Merino sheep: the most common breed of sheep in Australia

The Merino sheep is the most common breed in Australia. The merino species here account for about 80% of all sheep varieties. All over the world, the wool of representatives of this breed is in great demand for its qualities. Products made from such wool are light and at the same time warm.

Origin story

Mentions of this breed can be found in historical sources from the 12th century. The largest number of sheep was in Spain; sheep farmers here worked hard to develop suitable breeds. For crossbreeding, they took sheep imported from North Africa and Asia Minor. Throughout this period, Spain supplied all European countries with wool. And after all the Arabs were expelled from the peninsula, the Spaniards single-handedly distributed wool in huge quantities.

The result of the bred breed was magnificent and exceeded all expectations so much that it was even forbidden to export sheep from the country. However, smugglers ignored any prohibitions and exported Merinos to other countries for profit. Such an initiative was punishable by death; the ban was in effect until the 18th century.

After this, breeding was actively carried out in other countries, for example, in Sweden and Saxony. This breed came to Australia at the end of the 18th century. To this day, work to improve the performance of the breed does not stop; selection and breeding work is carried out constantly.

The active breeding of Merinos in Australia is due to the fact that sheep farmers have appreciated all the advantages of this breed. Thanks to this breed, Australia managed to become one of the world's largest producers of fine wool. There is also a large population of these sheep here, although they are now bred in almost every country.

Important! Merinos do not exist in their pure form, since in each country they were crossed with local breeds and given new qualities to the species. For example, in South Africa, emphasis was placed on increasing meat productivity.

Camel farm registration

Creating a camel breeding farm is generally not much different from building an ordinary cattle farm with cows. After making sure that the enterprise will be profitable, you need to register with the local tax office as a peasant farm (peasant farm). You can also limit yourself to the status of an individual entrepreneur, but this will not provide any significant advantages, since taxation under a simplified system is also available for peasant farms.

The peasant farm format has clear advantages over LLCs, since the state is more active in helping small farms through benefits and subsidies. In principle, if you plan to start very small, for example, half a dozen animals, then you can go the route of registering a personal subsidiary farm, which does not pay taxes at all.

In addition to registering with the tax office, you also need to coordinate your activities with the veterinary service. Obtaining a veterinary certificate can be quite a challenge as there are many different standards and requirements for the quality of milk and meat. Moreover, the requirements are not only federal, but also local, which only complicates the task of the entrepreneur. You will spend much less money, time and effort if you seek help in this matter from a competent, specialized lawyer from the very beginning.

In the best case, all bureaucratic issues will take you two to three months and 20-30 thousand rubles. But this is the most optimistic version.

Reasons for the popularity of the breed

Merinos have become popular in Australia and many other countries because of their undeniable advantages:

Unpretentiousness in maintenance and adaptability to new conditions, rapid acclimatization in a new place. Tolerance to different weather conditions. Merino sheep do not require any special diet; they calmly eat regular food.
The wool is delicate and thin, but at the same time warm. No other breed of sheep has a similar quality of wool.
Excellent meat in terms of taste, so the content of merino sheep yields double benefits.
Reproductive capacity of Merino sheep. Their females can give birth to up to 4 lambs at a time, despite the fact that lambing occurs only once a year. In addition, the survival rate of young animals is almost 100%.

Agriculture

For most of its history, Australia has been an agricultural country. The phrase “Australia rides on a sheep” meant that the country had a well-developed sheep industry. And today sheep breeding occupies not the last place in Australian livestock farming. Lamb exports today are worth more than 400 thousand Australian dollars. But breeding and selling cattle is now in first place in the country's agricultural sector. Last year, beef exports amounted to more than AU$900 thousand. The sale of its own dairy products is in 4th place in the country's exports.

(Sheep farming in Australia)

Australia produces large quantities of wool and cotton. Fish farming and aquaculture are growing every year. But poultry breeding and beekeeping are focused mainly on the domestic market.

(Australia's Amazing Blue Salt Ponds)

Like any state, Australia's economy directly depends on its geophysical and climatic conditions. With the exception of remoteness and frequent droughts, the country can overcome other problems painlessly, and Australia has long been solving these two shortcomings with few losses.

