Which Sheep Breed Is Best for Meat Production? Detailed Explanation of Fattening Techniques

For farmer friends raising sheep in rural areas, if you want to sell your sheep for a good price, then the breed and quality of the meat sheep must meet the standard. So which breed is good for raising meat sheep? What are the fattening techniques? Friends who don't know yet, let's take a look together!

I. Which Breed Is Best for Raising Meat Sheep

1. Suffolk sheep

Suffolk sheep have a large build (adult rams weigh 100-136kg, adult ewes 70-96kg). Fleece yield is 5-6kg for adult rams and 2.5-3.6kg for adult ewes, with a staple length of 7-8cm, fineness of 50-58 count, and a clean fleece rate of about 60%. The fleece is white, but occasionally a small amount of colored fiber can be found. The lambing rate is 141.7%-157.7%. They have full muscling and well-developed hindquarters. They are early-maturing, fast-growing, have good meat quality, a very high reproductive rate, and strong adaptability.

2. Tibetan sheep

Under natural grazing conditions, the slaughter rate of Tibetan sheep in medium nutritional condition is between 42-49%. The slaughter rate of wethers is higher than that of rams and ewes, and there is no significant difference in slaughter rate between yearling sheep and adult sheep. The net meat rate is around 30%, and some can reach 37%. The meat is tender and delicious with little mutton odor, and is one of the main meat foods of herders.

3. Tan sheep

The main production area of Tan sheep is in Ningxia and its adjacent semi-arid desert steppes and arid steppes. Adult rams weigh about 47 kg and ewes 35 kg. Adult sheep are medium in build, with a robust constitution and tolerance for coarse feed. The lambing rate is 101-103%. The meat is tender, with evenly distributed fat and little mutton odor, and is quite popular in Northwest China.

II. Fattening Techniques for Meat Sheep

1. Barn feeding fattening

Based on the condition before fattening, a daily ration for sheep is formulated according to the feed nutritional value of the feeding standard, and the sheep are fed and watered entirely inside the sheep barn. Although barn feeding fattening involves relatively higher feed input, it allows for large-scale, intensive, and factory-style sheep raising according to market demand. This makes full use of buildings, equipment, and labor, and labor productivity is also relatively high. This fattening method can make sheep gain weight faster during the fattening period, and the live weight of sheep sent to market is 10%-20% higher than that of grazing fattening and mixed fattening sheep. When market demand requires it, it can ensure that fattening sheep quickly reach market standards within 30-60 days.

Generally, for barn feeding fattening, a ration with a mixed concentrate content of 45% and coarse feed and other feed content of 55% is more appropriate. If a greater fattening intensity is required, the mixed concentrate content can be increased to 60%, but it absolutely must not exceed 60%. Be sure to prevent this from causing enterotoxemia, as well as urinary calculi caused by an imbalanced calcium-phosphorus ratio.

2. Mixed fattening

There are roughly two forms: one is that throughout the entire fattening period, sheep graze every day and are supplemented with a certain amount of mixed concentrate to ensure the nutritional needs of the fattening sheep; the other is to divide the entire fattening period into 2-3 stages, with full grazing in the early stage, and in the middle and late stages, gradually increasing the amount of supplemented mixed concentrate according to the principle of going from less to more, combined with other feeds for fattening. The mixed concentrate for supplemented fattening sheep starts at 200-300 grams per day, and increases to 400-500 grams per day in the last month. The former method is suitable for lambs with greater growth intensity and faster weight gain, while the latter method is suitable for lambs and yearling sheep with lower growth intensity and slower weight gain.

Mixed fattening can increase the weight gain of fattening sheep throughout the entire fattening period by about 50% compared with fattening relying solely on grazing. At the same time, the taste of the mutton after slaughter is also better.

Only by ensuring the quality of meat sheep breeds and carrying out scientific fattening can economic benefits truly be improved.

>>Related reading:  What are the meat sheep breeds in China? How much does a breeding sheep cost?