Sheep mating. Sheep mating

Breeding work is the basis of sheep breeding. Sheep mating is one of the most important tasks that every sheep farmer who plans to engage in a long-term sheep breeding business must set for himself.

Before mating begins on large farms, sheep are selected according to a set of the most important economically useful traits, depending on the direction of productivity, in order to determine the breeding value and purpose of the animal.

There are several methods for breeding assessment of an animal before mating:

1. Evaluation by constitution and exterior. It is checked whether the weight and height of the sheep corresponds to their age.
2. Animal productivity assessment. Sheep are bred for meat and wool, so breeding wool-bred rams with the same uterus for meat does not make sense. Before mating begins, ewes and rams are assessed by the amount of production and labor costs to care for this particular breed of sheep. Based on the high productivity indicators of parents, one can judge the indicators of future offspring.
3. Estimated by origin. Sheep are bred to obtain good performance only from pure breeds. Descendants inherit the characteristics of their ancestors, so young animals from high-quality parents are left for mating.
4. Evaluation of animals based on the quality of their offspring. This form of evaluation applies more to rams than to ewes. The more healthy lambs a ram produces, the higher the animal is valued. Only those sheep and rams that give good offspring repeatedly are allowed for mating; it is better not to allow queens that were previously barren to be mated, so as not to waste the efforts of the ram.

In any herd, the best animals are separated into a breeding core; on an industrial scale, the core consists of approximately 15-25% of the queens from the main herd, for which the best feeding and housing conditions are selected, taking into account productivity and breeding qualities.

On farms, breeding records are maintained, which involves entering the entire offspring, its quantity and quality into a special register, which makes it possible to judge the quality of the ewes and rams.

Sheep mating technique

The following types of mating are used in sheep farming:

1. Free;

3.Artificial insemination.

Manual and free mating require the sheep farmer to maintain a large number of rams in the herd. This is necessary due to the fact that the load on 1 ram during manual mating should not be more than 50-60 ewes. In addition, manual mating requires much more time and labor spent on selecting rams, queens, and moving sheep to different pens.

With free mating, there is no guarantee that the ram will cover all the ewes, nor that the lambs will be born at the right time.

Manual mating avoids the uncertainty of coverage, but also does not provide any guarantee that the queen will be mated.

By choosing artificial insemination, the sheep breeder receives a number of advantages:

1. Almost 100% result;

2.The queen can be inseminated at any time suitable for the sheep farmer;

3. There is no need to waste time on moving sheep and other worries that accompany manual mating;

4. The load per producer increases to 500-1000 queens;

5. The risk of infection with all kinds of infectious diseases, the transmission of which is possible through contact with a ram and sheep from someone else’s herd, is reduced, if the ram is imported.

Sheep are considered capable of reproduction from 4-5 months. It is at this time that the first hunt begins, but not all sheep go into heat, as sheep of the Romanov breed are ready for mating at 4 months, while sheep of the Karakul breed become sexually mature only at 6-8 months.

Early mating of a sheep

Insemination that occurs at 4 months is considered early. At this time, the sheep has not yet gained enough weight to bear healthy offspring. The weight at the time of mating should be at least 35 -45 kilograms. Lack of weight threatens miscarriage or the birth of a dead offspring, and the sheep themselves often die. Knowing the dangers of early insemination, sheep farmers separate the ewes and rams from each other at approximately 4 months, which avoids free mating.

Rules for mating and insemination of sheep

The first time queens are properly inseminated at the age of 1.5 years, which is still considered the age of economic maturity. At this time, lambs reach normal development, their live weight is equal to 75% of the weight of adult sheep.

When inseminating, the individual breeding characteristics of sheep and the desired timing of insemination should be taken into account. Most often, sexual heat in sheep occurs in autumn and early winter; in summer and in extreme cold, hunting is weak, only in some individuals.

When choosing artificial insemination, it is important to remember that the time during which this procedure can be carried out can range from 35 to 45 days. The state of sexual heat lasts 24 hours, the queens are fertilized at least 2 times. If after 15-17 days the sheep remains barren, which is easy to check with a special ultrasound, insemination should be repeated.

During the year, a sheep gives only 1 litter, which can contain from 1 to 4 lambs, most often 2-3 lambs in a litter. Such a small number of lambings, despite the fact that the uterus carries a lamb for only 145 days, is extremely unprofitable for industrial sheep breeding, so livestock breeders use the compaction method, which allows them to increase the number of lambings by improving feeding and housing conditions.

Preparing queens and rams for mating

In order to increase the number of mating queens after insemination or mating, it is necessary to begin intensive feeding of sheep 1.5 months before the planned events to increase their fatness. Lambs are weaned from their mothers, milking is stopped, they are vaccinated and moved to better pastures. Such measures make it possible to increase the number of lambs in the litter. Particular attention should be paid to the presence of succulent green fodder on pastures; they are the best for fattening brood queens.

The rams, like the queens, are transferred to intensive fattening; 30-40 days before mating, they begin to feed them with concentrated feed, at least 1 kilogram per ram per day. Silage, pasture, dry mixtures - all this should be in the diet of sheep preparing for mating. Breeding rams must have factory fatness all year round. During the non-breeding period, when grazing, the rams are given plenty of everything; they must eat without restrictions.

During the breeding period, it is a good idea to give rams carrots, a mixture of oats, oil cake, millet and barley. Dry food can be diluted with fresh milk or given separately. Chicken eggs, salt, bone meal, feed additives - all this should be in the diet of the producer's ram. Feed must be fresh and of high quality.

To obtain healthy offspring for breeding rams, it is necessary to organize constant supervision, regularly check the quality and quantity of sperm, feeding has a significant impact on the quality of sperm, therefore, at the first signs of deterioration, it is necessary to urgently change the diet.

Diet of breeding rams for the mating period

Mating

Queens, as mentioned above, occur twice, with the sperm of the same ram. Suitability is checked not only with the help of ultrasound, but also by simply admitting young rams to the uterus covered with rams after 8-9 hours. If the uterus does not allow the test ram to approach her, then the mating was successful.

In order to obtain lambs in a short time, cyclic and cervical insemination is used. They are inseminated with both diluted and undiluted sperm of varying concentrations.

