In sheep breeding, as in any other type of livestock breeding, the most difficult moment is the rearing of young animals. All the nuances are important here - assistance to the uterus during pregnancy and lambing, proper feeding of the newborn, proper control of the lamb during its growth, the ability to identify the cause and first signs of the baby’s illness, in order to start treating it in time, etc. Let's talk more about everything this and much more, which is associated with the breeding of lambs in a small household.

Breeding lambs at home: features

Keeping sheep can be a very profitable occupation, provided that it is organized correctly. There are several reasons for this.

First of all, it should be noted that we are talking about animals with a fairly strong immunity, which, unlike some types of poultry or, say, rabbits, get sick quite rarely.

Sheeps are very unpretentious in nutrition, moreover, they can get their own food without problems, grazing in the pasture during the warm season, and sometimes year-round (winter grazing is a relatively new, but already very well established direction in cattle breeding, which allows the farmer significantly save the cost of maintaining the herd).

Did you know? On Novy Arbat in Moscow 4 years ago a very expensive and prestigious establishment was opened under the name "Shepherd House", combining a butcher's shop and a restaurant. Here you can buy or try the exquisite marble lamb from Kalmykia, obtained from animals that are on year-round free grazing.

Sheep productivity is very high, although its specific performance is largely dependent on the breed.

Finally, a sheep is a source of a number of valuable products, namely:

• Wool
• hides;
• meat;
• milk.

In addition, the owner of purebred breeding individuals can make pretty good money by selling sperm or mating (insemination of sheep belonging to other farmers).

Lamb sheep

During the year, a sheep can bring two offspring, although in order to prevent the animal’s body from becoming exhausted prematurely, it is better to reduce this number to one lamb. Start using the female for breeding at the age of 16 months, when she has almost completely reached the sizes inherent in a particular breed. Under this condition, the likelihood that lambs will be born with low weight and poor health is much less.

The gestation period in sheep lasts from 140 to 155 days, depending on the age of the animal, breed and number of lambs (usually there are from one to five).

It is usually not necessary to help the mother during childbirth (the exception may be only the first lamb), however, in order to avoid any problems with the newborn, it is advisable to control the birth process.

Help the lamb with lambing

If pregnancy and childbirth are normal, the lamb is born after the amniotic fluid, moving along the birth canal with the front legs on which the head rests. In the process of falling, the fetus breaks the umbilical cord, and if this does not happen, the mother bites it herself.

Important! You can’t, trying to ease the birth, pierce the amniotic fluid. The effect will be the opposite: the bubble pushes the birth canal, thereby helping the fetus to move along it.

After lambing, the female rises, approaches the baby and licks it, cleaning it from amniotic fluid and mucus. Remembering the smell of their own lambs, the sheep then more easily lets them go to the udder, and therefore the best that the farmer can do is to observe the process and not interfere with it.

There are only a few situations in which a lamb needs help:

Alarm sign	What to do
Incorrect presentation of the fetus (hind legs forward)	The best option is to consult a veterinarian, he will be able to deploy the fetus before childbirth
Finding a lamb inside a bubble	Puncture the bubble, let the water flow out, turn the fruit over and gently pull during the attempt
The umbilical cord remains intact, but the sheep does not gnaw it	Cut the umbilical cord with sterile scissors at a height of 8-10 cm, grease the cut with iodine
The lamb does not breathe	To clear the nasal passage and the oral cavity of the newborn from mucus, if necessary, blow air into the mouth

The final stage is rubbing the lamb with a dry and clean towel or rags.

First hours after birth

If the lamb was born healthy, about 30 minutes after birth, he begins to stand up on his own and try to look for the udder. It is very important to make sure that the mother licked the baby: if this did not happen, the sheep obviously did not accept the cub and would not care for it.

Before the baby finds the udder and begins to eat, you need to milk a little colostrum, since in its first portion there is often a dangerous microflora

It is also worth helping the lamb take its first sips, slightly supporting it by the head. So the baby will very quickly find the right position and will continue to eat on their own.