Disadvantages of the breed

Merinos have no disadvantages. Only not very good features that are inherent in most wool breeds stand out:

Frequent infestation by insects that parasitize thick fur. Keeping Merino sheep requires constant control of such parasites.
Intolerance to dampness. Rain or snow causes irreparable damage to thick fur. In addition, animals often develop various diseases from such precipitation. Therefore, Merino sheep need to be protected from high humidity both outdoors and indoors.

First steps

You shouldn’t expect super profits when starting a sheep business.

But it is possible to succeed in this industry with proper organization of the business, since a number of advantages in raising sheep are obvious:

Sheep farming as a business can bring a lot of income.

Unpretentiousness of animals to living conditions.
Undemanding to feed. Possibility of long-term keeping during the year on pasture.
Rapid growth of young animals.
High price for meat.

To start raising sheep, a small investment is enough. You shouldn't expect super-profits from sheep farming as a business: its profitability is only 15-25%. At the same time, this branch of livestock farming is an opportunity to receive a stable income without investing additional funds and high risks. The main advantage is the absence of large initial costs for organizing a business.

Business registration

An important question about where to start a business is the choice of the legal form of an agricultural enterprise. A novice entrepreneur planning to purchase a small number of sheep for breeding should register a personal subsidiary plot. This will make it possible not to pay taxes at the initial stage. The advantage of this form is also the ease of registration.

The disadvantages of this form of business organization is the impossibility of cooperation with retail chains and wholesale centers, since the products are not certified. Private household plots also cannot hire personnel; the size of rented land is limited for them (no more than 2 hectares).

When expanding a business, it is more advisable for an entrepreneur to organize or switch to an individual entrepreneur, LLC or KFC. With this form of organization, it becomes possible to expand pastures, choose a taxation system, organize partnerships and cooperate with retail outlets and wholesale warehouses.

You must begin registering an LLC or individual entrepreneur by contacting the tax authorities. An entrepreneur writes an application for registration under the OKVED code “Raising sheep and goats.”

In order to start a sheep breeding business, you must register your activity.

The advantage of the Unified Agricultural Tax is that in case of losses incurred in the current year, the payment will be reduced. The Unified Agricultural Tax rate is 6% of income minus expenses.

For the simplified tax system it depends on the type of regime:

15% - from income minus expenses.
6% - from gross income.

The main difference between the two schemes is the ability to take into account losses. Under the 15% simplified tax system, losses are not exempt from paying 1% tax on the profit received.

Business plan development

When developing a business plan, the main attention should be paid to studying the demand for sheep products. The sheep business is aimed at producing three products: meat, milk and wool.

The demand for sheep wool in Russia is not so great, so the main focus of the business should be meat production. Wool and milk in this case will be by-products (additional) products.

First of all, you need to decide what products you plan to sell.

The first point of the business plan should be an analysis of the market for meat products. Accordingly, it is necessary to choose meat sheep breeds for breeding. The rapid growth of young animals ensures maximum meat yield with minimal feed costs and a reduced risk of disease.

The purpose of drawing up a business plan is to visually represent the stages of business implementation and estimate costs.

The business plan should include the following points:

Grazing area in the warm season.
Feed costs in winter.
Room for overnight stays and maintenance during the cold season.
Required personnel.

Description of the breed

The main characteristics of such sheep:

Massive build, there are folds of skin on the muzzle in the nose area.
Males have large horns and are distinguished from females by a large fold of leather on the neck.
A distinctive feature is the thick fur; it covers the entire body of the animal, only the muzzle and legs below the knee remain visible.

These are characteristics common to all varieties of Merino. There are also qualities that only representatives of a certain species possess:

