What methods are there for raising mutton sheep in autumn? What should be noted?
Mutton sheep are one of the livestock species best adapted to the external environment, with a wide feeding habit, tolerance to roughage and strong stress resistance. Mutton sheep have the characteristics of high meat production performance, more lean meat and high protein content. In recent years, the demand for mutton in domestic and international markets has been strong, and breeding benefits have been relatively good. So what methods are there for raising mutton sheep in autumn? What should be noted?
Building sheep sheds
A site with high terrain, good ventilation, good drainage and convenient water sources should be chosen for building sheep sheds, and fully enclosed or semi-enclosed sheep sheds can be built according to the actual conditions of the sheep farm. The sheep shed should have sufficient lighting, good ventilation and fresh air, with the winter temperature kept at 1°C~5°C; in winter, straw bedding should be added appropriately and replaced regularly.
The area size should be determined according to the number of sheep raised; the height is generally 2.5~3 m, the width 7~8 m, and the length according to the number of sheep. The shed door should be wider, generally 2~2.5 m, with a height of 2 m. Each adult sheep occupies 0.8~1.2 sq m, growing sheep 0.7~0.8 sq m, and lambs 0.5~0.6 sq m; ewes in late pregnancy or early lactation and their lambs require about 2.2~2.5 sq m.
When building the sheep shed, a lambing room should be reserved; the lambing room can be calculated at 20%~25% of the total number of base ewes, with each lambing ewe occupying 2~2.5 sq m.
When building a semi-enclosed sheep shed, an exercise area should be reserved in front of the shed, so that in winter a plastic film warm shed can be put up, providing both sunlight and warmth. The length of the exercise area is the same as the sheep shed, and its area should be 3 times the area of the sheep shed; if the sheep shed is semi-enclosed, the exercise area can be appropriately smaller. The ground of the exercise area should have a certain slope so that rainwater does not accumulate, and the fence or wall height should be 1.2~1.5 m.
Selecting and breeding good varieties
Varieties with relatively good meat production, wool production and lambing performance should be selected for raising. The flock structure can be optimized by keeping the superior and removing the inferior, promptly culling old sheep and sheep with poor production performance year by year, selecting repeatedly, cultivating by classification and in stages, and adhering to the principles of adapting to the time (season) and the market (market conditions) and proceeding step by step, so as to optimize the flock structure and improve economic benefits.
Because farms raise different varieties, have different numbers and different development situations, the selection methods differ and the selection proportions also differ, but the three stages of birth, weaning and yearling, as well as reproductive performance and the growth speed of offspring, should be comprehensively considered across multiple links.
Ewes should be selected according to the principles of a culling rate of 15%~20% and a retention rate of 35%~40%.
For rams, excellent varieties such as Suffolk, Dorset, Boer goat and Small-tailed Han sheep are introduced according to circumstances, and they are generally not bred on one's own. The age structure should be maintained at 15%~20% young sheep (0.5~1.5 years old), 65%~75% prime sheep (1.5~4 years old), and 10%~20% at 5.5 years old. The proportion of ewes should reach 65%~70%, of which 45%~50% are breeding ewes.
The larger the proportion of ewes, the higher the slaughter rate and the better the economic benefits.
Breeding management
For natural mating, in order to obtain lambs with good wool and meat production performance, good breed rams should be selected to mate with ewes. Through reasonable matching of rams and ewes and the use of scientific mating methods, the goal of matching excellent with excellent and getting all ewes pregnant can be achieved. If natural mating is used, the ratio of breeding rams to ewes must be controlled; generally at least 3 breeding rams are needed for every 100 ewes. If there are fewer than 3, some ewes may fail to conceive.
Artificial breeding: if higher-quality lamb offspring are desired, frozen semen from German Mutton Merino, Texel, Polled Dorset and other varieties can be selected for mating. The lifespan of ewes is generally 10~15 years, the gestation period is 145~152 days, and each litter produces 1~5 lambs. If artificial insemination is adopted, equipment for semen collection, insemination and semen dilution must be prepared, and a technician should perform the artificial insemination. Artificial insemination can greatly increase the utilization rate of high-quality breeding rams; generally each breeding ram can mate 200~500 ewes in one breeding season.
Artificial breeding can not only fully and effectively utilize high-quality breeding rams, but also artificially control the lambing season and mating frequency. Estrous control techniques such as synchronous estrus can also be used to make ewes come into estrus in a concentrated and timely manner, mate within a relatively short period, achieve a higher conception rate and mating rate, get all ewes of suitable age pregnant, and improve lamb quality.
No matter what mating method is used, care should be taken to keep mating records for each ewe and record the mating date of the sheep in order to calculate the expected lambing date. Generally, the gestation period of sheep is about 150 days, with some individual cases being earlier or later. If a ewe is not successfully mated in one estrous period, she will generally come into estrus again after about 17 days.
Pregnancy management To ensure that all ewes in the flock are mated and well mated, during the season when ewes are concentrated in estrus, special attention should be paid to supplementing breeding rams with high-quality green and concentrate feed as well as feed such as carrots containing multiple vitamins. Attention should be paid to the feeding and management of pregnant ewes to prevent miscarriage. During grazing, walk steadily, drive slowly, do not chase, do not hit, do not startle, do not jump over ditches, do not walk on icy and slippery roads, do not let them drink water with ice bits, and do not crowd when entering or leaving the pen, so as to prevent miscarriage caused by various factors.