Insemination is carried out with glass syringes - catheters, sperm is collected into a syringe and injected into the uterus. The sperm must have a fairly high temperature, the same temperature should be in the room where the process itself takes place, approximately 25-27 degrees Celsius. The quality of sperm is checked under a microscope at each insemination, which must be carried out in a special machine. Before injecting sperm into the vagina, it is necessary to disinfect the syringe with alcohol, and then clean it of the alcohol solution using a 1% sodium chloride solution.

After insemination, the queen must be marked; the marks are necessary so that the owner of the sheep knows at what time to expect the offspring. On sheep farms, insemination occurs in several stages; when sheep are divided into flocks, the number of sheep in the flock is 7-12 sheep.

Artificial insemination is the fastest and safest method of mating, allowing not only to control the process, but also to avoid injuries that animals can cause to each other during close contact. Thus, good producers are valued very, very highly; the cost of one ram can be equal to the cost of a whole herd; a healthy animal can fertilize up to 100 sheep during the breeding season. Buying a ram allows you to solve many problems with the reproduction of the herd, since the farm owner gets the opportunity to have an animal on hand, for which he does not have to pay the lessor and answer to him for the possible loss of productivity of the ram. In addition, ram sperm can not only be used, but also sold to farms that do not have a sufficient number of good rams at their disposal. A lot of money can be earned from selling sperm, so the ram needs to be protected, which is where artificial insemination helps.

With a large number of sheep, the ram's penis may be damaged. Suppuration is possible, as a result of which the ram may die and the farm will lose a valuable animal, so many owners, before mating, hire a veterinarian to competently collect the ram’s sperm and then artificially inseminate the sheep with it. This approach is also advantageous because a sexually mature ram is able to inseminate no more than 4 sheep per day, while with the help of artificial insemination it is possible to inseminate many more animals and get better results.

Mating is a long and very painstaking process that requires preparation of the venue; it is better to carry out mating in a limited space, so that the ram and the ewe cannot evade each other for a long time. Sometimes the mating of one sheep lasts several hours, which does not allow the use of a ram at this time, and accordingly affects the number of matings per day.

The sheep is brought into the pen of the ram and left there for some time, waiting for the covering; the ram must cover the sheep at least 2 times, only then can you be sure that the sheep will not remain barren.

Thus, sheep mating not a simple undertaking, it includes the search for suitable queens and rams, their preparation, feeding, carrying out the mating itself, as well as checking for barrenness.

Video: natural mating of sheep

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 5 minutes

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One of the most important areas of any type of livestock farming is breeding. Sheep mating, as an important aspect of this activity, also requires increased attention.

Any sheep breeder must pay special attention to the correct technology for breeding sheep.

Before mating, in serious large farms, animals are selected in advance for a number of important traits of an economically useful nature.

These characteristics depend on the main productive direction of a particular farm, and it is by them that the breeding value and purpose of each animal in the herd is determined.

Breeding assessment of sheep before mating can be carried out using several methods:

1. method of assessment based on appearance and constitution. With this approach, the compliance of the animal’s height and weight with its biological age is checked;
2. productivity assessment method. For example, if sheep are bred for meat, it makes no sense to breed woolly breed rams with the same females. Before mating begins, animals of both sexes are assessed, on the one hand, by the amount of production obtained from them, and on the other, by the amount of labor required to maintain this particular sheep breed. If it is known in advance that the productivity of the parents is at the proper level, then the offspring will differ at least in the same characteristics;
3. assessment method based on the indicator of origin. This approach only involves purebred animals. Since the hereditary qualities of their ancestors are passed on to the offspring, young animals from parents with the highest breed qualities are selected for the tribe;
4. a method for comparing and evaluating sheep based on the quality of their offspring. Mainly applicable to breeding rams. The more healthy lambs produced from a given particular ram, the higher it is rated for this indicator. Only those animals that have already given good offspring more than once are allowed to mate. It is better not to release ewes that previously had barrenness for mating, so that the ram does not waste his energy.

The best individuals of any flock are allocated to the so-called breeding core. This is the basis for the future reproduction of sheep. If the farm is large, then this core represents from 15 to 25 percent of the ewes of the main herd. The best feed rations and living conditions are selected for them.

Every self-respecting farm maintains breeding records, in which all offspring are entered, and its quantitative composition and quality indicators are recorded in a special register. This makes it possible to evaluate the reproductive qualities of breeding rams and ewes.

Sheep mating technique

In modern sheep farming, there are three types of mating:

• free mating;
• manual mating;
• artificial insemination of sheep.

For the first two species, it is necessary to have many breeding rams in the flock. This is explained by the fact that when mating is carried out manually, the load on one ram should not exceed 50-60 females. In addition, manual mating requires (compared to free-breeding) much more time and additional labor, since it is necessary to first select rams and ewes, and then move them to different pens.

Free mating implies a natural process without direct human intervention. The main disadvantages of this method are that it does not guarantee that the male will cover all the queens of the flock, and also that the time of lambing cannot be controlled and adjusted to the right and convenient time.

It is worth noting that although manual mating makes it possible to ensure complete coverage of females, it still does not provide a 100% guarantee that the sheep will become pregnant.

The best method is considered to be artificial insemination of sheep. Its main advantages include:

• almost one hundred percent guarantee of results;
• insemination can be carried out at any convenient time;
• there is no need for additional time and labor costs associated with moving and sorting animals, which are necessary when using the manual method;
• the load on one breeding ram increases significantly (without compromising its health), up to 500-1000 females;
• the risk of contracting various diseases that are transmitted through contact of flock animals with rams or sheep from other farms is significantly reduced.

Ewes reach sexual maturity quite early - at 4-5 months.

This is an average and depends on the breed of the animal. For example, females of the Romanov sheep breed are ready for mating already at four months of age, while young ewes of the Karakul sheep breed reach sexual maturity only at 6-8 months.

If the female is inseminated at the age of four to six months, then such mating is called early mating. And there is nothing good about it.

At this age, the animal still has the weight necessary for normal gestation. The live weight of the ewe at the time of conception should be at least 35-45 kilograms. If the weight is insufficient, this increases the risk of miscarriage, the birth of dead offspring, and the females themselves often die.

To avoid premature insemination, rams and females at this age are usually isolated from each other to prevent free mating.

Insemination rules

The optimal age of the uterus for the first insemination is considered to be one and a half years.

