What are the effective measures for keeping a flock of sheep safe through the winter?

To keep a flock of sheep safe through the winter, it is not only necessary to create good environmental conditions, but also to strengthen overwintering management. Specifically, the following measures should be carried out well:

1 Focus on grazing and build up autumn fat. After the beginning of autumn, the days are short and the nights are long, and there is not enough grazing time. Relying only on daytime grazing means the sheep cannot eat their fill, so grazing time should be appropriately extended. Before the frost, they should go out early and return late; after the frost, they should go out late and return late, so that every sheep can eat grass and eat its fill. After the autumn harvest, the flock should promptly be driven to fields where crops have been harvested, to graze on the stubble and pick up weeds and scattered grain. If this is done well, they fatten faster, and this is also an important aspect of seizing autumn fat. By combining these practices, the flock can quickly gain fat and regain condition, laying a good foundation for safely getting through the winter.

2 Prepare enough forage and the winter fat will be good. Sheep are herbivorous animals and should mainly be fed grass. To keep winter sheep from losing condition, enough forage for the flock to get through the winter must be prepared; this is the material basis for ensuring the flock survives the winter. According to the number of sheep and the amount needed, various kinds of green grass, tree leaves, vegetable leaves, and crop straws should be widely collected. All of them can be fed after ammoniation, alkalization, and storage, and silage and fermented feed can also be made for feeding. Among concentrate feeds, corn, barley, wheat bran, oil cakes, and by-products of agricultural processing such as distillers' grains are all good feeds for sheep. But feeds should be fed in combination, with as much variety as possible, good palatability, and sufficient nutrition, so that winter fat can be maintained. As long as winter forage is prepared in sufficient quantity in autumn, the sheep will have the means to get through the winter.

3 Keep them in warm sheds to prevent colds. As the saying goes, “A warm shed adds three parts fat.” Before winter begins, the sheep pen must be repaired well, and the sheep house must be kept warm. Old herders say, “Sheep are chilled in the wind.” This makes a lot of sense. Therefore, drafts must be prevented from entering. Doors and windows should be sealed well with plastic film, straw curtains should be hung at night, and the ground should be dry and not frozen, to prevent damp cold. Because many sheep houses are drafty and too cold, the consumption of body nutrients in the sheep increases, and even if they are fed well, it is hard to maintain winter fat. Therefore, the most effective way to reduce heat loss from the sheep's body is to repair the warm shed well. In the severe cold of winter, as long as the sheep are housed in warm sheds, the loss of body heat from the sheep can be greatly reduced, chilling can be avoided, colds can be prevented, and getting through the winter can be ensured.

4 Skillful winter grazing and nighttime supplementary feeding. By winter, most sheep are already pregnant. Although the weather is cold, they cannot just lie in the pen without moving, as this is bad for the growth and development of pregnant ewes and fetuses. Proper exercise should be combined with grazing, which also saves forage. For winter grazing of the flock, choose gullies that are sheltered from the wind, face the sun, and are low-lying and warm, in order to prevent invasion by strong winds. Sheep should go out late and return early in winter grazing, going out against the wind and returning with the wind. This is because going out late and returning early means grazing during the warmer part of the day. Grazing against the wind can prevent the fleece from being blown open and helps keep them warm. However, if daytime grazing is not enough to fill them, they should be given night feed after returning. Sheep are ruminants with strong digestive capacity, so night grass and supplementary concentrate can be added, along with an appropriate amount of root-tuber feed and mineral feed, to meet the dual nutritional needs of pregnant ewes and fetuses.

5 Salt stimulates appetite, and water should be drunk to satisfaction. Some people say winter sheep are hard to raise, and salt water keeps them fat. This means that although sheep are hard to raise, as long as salt is added to the water for them to drink, they will eat grass, like to drink water, and are likely to gain fat; this is reasonable. Salt stimulates the appetite, helps digestion, and can also stop fermentation, so sheep are less likely to bloat; they eat well and have fewer illnesses. If water intake is insufficient and the sheep lack water, their omasum (manyplies) and noses become dry, they do not like to eat grass, and they are prone to omasum dryness. But sheep should not be given water that is too cold, and certainly not ice water or snow water, because in winter when it is cold, drinking a bellyful of cold water will cause the sheep's body temperature to drop suddenly, making them prone to colds and fever. Pregnant ewes especially cannot tolerate it and are prone to miscarriage, which causes great losses. Therefore, it is best to give warm water. When conditions do not allow, deep well water can be given, but it should be drawn and drunk immediately to prevent it from becoming cold after standing for a long time. Or place the water vat indoors and give room-temperature water at about 10°C, which can reduce irritation to the gastrointestinal tract.

6 Ensure safety and prevent miscarriage. Entering winter, with severe cold, heavy snow, and slippery roads, it is exactly the period when ewes are pregnant. Attention should be paid to protecting the pregnancy. During grazing, be careful to prevent fright and slips and falls; do not take steep slopes, do not cross gullies, and do not take dangerous paths. Disturbance should be prohibited to avoid alarming and stampeding the flock. When pregnant ewes enter and leave the pen gate, prevent crowding, squeezing, and head-butting, so as to ensure the safety of pregnant ewes and avoid miscarriage. When grazing pregnant ewes, do not go too far from home, to prevent excessive fatigue or lambing, so that timely handling is possible. In case of heavy wind and snow, it is not necessary to go out to graze, so as to ensure the safety of pregnant ewes and a smooth delivery.