How much does a breeding sheep cost roughly? What are the key points for raising them?

Mutton is one of the healthy meats we commonly eat in our daily lives, has certain nutritional value, and is deeply loved by consumers. Many farmers choose to raise sheep, and in order to improve the reproduction rate, this involves keeping sheep for breeding purposes, namely breeding sheep. So how much does a breeding sheep cost roughly? What are the key points for raising them?

1. How much does a breeding sheep cost roughly?

There are many breeds of sheep. For example, the common meat-type goat breeds include Boer goats, Nanjiang Yellow goats, Chengdu Brown goats, Matou goats, Leizhou goats, Huanghuai goats, Longlin goats, Chengde hornless goats, Lushan “cow-leg” goats, Guizhou White goats, and so on. The prices of breeding sheep of different breeds vary considerably, and the price is also affected by factors such as place of origin, market conditions, and the specifications of the breeding sheep. It is recommended that you communicate directly with the breeding farm.

2. What are the key points for raising breeding sheep?

1. Adopt suitable feeding methods

A suitable feeding method should be chosen by combining the local climate characteristics, nearby forage resources, and the actual feeding conditions of the farm, and feeding should be done in stages. In spring and winter, the temperature is relatively low, forage is scarce, and the supply is seriously insufficient. During this period, grazing is not suitable, so at this stage sheep should be raised by barn feeding to provide sufficient nutrition for the breeding sheep. Feed forage in the morning and evening every day, but also carry out an appropriate amount of grazing when the weather is fine. The main purpose is to increase the exercise amount of the breeding sheep, so as to strengthen their physique and maintain good reproductive capacity; in the season when forage turns green, the feeding method of barn feeding plus grazing can be chosen, grazing in the morning and afternoon, resting at noon and in the evening, and after returning from grazing, attention should be paid to supplementary feeding so that they can take in comprehensive and sufficient nutrition. In the season when forage is abundant and the climate is good, the method of complete grazing can be chosen to reduce the amount of supplementary feeding, thereby lowering production costs. But even so, an appropriate amount of supplementary feeding should still be given at night when resting according to the different stages of the meat sheep.

2. Reasonable grouping

Breeding sheep at different physiological stages should be raised in separate groups. According to production requirements, the breeding sheep flock can be divided into a ram group, an open ewe group, a pregnant ewe group, a lactating ewe group, and a replacement ewe group. In order to facilitate management, suitable feed should be provided according to the nutritional requirements of breeding sheep at different physiological stages. This can also avoid the phenomena of unauthorized mating and fighting during breeding production, and can effectively maintain the order of the flock.

3. Provide feed scientifically and reasonably

The feed for feeding meat-type breeding sheep is required to be comprehensive in nutrition and rich in variety, mainly forage and concentrate, while also feeding silage in coordination. Silage is mainly processed from crop straw such as corn or forage grass. Hay is dried rice straw or dried forage grass. For concentrate, special premix for breeding sheep can be used, or it can be processed and prepared by oneself. Feed should be provided scientifically and reasonably according to the different physiological stages of meat-type breeding sheep. Generally, open ewes, replacement ewes, and ewes in early pregnancy can use the same feed formula, and lactating ewes and pregnant ewes use the same feed formula. The amount of concentrate supplied should be given according to the body weight of the meat-type breeding sheep. The feeding amount of forage is 12kg per day for rams, 10kg for open ewes, and 8kg for replacement ewes. When feeding silage, note that rams must not exceed 1.5kg, while open ewes, ewes with lambs, and replacement ewes must not exceed 1kg. Special attention should be paid to the feed quality for feeding breeding sheep. Feed that has become moldy or is of poor quality must not be fed, otherwise it will affect the reproductive performance of the breeding sheep. This will bring relatively serious economic losses to breeding production. While ensuring the feed supply, attention should be paid to ensuring that meat-type breeding sheep can drink sufficient water.