Lamb beating. Lambing and rearing of young stock during the suckling period
Sheep breeding 03.05.2018 2665
The leading role in realizing the genetic potential of productivity of young Romanov breed sheep is played by proper feeding and good content.
The peculiarities of intensive rearing of young animals are that the implementation of live weight gains should be carried out from an early age. It is known that with increasing age of lambs, feed costs increase: in Romanov breed lambs up to 3 months of age, 4–4.5 feed units are spent per 1 kg of growth, and from 5–6 months – 5–5.2 feed units.
Experience in breeding this breed of sheep has shown that the higher the live weight of the lamb at birth, the more intensively it grows. Newborn lambs with a live weight of 2.2 kg or more are considered optimal.
Nutritional value of sheep's milk
In the first weeks after lambs are born, milk is the only source of nutrition. A relationship has been established between the milk production of ewes and fertility: over 100 days of lactation, a uterus with one lamb produces 97.2 kg of milk, with two – 120.0 kg, with three – 153.0 kg, and with four – 169 kg. On average for the breed, Romanov queens can produce from 100 to 300 kg of milk in 100 days of lactation.
We have provided an analysis of the composition of uterine colostrum in the first hours after lambing (Table 1).
Table 1. Chemical composition of colostrum one hour after lambing of the uterus
Such high figures are reliable protection lamb from external unfavorable factors.
In his research T.A. Jiaid (2003), studying the composition of sheep's milk, concluded that total protein, including caseins and whey proteins, is 1.7–1.9 times higher in sheep than in milk. cattle– this is the main specific feature of sheep’s milk (Table 2). The quantity and quality of protein in colostrum is closely related to the starting period of lamb growth intensity.
Judging by the data in Table 2, according to total protein, fat, milk sugar Goat's milk, when stable, is not inferior to sheep's milk.
Table 2. Comparison of the composition of milk from goats, cows and sheep
| Indicators | Content in milk, % | ||
| Goat | Cow | Sheep | |
| Water | 80,3 - 87,00 | 87,3 | 83,5 |
| Dry matter | 13,0 - 19,6 | 12,7 | 16,4 |
| Total protein | 4,05 - 6,03 | 3,60 | 6,00 |
| Fat | 4,40 - 8,49 | 3,90 | 6,18 |
| Milk sugar | 3,20 - 5,40 | 4,70 | 4,17 |
| Ash | 0,59 - 1,02 | 0,70 | 0,93 |
Relatively cow's milk it is clear that it is inferior in almost all respects to both goat and sheep milk. This feature must be taken into account when weaning lambs from their mothers.
Lamb weaning
In England, lambs are weaned at one day of age, in Italy at three days, in Bulgaria on the 30th day, in Hungary upon reaching a live weight of 20–21 kg, in Australia at the age of 70 days.
Currently, early weaning technology is implemented in two ways.
1. Wean lambs at 1–2 days of age and raise them using milk replacers until 45 days, followed by transfer to dry and vegetable feeds.
2. Weaning lambs from their mothers from 40–45 days of age with further transfer to dry and vegetable feeds.
The most advanced post-weaning technique for growing growing lambs is the use of ewe's milk replacer (SMR). It is produced with 30% and 17% fat. The first is used from the first days of cultivation, the second after 15–20 days.
Unfortunately, the domestic feed industry cannot produce feed High Quality for lambs. Therefore, it is advisable to use imported European mixtures, especially those made in Holland. Prestarters turned out to be the most satisfying to our requirements.
Prestarters, unlike our compound feeds, contain easily digestible carbohydrates, which accelerate the development of rumen villi in lambs and contribute to the rapid formation of rumen digestion. As a rule, the prestarter contains cereals, molasses, B vitamins, and basic micro- and macroelements. With the metabolic energy required for Romanov lambs being 7.7 MJ, prestarters contain 11.4 MJ or more.
We have studied one of the Dutch-made Panto-Bambino prestarters. IN farming A.A. Komarov (Tver region) the following results of lamb growth were obtained: in the first month - 243 g, in the second - 183 g and in the third - 170. At the same time, on a regular diet without the use of a prestarter, the results were as follows: in the first month - 193 g, in the second – 166 g and the third – 120 g. When raised using the mentioned prestarter at 90 days of age, the lambs weighed 20.3 kg with 95% safety; in the second option - 16.6 kg, or 3.7 kg less, with 87% safety.
Among the domestic feeds for lambs of the Romanov breed, the most suitable feeds are those intended for pigs: SK-4 - for lambs up to 30 days of age, SK-5 - from 30 days and older.
If it is possible to purchase a high-quality sheep's milk substitute (SOM), it is diluted in warm water(30–35oС) in a ratio of 1:5. When feeding lambs with food, it is advisable to use pig nipple drinkers (for piglets) - this is a round container with a volume of 8–10 liters with twelve teats around the circumference. The feeding regimen for lambs aged from 1 to 45 days is shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Feeding lambs with ZOM aged from 1 to 45 days.
| Age of lambs (days) | Number of feedings per day | Volume of each feeding, g | Daily value, g |
| 1-6 | 5-4 | 50-100 | 250-400 |
| 7-15 | 4 | 120-170 | 500-700 |
| 16-20 | 4 | 170-230 | 700-900 |
| 21-30 | 4-3 | 230-280 | 900-1000 |
| 31-40 | 3 | 280-350 | 840-1050 |
| 41-45 | 3 | 380-400 | 1140-1200 |
The best age to start drinking milk replacer is the first to third days after birth. Based on our practice, such lambs are more easily accustomed to feeding from a nipple.
