Caucasian and North Caucasian sheep breeds: description and characteristics

The Caucasian and North Caucasian sheep breeds were bred in the Stavropol Territory. Now these animals are bred mainly in the south of Russia or in neighboring countries with a similar climate. Breeding sheep of these breeds is a profitable undertaking due to their high productivity in both meat and wool.

Caucasian breed of sheep

North Caucasian sheep but of British blood

Fine-fleece queens were crossed with rams of the English breeds Romney Marsh and Lincoln

. Careful work was carried out over 16 years, experts compared the results and came to the conclusion that half-breed Lincoln rams have more rounded shapes, large sizes, a long body and excellent wool quality. It was with them that further work was carried out.

In April 1960, the North Caucasian meat and wool breed of sheep was finally approved. Its main characteristics: high rates of meat and wool productivity, large growth, strong skeleton, regular rounded shape. North Caucasians do not grow horns.

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The body, head up to the eye line and legs up to the carpal and hock joints are overgrown with hair. On average, 9-13 kg of wool is sheared from rams, and 5.8-6.5 kg from sheep. Adult rams reach a weight of 105-128 kg, lactating females - 139 kg, the average weight of lambs is 65-70 kg. By the age of 4 months, lambs weigh 30-33 kg. The slaughter yield of meat is quite high - more than 50%.

Zoological classification

The zoological classification of rams is based on the length and shape of the tail. This is a conditional systematization of animals belonging to different subgroups. It is also called morphological.

Classification according to zoological principle:

• short-tailed with a skinny tail (northern, Romanovskaya);
• long-tailed with a skinny tail (fine-fleece and semi-fine-fleece breeds);
• short-tailed with fatty deposits in the tail area (Telenginskaya, Buryatskaya, Kulundinskaya);
• long-tailed with fatty deposits in the tail area (Kuchugurovskaya, Georgian, Karakul);
• fat-tailed breeds with a short, underdeveloped tail (Asian fat-tailed breeds).

Summer: features of keeping the North Caucasian breed of sheep

The North Caucasian breed of sheep is unpretentious, has good health and is in great demand. In the warm season, the main diet of animals is green grass

from pastures. Caring for them is quite simple: it is important to provide the sheep with a shaded area to rest during the hot period and to give them fresh, clean water on time. At any time of the year, it is imperative to provide animals with the necessary amount of minerals. To do this, you need to put table salt and chalk in a separate feeder; it would be a good idea to periodically add bone meal.

We cut according to schedule

The North Caucasian breed of sheep is not subject to seasonal shedding, but this does not mean that they can be sheared at any time. At the end of winter and beginning of spring, the wool of semi-fine wool sheep becomes dry and hard. This is due to the lack of fat in the fleece. In addition, the fatness of the sheep is of great importance - the better fed they are, the smoother and denser the skin, and the better fat production.

The optimal time for shearing adult semi-fine wool sheep is spring. Moreover, it is best to wait a few weeks after the animals are released to pasture.

During this period, the fleece will be cleared of the bedding material on which the sheep stood during the cold season, and a sufficient amount of grease will be produced so as not to damage the skin and wool during shearing. Spring lambs are sheared for the first time in the following spring. During winter lambing (in January or February), young animals can be shorn for the first time in the year of birth from mid to late August.

Business plan for sheep breeding: accounting for expenses and income

For example, you can take an average farm with a herd of 500 sheep:

1. For such a livestock you need 25 hectares of land, which will be divided into plots and sown with grass throughout the spring-summer season;
2. The price for renting land in the middle zone is from 100,000 rubles per month;
3. Purchase of livestock – from 100,00,000 rubles (from 5,000 rubles for a purebred sheep);
4. Feed in winter - from 180,000 rubles.

In the income column, the main item will be the sale of meat. The price per kilogram starts from 100 rubles. From selling the meat of 100 sheep you can earn up to 1,000,000 rubles. Thus, the profitability of the business will be 25%. The farm will reach self-sufficiency after 2 years of operation.

The following will help increase profitability:

• increasing the number of animals to 1000 or more;
• shifting the slaughter schedule closer to the beginning of spring, when the cost of meat increases significantly;
• meat processing (stew or sausage production workshop, smokehouse);
• sale of sheep milk and products made from it (primarily cheese);
• sale of hides and wool to wholesale suppliers. The profit will be small, but stable and will not require additional financial investments;
• sale of breeding young animals.

Sheep breeding as a business: features of product sales

Most often, lamb is sold on the market, trading it personally or with the help of hired sellers. It is not profitable to hand over meat for processing. Meat processing plants prefer to work with large farms, and the wholesale price of meat is significantly lower than the market price.

