Meat sheep farming is a common practice, and with the increasing demand for meat, it has become a field of growing interest. However, to successfully raise meat sheep and achieve high yields, it's essential to master the key technologies of meat sheep production. So, what are the key technologies for improving meat sheep production? Let's find out together.
Key Technologies for Improving Meat Sheep Production
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Implementing Hybridization: Using Small Tail Han sheep as the maternal breed and introducing high-quality meat sheep as the paternal breed to produce hybrid fattened lambs for slaughter in the same year. This approach not only utilizes hybrid vigor to improve meat production performance but also preserves the excellent characteristics of Small Tail Han sheep.
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Late Pregnancy Supplementation for Ewes: 80% of the fetus's weight gain occurs in the last two months of pregnancy. Supplementing ewes during this period can compensate for nutritional deficiencies and ensure proper fetal development. Late pregnancy supplementation results in higher birth and weaning weights for lambs and ensures ample postpartum milk production in ewes.
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Lamb Feeding: Lambs gain weight most rapidly within the first two months, primarily feeding on milk. Therefore, ensuring lambs have sufficient access to maternal milk is crucial. After three months, as ewe milk production declines and lamb intake increases, supplemental feeding for lambs becomes necessary. Initially, provide lambs with high-quality forage to develop their rumen and increase feed intake, promoting healthy growth.
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Timely Weaning: The age for weaning lambs should be determined based on lamb development and ewe reproductive characteristics. Well-developed lambs or ewes with a biannual lambing cycle can be weaned earlier, while poorly developed lambs or ewes with a single lambing cycle should have extended nursing periods. Generally, weaning lambs when they reach 60-90 days of age and weigh over 15 kilograms is appropriate, as lambs can fully utilize forage at this stage.
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Timely Slaughter: Lamb growth follows a certain pattern, with faster growth and higher feed conversion rates in the early stages and slower growth and reduced feed conversion rates later on. Therefore, slaughtering at the optimal time after a certain period of fattening is necessary to achieve the best fattening benefits.
Above are the key technologies for improving meat sheep production. To maximize meat sheep productivity, it's crucial to grasp specific growth techniques and adapt feeding and fattening methods according to local conditions and seasonal variations.