Feeding lambs

At the initial stage of their life, newborn lambs only eat and sleep, and their nutrition consists exclusively of milk. Subsequently, the diet of young animals gradually becomes more and more diverse, but their growth and further development largely depends on how well the farmer will feed the babies.

Learn how to determine the age of sheep and sheep by the teeth.

Newborn

Exclusively mother's milk is a lamb feed from the 1st to the 28th day after birth. First, the baby is applied to the udder with an interval of 3-4 hours, then the intervals between feedings gradually increase.

If the offspring is kept together with the mother, it is impossible to determine the amount of milk consumed by each lamb, however , the following signs are evidence that the baby is not starving:

• most of the time the baby sleeps, waking up only in order to reach for the udder;
• nutrition passes and ends calmly (hungry lambs suck continuously and nervously, their legs tremble and bend);
• the newborn quickly gains body weight (the normal daily increase during the first 7 days is usually 250-350 g, then this figure increases to 350-500 g).

Important! Each kilogram of live weight of a lamb "costs" the mother five liters of milk.

Thus, a lamb born with a weight of 3.5–5.5 kg should weigh 13–18 kg in a month, and after reaching three months of age, 30–40 kg.

Grown up

When the kids turn one month old, they begin to feed . First, in the diet, it is best to gradually introduce mixed (in a 2: 1 ratio) oatmeal (pre-filled with hot water, left to swell and then wrung out) and boiled oilcake. Then, in the same mixture, the proportion of oatmeal is gradually reduced until the proportion changes to 1: 5 (by the age of two months of young animals).

At the same time, kids can get some fresh hay harvested from meadow forbs, as well as finely chopped root crops. A variety of diets is provided by concentrates. Their number is determined by such standards:

Age in days	Daily rate of concentrate, g
30-60	fifty
60–90	one hundred
90–120	150
120-160	250

Artificial Feeding

Mother's milk is an ideal food for the baby of any mammal, since it optimally combines all the nutrients necessary for the development of this species. However, if for some reason such a feeding method is impossible, it is possible to feed the newborn with an artificial method.

What to feed

A common replacement for sheep milk is cow or goat. His babies are given in accordance with such standards:

Age in weeks	One-time rate, g	Number of feedings per day
one	145	6-7
2	200	5
3-5	380	four
6-7	350	3

The decrease in a single serving of milk, starting from the 2nd month of life, is explained by the fact that from this age complementary foods begin to be introduced into the diet of lambs. This should be done gradually, guided by the same rules as when growing lambs in breast milk.

Important! Regardless of the method of feeding, during the first 48 hours of life, the lamb must, at least once, get sheep's colostrum - this will start the immune system and ensure the animal normal growth. If there is no other sheep, recently reared, on the farm, such colostrum can be bought from neighbors.

Features

Artificial feeding of lambs is a laborious process, but having mastered its basic rules, even a novice farmer can cope with it. The main thing to remember:

1. A lamb contained separately from the mother should be kept warm, clean and dry.
2. Newborn lambs are fed from a bottle equipped with a pacifier. In this case, all utensils must be treated with boiling water before use.
3. With artificial feeding, it is important to strictly adhere to the feeding regimen and not to exceed the recommended portion.
4. Starting from the 12th day of the baby's life, you can teach you to drink milk from a bowl, and it is no longer necessary to thoroughly sterilize it, just wash it well.

Planting a lamb under a strange uterus

Another way to feed a baby left without a mother is to plant it under another recently bred sheep. The problem is that animals are reluctant to accept other people's children, so farmers are forced to resort to various tricks:

1. Grease the lamb's wool with amniotic fluid obtained from a freshly bred sheep, or wrap it with placenta. Feeling the “native” smell, the female licks the baby and after that perceives it as its own.
2. Joint bathing of lambs born from different mothers in salt water. After bathing the kids, it is advisable to rub each other well in order to “mix” the smells. Licking his baby, the sheep can do the same with a stranger, thereby accepting him.
3. Refreshing a dead-born lamb (before the mother licks it) and wrapping another cub in its skin. The method is quite cruel and not very reliable: sometimes the skin has to be left in the dapple for up to 7 days.
4. Fixing the ewe in one place with a tight leash so that she could neither see nor sniff the lambs sucking from her udder. In this case, the animal should be able to freely stand up and lie down. Such "torment" lasts 4-5 days, after which the uterus usually accepts strangers.

