Remember these ten words for raising sheep, all the key points are in them
1. Superior breeds: Select superior breeds that are large in body size, fast-growing, highly prolific, strongly adaptable, good in meat quality and high in efficiency, adapting measures to local conditions. For the sire, the first choice is the South African Boer goat, followed by China's Matou goat; for the dam, the first choices are the Laoshan dairy goat and the Wendeng dairy goat, followed by the Lubei white goat.
2. Appropriate scale: The scale of sheep raising should be appropriate, and can be decided according to conditions such as the amount of existing family farmland, the quantity of forage and feed, labor, and the amount of funds invested. Generally, raising about 20 breeding ewes is suitable, and the annual income can reach 10,000 yuan.
3. Feed: Sheep are livestock that mainly eat roughage, with concentrate as a supplement. For large-scale raising, it is best to "grow grass to raise sheep." Forage grass can be sown with alfalfa, Hercules sweet sorghum, cup plant, Mexican corn, Rumex, etc., so that fresh green grass can be eaten all year round.
4. Water: Large-scale sheep raising must have clean drinking water for the sheep to drink.
5. Prevention: Goats raised in groups are prone to diseases, mainly including lamb dysentery, streptococcosis, foot-and-mouth disease, contagious ecthyma, nematodes, sheep lice, etc. The policy of "prevention is more important than treatment" must be carried out, and all sheep throughout the year must go through two baths, two dewormings, four drinks, and six salt licks. That is: medicated bathing once each in spring and autumn (bathe for 1-2 minutes with 0.50-2% trichlorfon water plus sulfur), deworming twice in spring and autumn with levamisole, ivermectin or nitroxynil, drinking health-care Chinese medicine once each season, and licking salt once every two months. At the same time, vaccination against key diseases and comprehensive prevention and control work should also be done well.
6. Management: Large-scale sheep raising should be based on self-breeding and self-raising, with reasonable grouping. If grazing, rotational grazing by divided areas should be carried out. Also pay attention to management work such as brushing and hoof trimming.
7. Labor: A hay rack should be used for feeding grass, and a fence should separate the grass from the sheep, with the fence gaps only allowing the sheep's heads to extend through. Feeding and watering should have corresponding feed troughs and water troughs, which not only reduces feed waste but also helps hygiene and epidemic prevention. Harvesting, transport, processing, and forage grass should be mechanized as much as possible.
8. Shed: Bamboo mats or cement floors should be laid inside the shed, and there should be drainage ditches and an appropriate activity area outside the shed. Sheep manure should be cleaned frequently, and disinfection should be carried out regularly with 20% lime milk and 10% bleaching powder solution.
9. Castration: For lambs used for fattening, it is best to castrate them within 7-21 days after birth. Castration at this time helps improve meat quality, makes them docile in temperament, easy to manage, and fast to fatten.
10. Supplement: While appropriately feeding sheep concentrate feed, also add an appropriate amount of compound feed additives such as rumen metabolism regulators and urea slow-release agents, for better efficiency.