This age is also called the age of economic maturity. The development of the animal in this period of time is quite normal, and their weight reaches 75 percent of the weight of adults.

Generally, sexual hunting in females begins in the fall or at the very beginning of winter.

In summer and in severe frost, hunting is weak and not in all females of the flock. However, this also depends on the breed of the animal. For example, the already mentioned ewes of the Romanov variety are ready for mating almost all year round.

When choosing a method such as artificial insemination, you should remember that the time period during which it must be carried out is from 35 to 45 days.

The duration of sexual heat is usually at least 24 hours, and each one must be fertilized at least twice.

If after 15-17 days the female remains barren, the procedure must be repeated.

To increase the number of mating queens after insemination or mating, intensive feeding of animals should begin one and a half months before the planned fertilization in order to increase their fatness.

The lambs (if there are any) are separated from the females, the ewes themselves are stopped being milked, they are vaccinated and transferred to the best available feeding grounds. All this makes it possible to increase the number of cubs in the litter. Particular attention must be paid to the presence of a sufficient amount of succulent types of food on pastures, which are best suited for fattening ewes.

The rams must also be switched to an enhanced diet, and about a month (or 40 days) before the expected mating, they must begin to be given concentrated feed, in an amount of at least one kg per day per head.

Also, silage and dry mixtures should be introduced into the diet of animals being prepared for mating. It is very important for breeding rams to be in the factory stage of fatness throughout the year. Even during the period between matings, breeding males should not be limited in adequate nutrition.

During the mating period of sheep, crushed root vegetables (potatoes, carrots), as well as a mixture of grains (barley, millet or oats) and cake, are well suited for feeding rams. Dry foods can either be diluted or simply fed separately. Also during this period, the ram needs salt, bone meal, chicken eggs and other additives. Of course, all types of feed must be of the best quality and always fresh.

Since diet directly affects sperm quality, breeding sires need to be constantly monitored and the quality and quantity of semen should be regularly assessed. At the first sign of a decrease in any of the listed indicators, the feeding diet should be urgently changed.

Mating

It is common for ewes to mate twice with the same ram. Whether conception has occurred can be checked either by ultrasound or (in its absence) by running a test ram 8-9 hours after coating. If the uterus does not allow him to come to her, the mating is a success.

Artificial insemination is performed using glass syringes - catheters, into which sperm is first collected and then injected into the uterus. The temperature of the seminal fluid should be approximately 25-27 degrees, the same temperature should be maintained in the room where the process takes place. The quality characteristics of the sperm are checked during each insemination process, and the insemination itself must be carried out in a special machine. Before the procedure, the syringe must be disinfected.

Artificial insemination is the fastest and safest mating method.

Mating

Sheep farming involves raising sheep and taking care of replenishing the flock with young animals. In terms of reproduction rate, sheep occupy a middle place in the row between rabbits, pigs, cattle and horses. To get good offspring from your sheep, you should rationally determine the time of mating so that lambing occurs during the selected period of the year. It is also necessary to carefully prepare the animals with the help of a well-formulated diet and a well-developed maintenance regime.

In large flocks, artificial insemination is used to reliably fertilize sheep. This method allows the majority of ewes to be inseminated with sperm from high-value stud rams. The breeding value of a ram is established based on a complete assessment of the quality of its offspring. In large farms, all replacement rams are tested for the quality of their offspring. Upon completion, you usually receive about 30% enhancements.

The sheep is a precocious animal; sexual maturity, provided good feeding conditions are provided, occurs at 6–8 months. However, at this age, it is impossible to cover or inseminate the young, since their body is not yet sufficiently prepared for the fetus to develop normally. Thus, early pregnancy can have a bad effect on the development of the fetus and the uterus itself.

It is best to allow females to mate only after they reach 1–1.5 years of age. By this time, they will have fully developed and the body of young females will be sufficiently strong. Well-developed females of early maturing breeds that have reached 75–80% of the live weight of adult queens or a weight of more than 45 kg, with high-quality feeding, can be allowed to mate at the age of 10–12 months. The rams will also be ready for mating when they reach 1–1.5 years.

In the southern regions of Russia, the mating season for sheep of most breeds usually occurs in the second half of the year. The exception is sheep of the Romanov breed and some other breeds, which are capable of coming into heat throughout the year. Sheep sightings are most common between August and October. The maturation period of a sheep is about 5 months. It is this that should be taken as a basis when determining the time of mating, since during the period of mating, sheep need increased nutrition and good maintenance.

The specific timing of mating depends on the conditions prevailing on a given farm. However, the main criterion is the need for lambing to take place at the most favorable time. It is necessary to determine the time of mating, observing a lot of precautions and taking into account all the possibilities available on the farm. If it is necessary to produce offspring in March, then mating of sheep should be carried out in October. For the sake of earlier lambing in January, mating is carried out in August.

Many livestock breeders try to breed their sheep in the summer or early autumn in order to obtain offspring in the winter. If mating occurs in the summer-autumn period, from July to September inclusive, then lambing occurs in December - February. By this time, the ewes still retain good fatness, gained during the grazing period, due to which the lambs are born viable and quite large.

Such offspring grow well and quickly gain weight. By the beginning of the grazing season, lambs born in winter can already eat grass and make full use of cheap pasture feed. By autumn they usually gain weight sufficient for slaughter. Thus, if winter lambs are slaughtered for meat in the year of birth, then they have high weight and marketable standards. However, in order to raise lambs born in winter, it is necessary to provide warm premises and a sufficient supply of roughage and concentrated feed.

If a fruitful mating occurred at the end of October or November, then lambing occurs in April, i.e. already in the warm season. In this case, you can do without expensive warm premises, and the birth of the lamb itself can be carried out on the pasture. While on pasture, ewes consume plenty of green feed, which increases their milk production. The abundance of mother's milk well compensates for the lack of nutrition that the fetus experienced during the period of embryonic development, which occurs at the end of wintering. However, lambs born in the spring do not have time to reach slaughter weight during the grazing period, so they have to be fattened for another month or more. In addition, in the spring, when the weather is so unstable, the queens and newborn lambs require special attention. They need to be protected from drafts, dampness and cold winds.

