Sheep belong to precocious animals that reach puberty six months after birth. Animals are easy to maintain, because they are unpretentious in food, listen to the owners and quickly enter into sexual life, bringing offspring.
Features and signs
Earlier, in England and New Zealand, sheep’s wool was considered a luxury and was very appreciated, but those days passed, and the meat breed of sheep became a popular replacement for it. They have tender and tasty meat that does not have a specific smell.
And in the period of the USSR, people very rarely ate lamb, because it had a specific smell and taste, but this concerned woolly breeds. In those days, mankind sought to breed sheep solely because of wool and sheepskin. During the collapse of the USSR, almost all the sheep suffered, which, due to lack of money, began to be slaughtered and sold.
But even in spite of this, the sheep managed to survive, the meat breeds fell into the cycle and became popular in Russia. To this day, the Gorky breed needs specialists in order not to disappear completely.
The difference between meat breeds from others is that they quickly gain weight. A lamb that has reached the age of four months weighs about half the adult cattle. A lamb will weigh 90% of an adult per year.
Each breed of sheep is somewhat different from the other, but there are general signs by which it can be understood that a sheep is really a meat breed:
- The physique is large, the muscles are well developed.
- The bones are thin.
- Thin skin with a thick fat layer.
- A large amount of meat from one sheep.
- Good fertility, and it begins as early as 3-4 months.
- Meat breeds are not fastidious in food.
- High immunity.
- Great stamina.
Sheep mothers have a lot of milk, which they feed their offspring for a long time. The lambs that are on the choke grow at a high speed, and their mortality is reduced to zero.
Domestic breeds
Living in the private sector, it is beneficial to raise sheep of meat breed, as they are unpretentious in keeping, grow quickly, have great fruitfulness and have a lot of meat, which is quite suitable for daily use in food.
Romanovskaya
Romanovsk sheep appeared two centuries ago, have a large amount of meat and high fruitfulness. A female can bring three lambs in two years, the average fertility rate is 300%. Lambs that are sucked in at 6 months already weigh 30 kilograms. As for adults, the weight of males reaches one hundred kilograms, and females 50 kilograms.
Sheep physique is strong, muscles are well developed, and bones are powerful. The main features of the Romanovskaya breed are humpback and lack of horns. They can grow in various climatic conditions, are unpretentious in maintenance.
Kuibishevskaya
The Kuybyshev breed of sheep, also known as the Romney March, was bred two centuries ago in England, after which it was brought to Russia. During the long journey, the sheep suffered many changes in the climate and felt great, therefore, it is resistant to climate change. They can even graze on pastures with high humidity, hooves do not suffer from rot, and immunity protects against fungal diseases. The coat is sinuous and covers the entire body, from the eyes to the joints. The female grows up to 60 kilograms, and males up to 100 kilograms.
Katumskaya smooth-haired
The katumsky breed of sheep differs from other meat breeds in fast weight gain. They are also called broiler sheep, because from them you can get a lot of tasty and juicy meat. Animals have high immunity, short hair, high fecundity and milkiness, are not fastidious in food. It is not necessary to shear such sheep, since the undercoat that appears in the winter itself disappears in the spring.
The weight that an adult male can gain is 110 kilograms, and a female 80 kilograms. The body is inflated, muscles are strong, horns are absent, bones are powerful and strong.
Gorkovskaya
The Gorky breed of sheep was bred a century ago, their trunk resembles a barrel, their legs are massive, and their muzzle is short. Apart from the legs and head, the coat has a white color. Adult males can gain weight up to 130 kilograms, and females up to 80 kilograms. They quickly adapt to any climatic conditions, have great endurance and fruitfulness. During suction, females can produce about 150 liters for the entire lactation period. The Gorky breed has one minus - it gives little hair, because the rune is heterogeneous.
North Caucasian
This common breed has valuable wool, great meatiness and excellent survival in any, even harsh weather conditions. Sheep have an attractive appearance: wide bones, large hips and neck. The weight that males can reach is 110 kilograms, and females reach 65 kilograms. In the North Caucasian sheep, soft rudiments of the horns are visible, since the bone is absent. If the cattle walks well, it can add 300 grams of body weight per day.
West Siberian
This breed of sheep was bred in the North Caucasus. It is an interesting fact that there are no analogues to these sheep, since scientists spent 18 years to get a West Siberian breed of sheep, English scientists also helped them. This breed was obtained due to the crossing of the Kuban sheep and Siberian sheep. The main difference from other breeds is that you can get more meat from them than from other breeds of sheep.
With one individual, you can get 50% meat, when in other breeds this indicator drops to 40%. Another feature of them compared with others is their high fecundity. Already five-month-old lambs will weigh 40 kilograms, an adult male 120 kilograms, and a female 70 kilograms.
Foreign breeds
Equally popular are foreign breeds of sheep. But they also have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Texel
The breed began to be bred in Roman times, and the Texel breed was completely bred only at the end of the 19th century. The weight that adult males can reach is 130 kilograms; for females it is slightly lower - 125 kilograms. Lambs quickly gain weight and at 5 months can weigh 60 kilograms. Carcasses have a lot of muscle tissue and tender meat, which also cooks quickly. This breed is not whimsical in feeding.
Prekos
The breed of French origin Prekos is popular and bred them all over the world. Sheep are barrel-shaped, strong, have high immunity, are unpretentious in feeding and bear good fruit. A newborn lamb weighs 5 kilograms, while a four-month-old lamb weighs 35 kilograms of live weight. An adult male weighs approximately 130 kilograms, while slaughtering out 55 kilograms of meat. Females weigh 65 kilograms at the age of one.
