How much does a Suffolk sheep cost on the market?
The Suffolk sheep is a dual-purpose meat-and-wool sheep breed with a relatively large frame and body weight among sheep. It originated in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge and Essex in southeastern England, United Kingdom, and was developed in 1859 by crossing the Southdown sheep as the sire with the local larger-framed, high-lean-meat old-type black-headed horned Norfolk sheep as the dam. Now let us take a look at how much a Suffolk sheep costs!
How much does a Suffolk sheep cost?
The market price of cashmere goats varies according to the breed, age in months, and region. Generally, an ordinary goat costs between 300 and 800 yuan, while breeding goats are usually between 1300 and 2000 (depending on whether male or female). A purebred ram can reach around 270 jin, and a ewe can reach around 190 jin. The price of an original breeding ram is between 3000 and 6000 yuan, and a pregnant ewe with a lamb is generally between 1200 and 1600 yuan.
Appearance characteristics of the Suffolk sheep
The Suffolk sheep is characterized by early maturity, fast growth and development, and a large frame (adult ram body weight 100-136 kg, adult ewe 70-96 kg). The head is short and wide, the bridge of the nose is raised, the ears are large, and both rams and ewes are polled. The neck is long, deep and broad and thick, the chest is wide, and the back, loin and rump are long, wide and flat. The muscles are well developed, and the hindquarters are well developed. The main parts of the body are covered with white wool, while the head and limbs are black and not covered with wool. It is early maturing, fast growing, has good meat quality, a very high reproductive rate and strong adaptability.
Production performance of the Suffolk sheep
The Suffolk sheep has good meat production performance. After fattening, the carcass weight of a 4-month-old male lamb is 24.2 kg, and that of a 4-month-old female lamb is 19.7 kg, with a high lean meat rate, making it an ideal breed for producing large carcasses and high-quality lamb meat. The fleece weight is 5-6 kg for adult rams and 2.5-3.6 kg for adult ewes, with a staple length of 7-8 cm, a fineness of 50-58 counts, and a clean wool yield of about 60%. The fleece is white, but occasionally a small amount of pigmented fiber can be found. The lambing rate is 141.7-157.7%.
Crossbreeding trials of the Suffolk sheep
1. Crossing rams with Mongolian sheep: According to a report by Tang Daolian, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region used Suffolk rams in crossbreeding trials with Mongolian sheep and low-generation fine-wool crossbred sheep. Under conditions of year-round grazing with slight supplementary feeding in winter and spring, compared with the maternal Mongolian sheep and low-generation fine-wool crossbred sheep, the first-generation Suffolk crossbred lambs grew faster and produced more meat, and were suitable for grazing fattening in pastoral areas.
2. Crossing rams with Hu sheep: Qian Jiangong and others introduced Suffolk rams for crossbreeding trials with Hu sheep. The test results showed that the 6-month-old body weight of the first-generation Suffolk × Hu crossbred sheep was 38.02±4.65 kg, and the average daily gain was 285±53 g from birth to 2 months of age and 183±21 g from birth to 6 months of age. The pre-slaughter live weight of 7-month-old lambs was 37.33±1.20 kg, the carcass weight was 18.45±0.64 kg, the dressing percentage was 48.92±2.00%, the net meat percentage of the carcass was 74.55±2.76%, and the bone-to-meat ratio was 1:3.99.
3. Crossing Suffolk sheep with sheep: Zhang Xiutao and others crossed Suffolk sheep with local Ningxia sheep. The test results showed that under a feeding method of grazing plus supplementary feeding, the first-generation Suffolk crossbred sheep showed good heterosis and adaptability to the semi-arid desert grassland at the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains, grew fast, were tolerant of roughage, had a full and sturdy body, and were very suitable for farmers to raise.
4. Crossing rams with Small-tailed Han sheep: Mao Yangyi and others crossed Suffolk rams with Small-tailed Han sheep introduced to Shanxi. The body weight of 6-month-old first-generation Suffolk × Han crossbred rams was 35.20±4.80 kg and that of ewes was 31.89-4.29 kg, and the body weight of yearling first-generation Suffolk × Han crossbred rams was 54.33±5.86 kg and that of ewes was 50.12±5.64 kg.