Of course, each livestock breeder determines a convenient mating time based on his capabilities. However, many believe that lambing is best timed to coincide with the end of winter. The duration of the mating period for sheep in a separate flock should not exceed 35–45 days, and the shorter the mating period, the better. The fact is that lambing in a short time makes it possible to better organize the work of raising young animals and caring for the queens.

In order for sheep to go into heat together, it is necessary to properly prepare them for mating. First of all, animals need to be provided with adequate feeding before and during mating so that they are well nourished. Sexual heat in a female is manifested in her peculiar behavior in the presence of a male, when she shows readiness to mate. Hunting in queens lasts no more than 1–1.5 days. If mating or fertilization does not occur, the hunt is repeated after about 2–3 weeks.

Ewes need to be prepared for mating approximately 1.5 months before mating. By this time, the weaning of lambs from adult queens should be completed, veterinary and sanitary treatment of the sheep should be carried out, in particular, special bathing against scabies, vaccinations and other necessary measures should be given, then the animals should be switched to a better feeding diet.

The best feeding can be achieved by grazing sheep on good natural and artificial pastures. Before the start of the breeding period, it is not recommended to graze pastures located near sheepfolds. They will be needed for grazing sheep during mating.

The most beneficial effect on increasing the fertility of sheep is having a sufficient amount of green grass in their diet. In addition, during this period it is important to properly organize a watering hole. In the period before mating, it is advisable to disturb the animals as little as possible, then they will fatten up their live weight faster and better. Hunting in sheep is poor at high and low ambient temperatures. The optimal air temperature is considered to be no lower than 5 °C and no higher than 20 °C.

To ensure the fruitfulness of mating in a flock, one breeding ram should be kept for every 20–30 queens. To prevent inbreeding, it is recommended to replace stud rams with new ones from another stud every 2–3 years.

Usually, throughout the entire winter-summer period, the rams are in the same flock together with the queens. However, 1.5 months before mating, they should be transferred to separate housing, the best pastures should be allocated for them and they should be provided with an intensive feeding regime, which should not cause obesity. They should receive the same diet during the mating period. During this period, the rams still need to be kept separately, but released to the uterus for 1–1.5 hours in the morning and evening.

At the beginning of the preparatory period, rams should be caged once every 5 days, and before insemination - every other day. This measure is necessary in order to remove old, low-viability sperm from the genital tract, replacing which fresh sperm is formed.

Nowadays, people use sheared sheep's wool or fleece for a variety of purposes much more often than the wool of any other animal.

Young rams that are allowed to mate for the first time are often not very active. It is better to separate these animals into a group, give them a separate pen, provide them with adequate feeding and accustom them to mounting an artificial vagina. To increase activity, several (3–5 head) queens in heat can be allowed into the pen of such rams. In some cases, inactive rams can be released into a flock of queens for 4–5 hours over several days, and the rest of the time kept in individual pens. When showing sexual arousal, inactive rams should be given the opportunity to perform a natural mounting in the base, then they should be accustomed to mounting in a pen, first on a sheep, and then on an artificial vagina.

When breeding sheep, free (free), manual mating and artificial insemination are used. Free mating is the simplest and least labor-intensive in its organization: the rams are simply allowed into the flock and kept with the females for 1.5 months. The disadvantages of such a mating are as follows:

– limited use of the best manufacturers;

– the absence of any possibility to exercise control over the number of inseminated queens.

With this method of mating, it is difficult to establish which particular ram mated a particular sheep, so free mating should not be allowed in breeding herds.

Manual mating, in its essence, consists in the fact that during the mating period, sample rams are introduced into the flock of queens every day. These rams identify sheep that are in heat. Then such a sheep is separated from the flock and covered with a ram in a special machine. An adult ram can cover 3-4 queens during the day with an interval between cages of at least 1-2 hours. A larger number of matings in one day is harmful for rams.

Manual mating takes place under human control, which allows you to properly organize breeding work and conduct individual selection in the herd, as well as accurately know the mating time of each sheep (and, accordingly, the lambing time). Manual mating of sheep is suitable for farms that keep a small number of sheep.

Artificial insemination of sheep is considered the most advanced method, as it reduces the burden on breeding rams. In addition, it allows you to control mating, the fertility of sheep and the quality of ram sperm. Artificial insemination can only be successful during heat, when eggs mature in the genitals (ovaries).

Sheep in heat are also identified in this case using sampler rams. Sheep ready for insemination are selected 2 times a day - early in the morning and in the evening. Before sampling, sample rams are divided into several groups of 2–3 rams each and used alternately.

You need to select those ewes that stand quietly when the probe tries to cover it. Sometimes young ewes and ewes, in heat, run away from the test ram, but then follow it. These sheep can also be taken for artificial insemination. To prevent the probes from covering the sheep, they need to tie an apron made of soft material with ribbons at the corners, 50–60 cm long and 40 cm wide. Using ribbons, the apron is tied on the back of the probe. Selected queens in heat are usually transported to a point for artificial insemination.

It is recommended to inseminate the queens twice: immediately after sampling and a second time 24 hours later by injecting sperm into the genital tract. The manipulation is carried out by a qualified insemination technician, who places the sheep in a special pen installed in an arena, or in a special room where the air temperature does not exceed 18–25 °C.

Pregnancy and childbirth

When breeding sheep, you have to pay special attention to pregnant females. Typically, pregnancy in sheep lasts an average of 150 days, but fluctuations from 145 to 157 days are possible. Most often, queens that give birth to twins lamb earlier, and queens with single litters lamb later.

Sheep of most breeds bear offspring in late winter - early spring, unless the owner of the flock plans mating for another time, i.e. in the summer. It is even rarer for sheep to lamb in the summer. The most fertile queens can give birth twice a year, for example in February and October.

If after mating the sheep is fertilized, then it should be carefully prepared for lambing. In the second half of pregnancy, the queen needs food that is especially rich in nutrients, so concentrates and good quality hay should be added to the daily diet. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude very acidic silage and other feeds that cause fermentation in the stomach. The basis of the winter diet should be food waste, root vegetables, brooms, good hay and mixed feed.

In addition to nutritious feed, pregnant sheep require even, calm and caring handling. They need to be protected from crowding, crowding and sudden movements during feeding, watering and letting them go for a walk. Such handling and care should prevent unwanted abortions in animals.

