Merino sheep: characteristics of the breed, who bred and what is known, breeding

Merinos are rightly considered the best wool sheep. Merino sheep have the finest wool, soft to the touch, widely used in the textile industry. The breed belongs to the fine-fleece, the hairs of the animal are much thinner than a human hair, they fit snugly against each other, forming a thick fleece. There are no difficulties in the care and maintenance of merinos, and sheep products, thanks to their demand, quickly pay off.

Origin of the breed

Merino is a breed created by selection in the 13th century in the Spanish kingdom. The breed was obtained as a result of crossing sheep brought from the Middle East and North Africa.Merinos were considered a national treasure, in the 18th century the royal government introduced a strict ban on the export of valuable animals outside the state, and disobedience was punishable by death.

By the end of the 18th century, when the Spanish kingdom was weakened due to the war with Britain, the ban was lifted. And immediately the sheep began to be transported to other countries. In each Merino country, local breeds were tested in order to obtain specimens with better characteristics. So the breed has acquired many varieties.

Now there are the following varieties of merino:

Australian - medium-sized sheep, characterized by high wooliness. One ram gives 10-12 kg rune.
Electoral - Spanish variety. The advantage of the breed is ultra-thin wool, the disadvantage is the pickiness of sheep to the conditions of detention.
Negretti - sheep of German selection. The body is covered with folds, so that productivity is higher. But the quality of the rune is not as high as that of the Australian counterparts.
Ramboulier is a French variety. Animals are distinguished by long hair and good he alth.
Mazaevsky merinos are hardy sheep adapted to the climatic conditions of our country. They were brought out in the 19th century by the Russian breeder Mazaev. The disadvantage of the breed is a weak skeleton.
Novokavkazsky type of merino is the result of crossing Mazaevsky and French sheep. Animals have strong immunity and soft to the touch coat.
Soviet type - the result of mating of Novokavkazsky and French merinos. The variety is popular with Volga, Ural, Siberian farmers.

Characteristics and description of the breed

Merino is a strong animal with a strong skeleton, a harmonious physique, and the correct set of limbs. The ram's head is decorated with spirally twisted, hollow inside horns. Some varieties have skin folds on the neck and chest.

Merinos are large or medium in size. The weight of males reaches 100-120 kg, the record is 148 kg. Females weigh less - 50-55 kg, the maximum possible weight is 95 kg.

Merino wool is white, but the fat that comes out makes it yellowish. The hairs are the thinnest (15-25 microns), reach 8-9 cm in length in males, 7.5-8.5 cm in females, densely adjacent to each other. The coat completely covers the body, only the muzzle is bare. For a year, 10-12 kg of fleece are received from a male (record - 28 kg), from a female - 6-7 kg (record - 9.5 kg).

Why Merino wool is considered elite

Merino wool is expensive, and one of the most popular in textile production. It turns out a delicate, warm, pleasant to the touch yarn. The villi of the fabric are curvy, springy, so they do not retain dirt. And the substances contained in sheep's wool act as antiseptics.

Production is almost waste-free. 1 kg of wool produces 1 kg of fiber. The softness of wool fibers is 3 times higher than silk, and the elasticity is 5 times higher than cotton. Merino products are popular because:

do not prick the skin;
does not absorb sweat and odors;
does not absorb moisture;
breathable;
do not cool the body in winter, do not make you sweat in summer;
easy to wash;
do not become a breeding ground for pathogens;
does not cause an allergic reaction;
easy to color;
serve for a long time without losing quality.

There are known cases of the positive effect of wool products on human he alth, they relieve pain in rheumatism and sciatica.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros and consrepresentatives of the breed are not capricious, do not require careful care and maintenance;productive, give a lot of high-quality wool, in demand on the world textile market;do not need a special diet;in the summer, they manage with pasture fodder;quickly adapt to climatic and weather conditions;can be kept outdoors under a canopy year-round;females are fertile, giving birth to 2-4 lambs.dense wool is vulnerable to parasitic damage;merinos are susceptible to dampness, wool intensively absorbs moisture, begins to rot.