When growing pedigree young animals up to 4 months of age, only milk must be rationed; other concentrated and roughage feeds are given ad libitum. After 4 months, only concentrated feeds are rationed.
When weaning lambs early, it is necessary to properly organize the launch of lactating ewes, so when lambs are weaned, lactation in the uterus lasts on average 70–90 days. Failure to comply with weaning technology leads to various udder diseases - mastitis, and in general, loss of milk during the next lambing.
5 days before the scheduled weaning date of lambs, all feed except hay is excluded from the diet of the ewes. Every day the presence of queens with lambs is reduced by an average of 5 hours, and on the last day in the morning it is necessary for the lambs to empty their udders. However, in practice there are cases when highly productive dairy queens need to increase the start-up time by another 3-4 days or more.
If early weaning is not used, the uterus loses less fatness, which has a positive effect on the next lambing. However, the load on animals increases sharply, and this is primarily due to the removal of nutrients from the body.
Of practical interest is the question: at what age should lambs have what live weight, taking into account the requirements of the breed standard? Live weight is a variable value and depends on many factors, however, the average live weight of lambs for a breeding reproducer is given in Table 4.
Table 4. Recommended live weight of lambs for breeding reproducer
| Animal age (months) | Live weight (kg) | Average daily growth (g)* |
Feed costs per unit of growth (units) |
| 3 | 18,0 | 170-175 | 4,5 |
| 6 | 31,0 | 145-150 | 5,2 |
| 9 | 40,0 | 100-110 | 6,9 |
| 12 | 47,0 | 80-100 | 7,7 |
*rams grow 15% more intensively than lambs
First mating
Next practical question: under what physiological conditions is the first mating of female moths possible? Currently, the opinions of sheep scientists are divided. Some believe that the main determining factor in the first mating of animals is their age, others - live weight.
We believe that the assessment of an animal’s ability to begin reproduction should be based primarily on live weight: if young lambs have reached a live weight of 70–75% of an adult sheep, then they can be mated. On average, according to the standard, elite-type breeds must have a mass of at least 41–42 kg. Therefore, there is no need to raise them until 12 months of age, as many recommendations state.
Due to its polyextricity (the ability to come into heat at any time of the year), it is recommended to carry out compacted lambing. However, it is necessary that the ewes and breeding rams receive good nutrition(Table 5).
Table 5. Feeding standards for breeding young animals by growth periods
| Indicators | Yarki, age | Rams, age | ||||||||
| 0-45 | 45-3 | 3-6 | 6-9 | 9-12 | 0-45 | 45-3 | 3-6 | 6-9 | 9-12 | |
| Feed units | 0,5 | 0,8 | 0,9 | 1,0 | 1,0 | 0,6 | 0,8 | 1,1 | 1,2 | 1,3 |
| Total energy MJ | 5,4 | 8,9 | 10,5 | 10,5 | 10,9 | 6,2 | 8,2 | 11,0 | 12,5 | 13,2 |
| Dry matter | 0,4 | 0,7 | 0,8 | 1,0 | 1,2 | 0,5 | 0,7 | 1,0 | 1,2 | 1,4 |
| Crude Protein (g) | 86 | 126 | 145 | 175 | 180 | 92 | 148 | 180 | 215 | 225 |
| Digestible protein | 65 | 100 | 108 | 120 | 125 | 84 | 120 | 135 | 155 | 155 |
| Table salt (g) | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Calcium (g) | 4,2 | 5,1 | 5,1 | 5,3 | 5,7 | 5,6 | 7,0 | 7,2 | 7,3 | 7,3 |
| Phosphorus (g) | 2,8 | 3,0 | 3,0 | 3,3 | 3,4 | 3,2 | 4,0 | 4,6 | 4,7 | 4,9 |
| Magnesium (g) | 0,5 | 0,6 | 0,6 | 0,7 | 0,7 | 0,6 | 0,8 | 0,8 | 0,9 | 0,9 |
| Sulfur (g) | 2,1 | 2,5 | 2,8 | 2,8 | 2,9 | 2,8 | 3,2 | 3,6 | 3,6 | 3,9 |
| Carotene (mg) | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Vitamin D (calcium - phenol) IU | 200 | 340 | 430 | 450 | 470 | 210 | 390 | 470 | 500 | 540 |
With intensive use of queens, their lifespan decreases economic use on average for 1.5–2 years. One of the reasons is the lack of a simple and complete food supply, which many farms in the Non-Black Earth Zone do not yet have, so the use of compacted lambing has not yet received the proper distribution.
At the same time, compacted lambing allows for more efficient use of breeding stock and maximum return from Romanov breed sheep.
Considering physiological characteristics sheep of this breed, favorable seasonal conditions, leading scientists on Romanov sheep breeding - Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor of the Department of Sheep Breeding of the Academy. Timiryazeva E.A. Korastev and Candidate of Agricultural Sciences of the Yaroslavl Research Institute of Housing and Housing M.N. Kostylev - they recommend the compacted lambing scheme shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Dates of compacted lambing
Maintenance of breeding young animals during the winter stall period
At the moment of birth, Romanov lambs require warmth. This is predetermined by one feature anatomical structure animal body, which many sheep farmers do not pay attention to. The fact is that in the Romanov sheep, a rather narrow bronchus extends from the trachea into the right apical lobe of the lung, which is associated with the abdominal type of breathing in sheep, which further reduces the ventilation of the lung. From here increased sensitivity Romanov lambs to sudden hypothermia, causing pulmonary diseases. Therefore, during the lambing period, a wet calf must be immediately dried and heated with lamps of the IKZK-220-250 type, which should be suspended at a height of 70–80 cm from the floor. Proper Use lamps will improve the safety of calves and prevent them from pulmonary diseases. The optimal thermal regime under a lamp is 18–20oC at a relative humidity of 70%. When the lamb is dry, it will be able to tolerate cold and temperature fluctuations well, however, only if there is dry bedding.
