Slow growth in meat sheep affects profits; how to speed up the growth rate of meat sheep

    For conventionally raised meat sheep, the reasons for slow growth are: first, inbreeding, which causes physical degeneration; second, failure to pay attention to deworming, so a large amount of nutrients in the meat sheep's body is consumed by parasites; third, unscientific feed, which cannot meet the nutritional needs of meat sheep growth. The following measures can be taken to increase the growth rate of meat sheep:

Meat sheep

    Do crossbreeding well.Excellent breeding rams of large body size and strong meat production performance should be introduced to cross with local meat sheep, producing large numbers of crossbred meat sheep for farmers to raise. Crossbred meat sheep have the advantages of fast growth and strong disease resistance.

    Remove parasites.Parasites not only consume nutrients; the toxins they secrete also damage the digestive system function of meat sheep, so deworming should be carried out. At 8 mg levamisole per kg of body weight, dissolve it in warm boiled water and prepare a 5% aqueous solution for intramuscular injection to remove various nematodes and roundworms from the body of meat sheep; at the same time, at 80 mg bithionol per kg of body weight, add a little flour and 250 mL of water, and administer by drenching on an empty stomach before feeding, or use 15 mg albendazole per kg of body weight diluted in water and drench, to remove liver flukes and tapeworms from the body of meat sheep, ensuring vigorous physiological function during the fattening period of meat sheep.

    Scientific feed formulation.Two feed formulas for meat sheep fattening are introduced here: 1) 45% cornmeal, 20% rice bran, 10% soybean cake, 15% rapeseed meal, 10% wheat bran, combined with dry grass and allowed to be eaten freely; 2) 50% cornmeal, 15% soybean cake, 20% wheat bran, 15% rice bran, combined with dry grass and allowed to be eaten freely.

    Green grass, dry grass, sweet potato vine leaves and corn stalks can be used as the basal diet for meat sheep, with one of the two compound feeds chosen as a supplementary feed. For meat sheep that are 3 full months old after weaning and weigh about 8 kg, on the premise that the requirement for good-quality dry grass is met, 150 g of the above compound feed can be fed daily. As the months of age increase, the daily amount of compound feed increases to 200 g. Add urea to the concentrate to supplement the protein deficiency, starting with 3-4 g at first and later increasing to 5-6 g; when feeding urea, a 5-day transition period is needed to let the meat sheep adapt, and note that the meat sheep must not be given water within 1 hour after feeding. Rapeseed cake contains toxic components, so it must be cooked thoroughly before feeding. Also add 4-5 g of salt, 4-5 g of bone meal or shell meal, and 8 g of sodium sulfate to the compound feed. If silage is fed, 5 g of baking soda needs to be added. Feeding meat sheep by this method, crossbred meat sheep gain 100-150 g per day, and by 6 months of age can reach 18-25 kg in body weight.

    Feeding lactating meat sheep. Feed 300 g-350 g of the above compound feed daily, with 8-10 g of urea and 8-10 g of salt added. With this feeding method, breast milk secretion is greater. Lambs begin to be fed forage at 20 days of age, with a daily gain of more than 100 g.

    The above feed is formulated for housed meat sheep; for grazing meat sheep, reduce the daily concentrate feed by 50%. However, supplementary feeding in the evening is necessary. Only in this way can the fattening growth rate of meat sheep be ensured.