When lambing time approaches, the animal begins to worry, often lies down and gets up again, as if it does not find a place for itself. The ewe bleats and rakes the litter with her front legs. From this moment on, you need to carefully monitor the animal so as not to miss lambing time. You may have to provide assistance to the uterus.

In preparation for lambing, the ewe should be trimmed around the udder, otherwise contaminated hair may get into the lamb's mouth when suckling. Typically, lambing occurs in the same room in which the ewe is kept with other animals, but if possible, it is advisable to provide her with a separate area during lambing, where it is easier to maintain cleanliness. If lambing proceeds normally, then no outside intervention is required. Lambing of adult queens usually occurs easily and quickly - within about 30-50 minutes. The first birth of young sheep lasts longer.

The lambing process begins with the appearance of a bladder filled with amniotic fluid (water). Usually it bursts on its own even before leaving the genital tract, and the water pours out. With the correct positioning of the fetus, the front legs of the lamb appear first, followed by the head lying on them, and then it comes out completely. It happens that the amniotic sac remains intact. In this case, it must be torn as soon as it emerges from the birth canal and free the lamb, otherwise it may suffocate.

Sometimes the lamb's legs point forward and the head back, or the head appears first and the legs are pulled under the chest. In this case, the ewe needs help. First of all, you should place a clean bedding under the sheep, rupture the amniotic sac, release the fluid and return the fetus to its normal position with your hand. After this, you need to carefully pull the lamb by the front legs forward and down towards the udder at those moments when attempts are noted. In such a situation, it is better for a novice sheep farmer who does not have sufficient experience to call for help from a veterinarian or simply an experienced person, otherwise the assistance provided may be ineffective or even harmful to the sheep and lamb.

Immediately after lambing, be sure to let the ewe lick the newborn - this is beneficial for both mother and baby. Thanks to this, the lamb’s respiratory system is activated. The mucus swallowed by the uterus stimulates the rapid release of the placenta. After the sheep licks the baby, you need to shorten the umbilical cord with scissors and disinfect it. Half an hour after birth, the lambs are already well on their feet and begin to look for the udder of the uterus.

About an hour after lambing, the ewe should be given 1–1.5 liters of warm water and continue to give water in the same volume every 2 hours. In order to prevent the development of mastitis, the first days the ewes should be fed less than the diet. In particular, you should reduce the supply of succulent and concentrated feed. On the 5-6th day after lambing, ewes can be switched to a full feeding ration.

The time of suckling, i.e. feeding the lamb directly by the uterus, should be determined in each specific case. A sufficiently long period of suction usually delays the onset of heat in a sheep, therefore, the onset of the next pregnancy is delayed.

Age determination

The age of sheep can most accurately be determined by the condition of their teeth, which change periodically throughout life. Adult sheep should have 34 teeth, including 6 paired molars on the upper and lower jaws, 6 paired premolars (also above and below), 2 canines located below, and 8 incisors also located on the lower jaw.

Below, the canines and premolars are separated by a large gap. Sheep's incisors are located at an obtuse angle to the jaw, which allows them to bite grass better than other herbivores. Together, the molars and premolars form a broad surface at the back of the mouth that animals need to chew grass.

The development of teeth in sheep occurs gradually: after 1–1.5 years, the process of replacing the original milk teeth with permanent ones begins. The replacement of the two front baby teeth usually occurs at one year of age. Instead, permanent incisors appear, which are wider and larger, which makes them different from baby teeth. The entire process of changing teeth usually ends only in the 4th year of life. In those sheep whose age is more than 4 years, the teeth are already somewhat worn out, and gaps appear between them in which grass gets stuck. In sheep aged 5–6 years or older, the teeth turn yellow, begin to become loose and fall out.

Breeds

The production classification of breeds takes into account the nature of the main productivity, as well as the quality of the coat, the amount of meat produced and their ratio.

Breed classifications

Sheep breeds according to productivity can be divided into the following groups:

– fine-fleece;

– semi-fine-fleece;

– coarse-haired.

Fine-wool sheep produce uniform wool, which consists exclusively of downy wool. This subtype includes the following breeds of sheep: Soviet Merino, Salskaya, Caucasian, Stavropol. Despite the fact that the main product obtained from such sheep is wool, at the same time their meat qualities are also well developed. With good fattening, the live weight of lambs at the age of 7–8 months reaches 25–26 kg, the carcass weighs 20 kg. Live weight at one year of age is 40–45 kg, the carcass of adult sheep weighs 25 kg or more, and an adult queen weighs approximately 50–55 kg.

Sheep of fine-wool breeds are hornless, rams are always horned. Merinos are also distinguished by the presence of a large number of skin folds. The wool is long (up to 8–9 cm), thick and thin, fineness – 19–23 microns.

With good feeding and maintenance, fine-wool sheep can produce 8-10 kg of wool, from which high-quality woolen fabrics are produced.

Semi-fine sheep also produce uniform wool, but the fibers are slightly thicker. The animals themselves are larger, quicker, and have good meat productivity.

Coarse-wool sheep, or sheep of meat-wool breeds, produce sheepskin and meat, and are distinguished by high precocity and rapid growth. Animals quickly reach their maximum weight, and their offspring, which are not suitable for reproduction, are recommended to be slaughtered at the age of 7–8 months or 13–14 months after the first shearing.

All representatives of this breed, regardless of gender, lack horns and folds on the skin. Each adult sheep can shear 5–6 kg of wool. Fattened sheep at the age of 8 months weigh 40–42 kg, at 1.5 years – already 55–60 kg, adult queens have a live weight of about 50–60 kg, and rams – at least 90–110 kg.

Description of breeds

Many sheep breeds have ancient origins, so tracing their history can be extremely difficult.

Karakul breed

One of the oldest breeds of sheep is Karakul. Karakul sheep are a breed of sheep with coarse wool productivity. Some researchers associate the name of the breed with the name of the oasis and city of Karakul, located in the Bukhara region - this region is considered the birthplace of Karakul sheep. Other authors correlate it with the name of Lake Karakul in the Pamirs.

Purebred Karakul sheep, bred in desert and semi-desert conditions, are extremely hardy and energetic, small in size and have a satisfactory physique.

The live weight of breeding rams ranges from 50–80 kg, the live weight of ewes is about 45–50 kg. Fertility is around 100–105 lambs per 100 ewes. The shearing of unwashed wool from rams is 3–4 kg, and from queens – 2.5–2.8 kg. This breed of sheep produces the best sheep in the world.