A promising option is working with restaurants. High-quality mutton and lamb are in great demand, so long-term contracts can be concluded. An equally convenient client is the owner of a small meat processing shop, who relies on expensive and high-quality products.

An approximate business plan for breeding geese at home and step-by-step instructions for creating your own goose farm are in this article.

Master meat processing yourself. Lamb can be smoked, stewed meat, sausages, and snack sets can be prepared from it. Processed meat lasts longer, and its price increases significantly. You can sell products via the Internet, private stores or markets.

Caucasian and North Caucasian sheep

The Caucasian and North Caucasian sheep breeds were bred in the Stavropol Territory. Now these animals are bred mainly in the south of Russia or in neighboring countries with a similar climate. Breeding sheep of these breeds is a profitable undertaking due to their high productivity in both meat and wool.

Caucasian breed of sheep

Caucasian breed of sheep

Caucasian sheep were bred through selective breeding in the Ipatovsky district of the Stavropol Territory. The work on their creation was carried out by breeders at two state farms at once - “Ipatovsky” and “Bolshevik”, and it began in 1924.

Three breeds of sheep with excellent characteristics were taken as a basis:

• American ramboulier;
• merino novocaucasian;
• Ascanian.

From their ancestors, the animals inherited good hair growth, evenness of fleece, as well as a dense physique and height.

Description

Caucasian sheep are quite large: adult rams weigh about 100-115 kg, and ewes weigh 55-65 kg. They have the following characteristics:

• the body is proportional, the constitution is strong;
• the head is small, erect;
• the sheep are polled, the rams have horns;
• the body is elongated, the muscles are well developed;
• the neck is strong, folded;
• the back line is straight;
• the sacrum is wide;
• legs are sinewy and strong;
• the wool is thick, long (7-10 cm), closed-type fleece;
• the hairiness of the head, belly and legs is good;
• cream-colored grease.

Productivity

Sheep of the Caucasian breed produce high quality wool, meat and milk. The average annual wool harvest from a sheep reaches 9 kg. It is possible to remove less wool from the queens - 3.5 kg, but it is assigned a quality level of 64, while the fleece taken from males is given a quality level of 58-60.

High quality wool is obtained from sheep of the Caucasian breed

Shearing indicators

The wool productivity of sheep is determined by the volume of shearing and production of pure wool, as well as the quality characteristics of the fibers.

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The table shows the shearing indicators of the described sheep breeds:

North Caucasian breed of sheep

Breeders from the Stavropol Territory also worked on the creation of this breed. The work began during the Great Patriotic War, in 1943, and lasted almost 25 years. In 1958, the North Caucasian sheep breed was registered. The genotype was based on Lincoln and English Romney March rams. They were crossed with local fine-wool sheep. As a result, the resulting mixture was divided into two types:

1. Descendants of the Romney Marsh are type A. These animals have thinner and shorter hair (up to 9.5 cm).
2. Descendants of Lincolns are type B. The fleece quality of these sheep is lower, but the wool itself is longer.

In 1952, breeders set a goal to improve the quality characteristics of the wool of North Caucasian sheep classified as type B, and they succeeded.

Description

The descendants of Lincolns are tall and large animals with well-developed muscle mass, with long and soft wool of high quality, which is used for the production of clothing.

• ram weight – 90-100 kg, ewe – 56-69 kg;
• The height of the male reaches 75 cm, the uterus – up to 70 cm;
• elongated body;
• the back is flat, wide;
• the chest is well developed, protruding slightly forward;
• limbs are muscular, of medium length;
• the skull is wide, the profile is straight;
• the head is well covered;
• crimped wool, white, long fibers - 12-13 cm;
• fineness quality – 56-60;
• both the rams and the ewes are hornless.

Productivity

North Caucasian sheep show high productivity in two directions at once - meat and wool. The average daily weight gain of animals is 200-230 grams. By 12 months, the weight of sheep and rams reaches 85% of the weight of an adult animal. Slaughter yield of meat is 50-52%. The degree of meatiness is 77-78%. North Caucasian ewes increase their livestock population by 140% per year. They lamb once a year.

From an adult lamb it is possible to obtain up to 12 kilograms of wool annually, from a uterus - half as much. The fleece is distinguished by its uniformity, uniformity and density. It has a staple-braid structure. The fibers are crimped along their entire length. The quality of fineness is level 56-60.

Attention! The clean yield of washed wool from North Caucasian sheep exceeds 55%.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of the breed include:

• high quality fleece and good wool cutting;
• fertility of breeding stock;
• yield of meat from a carcass after slaughter.