When raising sheep, pay attention to preventing and managing inbreeding

In rural sheep farming, it is common for the same breeding ram to go unchanged for many years, and inbreeding is very serious. Inbreeding among sheep has the drawbacks of "two declines and one rise." That is: the reproductive performance of the sheep declines, the breed degenerates, development is poor, growth is stunted, and meat and wool production drop by 50%; the reproduction rate declines, and deformed fetuses, miscarriages, absorbed fetuses, and stillbirths keep appearing; the sheep have poor disease resistance and a high mortality rate. These problems must be taken seriously by sheep farmers, and measures must be taken to earnestly solve them.

Replace breeding rams in a timely manner

After a breeding ram in a flock has been used continuously for two years, exchange it with a breeding ram of the same breed from another flock to avoid inbreeding.

Breeding rams should be raised separately

When the breeding season arrives, use breeding rams with distant blood relations for mating.

In villages with large numbers of sheep, establish artificial insemination stations

Insemination stations should establish a record-keeping system, including breeding sheep registration forms, lamb registration forms, and progeny testing record forms, etc. With these records, blood relationships become clear, and planned selection and mating can be carried out to avoid inbreeding.