How to start raising sheep at home - recommendations for beginners

Sheep are bred for the purpose of earning on their farm productivity. As a business, this is a great idea, because the animals have first-class meat and expensive fleece. Sheep fur is regularly purchased by manufacturers of clothing and footwear, and therefore there will always be demand for this product. Sheep breeding is not the most difficult type of farming, but it has a number of nuances. So how to raise sheep at home and what you need to know about keeping them?

What does a beginner need to know?

Sheep breeding at home for beginners is based on the development of a business plan. This will allow you to calculate the financial costs for the purchase of animals, the construction of a sheepfold and the choice of a pasture site. In addition, all risks are taken into account, the payback and possible income from the activity are calculated. Having identified all the nuances, you will be able to assess the profitability of the business.

After that, you should find a place for grazing sheep and build a sheepfold where it will be possible to keep animals in the cold season. Experts have found that a 40m2 room is sufficient for 10 females with lambs. It should be borne in mind that during the cold period in the sheepfold, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of at least 10 degrees Celsius. Also, the structure should have a ventilation hole and be well protected from drafts. Having determined the conditions for keeping animals, you can proceed to buying sheep. Experienced breeders recommend paying attention to the bright Romanov breed.

Market analysis

At the moment, a suitable period has emerged for the implementation of the idea of ​​raising sheep as a business.

In this niche, competition is insignificant. This leads to a decrease in financial risks and to a pricing policy aimed at maximizing the entrepreneur's profit.

The downward trend in the number of sheep was a result of high demand for products and low competition.

Statistics on the number of sheep in private farms suggests that business in this direction is promising. In terms of numbers, this is about 10 million individuals. In terms of territorial location, not all regions of Russia are suitable for such a line of business. The southern and central regions are considered acceptable for this.

These are the Caucasus, Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, the South Urals and the Volga Region. The listed areas are provided with the most fertile areas for walking animals.

Different breeds of sheep do not adapt to a particular climate and natural conditions in the same way. The most suitable for meat and greasy breeds are regions with cold climates and mountains. For coarse-haired - the North Caucasus, for fine-haired - Central regions. The best climate for sheep breeding is in the Caucasus, where the largest number of farms and pastures is found.

Breeding sheep of the Romanov breed at home

The Romanov breed of sheep is very popular. The main reasons for breeding this population are:

1. The breed is fertile. The offspring of 1 ewe is from 3 to 6 lambs.
2. The Romanov sheep has thick wool and even during the severe frosts, the cost of keeping them is minimal.
3. Individuals grow quickly, so the farmer will receive meat in six months. A one-year-old ram reaches 80 kg.
4. Large amounts of feed are not required to raise animals. Sheep can feed on moss, rough straw, leaves and dead grass.
5. By 5 months of age, individuals begin to puberty.During the year, the bright is sexually active, as a result, the livestock is rapidly increasing.
6. The products of the Romanov breed are of high quality. Therefore, raising sheep at home pays off quickly and brings significant profits.

A farmer who decides to buy this breed should decide what he wants to get from the sheep? When the goal is set, you just have to calculate:

1. How many individuals you have to buy.
2. The amount of feed.
3. The need to build a sheepfold or sheds are enough for you.

Please note that it is better to purchase adult animals, as their appearance will determine compliance with the standards. Of course, you can save money and buy young animals. But in this case, you run the risk of being wrong with productivity.

General features

Keeping and raising sheep is one of the main branches of agriculture, which is constantly developing in our country. These animals were bred by our ancestors for a long time. Sheep have always been prized for their delicious meat. Various cheeses and butter are made from the milk of queens. Sheep wool is one of the most valuable, it is warm and lightweight. And in Asian culture, most of the national dishes are prepared from sheep fat, which not only has excellent taste, but is also a natural preservative.

These animals very easily adapt to different climatic conditions, are mobile and hardy. Like cows, sheep are ruminants, and therefore their main diet is green grasses, which they independently harvest from pastures. This makes this type of cattle breeding more economical, since no additional feed is needed in the spring-summer period.

There are several types of this livestock in terms of productive qualities. Fine-wooled - their main focus is wool. From them, a homogeneous wool of the highest quality is obtained. Semi-fine wool combines woolen and meat qualities. The coarse-haired ones provide sheepskin and meat.

The breeds are divided according to the following productive areas:

• woolen;
• wool and meat;
• meat and wool;
• meat and greasy;
• meat-wool-dairy;
• zmushkovy;
• meat and fur coat.

Sheep are also classified according to the percentage of growth per 100 queens. One of the most popular and productive in this regard is the Romanov breed. The growth of this species reaches up to 250-270% per 100 sheep. This is a very important parameter for breeding this cattle.

Slaughter yield is an important parameter for meat species. In rams, it is correspondingly larger than in queens. The maximum slaughter yield is 50 percent. When the animal is handed over for meat, fatness is determined by feeling. On the back, lower back and ribs, deposits of subcutaneous fat are also felt.