We also recommend reading about the features of manual shearing.

How to tag a lamb

The animals used for breeding are commonly labeled. You can do this starting from the age of three days. The information contained on the tag (stamp) will help to clearly identify the animal, and, if necessary, its owner.

Clip

The most common and, at the same time, humane way of stigmatizing (marking) livestock is the use of special tags that are inserted into the animal’s ear in the form of a fixed clip. Previously, all the necessary information is applied to the tag : this can be done using a conventional marker or digitally (laser) in a way that eliminates data damage or erasure.

Modern tags are made of plastic (metal clips were used before). Their installation is carried out using a special clipper. Everything happens easily, quickly and painlessly, in the subsequent animal also does not feel any discomfort due to the presence of a clip on the auricle.

other methods

In addition to clips, sheep branding is still done by methods such as:

• burning marks on the skin;
• pinches on the ears;
• tattoo;
• burning information on the horns.

Did you know? The first kind of “live goods” that they began to mark with stigmas, no matter how scary it sounded, were people. In addition to slaves, criminals used to get a special mark on their bodies - in this way they were forever separated from “honest citizens”.

All of the above identification methods are replaced by chipping, which is likely to soon replace even quite humane ear clips. An electronic chip is introduced under the skin of the animal, containing all the necessary information, which is simultaneously entered into the official database. In the future, using a special device, you can always read information from the chip, but you cannot replace or fake such data.

Lamb selection

Formation of the parent herd is a very important task for any farmer, especially when it comes to animals of a rare and expensive breed. It is clear that for breeding (selection), the best specimens among young animals should be selected, which means that you need to be able to correctly distinguish quality breeding material.

On the tribe

The first offspring inspection is carried out at the age of 10-15 days. For breeding, individuals are selected that meet the following criteria:

• correct body proportions;
• maximum weight gain (indicates good health);
• strong physique.

At the time of separation of the young from the uterus, re-selection is carried out using the same criteria. Then the animals pass two more checks - at the age of one year and two years.

Important! Assessing the animal on the exterior, productivity indicators and physique for its use in breeding programs is called scoring. According to its results, the selected individual usually receives one of the three possible classes - the elite, the first or second.

In addition to good health, perfect formation, length and quality of hair, fertility and productivity (for ewes, an indicator such as milk yield must be taken into account, because a breeding female must feed her cubs), special criteria specific to a particular breed are also used in the process of scoring, for example:

• the degree of overgrowing with fleece;
• quality of the fleece (sometimes special laboratory tests are done for this);
• skin folding;
• the absence of colored fibers (white fleece is considered the most valuable).

Even an individual that is ideally suited for all evaluation criteria can produce poor offspring. This means that the external signs manifested in the animal do not have sufficient hereditary fixation. Therefore, breeding selection is a long process and involves constant adjustment of the results.

For meat

All lambs that have not passed grading (rejected) are used for fattening and subsequent slaughter for meat. Usually rams are killed in 8-9 months. It is this age that provides the perfect combination of delicious tender meat with minimal fattening costs. As the animal grows further, it gains a little weight, but this gain is not significant, but the quality of meat is gradually decreasing, and the additional costs of keeping young animals thus do not justify themselves.

Vaccinations and disease prevention

In addition to ensuring a proper diet, the care of lambs requires mandatory control of the health of young animals. At the same time, the best way to prevent the most dangerous diseases, especially those against which there is no adequate and effective treatment, is prevention. And the most reliable method of prevention is, as you know, vaccination.

Vaccinations

There is no mandatory vaccination calendar for lambs. Responsible farmers vaccinate young animals at the age of 3-4 days from clostridiosis, bradzot, listeriosis . There are vaccines against dysentery, but they are usually given only in those regions where outbreaks of this dangerous disease have been observed. Moreover, pregnant females are subjected to such a procedure, not the offspring. Manipulation is performed twice - 3-4 weeks before lambing and 10 days after receiving the first vaccine. In this way, the ewe and her offspring receive immunity against a deadly disease.

