Which sheep breed is best to raise? These 7 breeds are the most popular
Sheep are docile, have excellent reproductive performance, and are also tolerant of coarse feed and highly disease-resistant, making them popular among farmers, and they are raised in many regions. But there are many sheep breeds in China, so which breed is best to raise? Below is an introduction to some good sheep breeds for your reference!
1. Small-tailed Han sheep
Small-tailed Han sheep have the characteristics of strong adaptability, tolerance of coarse feed, and high reproductive rate, with 3 lambings in 2 years, and 3-4 lambs per litter. Small-tailed Han sheep are a dual-purpose breed for skin and meat, and their fur quality is very good. The lambskin of lambs under 6 months of age is an excellent product for keeping out the cold in winter, and the skin of adult sheep is a high-quality raw material for leather processing. Currently, a 2-month-old male Small-tailed Han lamb can sell for more than 800 yuan. If many lambs are bred, the income will certainly be high, and the economic benefits of raising them are considerable.
2. Hu sheep
Hu sheep originated in the Jiaxing and Taihu areas of Zhejiang, and have the characteristics of tolerance to heat and humidity, ease of pen-raising, early maturity, good meat quality, ewes coming into estrus year-round, and high reproductive capacity. In recent years, the reputation of Hu sheep has been rising wave after wave, with great momentum to replace Small-tailed Han sheep. Although Hu sheep belong to the southern sheep breeds, many northern regions have now introduced them on a large scale, and they are a sheep breed very popular among farmers.
3. Merino sheep
Merino sheep originated in Germany. After being introduced into China, they were crossbred with Mongolian sheep, Tibetan sheep, Small-tailed Han sheep, and Tong sheep. The offspring showed significantly improved wool quality, fast growth and development, and good meat production performance. Adult rams weigh 100-140 kg, and ewes 70-80 kg, with a lambing rate of 150%-250%. Ewes have strong milk production, and lamb survival rates are high.
4. Charollais sheep
Charollais sheep originated in France, and were introduced into Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Henan and other provinces and regions in China in the early 1980s. When Charollais rams are crossbred with local ewes, the breed advantages are obvious. Adult Charollais rams can reach 110-140 kg, and ewes 80-100 kg. After fattening, 4-month-old lambs reach 35-45 kg in weight and 20-23 kg in carcass weight, and the carcass has more lean meat and less fat.
5. Suffolk sheep
Suffolk sheep originated in the United Kingdom. In 1989, China introduced more than 100 of them from Australia for crossbreeding with local coarse-wool sheep to produce meat lambs. For this sheep breed, adult rams weigh 100-110 kg, and ewes 60-70 kg. Fattened 3-month-old lambs reach a carcass weight of 17 kg, with tender meat and little fat.
6. Dorper sheep
Dorper sheep originated in South Africa and have excellent characteristics such as early maturity, fast growth and development, strong adaptability, strong feed intake capacity, high feed utilization rate, and a high slaughter meat yield. The mutton they produce is crowned "diamond-grade" mutton because of its tender and fresh meat quality.
7. Australian White sheep
Australian White sheep is a new meat-type sheep breed cultivated using modern gene testing methods. It contains the genes of breeds such as White Dorper sheep, Poll Dorset sheep, Van Rooy sheep, and Texel sheep, and is a very high-quality sheep breed.
The above is an introduction to sheep breeds. Raising sheep is still quite good now. On the one hand, the state provides subsidies for raising sheep; on the other hand, as people's living standards improve, the demand for mutton increases, and the breeding prospects are considerable.
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