Australian merino wool produces the maximum amount of wool. The ancestors of this variety were brought from Spain.
Electoral is also a variety bred in Spain, but it has taken root in Germany. Wool productivity is slightly lower than that of the previous variety. An adult produces only up to 1 kg of fleece, since sheep have a short pile, not even exceeding 4 cm.
Negretti. These sheep were bred in Germany, they have a good wool yield - up to 4 kg per individual. Negretti differs from other Merinos in the smallest number of skin folds.
Mazaevskaya sheep. This is a variety developed in Russia. It is most widespread in the north of the Caucasus region. You can get 6-15 kg of wool per year from one sheep, but recently problems have begun with the breed: genetic deterioration has begun to be noted. Because of this, lambs are often born weak, making keeping them economically unprofitable.
The New Caucasian variety is the result of crossing Ramboulier and Mazaevsky sheep. These are powerful animals and have excellent performance indicators. Up to 6 kg of wool is sheared from a sheep per year, and up to 9 kg from a ram.
Rambouillet is a variety of Merino that has undergone a transformation in France. The average wool clipping rate is up to 5 kg per year.
Soviet merino was bred in the USSR by crossing Ramboulier and New Caucasian. These individuals not only produce excellent beige wool, but also a lot of meat.
Askan merino is the work of Ukrainian breeders. The animals are distinguished by their massive physique and excellent muscles. An adult ram weighs up to 120 kg, a female - up to 60 kg. Sheep produce beige or white wool. If you provide a high-quality diet, you can get a lot of meat at the same time.

Profitability calculation

With artificial insemination, from one hundred queens, 70-80 lambs are obtained in the summer; if lambing occurs in winter, then this figure decreases to 60-70 heads. Thus, for every 200 queens there are 150-170 lambs per year.

The costs of organizing a farm with a population of 200-300 sheep consist of the following items:

Land rent – 135,000-240,000 rubles per year.
Construction or repair of a pen - 225,000 rubles.
Salary to employees is 750,000 rubles per year.
The cost of purchasing sheep, at a price of 5,250 rubles per head, is 1,575,000 rubles.
Other expenses – 150,000 rubles per year.

Thus, the volume of initial investment is equal to 2,940,000 rubles.

Sale of lamb, at a price of 150 rubles/kg, for 50 heads - 750,000 rubles.
Sale of 100 live sheep, at a price of 7,500 rubles/head – 750,000 rubles.
Sale of wool – 180,000 rub.

Income for the year in this case will be 1,680,000 rubles. From this we can conclude that with a herd of 300 heads, the investment will pay off in less than three years.

In conclusion, it should be noted that sheep farming is a very flexible livestock sector, offering a large number of development options. With proper management of the business, sheep farming can certainly bring a stable and high income.

Sheep wool

Wool is the main product obtained from representatives of this breed. Merino fleece is valued in the market for its softness, delicacy and thermal qualities. The entire coat is shorn. After processing, the fiber acquires a minimum thickness - less than that of human hair.

Important! Treated wool does not absorb moisture, warms well and is highly durable.

Merino fleece has its own characteristics:

Softness, which is not inherent in every wool, as well as the ability to retain heat for a long time.
Clothes made from such wool are valued for their comfort in all weather conditions.
Merino wool contains a natural component, lanolin, which has an antibacterial effect.
Often, fleece is naturally white in color, which makes coloring much easier. This type of wool can easily be given any shade.
Merino wool produces three times more fabric than the fleece of any other breed of sheep.
Wool fabric does not absorb sweat and always smells good.

Merino wool is one of the elite types of yarn; it has many advantages.

Prospects for breeding in Russia

If we do not take into account certain regions of the Russian Federation, where lamb is the traditional food of the local population, in the whole country the food market has little interest in meat products of this type.

However, from the very beginning, Merino sheep were oriented not at food products, but at obtaining raw materials for the textile industry.

And these products are in quite high demand, since products made from merino sheep wool have a top level of quality. In addition, sheep wool, especially of high quality, is in considerable demand on the international market.

Thus, in terms of demand for products, Merino sheep are definitely of interest to domestic livestock farmers. The only question that remains is the organization of a sheep farm.

Taking into account the fact that sheep need pastures, their breeding will only be promising where there is an abundance of these pastures. But purchasing expensive land for these purposes in densely populated regions will be unprofitable.

It is important to understand that breeding sheep for wool only makes sense when the minimum required number of livestock is reached.

It makes no sense to keep two or three sheep on a farm, even for the sake of valuable merino wool. Economic feasibility begins to appear only with several dozen or even hundreds of heads.

Taking into account the above, the conclusion suggests itself that it makes sense to breed merino sheep only in the conditions of a farm or other agricultural enterprise. But raising these sheep on a private farmstead is futile.

Well, as for the specific breed that should be preferred, it all comes down to availability.