The Karakul breed of sheep is distinguished by the following exterior characteristics:

– slightly elongated narrow head, slightly hook-nosed in profile;

– the ears are long, drooping, arrow-shaped, with a barely noticeable pinna. Sometimes the ears are of medium size, reaching 3/4 of the length of the head, but there are individuals with very short ears;

– the front part of the head and ears are covered with smooth, hard, spinous, shiny hair;

– pear-shaped body, deep but narrow chest, medium-length neck;

– the legs are strong, high, thin, covered with wavy fleece hair up to the hock joint;

– The long, bold tail has a curved end that resembles the letter “s.” This curved end of the tail is skinny, without fat deposits, and covered with a circle of rune hair. The underside of the fatty part of the tail is without hair. Sometimes the tail is straight, wedge-shaped. The tail of Karakul sheep can be short (not reaching the hock) or long (hanging below the hock).

Rams are distinguished by powerful, well-developed spiral-shaped horns, but sometimes polled individuals are also found. Ewes are usually hornless.

The wool of Karakul sheep is coarse, braided, the length of the braids reaches 15–18 cm. It is mainly used for the production of felt, carpets and coarse cloth.

The main product of Karakul sheep is smushki. Actually, Karakul sheep are famous for producing the best smushki in the world. Their shape, size, density, pattern and beauty of wool curls remain unchanged for a very short time, which is why lambs are slaughtered at the age of 2-3 days. As the lamb grows, the curls of the wool fibers become loose, and the peculiar crimp and beauty of the astrakhan fur disappears.

Adult animals do not have the characteristic coat characteristics that they had at a very early age. However, the body type and nature of the coat of an adult to some extent determines the quality of the lamb's coat. Adult Karakul sheep can belong to one of three types of constitution: strong, gentle or rough.

The coat of sur-colored sheep is characterized by the presence of a play of tones, in which a very dark color at the base of the hair gradually turns to a lighter golden or silver tone at the tops.

Karakul sheep of strong type, making up the majority in the breed, have the best smushka productivity - they produce lambs with the most valuable jacket skins, which are distinguished by good shine, silkiness and a beautiful curl.

Sheep of a strong type are well adapted to the conditions of the breeding zone, i.e., desert and semi-desert pastures, they are mobile and hardy, fully utilize pasture, and easily tolerate winter grazing. On desert pastures, animals quickly gain weight and maintain their body condition well.

Individuals are distinguished by strong, well-developed, but not coarse bones. They have thin and dense skin, the color of adult animals is predominantly gray. Thick, elastic wool of medium length (8-12 cm) is collected in braids, which fall apart at the top. The wool mainly consists of transitional fibers and awns of medium thickness. The indicators for silkiness and fat content are good. The wool sheared twice during the year is 2.5–3 kg. Rams with a strong constitution are used on the uterus of their own and other types of constitution to improve them.

Karakul sheep of rough type have a developed and fairly rough skeleton. They have a large head and thick, dense or loose skin. Sheep of the coarse type are inactive, characterized by insufficient growth of fleece hair on the head, belly and limbs. Their coat is coarse, distinguished by a high content of thick long hair with a small amount of short and very fine fluff, without grease or contains it in small quantities, collected in large, weakly crimped braids, and turns gray early and strongly. Lambs from coarse-type ewes most often produce low-value skins, with large curls on the smushka. However, they are the largest in size at birth.

Karakul sheep of gentle type found in two versions. The first is a normal gentle one, close to the strong type. Such sheep have a regular build, well-developed bones, and thin and dense skin. The coat is very fine, short, mainly consisting of a large amount of fluff and transitional hair, but there is little awn. Thus, according to the procurement standard, it belongs to the first class. The wool is collected in small, highly crimped braids and takes on the staple type when the coat is very dense.

Sheep of normal delicate constitution are very mobile, quickly gain weight and just as quickly lose fatness if the slightest change in normal housing and feeding conditions occurs. They are less adapted to winter grazing compared to animals of the strong and rough type. The skins of lambs from sheep of the normal tender type are distinguished by a thin, but not dense enough inner core and a small curl.

The second option represents an extreme degree of overdevelopment. These animals are the smallest, have little endurance, and do not gain weight well. They have thin and light bones, a narrow chest, a narrow and shallow body, a slightly elongated head with a straight profile. Karakul sheep of the overdeveloped gentle type have such defects in build as a sagging back and a drooping butt.

The skin of animals is thin and not strong enough. The wool is short, often crimped, dry, and is dominated by fluff and transitional fibers. Sheep of this type are shorn once a year in the spring, since otherwise the wool will not have time to grow to the required length before winter. Lambs from such ewes usually produce skins of low quality with thin and insufficiently dense skin and very crimped flaccid hair. The curl is small, with various deformations.

Smushki are predominantly black in color (85–90%), and can also be gray and colored: brown, sur. Severe (sur) skins are especially valued, when the hairs are black at the base and have light or brown colored tips. This gives the smushka a golden or silvery tint. However, astrakhan fur does not retain its black color for long. Even before the age of one year, the wool of lambs becomes reddish, and at the age of 2-3 years it turns gray, and only the head and limbs remain black.

The color of the skins of Karakul sheep varies. Black sheep are most often born (about 60%), less common are gray (about 25%) and sur of various shades (about 10%), while brown, white and pink colors make up no more than 5% of the total number. The gray color of astrakhan fur appears as a result of a combination of white and black fibers and varies depending on their numerical ratio.

The blue and silver colors of gray smushki have the highest rating. However, the breeding of pure gray lambs born from parents of a monochromatic gray color is burdened by the problem of their death during the first 6–8 months of life.

The mucous membranes of such lambs are pink, which is why they are called albinoids. When grading lambs, individuals with gray and black mucous membranes are selected, since these lambs are viable. All identified albinoids are immediately used to obtain astrakhan fur.

To exclude the appearance of albinoids, black queens are mated with gray rams and vice versa, resulting in approximately equal numbers of gray and black lambs, which are still viable. There are three breed types of sheep of sur color: Bukhara, Karakalpak and Surkhandarya. Karakalpak color suras can be of different colors:

– steel with a black base and a lightened steel-colored upper part;

– fiery hair with a black base and white tip;

– apricot with a dark brown base, beige middle and white or orange top of the hair.

