Selection experience of small-tailed Han sheep and breeding of ewes

Small-tailed Han sheep, which is a kind of animal under the subfamily Bovidae and Sheep subfamily, is a dual-purpose sheep breed for meat and fur in China. It has the advantages of rapid growth, early maturity, strong fecundity, stable genetic performance and strong adaptability. It is regarded as the "national treasure" of China, "super sheep" and "high-legged sheep" in the world. And was included in the "national livestock and poultry genetic resources conservation catalogue". It is not only one of the best projects for farmers to shake off poverty and become well-off, but also the safest project for the government to help the poor, and it is also an important measure for the country to close mountains and return farmland, recommend raising sheep and build ecological agriculture.

At the time of the rapid development of small-tailed Han sheep, the majority of farmers should learn to choose high-quality breeds so as not to be deceived. When selecting small-tailed Han sheep, farmers should pay attention to the following points:

Take a look at health: first of all, you should go to a large-scale sheep farm in an epidemic-free area to select healthy sheep, requiring lively spirit and good temperament; eyes, lips, hooves and sparse skin, no skin herpetic lesions between toes, do not buy sick sheep for cheap.

Second, look at the physique: the body is long, the face is slightly long, the bridge of the nose is raised, the nose is wide, the ears are big and drooping, the chest is open, the body is tall, the front and rear bodies are developed evenly, and the limbs are thin and solid, which is called "high-legged sheep" with straight back and strong hooves. Side-looking growth square. The horns of rams are triangular and spiral, and most ewes have small horns or horn roots. The tail is oval in shape, with a longitudinal groove in the middle of the lower end of the tail, with the tip of the tail turning upward and growing above the hocks. Do not have a slender, thick, broad tail. Pay attention to whether the tail is tied with a thin thread. The coat is white, and some ewes have dark brown hairs on the face. Check carefully to see if the black hair is cut off and affixed with white hair.

Look at body size and weight: fine small-tailed Han sheep grow fast, have high legs and wide breasts, and produce more lambs, so as to distinguish fake low-quality sheep. Ewes who are too obese are mostly infertile or hermaphroditic sheep.

Four look at the reproductive performance: the first class of lambs is 3 lambs, the first class is 2 lambs, the number of lambs is 4 lambs, the first class is 3 lambs. The ewe has a pair of conical nipples, the base of the nipple has a large milk pool, each nipple head has a nipple tube door, forbidden to buy blind nipples, turn nipples; pubic long, drooping wet. It is forbidden to buy small and warped sheep with vulva growth. The testes of ram are oval, well developed, symmetrical and of the same size, and cryptorchidism and orchitis are prohibited, only ewes.

Five look at the tooth age: teeth and tooth plate bite neatly, forbidden to buy defective teeth sheep. The deciduous teeth of lambs and young lambs are white, while the permanent teeth are yellow and large, and the permanent teeth wear for a long time, the shorter the root, the older the age. The lower 8 incisors, 1.5-year-old middle 2 incisors new, and then each year or so in turn to change teeth, 8 teeth all called Qikou, that is, about 4 years old. The breeding and utilization life of male and female sheep is 5-8 years old, and old sheep can not have it.

Six look at the hoof: due to large-scale breeding, sheep do not exercise enough, suffer from rotten hoof disease, swollen leg disease. Let the sheep exercise to see if the gait is smooth, limping, and whether there is foot rot. The surface of sheep's hoof is fresh and moist pure wax yellow, with different lines is not small tail Han sheep.

Recommendations:

1. When selecting sheep, it is best to ask the professionals of the animal husbandry department to select them.

2. It is best to buy 10-month-old sheep, when the sheep are mature and have good bones, and can immediately breed and give birth to lambs, or buy at 1:1 after giving birth to ewes and lambs to shorten the capital turnover period.

3. The ratio of rams to ewes should be about 1:10, with the highest no more than 1:15. Too many rams will waste feed and increase costs. Too few rams will lead to empty ewes, impotence and inbreeding.

The breeding of ewes.

Feeding of ewes before mating and in the first trimester

At a higher nutritional level, breeding ewes can promote ovulation, neat estrus, concentrated lambing period, and most of them give birth smoothly, which is convenient for feeding and management. Therefore, 1-1.5 months before mating, breeding ewes should be given sufficient green feed and 20 grams of digestible protein per day to maintain a good reproductive condition.

Feeding of ewes in the third trimester of pregnancy

Pregnant ewes not only need to maintain their own nutrition, but also need to provide nutrition for fetal growth. According to the study on the thermal metabolism of small-tailed Han sheep, the thermal metabolism of ewes in the later stage of pregnancy is 17%-22% higher than that of non-pregnant ewes, and the requirement for protein is also significantly increased. Ewes in late pregnancy can deposit 20 g of protein every day, so on the basis of maintenance, 40 g of digestible crude protein must be supplied by feed every day. During the whole pregnancy, the accumulation of pure protein is 1.8~2.3kg, 80% of which is accumulated in the later stage of pregnancy, and the daily deposition of calcium and phosphorus in 4 to 5 months is 3.8 g and 1.5 g, respectively. Therefore, the feeding standard of ewes in late pregnancy should increase by 30% 40%, 40% and 60% of digestible protein, and calcium and phosphorus by about 1% and 2 times.

The feeding of lactating ewes

For a certain period of time after birth, the only food for the lamb is breast milk. The more milk the ewe produced, the faster the lamb grew, the better the development, the stronger the disease resistance and the higher the survival rate. In order to promote the lactation of ewes, the feed standard and feed quota must be increased accordingly.

According to the experimental study, lactating ewes were divided into groups according to single and double lambs. Ewes should be given concentrate 0.2kg, silage 1~1.5kg, legume hay 0.5~1.0kg, hay 2.0kg, carrot 0.2~0.5kg, and drink warm water and soybean milk every day. The supplement amount of mixed concentrate of twin-lambing ewes should be increased to 0.3~0.4kg, which can basically meet the feeding standard of lactating ewes.