In Russia, it is easiest to purchase Soviet merino sheep, as well as the Azerbaijani mountain merino sheep breed. Our other varieties are too few in number, and therefore purchasing breeding stock will present certain difficulties.

Types of Australian Merinos

Let's look at the varieties of this breed:

Fine - this variety is best bred in areas that are not too hot; places with high humidity are also suitable. On the neck of such merino there are no folds of skin, it is even. The fur is distributed evenly throughout the body. It is thin - up to 15 microns, hence the increased demand and their cost. Males are not large in size, with an average weight of 70 kg.
Medium. These animals are larger, their average weight reaches 85 kg. The variety is recommended for breeding in forest-steppe zones. The thickness of the hairs is 15-23 microns. Such individuals have few skin folds.
Strong are large representatives of merino sheep in Australia, weighing up to 95 kg. They are used for both wool and meat. Fiber thickness is up to 24 microns.

Organization of production

Sheep. Sheep breeds are classified depending on the quality of their wool. There are four main groups of breeds:

fine fleece sheep;
semi-fine-fleece;
semi-coarse-haired;
coarse-haired.

The most popular breed for breeding in central Russia is considered to be the coarse-wooled Romanov sheep. It is usually raised for meat.

Staff. To calculate the required number of workers, one must proceed from the fact that there should be no more than 300 sheep per shepherd. He must have at least two auxiliary workers at his disposal. In addition, the services of visiting specialists will be required, primarily a veterinarian and, as necessary, milkmaids, shearers, and machine operators. It should be noted that in an industry such as sheep farming, narrow specialization of workers is possible only for large-scale production. Owners of a small herd, especially at the initial stage, usually combine several working specialties.

Content

Successful breeding of Merino sheep is possible only if certain rules are followed:

The basis of the diet of any variety of merino sheep is fresh and juicy grass. Therefore, it is necessary to provide such animals with pasture. As soon as the grass grows to 8 cm in the spring, the sheep should be sent out to pasture. Animals can be released into the meadows when the dew has disappeared from the grass. Sometimes the morning coolness and dampness from dew cause animals to catch colds.
During the summer, sheep should be driven under a shelter at night and during the hottest hours of the day so they can rest in the shade. Sheep must be in the pasture until 22:00.
In autumn, grazing time begins to be gradually reduced, reaching 4 hours a day. For this period of the year, the best grazing hours are from 11-13 pm to 15-17 pm.
In summer there are many different insects in the grass, so repellents are used to protect the animals.
In wet weather, it is necessary to pay attention to the prevention of foot rot. To do this, animals' hooves must be inspected periodically.

For proper care, you must follow these recommendations from farmers:

It is necessary to regularly vaccinate livestock - this will protect livestock from epidemics.
The basis of the diet of any variety of merino sheep is plant food. In winter, you can include root vegetables and vegetables in your diet. Potatoes, carrots and beets are good. Also in winter, ewes need to be given vitamin and mineral supplements.
Even in winter, Merino sheep can be kept outside, moving into a closed pen only during periods of severe frost. It is necessary to shelter sheep from snowfall so that their thick wool does not get wet. This can quickly lead to parasites.
When grazing, sheep find their own food. Herbs such as alfalfa, clover, wheatgrass, wormwood and others are good for them. Even staying on poor pastures is preferable for merino sheep to being kept in a cramped pen. Outdoor exposure minimizes the risk of parasite infection.
When setting up a pen for merino sheep, you need to follow some rules: it must be dry, warm and ventilated.
Regular bathing of sheep in special baths prevents wool from matting. Veterinarian examinations are also necessary.
In winter, in the pen, sheep are fed hay and straw - this is the basis of winter nutrition. If you feed barley, sheep quickly develop obesity and, therefore, productivity decreases. It is better to give bran and bean flour.

Where to begin?