The Bukhara color of sur is obtained on the basis of black wool; a black or dark brown base and a silver or light golden outer layer are typical for it. In terms of the relationship and contrast of differently colored zones of hair, Bukhara sur has several varieties: silver, golden, lilac and diamond.

Surkhandarya sur is bred on the basis of animals of brown color: the base of the fiber is brown or coffee, and its upper tier is very lightened. The main colors of the Surkhandarya sur are: anthracite, bronze, sand, platinum and amber.

Sheep that have the colors of the Bukhara and Surkhandarya sur should be bred in purity, since when they are mated with sheep of a different color, the severity disappears.

Pink colored lambs usually result from the mating of gray rams with brown dams. The pink color gives a certain ratio of brown and white wool fibers in the wool of sheep.

The fleece wool of all Karakul sheep turns gray with age. This process is more intense in colored sheep: brown, pink and sur-colored. Pigmented hairs noticeably lighten by the age of one year, and by 1.5 years the coat becomes almost white.

Black Karakul sheep turn gray more slowly. Their fur acquires a brown or red tint by the age of one year. Only some animals have a certain amount of gray hairs. By the age of 1.5 years, the degree of graying will increase, and already at 2–2.5 years the wool of most sheep becomes gray. Only on the face, ears and legs the covering hair retains the color it had at birth. It is this color that serves as the main indicator of the color of an adult Karakul sheep.

Karakul sheep are still widespread in Central Asia. The group of Karakul sheep includes most of the coarse-wool breeds of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia: Georgian fat-tailed sheep (fine and semi-fine wool), Kuchugurov and Tushino breeds.

Silky hair is an important breed characteristic of the Astrakhan. Depending on the thickness of the hair and the presence of grease, the hair can be very silky, silky, not silky enough, rough and dry. Hair shine, or the ability of hair to reflect light rays, can be high, normal, low, glassy, ​​or matte. It is desirable that it be normal.

Karakul sheep have stable heredity, which is the reason for their use to improve the productivity of coarse-wool sheep breeds.

• Go to the section table of contents: Sheep: biology, maintenance, breeding

Sheep mating. Detection of heat in sheep.

Sheep become sexually mature at 6-7 months, and sometimes earlier, although at this age their development is still ongoing. And since their body is not yet developed enough for the fetus to develop normally, it is not recommended to let young lambs and rams into mating before the age of one and a half years. Although with good balanced feeding, they can occur as early as one year old and even 9-10 months of age, but not earlier than after they have reached a live weight of at least 45 kg.

Typically, sheep of most breeds go into heat in the second half of the year, so they most often occur in the fall. This is also due to the fact that lambing of queens must be carried out at the most favorable time. The mating period of a sheep lasts about five months (approximately 150 - 153 days), so if it is necessary to get an offspring in March, then the sheep are born in October. For even earlier lambing, sheep are mated earlier, in August-September.

To prepare queens and rams for mating, they must first be brought to good condition. At the same time, animals should in no case be obese, since obese sheep, like emaciated ones, do not mate well, and often remain barren or produce weakened offspring. Therefore, queens need to begin preparing for mating no later than a month and a half before it begins.

By this time, the lambs should be separated from their queens, and milking sheep should be stopped. During this period, the queens need to be fed green food rich in protein, as well as vitamins and minerals. For faster and better weight gain, queens need to be disturbed less during the pre-breeding period.

Sheep should also spend as much time as possible on pasture, since with insufficient physical activity, their sexual activity also decreases. And no later than a month and a half before mating, the breeding rams are also transferred to an enhanced diet, grazing on pastures with good and varied grass.

Detection of heat in a sheep (by external signs).

The duration of the hunt for sheep usually lasts no more than 24 - 48 hours, but sometimes it lasts up to three days. Hunting manifests itself in sexual arousal, in which the queens allow the rams to approach them for cover. During this period, the external parts of the genital organs of the uterus swell and turn red. On the first day, they usually secrete abundant clear mucus, and on the second day it is cloudy and white.

It is at this most favorable time for fertilization that it is necessary to inseminate the uterus. If fertilization does not occur during mating, then after 16-18 days the queen comes into heat again and mating can be repeated. It is recommended to inseminate the queen twice, with an interval of approximately 24 hours. At the same time, only those queens whose heat lasts more than a day are inseminated a second time.

In different farms when breeding sheep, different types of mating are used: free mating, hand mating and artificial insemination. Free mating, or it can also be called natural mating, consists of keeping rams and queens together for one and a half to two months. In this case, there should be approximately 20-25 queens per ram. During manual mating, queens in heat are identified in the herd, and then they are placed in a special pen, where they are covered by a ram. With this mating method, the covering time of each queen is known exactly, and therefore it is easy to calculate the time of lambing.

The most advanced method of inseminating queens is artificial insemination. In this case, there is no need to keep rams on the farm, and to obtain offspring, sperm from the most valuable breeding rams, which are kept at state artificial insemination stations, is used. To carry out artificial insemination of sheep, they are brought to the artificial insemination point, where they are inseminated by a qualified specialist.

An important aspect of farming is the regular production of healthy offspring. In livestock farms, both natural mating and artificial insemination of sheep are used. The second method is considered more reliable and effective. This article will tell you how to properly prepare sheep for mating and how animals mate in natural conditions. Readers will also learn how artificial insemination of sheep is carried out.

Sheep mating technique

Each livestock breeder, carrying out his activities, strives to achieve maximum efficiency when carrying out mating of sheep. There are various insemination technologies, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages:

• free mating method;
• manual method;
• artificial insemination.

The free method implies that insemination of ewes occurs without human intervention. Its advantage is that no additional labor is used for mating. Disadvantages of this technique:

• the farm has to keep a lot of breeding rams so as not to exceed the recommended load for each male;
• it is impossible to schedule lambing time;
• during free mating, not all sheep are covered.

Manual mating of sheep requires constant supervision of personnel, since it is necessary to select individuals that have come into heat, drive them into separate pens, and ensure that they are covered by the male. During mating, the remaining females stand idle. Thanks to this technique, it is possible to achieve maximum rates of matings performed if the work is carried out according to all the rules, but there is no guarantee that all of them will lead to mating.

