How to select breeding sheep? These methods you need to master
Sheep are one of the main livestock species in China, and there is also a very large market demand for them in China. The scale of sheep farming is now very large as well. If you want to raise sheep efficiently and sustainably, then the selection of breeding sheep is a very important task. The quality of breeding sheep is closely related to the quality of the lambs. So today, the editor has brought you methods on how to select breeding sheep. Let's take a look below!
1. Look at the pedigree
Through the pedigree, we can effectively examine the bloodline source of the breeding sheep and estimate its production performance, which is the main channel for obtaining individual information. If the individual has excellent constitution and shares many common characteristics with its parents, then it means its genetic performance is stable and it can be kept for breeding. Moreover, most of an individual's qualities are inherited from the previous generations. Therefore, when selecting breeding stock, it is best to conduct a comprehensive examination of the goats from the above generations. Only by ensuring good parents can you have high-quality breeding sheep.
2. Look at the breeding sheep
The overall appearance and production performance of the breeding sheep will directly affect the next generation. Therefore, when selecting breeding sheep, we should pay attention to evaluating all aspects such as at birth and at weaning, so as to carry out the selection of breeding sheep. Determine their merits based on appearance. The specifications of the breeding sheep should ensure a large body size, sturdiness, a long body and thick legs, great vitality and full energy. Then we should also pay attention to observing the reproductive organs of the breeding rams to ensure they are normal and disease-free, and that they have a strong libido. Through observation in all aspects, high-quality breeding sheep can be effectively selected.
3. Look at the collateral line
The collateral line refers to selecting breeding stock based on the surface characteristics of an individual's half-sibs. That is, selecting breeding stock by estimating performance through collateral-line breeds with the same sire and different dams. This selection method is relatively meaningful for sheep farming, because most sheep farming now uses artificial insemination technology. It is easy to obtain collateral-line data of half-sibs, and because the birth time is the same and the growth environment is the same, the results are also similar. Moreover, it can advance the selection time and expand the benefits.
4. Look at the offspring
Likewise, we can also determine the characteristics of the retained breeding ram by observing the characteristics of the offspring. If the offspring of the breeding sheep have high performance, then it means the utilization value of this breeding sheep is relatively high and the selection was correct. And offspring with high production performance most likely also means that the parents also have strong production performance. On the contrary, if the offspring are not ideal enough, then it is not suitable for us to continue using it as a breeding sheep.
The above is a brief introduction to how to select breeding sheep. The selection of breeding sheep is very important, directly affecting the overall development of the flock and also closely related to your own farming benefits. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!