Over 8 thousand-year history of sheep breedingA huge number of different breeds were bred. They are able to satisfy any requests that are associated with these animals: milk, cheese, wool and meat. Today we look at the most productive breeds of sheep, which are widely spread in Russia.
In the Soviet Union, such a livestock industry,as sheep, was focused on meat and wool products. Today in the Russian Federation in the meat priority. Such breeds are especially widespread in the following territories:
To the advantages of animals of this direction infirst include high rates of fat and meat. Sheep can stay on open grazing throughout the year. They adapt well to different climatic conditions: to cold winters and hot summers. Unpretentious to feed. Even if the animals are on a poor diet, their body is able to form fat reserves.
All animal meat breeds of sheep have characteristic features:
And now let's get to the bottom line. What are the best breeds of sheep? We will tell about where and when they were derived and about their distinctive features.
One of the most popular and sought afterRomanov sheep is considered. The breed was bred in the XIII century in the Yaroslavl province. A distinctive feature of the Romanov is multiplicity. The uterus can bear and give birth without damage to the health of five or more lambs.
The very first characteristic of the Romanov breed was introduced in 1908. Currently, the individual must comply with the following parameters:
Sheep and sheep of this breed can be horned, but, according to the standard, breeding animals should not have horns.
Pure-bred lambs are born in black color, only on the head and legs, closer to the hooves, white markings are allowed. A couple of weeks off rams and ryochek начинает появляться светлый пух, а к возрасту 5 months lambs get the color characteristic of adults of this breed, and are ready for the first haircut. It is believed that it is at this age that the best sheepskin is formed.
For the year, sheep of the Romanov breed are cut three times: in the spring, summer and autumn periods. About three kilograms of wool are obtained from one ram per shearing, and one and a half kilograms less from a sheep.
In addition to the unique fur products thatget from this breed of sheep, it is economically profitable to grow and for meat. The weight of an adult ram is 70, and sometimes it reaches 100 kilograms. The ewe weighs about fifty kilograms, lambs at the age of 3 months have a weight of about 17, and in nine months - about 40 kilograms.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of sheepRomanov breed is considered that they are ready for reproduction, not only in a certain period, but throughout the year. All this makes it possible to receive several offspring per year from one uterus, which makes it possible to plan lambing for a more favorable time. According to estimates, one queen can produce 100 kg of mutton per year and 2-3 high-class fleeces (for slaughter lambs at eight months of age). All of these qualities allow the breed to be widely used for an intensive method of growing.
Like most animals, this breed of sheep (photo representatives see above) has its own advantages and disadvantages. From the advantages we can distinguish the following properties:
In this case, the first products in the form of wool or sheepskin can be removed already from lambs of 5-6 months old, and in 7-9 months they receive the first meat.
Among the shortcomings should be noted the propensity for pulmonary diseases, fearfulness. Romanovskie especially sensitive to sudden changes in temperature, drafts and humidity.
Breed bred in the Soviet period, in the thirtiesThe years of the XX century. When breeding the breed, tribal Hampshires and aboriginal domestic sheep were crossed. Breeders managed to bring Gorky beef breed with short coarse wool, with high productivity. Sheep has light bones, rapid muscle growth. Gorky sheep unpretentious, hardy, with high immunity, and therefore received widespread. Adult sheep gain 110 kg of weight, and the uterus - up to 80 kg.
It was created in France in the middle of the XIX century.Its progenitors were fine-woolly local sheep and animals of the English meat breed Leister. Subsequently, the early ripening sheep obtained as a result of crossing were introduced to Germany, and there a new breed of sheep was created - merino-fleish. Thus, a number of types of prekos were formed, which are the closest to merino on the exterior and the fineness of wool.