Artificial insemination of sheep is popular in large farms. Its main advantages:

1. High performance. Almost all females become pregnant after artificial insemination.
2. Reduced labor and material costs.
3. It is possible to plan the lambing time of each lamb.
4. Increased load on the breeding ram. Each of them is capable of inseminating up to 1000 ewes during a breeding period, and this does not affect his health in any way.
5. The ability to use the most valuable producers increases by more than 10 times.
6. The risk of spreading infections transmitted through animal contact with each other is reduced.

Rules for insemination and preparation for mating

Sheep reach sexual maturity at the age of 6-7 months, but mating cannot be carried out at this time. The animal’s body has not yet formed, and pregnancy is a big burden. There is no guarantee that a fertilized young ewe will be able to carry a lamb and feed it, since her body itself needs the nutrients it receives. The first mating is recommended at the age of 16-18 months. By this point, the sheep has gained the required weight, which is 75% of the weight of an adult animal.

In most cases, sheep go into heat in late autumn. In winter, when severe frosts begin and in summer, when it is hot, not all females show signs of arousal.

Reference. Sheep of the Romanov breed are ready for mating at any time of the year.

Preparations for mating begin 2-2.5 months before the planned mating date. At this time, the lambs are taken away from the mother and milking is gradually stopped. Ewes need to be examined for mastitis, their general health should be assessed - teeth and hooves examined. Individuals that are older, too skinny, or sick are subject to culling.

Attention! Sometimes it makes sense to make an exception, for example, when we are talking about a purebred and fertile ewe. If she has health problems, she is intensively treated, fattened and admitted to the broodstock.

Attention is also paid to the selection of rams. Healthy individuals with good physique, high productivity and excellent sperm quality are prepared for mating. It is mandatory to inspect the rams' hooves. When problems are found, they are cleared and treated. Lame individuals and those who have compactions and clots in the scrotum area are subject to culling, which indicates the development of epidermitis.

For one and a half months, ewes and rams are kept separately. During this period, animals must gain weight and accumulate strength for the upcoming mission - procreation.

Nutrition of sheep and rams before mating

Preparation for mating includes organizing a complete diet for the animals. Rams are transferred to enhanced nutrition approximately 35-40 days before the expected mating date. Their diet includes more protein. The recommended amount of concentrated feed for each male is 1-2 kg.

In addition to grain crops, breeding rams are given:

• roots;
• silage;
• eggs;
• bone meal;
• salt.

Attention! All types of food are checked for mold - the food must be fresh and of high quality.

The fatness of females affects their fertility. It has been proven that with proper and balanced feeding, 100 sheep can produce 150 or more lambs per year. The diet of females should include:

• fresh grass;
• roots;
• concentrates;
• mineral supplements.

Water is of great importance in the diet of sheep. In spring and summer, when animals receive a lot of succulent food on pastures, they are given water in the morning and evening. At other times - three times a day, because to process dry food, sheep need to produce more saliva, which means the need for water increases.

Important! An increase in the body weight of ewes by 5 kilograms leads to an increase in fertility by almost 6%.

A week before mating, animals selected for mating are examined again. If necessary, individuals with unsatisfactory body weight and health status are discarded.

Mating process

Sheep mating occurs during heat. To identify it, male probes are used. They are brought into the pen in small groups and the reactions of the animals are monitored. If they accept the cage and calmly react to the male, then they are ready to mate. With the free method, rams and sheep are kept together during the day or at night for a month and a half. At the same time, during the rest of the day, the producer is taken to a separate pen for rest.

With the manual method, sheep are mated twice with the same ram. To make sure that conception has occurred, the sire is brought to a control mating the day after mating. If the female does not accept the cage, she is fertilized.

How is artificial insemination of sheep carried out?

For artificial insemination of sheep, individuals with signs of heat are also selected. They are kept in a separate pen, where sample rams are brought for a while. To protect them from mating, they wear a special apron that will prevent penetration during mounting.

Attention! There should be several sample rams; they are used alternately.

A sheep is ready to mate if:

• she accepts the cage, that is, she allows the male to approach her;
• She first runs away from the male, after which she follows him.

After identifying all females in heat, they are transferred to the artificial insemination point. After feeding, it is recommended to fertilize them immediately. Insemination is attempted again the next day. If the ewes do not cover at this moment, then they will have to wait another 16-18 days when the heat begins.

How is sheep sperm obtained?

To obtain seminal fluid, the breeding male is given a date with a female who is showing signs of heat. During mounting, his sperm is collected in a special container that resembles an artificial vagina. It is held in the right hand so that during ejaculation it is possible to collect biomaterial. Seminal fluid is used both in diluted and undiluted form for the fertilization of sheep.

The first option is applicable when sperm needs to be transported to another farm. It retains its qualities for a day or more. Upon arrival at its destination, the fluid is tested under a microscope to determine sperm motility. It is advisable to use undiluted seminal fluid as soon as possible.

Ewe insemination process

Artificial insemination must be carried out by a specialist, a person who has received the appropriate education or at least completed a course. Selected sheep are placed in special pens. At the same time, in the room where the procedure is carried out, the air temperature is maintained within 18-23 degrees. For insemination, a catheter syringe with a curved end is used. Using a speculum instrument, it is carefully inserted into the sheep's vulva, not too deep, about 3 cm inside the vagina. The curved end should point downwards. Next, the seminal fluid of the sheep is injected into the vagina. Half a milliliter of sperm is enough to fertilize each individual.

Attention! It is convenient to use a semi-automatic syringe with a dispenser for inseminating sheep. By pressing the handle, he injects the required amount of seminal fluid into the sheep's vulva.

After the procedure is completed, the instrument is disinfected and used to fertilize another ewe. It is important to ensure that the disinfectant solution does not get inside the catheter, otherwise it will destroy the sperm during subsequent use of the syringe. Fertilized females are marked with paint and released into the pen. All data on the work performed is recorded in logs.

Artificial insemination is the most reliable and convenient method of carrying out breeding work. It allows you to use a good sire tens of times more often than with manual or free mating methods. At the same time, almost 100% of the sheep turn out to be pregnant. That is why this technique is used by most large livestock farmers. Thanks to it, farmers manage to get healthy and numerous offspring regularly, which means increasing their profits.