Several key points that should be paid attention to in scientific breeding of mutton sheep

1 selection of superior varieties

China is rich in mutton sheep breed resources, but the good and bad breeds are intermingled, in which there are some miscellaneous, inferior and native sheep. These breeds are characterized by slow growth and development, weak individuals, poor meat quality, poor flavor and low flocking rate, which seriously affects the economic benefits of mutton sheep breeding. Therefore, excellent mutton sheep breeds are the basis for obtaining good economic benefits. Mutton sheep breeds suitable for local natural conditions and management conditions should be selected in production. At present, the excellent mutton sheep breeds in China are mainly small-tailed Han sheep, Altay sheep, Hu sheep and so on. These mutton breeds have fast growth and development speed, good meat quality, large physique and strong breeding ability, while some excellent foreign breeds also have excellent characteristics. However, attention should be paid to whether foreign breeds are suitable for local breeding environment and conditions, and should not be introduced blindly. The characteristics of heterosis can be used to cross sheep breeds in order to obtain excellent mutton sheep breeds. China mostly chooses to introduce male sheep as male parents to carry out binary or ternary hybridization with local ewes, making use of heterosis. The lambing rate can be increased by 25%, the survival rate of lambs can be increased by 40%, and the body weight can be increased by 20%.

2 to provide a suitable culture environment

At present, most of the mutton sheep are raised in houses, which have high requirements for the breeding environment. As a place where mutton sheep eat, rest and sleep, the breeding environment plays an important role in the economic benefits of mutton sheep breeding. therefore, it is necessary to provide a suitable breeding environment for mutton sheep. First of all, when building the site, we should choose places with good ventilation, good lighting and high dryness. Because sheep like warm and dry places, we should try our best to avoid building houses in low-lying, humid and poorly ventilated places. In addition, we should also pay attention to the convenient transportation around, there are no large chemical plants and other pollution sources nearby, and to take into account the disposal of faeces, the sheep farm should be built in the lower reaches of the river.

The layout and design of the sheep house should be reasonable, and the suitable area should be determined according to the breeding scale. if the area is too large, it will increase the construction cost, and if the area is too small, it will not be conducive to ventilation. Generally, the area of sheep house should be 0.8 square meters per adult sheep. The floor of the sheep house should not be cement floor. on the one hand, the low temperature of cement ground in winter causes gastrointestinal diseases in lambs, on the other hand, it is disadvantageous to the health of sheep's limbs and hooves. It is best to set up a sports ground near the sheep house, the area of the sports ground is generally 3-4 times the area of the sheep house, and the sports ground should be equipped with sinks and material troughs. The production area should be divided into production area, living area and isolation area. According to the different stages of mutton sheep, the production area should be divided into ewe shed, ram house, fattening house, etc., and the production area should be located in the downwind of the living area, and the isolation area should be located in the downwind of the production area, which is conducive to the prevention and control of epidemic diseases.

Strengthen the management of daily culture environment. Including doing a good job of daily sanitary cleaning, changing cushions frequently, keeping the sheep shed clean and dry, and disinfecting regularly. Do a good job of cold prevention in winter and summer heat prevention work, strengthen ventilation, in order to remove harmful gases and keep the air fresh.

(3) Scientific fattening technology

Feed is an important link in the fattening of mutton sheep, in which whether the nutrients are sufficient, whether the proportion is reasonable, whether it is in line with the growth and development of this stage, and fattening needs the production of mutton sheep is very important. Therefore, it is necessary to make a reasonable choice of feed, scientific design and cooperation, and scientific feeding at the same time.

Sheep are ruminants and mainly feed on plant feed, including roughage and concentrate, which mainly include crop straw and forage, which is characterized by a large amount of crude fiber, which can bring a sense of satiety to sheep. it plays an important role in maintaining rumen health and promoting weight gain. Concentrate fodder includes the seeds of crops and corresponding processed products, such as corn and soybean meal, as well as some additional feeds, such as minerals and vitamins, which are also indispensable in the production of mutton sheep, which can significantly promote the metabolism of sheep and improve feed utilization.

The nutrition demand of mutton sheep is different in different growth and development stages. if the feed ratio is unreasonable, it will lead to some nutritional deficiency diseases and affect the breeding benefit of mutton sheep. therefore, the formula feed should be scientifically proportioned according to different physiological stages of mutton sheep. For example, for the breeding ram, the consumption of physical strength and nutrition is relatively fast in the breeding stage, so we should pay attention to the supply of nutrition and increase protein feed to improve the quality of semen. For breeding ewes, the rapid growth and development of the fetus needs a lot of nutrients and should be fully prepared for lactation, so it is necessary to increase the nutrition of the diet. For fattening sheep, the diet ratio should be adjusted in time according to the physiological status of fattening sheep in different periods.

(4) do a good job in disease prevention

Once the epidemic disease occurs in mutton sheep, it has a great impact on production, so it is important to do a good job in disease prevention and control. In the process of disease prevention, we should first strengthen feeding and management, improve the disease resistance of sheep, and then do a good job in the sanitary cleaning of sheep house, ventilation and ventilation, strengthen daily disinfection and so on, in order to reduce the occurrence of disease. Formulate a scientific immunization plan according to the occurrence of the epidemic disease in this field and in this area, and vaccinate the relevant vaccines strictly according to the immunization procedure. In addition, sheep are prone to parasitic diseases. when sheep suffer from parasitic diseases, they will compete for nutrition with their hosts, resulting in slow growth and development of mutton sheep, poor weight gain, affecting the health of mutton sheep and inducing other diseases. Parasitic diseases are divided into external parasites and internal parasitic diseases. Drug baths can be used regularly for the prevention of external parasitic diseases, while internal parasitic diseases can be repelled with drugs, and comprehensive deworming work can be carried out in spring and autumn every year. Pay attention to the centralized treatment of faeces after deworming in order to kill the source of insects.

Bi Weibo. Several key points needing attention in scientific breeding of mutton sheep [J]. Modern Animal Science and Technology, 2018 (01): 34.