Sheep is well proportioned, strongconstitution. Due to the fact that the sheep are too wide back, waist and thighs, the figure they barrel-shaped. Head to the very line of the eye is covered with thick hair. Most often, animals are horny, but their presence is not a defect. Adults fatted sheep weigh 110-130 kg, sheep 58-67 kg. The output of finished pure wool varies from 40 to 48%. The weight of lambs at birth usually ranges from 3.8 to 4 kilograms, and after 120 days it reaches 34 kg. With full nutrition from one ewe can get up to 55 kg of mutton per year.
Was obtained by crossing localcoarse-haired rams of meat type and sheep Kulundinsky breed. A distinctive feature is the high polyesterism of sheep, which makes it possible to produce lambs at a time of year that is unacceptable for other breeds. The offspring of the West Siberian sheep can be sold for meat already at 7 months of age. The mass of adult rams and sheep is 102 and 63 kg, respectively.
Grubosherdny edilbayevsky breed of sheep belongsto meat-greasy direction. It appeared thanks to folk selection at the end of the XIX century. Bred in Western Kazakhstan as a result of crossing Astrakhan coarse wool sheep and Kazakh fat-tailed sheep. Thanks to the work of breeders got strong, hardy animals adapted to the conditions of nomadic sheep breeding.
Edilbayevsky sheep is strongconstitution, has the right physique, she has a well-developed fat tail. By the way, the older the animal, the more he has a fat tail. More rounded shapes suggest that the animal has good fatness. Representatives of this breed komoly. Sheep of edilbayevsky breed tolerate summer drought and winter cold equally well. It is easy to make transitions over long distances and have the ability to get rich on a poor pasture. Such a feature is historically conditioned: nomadic sheep farming is practiced in Kazakhstan.
The live weight of one adult sheep is110-120 kg, especially outstanding specimens reach a weight of 150-160 kg, sheep weigh an average of 65-70 kg and 90-100, respectively. A distinctive feature of this breed is ripening and high growth energy. At birth, the average weight of sheep is about 6 kg, the ryachki weigh up to 5.3 kg, at the age of one and a half - 80 and 65 kg, respectively. The weight of the adult carcass fattened roller is 40-45 kg, and hen's fat is 14 kg. On average, the output of wool per ram is up to 3.5 kg, the largest indicator is 5 kg; 2.3-2.6 kg of wool is usually trimmed from a sheep. The fecundity of the queens of this breed is low, they bring no more than one lamb per lamb, which happens no more than twice a year. Milk receive an average of 150-155 liters per lactation period. These readings can vary from 124.8 to 184.3 liters.
These sheep breed characteristics are similar.In animals, there is a broad back, withers, sacrum and waist, a rather short and fleshy neck, thighs and rounded hips. The coat is of medium density, with a pronounced crimpiness, homogeneous. The peculiarity of representatives of these breeds of sheep is excellent meat productivity (above average), a large yield of wool and high viability. The weight of adult individuals of the Tien Shan breed is up to 110 kg for a ram and about 65 for queens; lambs at 4 months weigh 33 kg on average. Up to 9 kg of wool will be trimmed from one sheep, and up to 4.2 kg from the uterus. When breeding the North Caucasian meat and wool breed were involved: sheep ronni-march, Lincoln and the uterus of the Stavropol breed. The live weight of queens is 55-60 kg, and the amount of wool removed from one sheep reaches 6.4 kg.
This is a breed of sheep of the Dutch selection.The meat in animals is tender, non-greasy, with sweet flavors and a pleasant aroma. The coat is good, thick and thick. It is precisely because of this and the special endurance of the sheep that the flowers are popular all over the world. Breeding ewes of this breed are distinguished by high fecundity. The average weight of lambs at birth ranges from two and a half to five and a half kg, and by the 120-day age, this figure reaches 45 kg. An adult ram has a live body weight of 130 kg, the uterus is slightly lighter - its weight does not exceed 100 kilograms.