Breeding sheep at home involves the following sequential actions:

Search for a suitable plot and rent or buy it. Of course, it is advisable to have your own land for such purposes, which will significantly reduce the start-up investment. But today you can easily find empty abandoned land for sale or rent at an affordable price. It is better to think in advance about the volume of the future farm and the number of heads in the herd in order to correctly calculate its size.
Then you need to arrange paddocks and pastures. In order for the grass to have time to grow and recover, it is advisable to divide the entire territory into several fenced areas, and graze animals alternately in each of them, while sowing the remaining zones.
In order to organize a sheep breeding business on legal terms, you will need to register with the tax service. In this case, you can register an individual entrepreneur, LLC or peasant farm. Each option has its pros and cons, so it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the nuances of conducting business under different forms in advance.
Even with a herd of 300-500 head, additional labor will be required, so find suitable farm workers who will care for the animals on a daily basis. These must be responsible people experienced in this matter. Also, hire a veterinarian or at least establish contact with a private practitioner.
At first, you will have to purchase young stock, that is, the livestock from which you will breed the required number of rams for future slaughter. For their rapid growth and reproduction of healthy offspring, it is necessary to provide them with high-quality and nutritious food.

If you are new to this kind of business, then be sure to first, on a theoretical basis, need to familiarize yourself with complete information about breeding, keeping, nutrition and other nuances of sheep farming. It is not enough just to decide whether it is profitable or not to engage in this business, you need to understand that each animal has its own needs and only by correctly following the technology can you breed them.

Requirements for the shed

Even if the Merinos spend a minimum amount of time indoors, the place still needs to be properly arranged. Like any other sheep, Merinos do not tolerate drafts and dampness. This means you need to pay attention to sealing the room and creating ventilation.

The comfortable temperature for them is from +8 to +12 degrees. If it is stuffy, this is also dangerous for the sheep. In the rooms where ewes and cubs are kept, it should be a little warmer - about +15 degrees.

In the walking yard near the shed you need to equip feeders and drinking bowls (access to water must be constant). It is important to avoid crowding in the shed. For one adult animal, 1.5-2 m2 of space is required, for a lamb - about 0.7 m2. If a sheep is kept with its young, they need about 2.2-2.5 m2.

What beginners need to know about sheep farming

Breeding and keeping sheep for beginners at home is based on creating a business plan. This will make it possible to calculate the financial costs of purchasing sheep and rams, as well as choosing a pasture location and constructing a sheepfold.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account all risks, and calculate the probable income from the activity and payback. Having determined all possible factors, you can evaluate the profitability of breeding these animals.

Then it is necessary to select a place for grazing animals and build a sheepfold, in which, possibly, the animals will be kept during the winter season. Experts recommend for 10 sheep with lambs a barn measuring forty square meters. It is necessary to take into account that in winter the temperature in the sheepfold must be maintained at least 12 degrees Celsius.

The room must also be well protected from drafts and have a ventilation hole. Having determined the maintenance requirements, you can proceed to purchasing rams and sheep

Experienced farmers advise paying attention to the bright Romanov breed

Today the Romanov breed is very popular. Reasons for breeding and maintaining this population:

Romanovskaya sheep have thick wool and even during severe frosts, the costs of their maintenance are minimal.
This breed of sheep is distinguished by its fertility. The litter of one ewe is approximately 3–5 lambs per lamb.
When raising sheep, large amounts of feed are not required to maintain the animals. Animals can feed on coarse straw, moss, dead grass and leaves.
Sheep and rams grow quickly, so the farmer will receive meat within 6 months. A one-year-old ram can reach a weight of up to 100 kg.
The products of this breed are characterized by high quality. Therefore, raising sheep at home brings significant profits and quickly pays off.
By the age of five months, animals undergo puberty. Throughout the year, Yarka exhibits sexual activity, as a result of which the tribe quickly increases.

A farmer who has decided to purchase this breed needs to decide what he wants to get from the sheep? If the main task is set, you will need to calculate: the need to build a barn or will you have enough sheds; amount of feed; how many sheep and rams you need to purchase.

Please note that it is advisable to buy adult individuals, as their appearance will make it possible to determine compliance with the standards. Naturally, you can save money and purchase young animals, however, in this case you may be mistaken with productivity

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QNC-R4t1d84

Conditions for keeping sheep

Romanov breeds are the most convenient for household use, as they are easy to maintain. In the winter season, one animal requires up to five square meters. and for walking three sq. m. indoors. The walking area must contain feeders and a canopy.