Rabies vaccination is another procedure that is carried out at the request of the farmer . There is no cure for a dangerous disease, the probability of death is almost 100%, therefore, before exhibitions or in case of detection of a center of rabies in the region where the farm is located, preventive measures will not interfere.

The most common diseases of lambs

Among the most common diseases among lambs should be mentioned:

Name of the disease	Symptoms	Treatment
Bradzot	Intestinal poisoning (bacterial nature)	In theory - antibiotics, in practice - quarantine and isolation of sick individuals (mortality 100%)
Smallpox	Hair loss, blisters on the skin, lethargy	Broad-spectrum antibiotics
Listeriosis	Cramps, muscle cramps, exhaustion	There is no effective treatment
Hyperplasia of the lungs, pneumonia	Cough, shortness of breath, shortness of breath	Antibiotics
White muscle disease	Cramps, muscle cramps, respiratory failure, lameness	There is no effective treatment
Paronychia (hoof rot)	Gait, impaired coordination of movements	Local disinfecting procedures
Fascioliasis	Diarrhea, dehydration, weakness	Anthelmintic drugs
Pyroplasmosis	Diarrhea, exhaustion, yellow plaque on the skin and mucous membranes	Antiparasitic drugs (Azedin, Berenil, Flavacridine)
Echinococcosis	Rapid breathing, diarrhea, exhaustion	Antiparasitic drugs, antibiotics

Walking and caring

Lambs grown for slaughter by the stall method are usually not walked. However, for the full development of the animal, walks are necessary, therefore, individuals selected for breeding must necessarily be grazed in the fresh air.

В процессе такого выгула овцы не только добывают себе свежий зелёный корм, но и активно двигаются, а это обеспечивает правильное пищеварение . Постоянно находящиеся в стойле овцы быстро становятся слабыми, в результате самцы теряют производительность, а самки тяжело переносят беременность и часто переживают осложнения в период ягнения.

В месте, где выпасается стадо, обязательно должны быть предусмотрены поилки, а также защитные укрытия, где овцы могут спрятаться от жары или переждать дождь

В остальном уход за молодняком предполагает соблюдение стандартных санитарных норм, прежде всего от фермера требуется обеспечить сухость и чистоту в овчарне. Среди обязательных процедур следует упомянуть регулярную дегельминтизацию, обеспечивающую защиту молодых животных от часто атакующих их паразитов.

Примерно в возрасте 6 месяцев ягнят в первый раз стригут . Эта процедура способствует более быстрому наращиванию шерсти и хорошему набору веса. Кроме того, в течение первого полугодия жизни ягнята почти не изнашивают копыт и часто испытывают затруднения от их непропорционально больших размеров. Поэтому сразу после отделения от матки копыта молодняку принято обрезать.

Видео: Обрезка копыт овцам

Выхаживание слабых ягнят

Овцы — животные сильные и выносливые, но иногда в результате неправильного ухода, болезней или наследственных нарушений у ягнят наблюдается слабость, плохой аппетит, отсутствие набора веса. Такие животные требуют более внимательного ухода и принятия некоторых специфических мер — в зависимости от конкретной проблемы.

Рекомендуем почитать, как правильно пасти овец.

Если падает на ноги

Хромота, проблемы при ходьбе и плохая координация движений, возникающие у молодняка, могут свидетельствовать о развитии в организме животного опасного заболевания (например, упомянутой выше беломышечной болезни). В этом случае важно срочно обратиться за консультацией к ветеринару и определить точный диагноз, который позволит разработать алгоритм последующих действий.

Однако если новорождённый ягнёнок с первых часов своей жизни начинает падать при каждой попытке встать либо не может сделать нескольких шагов без того, чтобы не подвернуть ногу или упасть, дело, вероятнее всего, не в инфекции.

Слабые ягнята могут рождаться в результате:

• неправильного питания овцематки в период беременности;
• слишком ранней случки или частых окотов (истощение организма матери);
• недоношенности;
• тяжёлых родов;
• родового стресса;
• плохой наследственности (например, близкородственного скрещивания);
• окота в слишком холодном помещении (чаще всего плохо стоят на ногах ягнята, рождённые зимой);
• дефицита микроэлементов и пр.