The quality of wool is determined by the amount of fineness in it. Wool is used for making fabrics, home knitting, felted shoes are made from it. Autumn clipping is more valuable than summer clipping, and therefore owners often use it for personal needs. Shears of coarse-wooled sheep are handed over for industrial use.

Dairy sheep breeds are distinguished by the amount of fat and protein in milk, as well as its high productivity. Cheese, cottage cheese, butter, fermented baked milk, etc. are made from sheep's milk. Milk is considered very tasty.

This cattle is notable for its early maturity. For the first time, they are allowed to mate at least 1 year old, although puberty occurs earlier in them - at 6-8 months. The fruit is hatched up to 165 days. This cattle lives up to 25 years. But queens and rams are used on the farm for a maximum of 7 years.

Breed content

For the household, novels are the most convenient, since they are not difficult to maintain. In the cold season, one individual will need 3 m2 of indoor space and up to 4 m for walking. The walking area should contain a canopy and feeders.

If you have a room, then you need to prepare it before importing animals. In the future sheepfold, you should carefully clean everything and throw away the trash. After that, disinfection is carried out with a special solution. You can buy the product at a veterinary pharmacy. Before work, be sure to read the instructions. The sheepfold after processing must be weathered for at least a week.

If there is no room for keeping sheep, it should be built. The sheepfold should be warm. This is required to prevent the newborn lambs from dying. Particular attention is paid to humidity and ventilation. The floor can be made of plank, earthen or left earthen, you decide. Romanovka do not tolerate dampness, so you will need to change the litter constantly, as it gets dirty. You can use straw or sawdust for these purposes.

Business registration

If a decision is made to breed sheep and build a business on this, then the question of its registration arises. As a rule, the owner needs permanent distribution channels that require documentary evidence of transactions. Therefore, it is necessary to issue an IP.

In addition, you will need to obtain permission from the Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate to work with wholesale customers.

A fire service permit is needed to confirm that the sheepfold meets all technical requirements.

If you want to save time and nerves, you can resort to the help of specialists. Then the purchase of such services is reflected in the costs.

Feeding the sheep

Choosing a place for feeding and installing feeders should be so that it is convenient not only for the sheep, but also for their owners. The best option are troughs with an inclined bottom, nursery type. For an adult to be comfortable, it needs 20-25 cm.

When building a yard for walking, it is imperative to erect sheds to protect the sheep from the sun's rays during the hot season. Consideration of feeding the sheep is necessary in advance. Even in the summer, the first days after the purchase, the sheep should be kept in the sheepfold without a walk. Thus, they will get used to their new place of residence. At first, the animals are fed with cut grass.

The main diet for a day for an adult:

1. Meadow hay - 2 kg. If necessary, you can use 2 kg of straw and 1 kg of meadow hay.
2. Root crops - 2 kg.
3. Oat and barley mixture - 250 gr.

Young individuals eat 30-70% of the daily value of an adult animal.

Power circuit:

1. Morning is hay.
2. In the afternoon - cereals and root crops.
3. In the evening - straw and hay.

In summer, the flock grazes in the pasture and feed costs are zero. In the case of poor herbage, the sheep are added to the diet of concentrates, at the rate of 300 gr. for 1 individual. If there is no opportunity to graze the flock, then feed the animals with freshly cut grass. This is a very time consuming process.

When raising sheep at home, it must be borne in mind that they require feed additives. Buy them at the pharmacy, after consulting your veterinarian.

Animals should always have access to lick salt and water, even sheep drink on the pasture, keep this in mind.

Land for business

After all the documents are completed, a pasture suitable for raising sheep is looked for.

Many are considering buying their own land. But the best solution to start raising sheep is to rent a plot. This is a less expensive option with no financial risks.

Sheep easily get used to weather conditions, so in summer it is advisable to use walking in an open area, and in winter - in corrals with small heating units.

Note for beginners

So you have acquired animals, now you have to observe their behavior.

Features of behavior

1. Sheep hunting. Females and males begin to behave a little differently. This indicates that they are ready to mate. But the Romanov breed can only happen if the individual has reached 40 kg. Only in this case will healthy offspring be obtained.
2. Fertilization is performed 2 times a day, in the morning and in the evening.
3. With proper and complete care, the bright ones give offspring all year round, and this is a good profit for the owner.
4. One brane is capable of fertilizing 20 queens. But be sure to buy 2 males in case the second one gets sick.
5. In the future, a ram is selected, from which the offspring are healthier and more productive, and the second male is castrated.

You should know that a sheep can happen only 2 months after the lambs were beaten off and preventive vaccination was carried out. In case of grazing, the flock is given the best plots and must be fed with compound feed (400 grams per 1 individual). When kept in a stall, the diet is selected based on the condition of the animal.

Mating and haircut

For a natural increase in the number of sheep, mating is used during breeding. It happens:

• Free-style - occurs on farms with a small number of sheep - up to 200 heads. One ram can interbreed with 50 females or more. The mating is applied in July, juveniles appear in December.
• Scheduled - grazing sheep so that the rams are separate from the sheep. Then they are combined for 2-4 weeks for mating. This tactic comes at an additional cost. Since every 30 rams will need their own shepherd.
• Artificial is the most expensive fertilization. But the lambs are of high quality.