After the lamb is separated from its mother, no special conditions are required for its maintenance. It is necessary that the groups are approximately the same age. The area standards for keeping lambs up to 6 months of age are 0.5 m2, from 6 to 9 months – 0.9 m2, over 9 months – 1 m2. From 3 months of age, the rams should be kept separately from the lambs. Optimal quantity There are 20–25 lambs in a group.
In the first month of suckling, the lambs need nutrients is satisfied mainly by mother's milk. Therefore, it is very important to ensure high milk production of the queens during this period. For every kilogram of weight gain in lamb, an average of 5 kg is consumed mother's milk. To obtain an average daily gain of 250-300 g up to 2-2.5 months, the milk production of queens should be 1.2-1.5 liters per day. Over time, the milk production of ewes decreases, and the lambs' need for nutrients increases. Therefore, from 2-3 weeks of age, young animals are accustomed to eating concentrates, hay and succulent feed. The best concentrated feed for lambs is oatmeal, and the best succulent feed is chopped root vegetables. Lambs can be given plenty of good leafy hay. It is advisable to accustom lambs to eating twig food.
Depending on age, local conditions and directions of productivity for lambs during the suckling period, various feedings can be recommended. In the second month of the lambs’ life, the total nutritional value of the feeding can be approximately 0.20-0.25 feed units, in the third - 0.35-0.40 feed units and in the fourth - 0.60-0.65 feed units. Adjacent to the sheepfold there should be a small pen (baz) in which the queens can be kept in good weather. During the day, the queens are allowed to visit the lambs every 2-3 hours. At this time, the queens are fed hay, silage, and concentrates. In the southern regions of the country, where lambing is carried out during the grazing period, the queens are allowed to pasture and driven to the lambs every 2-3 hours. In warm weather, the lambing sheds for lambs are placed in a base, in a windless, well-warmed area. The advantage of this method is that, while at the base or on the pasture, the queens eat quietly and the lambs do not bother them, which has a positive effect on lactation. At the same time, lambs left indoors quickly become accustomed to eating feed and experience fewer colds and illnesses.
Raising lambs from multiple litters. Lambs from multiple litters with insufficient milk production from mothers, as well as lambs left without a mother, are placed with abundantly milk-producing queens that have one lamb. In order for the mother-nurse to accept the lamb, it must be coated with mucus secreted by the queen who brought one lamb. This is done so that the uterus cannot distinguish the lamb being placed from its own by the smell. You can also sprinkle the new lamb with the milk of the mother's mother. In order to accustom the queens to lambs, they are placed in a separate cage for 2-3 days. It is better to place foster babies in the evening or at night, when the queens are calm and have difficulty seeing. Cow's or goat's milk can be used to raise lambs, especially from multiple litters. Its daily allowance should be as follows: at the age of 1 to 7 days - up to 200 g; from 8 to 15 days - 300-400 g, from 16 to 20 days - 400-700 g; from 21 to 30 days - 700-900 g. During the first 5-7 days, lambs are fed milk heated to 30 ° C every 2-3 hours, then feeding is gradually increased to three times a day.
Tail trimming and castration of rams. All lambs of fine-fleece and semi-fine-fleece breeds at the age of 5-7 days have their tails trimmed, since a long tail in these sheep it is heavily contaminated with feces (in the uterus and urine) and not only spoils the wool on the back of the body, but also serves as a source of infection during childbirth and suckling of milk by lambs. In addition, the hair on the tail contains a lot of hair, which, when it gets into the fleece during shearing, greatly reduces its quality. Tail trimming is a simple process. Usually one person holds the lamb by the legs, and the other, using a sharp, disinfected knife, trims at the border of the 3rd and 4th vertebrae. After the operation, the wound is lubricated with iodine or other disinfectant. At the age of 2-3 weeks, lambs that are not suitable for breeding purposes are castrated. Castration is carried out so that with age the rams are calmer and feed better. Castrated lambs are called rams. Castration of lambs can only be trusted by experienced shepherds and veterinary specialists.
Weaning lambs from their mothers. Lambs are usually weaned from their queens at 3-4 one month old. After weaning, lambs and lambs are kept separately from the queens, and lambs are isolated from the queens for only 10-15 days, after which they can be kept together again. Valushki are placed for fattening (fattening) and at the age of 7-9 months they are sold for meat. After lambing, the queens should be given more dry feed (hay) for 5-7 days and given water once a day. This promotes rapid cessation of lactation. Lambs should be given succulent feed (grass, root vegetables) and fed with concentrates. They should be given water at least 2-3 times a day. In the first 10-15 days after beating, lambs can be grazed together with the queens, who serve as leaders. In cold weather, it is better to graze lambs close to the house so that if necessary, they can be driven indoors.
In a sheep farm with a completed rotation of the herd before the start of lambing, there will be the following sex and age groups: rams for various purposes (producers, samplers, repairs), ewes, repair lambs, as well as dead ones. In the period between lambings in the herd, in addition, there will be lambs before culling and young animals after culling under the age of 1 year.
