Key points of lamb rearing management that farmers need to master
The growth of lambs is very important, as their bodies are still very fragile and their resistance is not strong, so in order to improve the survival rate of lambs, it is essential to do a good job in lamb management. Good lamb management can not only improve the survival rate of lambs, but the main purpose is to enable lambs to adapt to their surroundings as quickly as possible. To speed up the growth rate of lambs and enhance meat quality, how should lambs be managed? Let's take a look together below!
1. Supplementary feeding
Within 3 weeks after the ewe successfully gives birth, it is the peak period of breast milk secretion, and after this time the secretion volume will gradually decrease. Therefore, in order to allow lambs to better adapt to feed, when the lambs grow to about 10 days old, an appropriate amount of easily digestible green feed should be given. To promote the development of the lamb's gastrointestinal tract, at three weeks follow the principle of feeding more but in small amounts, and appropriately increase feed such as corn and bran to provide the nutrients needed for lamb growth.
2. Drinking water
Many friends think that lambs can obtain the water they need by relying on breast milk, but in fact the water lambs obtain from milk is far from enough for growth. Moreover, the water requirement of lambs will gradually increase with the growth process and weather conditions and other factors. We should replenish water in time, and the water quality should be pollution-free, fresh and clean. Try to avoid feeding cold water, and it can be appropriately warmed.
3. Feeding
When lambs are over 30 days old, their demand for food will gradually increase. Generally, the amount of feed given is determined according to the body weight of the sheep. It should not be too much or too little. Too much will cause lambs to experience bloating, while too little will prevent lambs from absorbing enough nutrients and affect growth. When feeding feed, it should be done at fixed times and in fixed amounts, and then leftover feed should be cleaned up in time to prevent spoilage and accidental ingestion by lambs.
4. Castration
Castration is a very important step, because castration can reduce the gamy smell on the sheep and is also beneficial to later management. It mainly involves castrating and ligating male lambs, making an incision in the scrotum, and then slowly squeezing out the testicles, paying attention to cutting the blood vessels and spermatic cord. After castration, do a good job of bandaging the wound. After ligation, tighten it in the scrotum area with a rope, and after about half a month the testicles will fall off automatically. Castration of female lambs involves making an incision around the udder, then slowly pulling out the ovaries, removing the ovaries, and then repositioning the uterus and treating the wound.
5. Weaning
When lambs grow to about 90-120 days old, if there are no accidents, the lambs' weight gain is already relatively fast. When it is found that the lambs can digest roughage well, weaning treatment of the lambs can begin. During weaning, they cannot be separated directly. At least the lambs should have one week of adaptation time, otherwise weaning stress syndrome may occur. Within one week, control the amount of breast milk for the lambs and feed corresponding green feed. Then reduce the amount of breast milk every day until they can finally eat forage completely.
The above is a brief introduction to the key points of lamb management. Lambs are just like human babies, very fragile. And a series of management tasks must also be done well, such as weaning, eating, and so on. Doing a good job in lamb management is equivalent to half the success of breeding. Everyone should also pay extra attention to disease prevention and control work. Diseases pose the greatest harm to lambs, so we hope everyone will take it seriously. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it is helpful to everyone.