dairy sheep, attention is paid to the shape of the udder and the number of lambs born at the same time. The higher the fertility, the more milk the females give.

It is not recommended to buy a sheep that has a hard or inflamed udder. Most likely, the female has mastitis, and this disease can affect the fertility of the animal.

When buying young lambs, you need to ask if they have been vaccinated against anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, smallpox, brucellosis. It is recommended to ask when the rams were given antihelminthic drugs. In beginner sheep breeders, these animals die due to worms.

Which breeds of sheep are the most profitable for breeding in our country?

Each country breeds sheep adapted to the local climate and pastures.These animals were domesticated many thousands of years ago. Each region has its own local breeds of sheep. True, this does not mean that animals cannot take root in another area. The main thing when raising sheep is the presence of a pasture, a reservoir or water for drinking and a room where they will be kept in the cold winter.

It is more profitable to grow sheep of meat breeds. The cost of breeding such animals is minimal. Sheep eat grass in summer and hay in winter. Meat can be easily sold on the market. To obtain a sheepskin coat, Romanov sheep are bred. This breed is well known in the Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Novgorod regions, as well as in Belarus. Smushki is obtained from the Karakul breed, which has been bred for decades in the Astrakhan region and Kalmykia.

Meat-greasy sheep are bred for meat and tail fat. These are large animals that grow rapidly and in adulthood gain up to 180 kg of weight (Hissar). They are grown in Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Saratov, Volgograd regions and in the republics of Central Asia.

Sheep of fine-fleeced and semi-fine-fleeced breeds (Salskaya, Russian, Merino) are bred if it is possible to arrange a sale of the fleece. Traditionally, these sheep are grown in the regions of the North Caucasus, Stavropol, Kalmykia, Altai Territory, Transbaikalia. These animals are bred in the Samara, Ryazan, Oryol regions.

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