Typically, queens are used for 5 years, producing 5 lambs. By this age, the queens reach 7 years of age and are culled due to old age. Then, ideally, the queen herd should consist of five age groups with an equal number of sheep, i.e. 20% of each age. However, during their productive life, the number of queens of all ages is reduced annually due to disease, mortality, culling of barren and low-productive ones during annual viewings and for other reasons. Therefore, the actual age structure will be different, and the older the queens, the smaller their share in the herd will be. Because of this, to maintain a constant herd size, annual repairs are necessary, i.e. younger age in the herd there should not be 20%, but somewhat more - 22-25%. In this case, the age structure of the queens will be approximately the following (before the start of lambing at the first mating at the age of 18 months): 2-year-olds - 22-25%; 3-year-olds - 20-23%; 4-year-olds - 19-22%; 5-year -17-20%; 6-year-olds - 15-19%; over 6 years old - 5-10%.
To accelerate the change of generations and increase the efficiency of selection in hatchery herds, especially in the breeding core, we can recommend the age structure of the broodstock: 2-year-old - 27%, 3-year-old - 26%, 4-year-old - 25%, 5-year-old - 22 %-27%. The annual mortality of queens is assumed to be 2-3%.
For the purely wool-based direction of sheep breeding in the arid zone, the herd structure is as follows: stud rams - 1%, ewes - 50%, ewes - 14%, rams - 20%, breeding rams - 15%. There is no point in having rams in more than 1% of the herd structure when using artificial insemination.
The structure of the herd may vary depending on the type of mating, since the need for stud rams during artificial insemination is significantly lower than during natural mating. The proportion of queens in the herd structure will be lower, and the proportion of replacement queens will be higher if it is planned to increase the number of queens, including queens.
Seasonality of reproduction. For most breeds, the breeding season begins as the length of the longest day decreases. Ovulation rates typically peak in mid to late fall. Regular sexual cycles repeat on average after 17 days. The beginning of the cycle is considered the first day of hunting. A few hours after the start of the hunt, ovulation occurs, i.e. rupture of the follicle and release of the egg.
Some queens come back into heat and are ready to breed within a month of lambing, but most do not begin cycling until their lambs are culled. The mating period for a sheep is usually 5 months. (147 -153 days), but can vary from 140 to 160 days. The maximum fertility of sheep is achieved when mating in the middle of the breeding season, since at this time the proportion of cycling queens and the ovulation rate are maximum. All other things being equal, the timing of mating is chosen so that it can be completed in less time. a short time and get more lambs. For most regions of Russia, the more favorable mating dates for sheep are September, October and November, for more northern regions - August - September. Unfavorable months for mating are January - June, when most of A flock of sheep is in a state of sexual dormancy.
Indicators of reproductive capacity. Reproductive ability is understood as a set of characteristics and properties that ensure the reproduction of livestock: fertility, fertility, safety of young animals, and the frequency of lambing per year.
Not all sheep become mated after mating. Some of them remain unfertilized, or barren. There are many reasons for barrenness. This - various diseases, low fatness, lack of regular sexual cycles, death of embryos on early stages development, high level phytoestrogens in pasture grass, lack of rams or their impotence and, finally, poor organization of preparation and mating in general.
With poor organization of work, productivity can reach 25-35%, with good organization - only 3-8%. Barrenness control can be carried out immediately after the end of the breeding period, determining fertility. This can be done in the laboratory by examining blood or mucus from the vagina 18-30 days after mating, as well as taking into account the number of uterus that have become pregnant. In practice, fertility is assessed by the number of lambed queens as a percentage of those available at the beginning of lambing. It is clear that the fertility rate cannot be more than 100%.
Fertility is the number of lambs at birth, including live, stillborn and aborted, per 100 lambs or aborted ewes per lambing. Numerically, fertility is also expressed as the percentage of all registered lambs to all registered queens, i.e. 105 lambs from 100 queens correspond to 105%, 235 lambs from 100 queens - 235%. Fertility is a sign that characterizes the biological capabilities of sheep of a particular group, herd, breed or individual sheep. Fertility cannot be less than 100%, since only queens that have had at least one lamb are counted. The safety of young animals is one of the most important economic indicators reproduction. It is estimated as the percentage of animals surviving at a certain age from the number available at the beginning of the accounting period. In practice, safety is taken into account for the period from birth to slaughter and from birth to sale for slaughter, breeding, or transfer to the main herd. Safety in milk period depends on the milk supply of the uterus and maternal instinct. These qualities are better developed in adult queens than in young ones.
There are types of natural mating: manual, class, free and harem. After artificial insemination, manual mating is the most advanced way of mating animals. In this case, the queen, who has come into heat, is mated with a ram pre-selected for her. The next day, the mated queen is checked with a sample ram and, if she is in heat, she is covered a second time with the same ram.
Class mating consists of selecting appropriate rams for a certain group of queens, which are kept together with the queens throughout the breeding season.
In case of free mating, the load on one ram should not exceed 30 ewes, on a young one (18-20 months) - 20 ewes. In general, this type of mating allows uncontrolled mating and with it no breeding work on sheep breeding is possible.
Harem mating is very effective. To carry it out, ideally, for each group of queens of 30-50 heads, it is necessary to have a fenced area of pasture with a feeding capacity for one month. You can also arrange small pens according to the number of groups of queens and feed the queens in the pen with imported grass and other forage for a month. After a month of aging with the rams, the queens are combined into one herd and mating is completed in the usual manner, as with artificial insemination.