Maintenance and care requirements

Merinos are not capricious in care and maintenance. As a barn, a dry, ventilated room is used, warm in the winter months, not hot in the summer.There should be no drafts. You can leave the earthen floor, you can make clay or plank flooring. A corral is adjusted to the leeward wall of the building. In areas where the winter period is frosty, in the middle they build an insulated structure with a canopy - a greenhouse, where the temperature should be +12 ° C.

The norm of space for an adult ram is 2 m², for a female - 1.5 m², for a uterus with a lamb - 2 .5 m², per calf - 0.8-1 m².

Merinos are sheared once a year, in the spring. For a haircut, a platform is built with a side of 1.5 m, covered with a thick oilcloth. During the day before the procedure, the animals are kept on a hunger strike, they are not even allowed to drink, otherwise the haircut can lead to intestinal rupture. Do not cut wet wool, it must dry. During shearing, the sheep should not lie belly up. The wool is carefully removed in a whole fleece.

Merino sheep are bathed 2 times a year: 3 weeks after spring shearing and in summer.A warm day is chosen for swimming. Sheep are driven through a 10-meter trench dug with a gentle exit, filled with a disinfectant solution. The water level should not be higher than the neck of the animal. Some farms use showers to disinfect sheep.

Sheep's hooves are regularly cleaned, dirt accumulations are dug out of the recesses, the horny part is cut with secateurs 4 times a year, trying not to touch the living tissue. Do not touch the hooves of queens in late pregnancy, they may miscarry due to stress.

Sheep diet

In the spring months, sheep feed on grass, feed concentrates, hay, s alt stone is suitable as a source of minerals. You can't give silos. In summer, the diet is similar, only the portion of grass is increased, and the concentrated feed is reduced. In autumn, sheep are given the remaining grass, hay, s alt and vegetables are added to the diet. In winter, animals feed on hay, high-quality silage, mixed fodder, vegetables and root crops, and lick a s alt stone.

A motherless lamb is fed cow's or goat's milk with vitamin supplements for up to 3 months.

Merinos are pastured from spring to late autumn. Grazing rules are shown in the table.

animals are driven out at dawn, from 11 am to 5 pm the flock is kept in the shade, grazing continues until 10 pmAutumnsheep are grazed from 6 am to noon, then sent under a shed, grazing continues from 4 pm until dusk

Spring	starts at the end of April when the grass is taller 8 cm, and the dew dries quickly from the morning sun, otherwise the wool will get wet, start to rot, and the sheep will catch a cold
Summer

Features of reproduction

For mating, they guess the time so that the offspring will be born in early spring, when there is no more cold weather, and the grass is tall enough.There are merinos who have reached 2 years of age. The couple is left in a fenced area for 2 days. If the coverage did not happen, then the mating is repeated after half a month. To solve breeding problems, artificial insemination is practiced, mutton sperm is injected with a veterinary syringe into the female's vagina.

The uterus gives birth 20-22 weeks after fertilization. The presence of a veterinarian is desirable. Usually, childbirth in Merinos is problem-free, but sometimes you have to tear the amniotic sac with your hands and remove the cub. After 15-20 minutes, the lamb rises to its feet, looking for the mother's udder.

Frequent diseases

Merino sheep are hardy and rarely get sick. They are only sensitive to moisture. If you keep them in a damp room, put them on dewy grass, then colds are inevitable. With poor-quality care during the warm period, parasite insects settle in the thick wool of sheep, so farmers have to constantly carry out preventive and therapeutic measures: bathe animals, use disinfectants.

Overgrown sheep hooves are prone to rotting. Prevention - regular bedding change, barn cleaning. It is recommended to give sheep a hoof bath every week with a 15% s alt solution.

Merino breeding business

Sheep breeding is a profitable business. Merino wool is decently priced and will always be in demand. In addition to wool, you can sell the meat of young individuals, it is tasty and tender.

For how much you can sell merino wool, depends on the country where the manufacturer is located. The lowest prices in the CIS countries. In Australia and Western countries, where purchasing power is higher, wool is expensive and considered selective. One 50-gram skein will cost $15, for a woolen bedspread you will have to pay from $50 to $250.But the price matches the quality.