This breed of sheep is considered one of the oldest inEurope. It was bred by French breeders. A special feature of the Vandean breed is lean, lean meat with thin, evenly distributed streaks of fat and a delicious, delicious aroma. Very hardy and unpretentious animals are owners of thick wool and due to this they are well adapted in difficult climatic conditions, they gain weight well in grazing conditions. Fertility rates are quite high. A newborn lamb weighs about 6 kg, after 4 months its weight is already 60 kg, and the daily weight gain reaches 450 g. The weight of the adult uterus reaches 110 kg, the rams of this breed are even larger - up to 150 kg.
Овцы данной породы - одни из самых крупных в мире.The average height of a ram is 130-140 kg, and some individuals reach 190 kg. The uterus is slightly smaller, but also has a high mass of live weight - 70-80 kg, and taking into account muscle mass and fat - 100-120 kilograms. By the way, lambs and ryachki at birth weigh about 7 kg and are distinguished by precocity. When beating lambs from the mother, their weight averages already 45 kg, which, of course, is an excellent indicator. With one adult sheep, you can get 15-20 kg of fat-tailing fat, and in some cases more - up to 35-40 kg. The Hissar breed of sheep is coarse-haired, the wool is rather coarse, with the presence in it of a large amount of thick awn and dead, dry hair. The yield of wool in these animals is not too high: in rams, this figure is 1.3-1.6 kg, in queens - 1-1.4 kg. Haircut produced twice a year - in spring and autumn.
This is one of the most popular sheep bred.Dutch breeders. Texel - the representative of the oldest breed, it began to be engaged in breeding in the XVIII century. The main advantages of this breed are marbling, delicious taste and the fact that it does not have an unpleasant smell and a pronounced taste of fat. Lambs and ryachki are born quite large, their weight at birth is 7 kg, at 6 months this figure is 60 kg, and at 9 it reaches 102 kg. An adult ram Texel weighs 130 kg, sheep slightly less - about 125 kg. Most often, these figures depend on the conditions of fattening. Texel sheep are distinguished by unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention, endurance, and excellent immunity. For grazing animals it is preferable to use open pasture.
Africa is considered to be the birthplace of this breed of sheep.In 1930, local breeders combined the best qualities of dorset horn rams and fat-tailed sheep and got strong and durable dorper. Breed belongs to meat, it is considered one of the best in this direction. Dorpers are called hairless, they are not sheared in the spring, since they lose wool during the process of molting. Thoroughbred specimens have white color, black head and neck. The animals are very thermophilic, therefore in our country are suitable for breeding in the middle and southern strip.
More details on the description of the breed of sheep (photos of the representatives below). Purebred dorper usually reach weight up to 140 kg (rams), sheep - 95 kg.
Young animals at the age of one have suchweight: rams - 107 kg, jars - 65 kg. The weight of a lamb that has just been born is 5 kg, at a monthly age it is already 25 kg, and in half a year it is 40-70 kg. Dorper are the leaders among other breeds of sheep by daily weight gain under favorable conditions and nutrition. The animals are very tender meat, fatty tissues are evenly distributed among the muscle. Due to the fact that the breed is hairless, the specific smell of lamb is practically not observed. The meat yield at slaughter of an animal averages 59%, which is an excellent indicator. Smooth and smooth sheep skin is widely used to create various leather products.
The total fertility is 150-225 lambs on100 ewes, average offspring - from 1 to 4 lambs. Sheep become sexually mature by six months, the bright spots are allowed to mate from 10 months. Due to the good maternal instinct inherent in the sheep of this breed, the mortality of the young is extremely rare. The structural features of the skeleton allow the lambs to quickly emerge into the world, so the lambing passes safely. Dorper sheep can be bred twice a year, with a break of 8 months. But veterinarians do not recommend this, as frequent delivery depletes the body of a sheep. In case animals are allowed to be hatched all year round, it is recommended to keep one producing sheep for 15-20 sheep. Giving a large load on him is undesirable, as this may adversely affect the genetic health of future offspring.