Raising lambs during the dairy period. There are several technologies for raising lambs during the dairy period. The placenta should be removed from a lambed queen and checked for milk production by external examination of the udder and nipples, paying attention to their condition and size. In this case, the first streams of milk from each lobe of the udder should be milked in order to determine its possible milk content, functional ability and to free the nipple canals from the resulting plugs. The traditional rearing system is based on 4-5 months. duration dairy nutrition and a gradual increase in the size of the group of queens with lambs. Sometimes, immediately after lambing, the queen and lamb are placed in a single cage. But, as a rule, multi-litter queens and first lambs are placed in separate piles for 3 - 4 days, and queens with single lambs, with rare exceptions, should be placed immediately in piles of 3 - 4 goals. After 2-3 days, 3-5 queens are combined in one group, then 10-15, 20-30 queens with lambs. When the lambs reach 2-4 months. At age, the size of the group (sakman) is increased to 150-200 queens. Feeding and watering should be uninterrupted and of good quality during this period. The sooner sakmans connect, the less guarantee they will grow good offspring and the more worries there will be in the future. Therefore, it is very important not to enlarge the sakmans as much as possible during the first 45 days of raising lambs. At the same time, it is necessary to develop the responsibilities of sackman workers and their remuneration. First, a group of queens with lambs should be permanently assigned to each saxman.
From about 10 days of age, lambs should be left in the sheepfold, and the queens should be fed in the base. Although this method in the first 8-10 days causes unnecessary anxiety in the lambs, the uterus is fresh air They eat the feed better, and the lambs themselves do not spoil it. Moreover, from this period the lambs are accustomed to water, and from 14 days. age - to eating grain mixtures, mineral supplements And roughage, as well as silos good quality.
No less important is the transfer of suckling lambs to pasture keeping. In conditions of severe overcrowding, virgin pastures near sheepfolds pose a greater risk of infection helminthic infestations than pasture value. Therefore, lambs are released onto pasture no earlier than 3 weeks of age. Differential transfer of lambs to pasture allows them to carry out differentiated treatments against monieziosis.
It should be borne in mind that even during the grazing period, feeding lambs with grain fodder should be carried out by organizing special “canteens” for them, or separating them from the queens in a special feeding barn. For grazing of queens with lambs behind rye, special crops of winter wheat, then alfalfa and Sudan grass can be used. Lambs that are well accustomed to using various feeds develop quickly by 4 months. age, i.e. at the time of beating and have a live weight of up to 30-34 kg.
Lamb lambing and intensive rearing. Lambs are slaughtered one by one, but the age can be different and depends on the purpose of the lambs, their breeding value, feeding and maintenance conditions. But one rule is general under all circumstances: the worse the conditions for queens with lambs, the earlier the lambs should be separated from the queens. Early weaning refers to the practice of separating lambs from their mothers earlier than traditionally and bringing them to the required condition. Most often this is done at the age of 6-8 weeks instead of the traditionally accepted 4-5 months.
Lambs should not be culled before 50 days of age, since the milk production of queens at this stage of lactation is still relatively high and they may develop mastitis. If the queens do not have milk or have very little milk, then cutting must be done earlier. Feeding the queens and feeding the lambs should ensure the weight of singles at beating is at least 12 kg, twins - at least 10 kg. If in the group (sakman) there are still lambs with a smaller weight, then they still need to be killed, but placed separately. Leaving stunted lambs under the uterus in this case does not make sense, since it was the uterus, its low milk production or disease of the lamb that was the cause of its poor growth.
From 2-4 months lambs are raised on a complete finishing mixture. These mixtures fully satisfy the nutritional needs of lambs. In addition to the mixture, lambs are provided with hay and succulent feed, including carrots. As a rule, mixed feed and succulent feed are given in the morning, and roughage - at night.
The best beating method is gradual increase time of separate feeding, and possibly grazing of queens with lambs. It should be borne in mind that the lambs should remain in the same carcasses in which they were before beating. This will avoid stress in them, as well as avoid mass cases of uterine mastitis. Before lambing, the queens should be transferred to dry and relatively poor pasture. All care for the killed lambs is entrusted to the senior shepherd of the breeding flock, as the most experienced, and an auxiliary worker is given to help him. The lambs are grazed on alfalfa and Sudan grass crops, and are also fed grain fodder depending on the condition of the pastures at the rate of 100-250 g per lamb. In the heat of the day, lambs must be under a canopy or in a shed, which is cleaned and disinfected for these purposes and in which the windows and doors are opened.
Technology of feeding and keeping sheep. Sheep use roughage and succulent feed better than other farm animals. The most valuable food for sheep is green grass and hay.
Green feed (pasture grass) is the cheapest and most complete feed for all groups of sheep. It is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and biologically active substances, well eaten by sheep. Sheep get green grass from grazing, but it can also be successfully used in the form of green mass, barely mowed one at a time.
Hay is one of the main feeds in winter period. It is rich in nutrients, contains a sufficient amount of vitamins E, K and group B. For sheep, it is better to use small grass, meadow, and legume hay. It is believed that the minimum feeding rate should be 0.5-0.7 kg for pregnant queens, 0.8-1.0 for suckling queens and 0.4-0.5 kg for replacement young animals.
Straw is used in cases where there is not enough hay. Sheep eat millet, oat and barley straw better. Straw is given in quantities of 0.5 to 2.0 kg per head per day as an additive to hay and other feed. Sheep are also given chaff (oatmeal, millet, legumes) as roughage feed.
