Kuibyshev breed of sheep: characteristics and description, rules of keeping
Kuibyshev meat-wool breed of sheep is undemanding to feed and conditions. These animals can graze in the meadow throughout the warm season, and before wintering they can be sent to slaughter. For six months of life, they gain 40 kg of weight. The slaughter yield of the most delicate meat in such animals is 50 percent, that is, 20 kilograms (at 6 months of age). Sheep wool is used in the knitting industry to make warm clothes.
History of the breed
Kuibyshev sheep come from the USSR, or rather, these animals were bred by Soviet livestock specialists. Work on obtaining a new breed was carried out in the 30-40s of the 20th century.The project manager was the scientist Alexander Vasiliev, who was awarded the Stalin Prize for his scientific work. Selection research was carried out on the basis of the collective farms of the Kuibyshev region.
Sheep of the English meat-wool breed Romney-March and coarse-haired Cherkasy sheep from the Samara region were taken as the basis. The purpose of breeding: obtaining animals with semi-fine uniform wool and large meat forms. In addition, the new breed had to be highly adaptable to hot summers and cold winters.
Crossing with English Romney March sheep was carried out only at the initial stages, that is, until the second generation. It was observed that repeated intervention by this breed led to a deterioration in productivity.
The resulting hybrid sheep were crossed with each other, culling the unproductive, until they achieved the desired result. The sheep obtained during the selection were called Kuibyshev. The new breed began to be bred in different republics of the USSR and even abroad.
Appearance and characteristics of the Kuibyshev sheep
The Kuibyshev breed has a large skeleton, a muscular body, a long and barrel-shaped body, a straight and large back, a short fleshy neck, an oblong head with a convex forehead. Rams and sheep are hornless. The legs are set wide apart, short, with strong hooves, the thighs are well developed. The tail is long, usually docked, without fat reserves. Ears are short and erect.
Animals are precocious type. Lambs are born weighing 3-4 kg, and during the suckling period, that is, in just 4 months, they gain weight of 30 kg. In six months, animals weigh 40 kilograms. The slaughter yield of meat is about 50 percent. At 1.5 years old, the weight of adult sheep is 60-70 kg. Animals are sent to slaughter at 12-18 months, they are not kept longer, as their meat becomes tougher with age. For the sake of sheep's wool, you can grow longer. Animals can gain a mass equal to 100-130 kg.
Representatives of the Kuibyshev breed have good quality wool. It is light, long (from 12 to 15, sometimes up to 25 cm), uniform, semi-thin. Wool densely covers the entire body (except for the legs) and reaches the eyes on the head. It is used to make woolen clothes on an industrial scale.
Up to 6 kg of wool is sheared from one ram per year. The productivity of females is slightly lower. Ewes give birth to 1-2 lambs. After lambing, they give up to 1-2 liters of milk per day (fat content of 5-6 percent), it can be used to make cheese and cheese.
Main pros and cons
Rules of maintenance and care
Kuibyshev sheep must graze in the pasture throughout the warm period of the year (from early spring to late autumn). Representatives of this breed can be in the meadow in hot and cool weather for 15 hours a day. At night, the animals are driven into the premises (sheepfold, sheepfold, barn, barn). It is not recommended to take them outside in the rain.
In winter, sheep move to stall keeping. They are fed mainly with hay 2-3 times a day. Root crops and grains are given as an additive. In the room, a manger for hay, vegetable feeders and drinking bowls for water are installed. In the barn where the animals are kept, the temperature is maintained at the level of 5-20 degrees of heat all year round. The sheepfold should be spacious, light, dry and clean.In daylight, sheep eat more and get better. One animal should have 2-3 square meters. square meters.
The ventilation system is installed in the room, rectangular windows are inserted in the upper part of the walls, near the roof itself. There should be no protruding nails and sharp objects in the sheepfold that can injure animals. A bedding is laid on the floor of the barn. Straw is removed as it gets dirty, that is, once every 1-2 days.
Sheep are sheared 1-2 times a year. Preferably not before winter, otherwise the room where the animals are located will have to be heated. Sheep need to have their hooves trimmed once a year. To prevent diseases at the age of 3 months, young animals undergo routine vaccination.
Sheep diet
In summer, Kuibyshev rams and sheep should graze in the meadow and eat fresh green grass, preferably legumes and cereals. These animals are not afraid of the heat, as they are usually sheared before grazing in the spring.When it rains, it is better not to drive the sheep out to pasture so that they do not catch a cold.
Animals have a good appetite, they constantly have to change their place of grazing, as they quickly eat up all the vegetation.
In the summer they can be fed with beet and carrot tops, fresh vegetables, green cereals (oats, barley, wheat). Twice a day, Kuibyshev sheep are given water to drink (about 5 liters per individual). S alt and bone meal should be present in the diet. Animals eat up to 6-8 kg of grass per day.
In winter, Kuibyshev sheep are kept indoors. They are fed with hay, vegetables, silage, grain, cake, meal, mixed fodder. Between feedings give s alted or sweetened water. Per day, one animal eats 2-4 kg of hay, 1-2 kg of finely chopped vegetables (fodder and sugar beets, carrots, pumpkins), 200-500 grams of grain mixtures (oats, barley, corn) or 200 grams of compound feed, 2-3 kg silage. In winter, sheep are recommended to be given pharmacy vitamins and minerals and always s alt (10 g per individual per day).
Nuances of animal breeding
Kuibyshev sheep reach sexual maturity at 6-8 months. True, they cover females at 1.5 years. The mating is carried out in the fall. Pregnancy lasts 5 months. In spring, 1-2 lambs are born. Before lambing, the female is transferred to a cleaner and warmer room, where the air temperature is above 15 degrees Celsius. The ewes are given lighter feeds. The area near the genitals and around the udder is cleaned of dirt and wool.
The presence of a person at the time of childbirth is desirable. Before lambing, the female's genitals swell, and the udder increases in size. After the birth of the lamb, you need to cut the umbilical cord, and treat the wound with iodine. The nose of the cub must be cleaned of mucus. The female should be milked immediately. Lambs should eat 30-40 minutes after birth.
The afterbirth comes out in a few hours on its own. It is undesirable to pull it out of the uterus.The main thing is to bury the afterbirth so that the sheep does not eat it and does not get poisoned. Little lambs should be fed their mother's milk every 2-3 hours. They are kept under a sheep for up to 2-3 months. With age, lambs are taught first to hay, then to grass. It is forbidden to drastically change the diet of animals (diseases of the digestive system may occur).
Diseases and their prevention
Sheep of the Kuibyshev breed are well adapted to frost, but cannot stand dampness. In cold, rain and slush, it is better not to take animals outside, then they will not get colds.
With proper feeding and quality feed, animals never develop diseases of the digestive system and metabolism. Nutritional errors can lead to bloating, poisoning, and the birth of unviable lambs.
Infectious diseases pose a great danger. Infectious diseases are transmitted from sick animals and through contaminated feed and drink. Infectious agents (bacteria and viruses) can lead to the death of animals. To prevent the most dangerous diseases, Kuibyshev sheep at the age of 3 months are vaccinated against anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, smallpox, leptospirosis, plague, and trichophytosis. Once or twice a year, animals are given deworming and flea medications.
Distribution area
Representatives of the Kuibyshev breed are bred mainly in Russia. Numerous herds of these animals are in the Samara, Ulyanovsk regions, as well as in Bashkiria, Mordovia, Tatarstan. Kuibyshev sheep are grown throughout the middle lane.
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