• in spring, wool is sheared from sheep with an even distribution of wool;
• in spring and autumn - sheep with a non-uniform type of wool.

Before trimming the wool, you need to make sure it is dry to avoid damage during storage. Sheep do not need to be fed 24 hours before shearing. And you shouldn't drink for 12 hours.

It is carried out manually or using a special machine. The fleece is cleaned in a special way, and then folded.

What should you know about lambing?

The pregnant uterus should receive enhanced nutrition, rich in vitamins and minerals. The owner must record the date of mating and the name of the ewes. This is required for the timely separation of her before lambing from the herd. In the Romanov breed, the duration of bearing the fetus is 145 days.

2 days before giving birth, the hair should be cut around the udder. Be sure to prepare the cage in which the lambing will take place. It should have clean and fresh bedding. Shortly before giving birth, the udder of the lamb swells, the belly sinks, everything under the tail swells and turns red. Before lambing, the female begins to behave restlessly and often lies down.

Childbirth

1. The birth canal is revealed. This continues for 2 hours. The animal must not be touched at this time.
2. Contractions. The pharynx is open, the abdomen contracts intensively and a lamb appears. In the normal course of lambing, the umbilical cord breaks off by itself. Be sure to check that the lamb does not cover its mouth and nose with plastic, otherwise it may die.
3. Within 20-40 minutes, the second lamb and the next ones appear.
4. In the normal position of the fetus, the lambs go forward with their legs, but sometimes - backwards. In this case, it is necessary not to allow the head of the lamb to remain in the uterus for a long time.
5. The uterus almost always gives birth on its own. After leaving the afterbirth, the lambing is complete.
6. If the afterbirth does not come out, you must call the veterinarian.

Building a barn

Throughout the warm season, as soon as fresh green grass appears, the sheep are kept on free grazing. But for the winter, even the most hardy breeds need to build a dwelling, or adapt an existing utility room for it.

Requirements for a sheepfold (koshara):

1. Good illumination.
2. The floor is above ground level at a height of 20-30 cm.
3. Organization of a drainage system for the removal of waste products of sheep from the premises.
4. The flooring should be covered with bedding (hay, straw).
5. From the floor to the lower window frame, a height of 1.2 m must be maintained.
6. The presence of a thermometer is used to control the temperature regime in winter and during the lambing period of females.
7. The area should be divided into sections for keeping queens, lambs, and rams.
8. The presence of feeders, drinkers.
9. The possibility of heating the room.
10. The presence of an elementary ventilation system.

The first step in building a sheepfold is to calculate the area of ​​the premises. In accordance with sanitary standards, one adult should have 1.5 m², and an ewes with lambs - 3 m².

The entire sheepfold is divided into zones using shields 1.2 m high, consisting of boards, between which there should be a gap of 15 cm.

The width of the drinkers and feeders is calculated depending on the number of animals. These devices should be 30–40 cm high and 20 cm long per individual.

To prevent livestock from getting sick, sanitary standards must be observed in the sheepfolds:

• changing the litter as it gets dirty, about 1 time per week (maybe more often);
• washing drinkers and feeders with gentle detergents, every 3-5 days;
• disinfection of premises when transferring animals to free range (in spring) and before starting in a stall (in autumn) - involves the complete removal of the floor mat, washing the floor and walls with bleach, treating the entire room with copper sulfate of 5% concentration, airing for a week.

Newborn care

In half an hour, large lambs already stand on their legs and begin to suck milk from the udder. Weak individuals must be substituted under it. If the offspring is more than 2 individuals, complementary foods are required. The best option is goat's milk, since it is well absorbed by the lambs.

Weak individuals are introduced to complementary foods using baby bottles. Milk is given at first in small portions, over time the volume increases. It is allowed to use substitutes in case of a lack of natural milk. From the age of one month, lambs are introduced to the diet of concentrates. For these purposes, small feeders are installed with ground compound feed, vitamin supplements, salt and chalk. From the age of four months, the grown lamb is removed from the uterus. Now they can lead an independent life.

Arrangement of a sheepfold

We decided on the breed, but it is still too early to buy sheep. First you need to build a sheepfold. When raising sheep in the harsh conditions of Russian winters, you can do without it.

Sheepfold not necessary make it capital and equip it with its own heating system, but inside it should always be warm even in the most severe frosts. Most often, wood or brick is used for the construction of this building. When building walls, you cannot save on insulation and vapor barrier. Do not forget about good ventilation: there should be no high humidity in the sheepfold. Raising sheep in high humidity is not possible.

The sheepfold should be spacious, as sheep do not like crowding - get sick... One animal must have at least 9m 2 of area. If large breed sheep are selected, then these indicators should be increased.

Sheep feel great at a temperature in the sheepfold of +10 ° C. However, if there are animals ready for lambing in the sheepfold, then it must be warmed up to at least 15 ° C.

For females with young animals in the sheepfold, a separate corner should be set aside. The lambs will be with their mothers for the first 3 months of their life. The floor of the sheepfold should be covered with dry bedding.