Grass meal, granules are valuable food obtained from artificially dried grass. Nutritional value of 1 kg - 0.7-0.9 feed, units. containing 16-20% crude protein, 250 mg or more carotene. Grass meal and granules can be introduced into the diet of sheep in the amount of 10-15% in nutritional value, and in the composition of complete mixtures - up to 40% by weight.
Silage is the most common feed for sheep in winter. In the diet of pregnant queens, good quality silage can be 2.5-3 kg, lactating queens - 3-4 kg, replacement young stock - 1.5-2 kg, young females and rams - 2-2.5 kg.
High quality haylage can be used as the main feed for all age and sex groups of sheep.
Root vegetables are included in the diet of 2-3 kg per day for adult sheep and up to 1 kg for young animals aged 6-9 months. Before feeding, root crops are washed and chopped.
Concentrated feeds - oats, barley, corn are used to balance rations in terms of energy; peas and other legumes - to balance protein; cakes, meal - for balancing protein, fat, phosphorus. Daily norm feeding to adult sheep - 0.3-0.5, to young animals - 0.2-0.4 kg.
Mineral feed. Every day an adult sheep should be given 10-15 g, a lamb - 5-8 g of loose salt. Salt lick should always be in the feeders as an insurance supplement. Great importance macroelements include calcium and phosphorus. Their deficiency in the diet is compensated for by chalk and bone meal, defluorinated phosphate and feed precipitate. Pregnant and suckling queens are given 6-10 g, and young animals - 5-7 g per head per day.
In our country's sheep farming, two main systems for feeding and keeping sheep have developed: pasture and various options stall-pasture.
Matsenavichene I.A., Bolshakova N.V.
Scientific supervisor: Ph.D. Sc., Associate Professor Bolshakova N.V.
Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Ural State Academy of Veterinary Medicine"
Troitsk
One of the promising methods in sheep breeding is early weaning of lambs from their uterus.
Implementation early dates weaning lambs creates favorable conditions to improve their feeding during the most intensive growth, helps to increase the volume and reduce the cost of lamb production.
In sheep farming, lambs are weaned from their mothers at 2, 3, and 4 months of age. Lambs weaned at the age of 2-3 months eat the same feed as adult sheep; in addition, at this age they do not have enough mother’s milk. By eating benign food: bean hay, granulated feed, grain, beets, silage, carrots, lambs grow and develop well. Based on the available literature data, we decided to conduct an experiment with the prekos breed, available at Yasnye Polyany LLC, Troitsky district, Chelyabinsk region.
A flock of 605 ewes was allocated for the experiment.
The purpose of the study was to study and determine the feasibility of early weaning of lambs to increase the production of sheep products in the conditions of Yasnye Polyany LLC, Troitsky district, Chelyabinsk region.
The objectives of the study were as follows:
1. Study of zootechnical records and breeding documents.
2. Study of housing and feeding conditions.
3. Study of growth and development of lambs different terms weaning
4. Calculation of the economic efficiency of research results.
To solve the assigned problems, a scientific and production experiment was carried out for 152 days (from 04/30/09 - 09/30/09). The accounting period began for the control group at 4 months of age, and for the experimental group at 3 months of age and lasted until 8 months of age.
To conduct the experiment, we allocated one flock of Prekos ewes in the amount of 620 heads. In February 2009 (during the mass lambing days of February 17-18), 40 heads of lambs were selected from the resulting offspring on the principle of analogues - taking into account origin (all lambs of the Prekos breed), sex, age and live weight. All animals were tagged with plastic ear tags, each group had its own color tag and were individually weighed. After determining the average live weight, all livestock were divided into 2 groups, 20 animals in each.
In the first, control group, there were young birds, killed at the end of May, they were grazed on pasture, before that they were together with suckling queens.
In the second, experimental group, there were lambs killed at the end of April, they were grazed and given 250 g of oatmeal per head per day, until the formation of flocks of young animals.
To reduce disturbance during grazing, 10 heads of queens (cattle ones) were introduced into the flock of young animals from the experimental group (before lambs from the control group were killed), which served as leaders.
The experiment was carried out according to the following scheme:
Animals of all groups were monitored. During the experiment, the following indicators were studied:
1. Conditions for keeping and feeding young animals.
2. Animal growth (relative and average daily growth)
3. Animal development (body measurements)
The live weight of animals was determined by individual weighing: at birth at the ages of 3, 4 and 8 months, using scales.
Body measurements were taken at 8 months of age using a measuring stick according to generally accepted methods.
The results of the influence of early weaning of lambs on their growth and development were assessed by indicators of average daily and relative increase in live body weight, and by body measurements.
Mathematical processing of the obtained results was carried out biometrically on a programmable microcalculator MK-61, according to the method of E.K. Merkuryeva (1971).
The influence of the timing of weaning on live weight was studied using the results of weighing lambs: at birth, 3, 4, 8 months of age. The weighing results are shown in Table 2:
From Table 2 it can be seen that the live weight of livestock increases with age in accordance with the biochemical characteristics and feeding of the animals.
A study of the live weight of experimental yams shows that at all age periods, the live weight of yams from group II was higher than that from yams from group I.
In lambs weaned early compared to late ones, the average live weight was higher at the time of birth by 2.9% (tg=0.85), at the age of 3 months by 0.7% (tg=0.14), at 4 months by 4.9% (tg=1.4), at 8 months by 5.4% (tg=1.54).