Did you know? Овцы, в среднем, живут 10–12 лет, но случаются и рекорды. Так, в 1988 году на британской ферме Доклеттвир Холл был зафиксирован случай успешного окота овцематкой в возрасте 28 лет.

Помочь малышу в первые дни его жизни можно при помощи:

• выкармливания из соски (если новорождённый не в состоянии сосать самостоятельно);
• прикрывания ягнёнку глаз во время кормления (установлено, что инстинкт сосания «включается» в темноте);
• согревающих процедур (грелки, утеплённое гнездо и пр.);
• инъекции препаратов, содержащих токоферол и селен (например, «Е-селен»), поскольку обычно дефицит именно этих веществ провоцирует дистрофию мышц;
• инъекции 5% глюкозы (0, 5 см³), чтобы предотвратить гипогликемию и дать ослабленному организму дозу «быстрой» энергии.

Не прибавляет в весе

Набор веса — главный показатель, позволяющий оценить развитие ягнёнка в первые дни, недели и месяцы его жизни . Если процесс увеличения живой массы малыша проходит медленнее положенной нормы, причиной тому может быть общая слабость (недоношенность, дефицит витаминов и пр.), конкретная болезнь либо обычный голод.

В первую очередь от фермера в такой ситуации требуется исключить последнюю из трёх названых причин, то есть, если ягнёнок находится на естественном вскармливании, убедиться в том, что у овцематки достаточно молока. Лучший способ сделать это — сцеживание (дойка).

Did you know? Европейским аналогом русского фразеологизма «белая ворона» является, как ни странно, «чёрная овца», хотя чёрные овцы встречаются намного чаще, чем птицы-альбиносы.

Искусственное вскармливание позволяет более точно знать, какое количество молока было выпито малышом в процессе каждого приёма пищи. Отсутствие прибавки в весе при хорошем аппетите — тревожный симптом . Чаще всего такое случается при различных гельминтозах, поэтому для оказания помощи животному нужна помощь ветеринара.

Если отсутствие прибавки в весе связано с отказом от пищи либо вялым её приёмом (что чаще всего случается), на первых этапах малышу можно попробовать помочь описанными выше методами общей поддержки — искусственным вскармливанием, обогревом, введением в рацион витаминов. Если эти меры не помогли, необходимо искать более глубокую причину возникновения проблемы — обращаться к врачу и проводить необходимые обследования животного.

Плохой набор веса ягнят в более взрослом возрасте часто является причиной недостаточной питательности материнского молока. Ситуацию можно спасти отделением потомства от матки и перевода молодняка на высококачественный «взрослый» корм — свежую траву, сено, жмых, овощи, концентраты и пр.

Отделение ягнят от матки

Отделять ягнят от матки нужно после того, как основным источником получения питательных веществ организмом молодняка является не материнское молоко, а другие виды пищи.

Конкретный возраст, когда это происходит, зависит от многих факторов, в том числе состояния здоровья ягнят, времени года, породы овец, а также условий, в которых они содержатся. Так, например, при наличии вольного выпаса и большого количества свежих зелёных кормов ягнята 12–14 недель от роду уже вполне могут конкурировать с матерью за «место под солнцем», а, значит, их пора переводить на отдельное содержание.

Вам будет полезно узнать о каракульской породе овец.

Выращивание ягнят — процесс интересный и не очень сложный. Будучи от природы сильными и выносливыми, овцы способны прекрасно плодиться и размножаться и без помощи человека. Однако одомашнивание и последующая селекционная работа внесли определённые коррективы в исходный генофонд этих животных, поэтому для уменьшения потерь среди новорождённых и молодняка фермеру важно соблюдать основные санитарные нормы содержания, обеспечивать ягнятам и овцематкам полноценное питание, предоставлять им возможность свободного выгула, а также вовремя обнаруживать и предупреждать любые признаки развития в стаде инфекций и других заболеваний.