Several key points to note in scientific mutton sheep farming
1 Selection of superior breeds
China has fairly rich mutton sheep breed resources, but the breeds vary greatly in quality, and among them there are some crossbred, inferior and local mutton sheep. These breeds are characterized by slow growth and development, relatively small body size, poor meat quality, poor flavor and a low market-ready rate, which seriously affects the economic benefits of mutton sheep farming. Therefore, superior mutton sheep breeds are the foundation for obtaining good economic benefits. In production, mutton sheep breeds suitable for the local natural conditions and the management conditions of the farm should be selected. At present, the superior mutton sheep breeds in China mainly include Small-tailed Han sheep, Altay sheep, Hu sheep, etc. These mutton sheep breeds grow and develop quickly, have better meat quality, large body size and strong reproductive capacity. Some superior foreign breeds also have excellent characteristics, but care should be taken when introducing foreign breeds to see whether they are suitable for the local farming environment and conditions, and they must not be introduced blindly. The characteristics of heterosis can be used to crossbreed sheep breeds to obtain superior mutton sheep breeds. In China, introduced breeding rams are mostly selected as the paternal parent to carry out two-way or three-way crossbreeding with local ewes. By using heterosis, the lambing rate can be increased by 25%, the survival rate of lambs can be increased by 40%, and body weight can be increased by 20%.
2 Provide a suitable farming environment
At present, mutton sheep farming is mostly housed feeding, which has relatively high requirements for the farming environment. The sheep house is the place where mutton sheep eat, rest and sleep. The quality of the farming environment has an important effect on the economic benefits of mutton sheep farming, so a suitable farming environment should be provided for mutton sheep. First, when building the farm, a site with good ventilation, good lighting and high, dry terrain should be selected, because sheep prefer warm and dry places, so building sheds in low-lying, humid places with poor ventilation should be avoided as much as possible. In addition, attention should be paid to convenient surrounding transportation, no large chemical plants or other pollution sources nearby, and the issue of manure treatment should be considered. The sheep farm should be built in the downstream area of rivers.
The layout and design of the sheep house should be reasonable, and a suitable area should be determined according to the farming scale. If the area is too large, it is not conducive to keeping warm in winter and will also increase construction costs. If the area is too small, it is not conducive to ventilation. Generally, the area of a sheep house should be 0.8-2 sq m per adult sheep. The floor of the sheep house must not be a cement floor. On the one hand, the lower temperature of a cement floor in winter causes gastrointestinal diseases in lambs, and on the other hand, it is also harmful to the health of sheep limbs and hooves. An exercise yard is best set up near the sheep house, and the area of the exercise yard is generally 3-4 times the area of the sheep house. Water troughs and feed troughs should be set up in the exercise yard. The farm area should be divided into a production area, a living area and an isolation area. Within the production area, it should be divided into ewe houses, ram houses, fattening houses, etc. according to the different stages of mutton sheep, and the production area should be located downwind of the living area, while the isolation area should be located downwind of the production area, which is beneficial to disease prevention and control.
Strengthen the daily management of the farming environment. This includes doing a good job in daily sanitation and cleaning, frequently changing bedding, keeping the sheep house clean and dry, and carrying out regular disinfection. Do a good job in cold protection in winter and heat protection in summer, strengthen ventilation and air exchange to remove harmful gases in the shed, and keep the air in the shed fresh.
3 Scientific fattening techniques
Feed is an important part of mutton sheep fattening. Whether the nutrients in it are sufficient, whether the ratio is reasonable, and whether it meets the growth and development and fattening needs of that stage are very important for mutton sheep production. Therefore, feed should be reasonably selected, scientifically designed and formulated, and scientific feeding should be carried out at the same time.
Sheep are ruminants and mainly consume plant-based feed, including roughage and concentrate. Roughage mainly includes crop straw, pasture grass, etc. It is characterized by containing a large amount of crude fiber, can give sheep a feeling of fullness, and plays an important role in maintaining rumen health and promoting weight gain. Concentrate includes crop seeds and corresponding processed products, such as corn, soybean meal, etc., as well as some additional feeds, such as minerals, vitamins, etc., which are also indispensable in the mutton sheep production process and can significantly promote metabolism in the sheep's body and improve feed utilization.
Mutton sheep have different nutritional needs at different growth and development stages. If the feed ratio is unreasonable, it will cause some nutritional deficiency diseases in mutton sheep and affect farming benefits. Therefore, when formulating feed, scientific ratios should be made according to the different physiological stages of mutton sheep. For example, for breeding rams, physical strength and nutrients are consumed quickly during the mating stage, so attention should be paid to nutrient supply and increasing protein feed to improve semen quality. For breeding ewes, in the late gestation period, the rapid growth and development of the fetus requires a large amount of nutrients, and full preparation should be made for lactation, so the nutrition of the daily ration should be increased. For fattening sheep, the daily ration ratio should be adjusted in a timely manner according to the physiological conditions of fattening sheep at different periods.
4 Do a good job in disease prevention
Once an epidemic disease occurs in mutton sheep, it has a great impact on production, so doing a good job in disease prevention and control is an important work link. In the process of disease prevention, first strengthen feeding management to improve the disease resistance of the flock, then in the feeding process do a good job in sanitation and cleaning of the sheep house, ventilation and air exchange, and strengthen daily disinfection work, etc., to reduce the occurrence of diseases. Formulate a scientific immunization plan according to the disease occurrence situation of the farm and the local area, and strictly inoculate relevant vaccines according to the immunization program. In addition, sheep are prone to parasitic diseases. When sheep suffer from parasitic diseases, the parasites compete with the host for nutrients, causing slow growth and development of mutton sheep, worse weight gain effects, affecting the health of mutton sheep, and also easily inducing other diseases. Parasitic diseases are divided into external parasitic diseases and internal parasitic diseases. For the prevention of external parasitic diseases, medicated baths can be carried out regularly. For internal parasitic diseases, drugs are selected for deworming. A comprehensive deworming job can be carried out in spring and autumn every year. Note that manure after deworming should be centrally treated to kill the source of parasites.
[Article] Bi Weibo. Several key points to note in scientific mutton sheep farming [J]. Modern Animal Husbandry Science and Technology, 2018(01):34.