Lambs developed especially naturally in the first 4 months of life; their live weight was 23.45-24.60 kg.
At the same time, it should be noted that the rate of increase in live weight of young lambs of different ages in certain age periods was not the same. The growth rate of lambs is presented by the average daily increase in their live weight in Table 3.
 |
Table 3 shows that lambs weaned at the end of April developed better than their peers, weaned at the end of May. Thus, from birth to 8 months, the average daily increase in live weight in females of group II was 143.2 g, or 9.6% higher than in females of group I. The highest average daily increase in live weight of early weaned lambs is observed from 3 to 4 months, which can be explained by the fact that at this time feeding deteriorates due to the dry period of summer (burning out) of pastures.
A more clear idea of the intensity of growth is given by relative growth. The dynamics of relative growth are shown in Table 4.
From Table 4 it can be seen that the animals grew most intensively in the first three months of life; subsequently, the growth rate fell, with the greatest decrease observed at the age of 3 to 4 months.
Thus, there is reason to believe that the body weight of lambs at an early age can serve as a predictive indicator of the difference in live weight of adult animals. Weight data does not give a complete picture of the growth of livestock, since in the case of temporary insufficient nutrition, live weight can remain at the same level, and the growth of the animal will continue. A more complete picture of the growth and development of animals is given by the following measurements: height at the withers, oblique length of the body, chest circumference behind the shoulder blades.
The data in Table 5 indicate that the measurements characterizing the meat qualities of animals (girth, chest width, chest depth, width in breasts) in the young animals of the experimental group were higher than in the young animals of the control group: chest girth by 1.3%, chest width by 6.7%, chest depth by 4.8%, and shoulder width by 11.7%.
Table 5 - average value measurements bright at 8 months, (cm)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The unequal intensity of linear growth of individual parts of the body leads to a change in the body proportions of growing animals, as can be seen from the change in body indices, this is reflected in Table 6.
Analyzing the data in Table 6, it is clear that the lambs of the experimental group differed not only in absolute measurements, but also in body composition indices. In the studied age period, the experimental group has a higher elongation index and it is 117.0%, versus 116.6% in the control group; massiveness is 171.8% versus 165.7%; and boneiness characterizes meat quality. The value of the elongation and massiveness indices indicates the best body shape and indicates better development appearance articles in experienced lambs, which are distinguished by deeper and wider chest, long and proportionate body.
It follows from this that lambs slaughtered at the end of April provide an increase in meat productivity under conditions.
The most responsible, complex and labor-intensive job in sheep farming is lambing. It occurs 147-150 days (on average) after successful insemination.
In most regions of Russia, lambing is carried out in the second half of winter (January-February), or in the spring (March-April). The first is called winter, the second - spring. Winter lambing has some advantages over spring lambing.
Mating of sheep during winter lambing is carried out in August-September, when the grass on the pastures is still good and the sheep go into mating well-fed, which leads to friendly hunting and high fertility. During winter lambing, young animals reach 2-3 months of age when going out to pasture and effectively use green fodder. By autumn, such lambs are feeding well. The wool shearing from winter lambs at the first shearing is usually greater than from spring lambs. To carry out winter lambing, you need to have a sufficient amount of good quality feed, warm sheds and a sufficient number of workers.
Spring lambing coincides with warm weather and the beginning of the grazing season. But it has a number of disadvantages. Spring lambs do not yet have well-developed digestive organs and cannot fully use pastures, so by autumn they have a small weight.
Preparation for lambing begins early. 10-15 days before the start, they begin to insulate and equip the maternity ward. If there is no maternity ward, a sheepfold will be equipped accordingly. It is divided into sections: the middle one serves as a maternity ward, the second one is for keeping sakmans, and the third one is for pregnant wombs. To prevent diseases in lambs, especially colds, it is necessary that there is no dampness or drafts in the sheepfold. Straw bedding is a good moisture absorber and insulator. It is recommended to harvest straw for bedding at the rate of 120-150 kg per queen.
Before lambing begins, the uterus becomes restless, digs the litter, and bleats restlessly. When such signs appear, the uterus is placed in maternity ward(in a cage with fresh bedding). At correct birth soon after pushing, a bubble filled with liquid appears. It bursts, revealing the front legs and the face of the lamb lying on them. This is the normal position of the fetus. If the uterus is healthy and not exhausted, then such births, as a rule, end safely and do not require intervention. But if lambing is delayed, the uterus groans a lot - the shepherd must help her.
Within three hours after lambing, the uterus should be free of the placenta. If this does not happen within 6 hours, seek the help of veterinary specialists.
The fur on the udder of the lambed queen is cut off and inner surface thighs, udder are washed and wiped with a dry towel. The queen gets up, approaches the lamb and licks it. If childbirth is difficult and the uterus is weakened, the shepherd places the lamb in front of the mother’s face, and she licks it. The uterus, having licked the newborn, “remembers” his smell well, by which she subsequently unmistakably separates her lamb from someone else’s. The uterus usually cuts off the umbilical cord itself when it comes to the lamb. If it turns out to be uncut, the shepherd cuts it with disinfected scissors at a distance of 8-10 cm from the body of the lamb and disinfects it in a solution of iodine or 5% creolin. To heat newborns, thermal emitter lamps of the ZS-3 brand are used. They create a favorable microclimate with a diameter of up to 1.5 m. 30-40 minutes after birth, the lamb should suckle its mother. The first feeding is very important for the lamb’s future life, as colostrum helps cleanse the intestines of original feces and increases the body’s resistance. If the queen does not accept her offspring well, they are transferred to an individual heap cage. In order for the lamb to quickly learn to find the udder and teats, starting from birth it is recommended to keep it under during feeding. erect uterus. If he cannot find the nipple on his own, the shepherd provides him with appropriate assistance. During the first 2-3 days, lambs are fed every 2-3 hours.