Barbados Black-bellied
The meat is a short-haired breed that was bred in the Caribbean. There is also a horned breed bred in America, it happened due to crossbreeding with the ramboule breed. The size of the sheep is medium, the bones are strong, and their color is dark red. And males have a mane on their chest and neck, hair length is 12-16 cm. The weight of an adult male is up to 90 kilograms, and females up to 60 kilograms. Lambs are born with a weight of 3 kilograms, by the age of three months they reach 17 kilograms. Females in two years bring three lambs, and there is a lot of milk in females of this breed, which provides daily increases in lamb weight of about 250 grams.
Wiltshire horned
Woolshire, a hairless breed of sheep, was bred in England in 1923, and is currently bred in North Wales. There is no wool in the sheep; instead, white skin is covered with a stiff, horse-like hair. The rams have strong and well-developed horns. Adult males weigh about 100 kilograms, and females weigh 60 kilograms. Females become good mothers and differ from some breeds in a large amount of milk.
Dorper
This breed appeared in the last century in South Africa, thanks to the crossing of the following breeds:
- Dorset Horn
- Fatty Persian blackheads.
- Greasy-tailed.
Also, the breed of merino was crossed, from which a pure white color appeared in the sheep. Due to the severe weather conditions in South Africa, droppers had to survive in extreme cold and with minimal feeding. Thanks to this, they have developed excellent immunity, resistance to diseases and they can tolerate the most severe, cold and snowy winters. The same applies to summer, droppers can even live in the summer for two days without water.
The face of this breed is shortened, so the head seems small and cuboid. Although their legs are short, they are firm, as they can support their own weight. Males can grow up to 140 kilograms, and females up to 95 kilograms. Lambs gain weight quickly and at the age of three months they already weigh 25 kilograms, and by the age of six months their weight is 70 kilograms.
Zwartbles
A century ago, in the Netherlands, they brought out such a meat breed of sheep as zwartles, in which meat is lean, tender and very tasty. The weight that adult males can reach is 130 kilograms, and females 100 kilograms. Thanks to the thick coat, sheep perfectly survive even the most frosty and snowy winters, winds and can graze in moisture. They are also unpretentious in feeding.
Breeds of neighboring countries
There are breeds of neighboring countries of Russia, which are also considered meat and common in rural livestock.
Sarajinskaya
The cattle themselves are white, and their legs and head are red, and there are also dark sheep. The cattle are large, the bones are heavy, and the body itself is short. Males have small rounded hard horns. Adult males weigh up to 90 kilograms, and females up to 75 kilograms of live weight. The weight of the lambs just born is about 4.5 kilograms; by the age of four months, their weight reaches 40 kilograms. The sheep of the Sarajin breed have lard, tender meat and wool with which professionals make carpets.
Tajik
The breed was bred in Tajikistan by crossing the Sarajj breed of males and the Hissar breed of females in 1963. The individuals are large, have solid developed paws and a large physique. Wool is similar to a braid, having good density, shine and durability. An adult male grows up to 150 kilograms, and a female up to 120 kilograms of live weight. Lambs are born with a weight of 4 kilograms, and by the age of five months their weight is already 40 kilograms.
Gissar
The bones in this breed of sheep are wide, the body is disproportionate. The legs of adults are long and thin, but perfectly support their weight. This meaty species of sheep is the largest in the world, its growth reaches 85 centimeters, and the weight of the male is as much as 190 kilograms, and females up to 90 kilograms. The Hissar breed does not have horns, it also applies to wool, it is very small, the physique is large, and the legs are long and dry, but most importantly hardy. Uterine milk is high, which cannot be said about fertility. In their wool is a natural antiseptic - lanolin.
Edilbaevskaya
This breed was bred for the first time in Kazakhstan, now they are bred in the southern directions of Russia. An adult male can reach 120 kilograms, while a female - 75 kilograms of live weight. Lambs grow quickly and are ready for slaughter already in four to five months. The Edilbaevsky breed of sheep is not whimsical in keeping and feeding.
Jaidara
Sheep is kept for the sake of fat and meat, the coat of the Jaydar is coarse. The constitution of the sheep is large, the legs are short, and the body is stretched. An adult male weighs 110 kilograms, and a female 60 kilograms of live weight. Newborn lambs are born with a weight of 3.5-4 kilograms, and by the age of four months they reach 45 kilograms.
Kalmyk
The cattle of the Kalmyk breed are tall, large bones, musculature well developed, rough coat. Sheep are found on pastures year-round, therefore they differ in endurance and activity. The meat of this breed is appreciated only in young animals, as the meat acquires a greasy smell and taste as it grows. An adult male weighs about 100 kilograms, and a female 75 kilograms. A lamb weighs 40 kilograms by the age of four months.
Advantages and disadvantages of meat breeds of sheep
The meaty breeds of sheep have their pros and cons, we start from the positive side:
- Meat breeds of sheep have a lot of meat and fat.
- They can graze year-round in the open.
- Hardy to extreme temperature changes, feel good both in summer and in winter.
- Even if the diet is poor, the sheep will still have a lot of fat and meat.
- Unpretentious in content, accustomed to any food.
And now for the cons:
- Some breeds of wool are either not at all or very little.
- The meat of the Kalmyk breed is valued only as young, if you let the lamb grow, then the meat will be tough and smell like lard.
Sheep meat breeds are grown both on farms and at home to produce tasty, fresh and juicy meat. Meat breeds are unpretentious in content, are characterized by high fruitfulness and a large yield of meat. There are actually a lot of meat breeds, it remains only to make a choice.