How to Raise Boer Crossbred Meat Sheep? Detailed Explanation of Breeding Techniques
The Boer crossbred meat sheep is an excellent breed among the main commercial meat sheep. It has a large body size, tolerance to roughage, strong disease resistance, fast weight gain, good meat flavor, high dressing percentage, and obvious breeding benefits. However, to achieve high benefits from raising Boer crossbred meat sheep, corresponding feeding and management measures must also be adopted. Its efficient breeding techniques mainly include the following aspects:
Timely Supplementary Feeding
High-nutrition feed: Boer crossbred sheep produced with the Boer goat as the sire have the characteristics of fast growth, high slaughter rate, and tender meat. Because crossbred sheep grow and develop faster than local sheep, especially from six to nine months after birth, when their body weight can double compared with local sheep, their nutritional requirements are also relatively greater. They cannot be treated the same as local sheep and must be given appropriate supplementary feeding on the basis of the local sheep's daily ration. The amount of supplementary feeding is generally determined according to the nutritional requirements for weight gain and the availability of green forage in different seasons. Generally, for crossbred sheep born in spring, in places with abundant forage resources, except for appropriate supplementary feeding before and after weaning and before marketing for fattening, no supplementary feeding is needed at other times. However, crossbred sheep born in autumn and winter generally need supplementary feeding; otherwise, early growth and development will be affected, and the heterosis will not be obvious. Supplementary feeding is generally carried out with a mixed concentrate at 0.5%-1% of the crossbred sheep's body weight.
Feeding and Management Measures Must Be in Place
As a high-quality meat sheep breed, Boer crossbred sheep must be raised and managed with the measures of “good breed + good methods.” Only by adopting scientific feeding and management methods can obvious breeding benefits be achieved. The feeding and management of Boer crossbred meat sheep mainly require attention to the following points:
1. Do a good job in epidemic prevention and disease control
Prevention and treatment are particularly important for raising Boer crossbred meat sheep. For epidemic prevention, the methods of “one sheep, two needles” and the “triple vaccine, four-way prevention” vaccine are relatively effective.
2. Timely castration
After castration, sheep are docile in temperament, easy to manage, easy to fatten, and the mutton odor can be reduced and the quality of mutton improved. Lambs are generally castrated at about two months after birth; delayed castration affects growth and weight gain.
3. Regular deworming
Parasites can seriously affect the growth rate of crossbred meat sheep, so deworming of crossbred meat sheep is very important. Generally, flukes and nematodes are dewormed once each in spring and autumn, tapeworms are dewormed once every two months, and external parasites are dewormed once each in spring, autumn, and winter. To reduce the workload of deworming, avermectin-type deworming drugs can be used to simultaneously eliminate internal and external parasites.
4. Adopt short-term fattening techniques
Short-term fattening techniques can effectively improve the growth rate and mutton quality of Boer crossbred meat sheep and increase economic benefits. The effect is especially prominent when crossbred sheep are given short-term fattening before marketing. Generally, one month before slaughter, under normal grazing conditions, crossbred sheep around 6 months old are supplemented daily with 150 grams of corn, 100 grams of wheat bran, 50 grams of soybean meal, and 3 grams of bone meal. After about one month of fattening, they can gain 6 kg to 8 kg.
5. Raise in the same year
Marketing in the same year: promoting commercial crossbred lambs to be raised in the same year and marketed in the same year is of great significance for reducing the need for forage in winter and spring, avoiding “winter thinness and spring death,” and increasing the commercial rate. The crossbreeding utilization of Boer sheep provides more favorable conditions for lambs to be marketed in the same year, because the early growth rate of crossbred sheep is particularly fast, and they generally can reach 25 kg to 30 kg in body weight at around 6 months old. Even for crossbred sheep born in autumn, as long as nutrition is strengthened and supplementary feeding is reasonable, they can grow to about 20 kg at around 4 months old. At this time, it is exactly the severe winter and around the Spring Festival, which is the peak consumption season for meat sheep, and the prices of meat sheep and mutton are both high. In addition, reasonably arranging the mating time is also an effective measure to ensure that lambs are marketed in the same year and obtain high returns.
6. Appropriate use of additives
Boer crossbred meat sheep have relatively high nutritional requirements, and a normal daily ration cannot provide comprehensive feed nutrition for them, so some additives should be used appropriately. There are many types of additives, whose main effects are to supplement nutrients, promote growth, prevent diseases, and maintain physical health. Commonly used additives for meat sheep include mineral additives, rare earth feed additives, and deworming and health-care additives. Appropriate use of additives can not only promote the growth of muscle and skin, but also promote bone development. At present, the more widely used product on the market is made into lick blocks, which only need to be hung in the sheep shed for sheep to lick freely. However, hormone-type additives prohibited by the state are strictly forbidden.