After lambing, the queens become very thirsty. They should be given water warm water, 1-1.5 liters 1-2 hours after lambing, then after 1.5-2 hours they are watered again. The main food at this time is hay. They provide little succulent feed and concentrates. Feeding large quantities of concentrates and silage can lead to disease. The queen should be switched to a full diet including hay, succulent feed and concentrates 3-5 days after lambing.
The wrapped queen and the dried offspring are numbered with a special paint that does not spoil the wool and is well preserved. It is customary to put the same numbers on the right side of queens and single lambs, and on the left side for twins and their mothers. This branding procedure helps to keep records, easily distinguish a twin lamb from a single lamb, and quickly find lost lambs and ewes.
To preserve the entire offspring, it is necessary to keep the lambs in small sakmans for the first 5-10 days of life; in this case, they quickly find their mothers and suckle them regularly, whereas in large sakmans the lamb sometimes cannot find its mother and remains hungry. This causes illness and often death of young animals.
It is advisable to include lambs in sakmans that are fairly uniform in age and development.
In the first 15-20 days, lambs feed only on mother's milk. During this period, the lamb requires about 5 kg of milk per 1 kg of growth. To obtain an average daily gain of 250-300 g at the age of 2-2.5 months, the milk production of queens should be 1.2-1.5 liters per day. During lactation, the amount of mother's milk gradually decreases, and the lambs' need for nutrients constantly increases. Therefore, from 2-3 weeks of age they are accustomed to eating concentrates, hay and succulent feed. The best concentrated feed for lambs is oatmeal, as well as a mixture of oatmeal and cake; from succulent feed, crushed root vegetables and good-quality silage. Lambs are given plenty of good leafy hay. It is advisable to accustom lambs to eating twig food.
During the suckling period, it is recommended to use the sheep-basic method of raising lambs. It consists in the fact that the queens are driven out to pasture without lambs, and to feed the lambs the queens are driven into sheds 2-3 times during the day. At night, lambs are kept with their queens. In bad weather, the lambs are kept in a shed, and in good weather they are released into the base, where there should be plenty of straw bedding. At this time they are fed with good hay and concentrates. When kept separately, the uterus and lambs worry only in the first 2-3 days, and then they get used to this routine. The sheep-basic method of raising can almost completely prevent lambs from catching colds and eating soil. Lambs are well supplied with mother's milk and grow quickly, and ewes utilize green feed much better when on pasture without lambs.
In fine-fleece and semi-fine-fleece sheep farming, all lambs at the age of 5-7 days have their tails cut between the 3rd and 4th caudal vertebrae. The tail is usually heavily contaminated with feces, and in queens, urine, which not only spoils the wool on the back and sides of the fleece, but also serves as a source of infection in queens during childbirth, as well as for lambs while they suck milk.
At the age of 2-3 weeks, lambs that are not suitable for breeding purposes are castrated. However, it should be noted that the issue of castration in each household must be resolved individually.
When selling young animals for meat at 6-8 months of age, the rams do not need to be castrated; in all other cases, the rams that are not suitable for breeding purposes are castrated. This approach is explained by the fact that lambs develop quickly and produce a carcass that is 7-10% heavier than valushki, but the meat of valushki is of higher quality and is more expensive compared to the meat of rams.
Castration is carried out by veterinarians or experienced shepherds. It must be completed before the onset of hot weather to avoid blackening of the wounds.
Many years of experience have established that it takes 1.5-2 months for the queens to feed and rest before mating, and to carry out the necessary veterinary treatments. Therefore, if the mating of sheep begins in mid-September, then lambing should be completed in July. Currently, lambs are usually weaned from their mothers at 3-4 months of age. First, larger, well-developed lambs are killed, and after 10-15 days the rest are killed. When slaughtering, lambs are separated by sex. The flock size is 600-700 heads, breeding rams - 400-500, and sheep flocks - 750-1000 heads.
Keeping lambs and adult queens together is undesirable, since in this case the proper organization of feeding and maintenance of the young animals is difficult. But on small farms this is a necessary measure, since separate keeping leads to the creation of small groups of animals and a sharp increase in labor costs.
Simultaneously with the formation of flocks of lambs, old and sick ewes are culled, which after fattening are sold for meat.
In breeding farms, immediately after beating, the lambs should be graded, that is, weighed, described the nature of the coat, measured the length of the wool, and given a general assessment. When grading lambs whose tags are lost or whose tattoo is unclear, their numbers are updated, and on some farms they are given individual numbers.
Lambs that are not suitable for reproduction, as well as lambs after beating, must be fed for fattening and sold for meat at the age of 7-8 months.
In order for the queens to produce less milk after lambing and not to worry, for 5-7 days after lambing they should be grazed on dry, low-yield pastures sufficiently distant from the location of the young animals, and given water once a day.
After lambing, lambs are grazed on fresh pastures with good grass so that they are less infected with helminths. In addition, young animals are fed with concentrates. Lambs are watered at least 2-3 times a day. To reduce disturbance during grazing, several queens (preferably barren ones) are allowed into the flock of young animals for the first 10-15 days, which serve as leaders. When the lambs begin to graze on their own, the queens are returned to their flocks.