The expected lambing date should be calculated according to the mating period of the ewe, and the approaching lambing period can be judged according to some symptoms of the ewes about to give birth. For example, a few days before lambing, the ewe may show swelling and redness of the vulva, sometimes discharge thick mucus, be restless, frequently look back at the abdomen, often lie down against the wall, sometimes scratch the ground with the limbs or stretch out and strain, and the flanks sink.
According to the situation, ewes expected to give birth should be kept at home a few days in advance to await lambing, and care for ewes at the expected lambing date should be done well to prevent them from giving birth in the wild or in large pens. A good environment should be created for ewes to lamb; a clean, dry and warm lambing room should be provided. The room should be spread with clean bedding, and the room temperature should not be lower than 5°C. At the same time, lambing tools and necessary medicines should be prepared, such as towels, water basins, thermos bottles and iodine tincture.
Feeding management
If a flexible grazing method is adopted, first, grazing should be done by groups, dividing the flock into small groups according to age, sex and size, with each group ranging from 50~100 sheep; fattening sheep and growing sheep are grazed in groups during the green grass period, while breeding ewes and breeding rams are grazed locally; second, according to the feeding characteristics of sheep, the method of rotational grazing in sections should be adopted, that is, after going out to graze each day, first let the sheep eat grass in the place where they grazed previously, and when the sheep are half full, move them to fresh pasture to graze; when they are seen to be no longer biting much, let them loose and use the "starry sky" method to let the sheep eat their fill.
This method of "first raw then familiar, first tight then loose, three full meals a day" combined with two-season slowness (grazing should be slow in spring and autumn) and three persistences (persisting in grazing with the flock, going out early and returning late, and drinking water twice) as well as three stabilities (stability in grazing, drinking and entering and leaving) and four preventions (preventing running to green grass, preventing piling up, preventing harm and preventing disease) is beneficial to the fattening of grazing flocks and the maintenance of pregnancy and rearing of lambs.
Sheep farms now mostly use housed sheep raising, with reasonable matching of forage and feed, which can save herders and increase technical input. If the method of combining grazing and supplementary feeding is adopted, in addition to doing well in grazing during the green grass period, a large amount of high-quality forage such as alfalfa should also be planted, straw should be stored and ensiled, and supplementary feeding of lambs and field sheep should be strengthened.
In the late pregnancy and early lactation of ewes, reasonable supplementary feeding should be given, and at the same time water supply, salt supplementation and shed hygiene should be well managed. The supplementary feed is based on local forage, season, ewe condition and the composition of roughage and concentrate, generally consisting of 51% corn, 8% wheat bran, 23% cakes, 10% alfalfa meal, 3% bone meal, 2% salt and 3% calcium hydrogen phosphate; the supplementary amount is generally 0.5~0.7 kg per sheep per day, given in 2 feedings in the morning and evening, along with an appropriate amount of high-quality forage. Before lambing, carefully observe the condition of the ewes, assign special personnel to be on duty at night, and assist lambing as it occurs. After lambs are born, strengthen rearing and ensure that multiple lambs are suckled.
Starting from 10~14 days after birth, lambs should be supplied with high-quality forage and compound feed. The supplementary feed and amount vary according to place and sheep. For most lambs, the supplementary amount of compound feed is: 50~70 grams per day at 2 weeks of age, 100~150 grams at 1~2 months of age, 200 grams at 2~3 months of age, 250 grams at 3~4 months of age, and 300~500 grams at 4~6 months of age. The concentrate composition is 40% corn, 25% cakes, 25% alfalfa forage, 8% wheat bran, 2% bone meal and an appropriate amount of salt.
Disease prevention and control
In addition to routine vaccine injections, medicated bathing should be carried out after shearing, and deworming should be carried out with drugs such as chukangxing in spring and autumn every year. At the same time, plant ash and other disinfectants should be scattered at the entrances of activity areas and pens, and abnormal or diseased sheep should be isolated and treated to reduce the incidence rate and mortality rate.
Four-combined five-prevention vaccine should be injected in spring and autumn to prevent sheep braxy, lamb dysentery, sudden death, enterotoxemia and black disease. One immunization injection of attenuated sheep pox vaccine should be given each year to prevent sheep pox. Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine should be injected 2 times each year to prevent foot-and-mouth disease. In spring and autumn, deworming drugs should be used to prevent sheep liver fluke and other parasites; drugs such as albendazole, niclofolan and bithionol can be used.
Every year 10~15 days after sheep shearing, after the shearing wounds have healed, the sheep should be given a medicated bath. Depending on the number of sheep, a pool, a large cauldron or a large wooden trough can be chosen. For the medicated bath, prepared 0.025% lindane emulsifiable concentrate aqueous solution, 0.05% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate aqueous solution, 0.5% trichlorfon aqueous solution, etc. can be selected. During the medicated bath, attention should be paid to controlling the concentration of the medicinal liquid; let the sheep drink enough water before the bath, and do not graze or feed them; after the bath, drive the sheep to a ventilated and shady place to rest, and do not put them in direct sunlight; ensure the safety of the sheep.
When grazing in the wild, sheep may be poisoned after mistakenly eating toxic green grass contaminated by pesticides and rotting matter in the wild. The symptoms are foaming at the mouth, purple mouth and nose, and rapid breathing. At this time, emergency rescue should be carried out: first use a knife to prick the edge of the sheep's ear to make it bleed, or let the sheep hold a wooden stick in its mouth to discharge the toxin through saliva, then administer 5 egg whites, and inject 2~5 ml of atropine subcutaneously.