When you have a premises, you need to prepare it before bringing in animals. In the future, the barn needs to be thoroughly cleaned and the trash thrown out. Then disinfection is carried out with a special solution. You can purchase this drug at a veterinary pharmacy. Be sure to read the instructions before use. After treatment with this product, the sheepfold must be weathered for at least a week.

If there is no sheepfold, a room for breeding animals must be built. The barn must be warm. This is necessary so that newborn lambs do not die

Great attention should be paid to ventilation and humidity

The floor can be left earthen, made of clay or planks, it’s up to you. Romanov sheep do not tolerate dampness, so you will need to replace the bedding regularly, taking into account contamination. For this you can use sawdust or straw.

Haircut and bathing

During the first year of life, Merinos are not cut; the first cut is possible only from the beginning of the second year. This is done once a year - in the spring. Before shearing, it is necessary to inspect the sheep to ensure that the wool is dry and clean. Sheep are usually sheared together. One person holds the animal, the other cuts the animal. During the procedure, the entire fleece is removed without missing a single section.

Throughout the life of Merinos, as well as before shearing (if the wool is dirty), bathing is recommended. But there are cases when swimming will be mandatory:

The period when 2-3 weeks have passed since the haircut.
When the lambs are separated from their mother, she must be bathed.
In extreme summer heat, animals are washed more often; the need for this is determined by the degree of contamination of the sheep.

Pits with water can be used for bathing; the herd is driven through them. The depth of the holes should be such that the water level in them reaches the neck of a low sheep. You can bathe sheep in large containers of water. But even washing with a hose will be effective.

Slaughter

To do this, select extra rams and females over 4 years old. The procedure must be carried out regularly, as this results in renewal of the herd and improvement in health indicators. Several people do this together. To quickly drain the blood, the carcass is tied to a crossbar.

After this, the skin is removed and the meat is cut

It is important to put it in the refrigerator immediately, as the product spoils quickly. If, in addition to the carcass, you want to sell wool and skin, then you should first carry out a haircut

Before slaughter, the animal is not given food, limited only to water. Within a day, the digestive tract has time to cleanse itself naturally.

Reproduction

Mating is possible when both the female and the male have already reached their second year of life. To do this, you can simply put them in a separate enclosure for 2 days. This is often enough for fertilization. If there is no pregnancy, then the procedure is repeated after 2 weeks.

Pregnancy in female Merino sheep lasts 20-22 weeks. Most often, childbirth occurs on its own; sometimes assistance is required. A person needs to rupture the amniotic sac and help the lamb get out. Newborn lambs are viable; already 20 minutes after lambing they stand on their feet and try to drink their mother’s milk.

Over the next 3 months, the lamb is kept near its mother and its main food is milk. But from 1 month onwards, babies are given complementary foods. For example, cereals, hay or grass, as well as mixed feed are suitable.

Room

Before purchasing livestock, a novice farmer must set up a good sheepfold where his sheep will live. It is not enough to build a regular shed. The sheepfold must meet a number of requirements:

Where adults will live, the air temperature should be +7 degrees, and in the section for keeping babies the thermometer should rise to +10 degrees.
The sheepfold must have windows; they must make up 1/15 of the total space.
Each animal must have its own personal space: for an adult this is 2.5-3 meters and at least 0.7 meters for a lamb.
The floor must be hard and warm. It would be better if it was made of wood.
The gate where the sheep will go out to pasture or for a walk should be quite wide so that the animals do not harm each other during a crush.

As in any living space, it is necessary to regularly do airing and general cleaning, take care of the ventilation system and be sure to designate a place where lambing will take place, as well as places where the sheep can be with the offspring so that no one disturbs them.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hxe9NKdjars

Advice from experienced sheep farmers

To form a breeding herd, it is necessary to purchase a healthy, mature inseminator. For 60-70 sheep, 1 ram is enough, but for stimulation it needs competitors in the herd (2-3 males)

When choosing a breeding animal, pay attention, in general, to the general physical condition. He must have a correct bite and no signs of anemia, tuberculosis, or hoof rot

The sexual characteristics of the ram should be clearly expressed, without traces of atrophy or disease.

After deciding to raise sheep, you should get acquainted with local sheep breeders and consult about breeds, feed, and living conditions. In this case, you should decide on the form of organization of the economy (LH, LLC, peasant farm), on which the amount of subsidies received and the payment of taxes depend.