Otara - what is it? Lexical meaning of the word. Maintenance and formation of the flock

Formation of flocks

A flock is a large flock of sheep created by man for their joint maintenance and grazing.

A flock is formed from young lambs. When they grow to a certain age and their mother’s milk becomes insufficient for them, they are gradually united into a herd and taken out to pasture.

For the first couple of weeks, young lambs are isolated from adults. They are kept in a separate pen. When forming flocks, the following factors are taken into account:

• Gender of the animal.
• Age.
• Breed.
• Class.

On large farms there may be flocks formed depending on the color, origin, size of the individual, etc.

Lambs are divided into flocks several months before the next mating of the animals. Before this, the sheep must undergo a medical examination by a veterinarian, receive all necessary vaccinations and get rid of parasites. As a rule, all these procedures are carried out in one day. Otara is a well-coordinated team. Therefore, sheep cope with all procedures quickly, clearly and in order.

Keeping in a pen

The technology of the pen system means permanent human control of the flock by a person. The grazing area is fenced with barbed wire and divided into zones.

It is possible to use ordinary wire, but using a weak electrical signal.

It must be understood that the size of the pen must be such that the sheep can graze in it for several days - from 5 to 7 days. Next, the flock is driven to another pen, equipped in a similar way.

Fences restrict freedom of movement

When the area is freed from herd movement, it is advisable to fertilize the area and, if possible, water it. Sheep can be released into the cage only after the grass cover has been restored. Therefore, for pens in cages, it is necessary to use cultivated plants that are resistant to mechanical stress, grow quickly and well nourish the animal’s body.

One minus spoils the picture - quite large areas will be required for fencing, which is an additional expense for farmers. For many in the first stages of working in sheep farming, such a system will seem expensive. Additional problems with this type of grazing are related to monitoring the integrity of the wire - it can wear out or be stolen.

Animals are not in the stall 24/7

A sheep pen is a structure that is mandatory for every sheep farm. The flock should be placed so that the animals do not experience discomfort. In a special article we will talk about what options are available for housing sheep, how to properly prepare a place for a flock to live, and what nuances may arise during construction.

How many sheep are in the flock?

A flock, the definition of the term does not contain specific numbers, consists of many heads of small cattle.

The number of sheep in a herd depends on the size of the farm. The type of herd also affects the number. For example:

• A flock of adult walleyes can reach up to 1000 heads.
• The breeding flock is 850 heads.
• The flock of little lambs is 600-700 heads.
• Breeding lambs are kept the same number as lambs - 600-700 heads.
• The flock of producers is 100 heads.
• Sampler rams – 250 heads.

There are always more production animals in a flock than breeding ones.

Beware of the Rams

But with rams you should keep your eyes open, since they, as the owners of the harem, will strive to dominate and show their superiority at the first convenient opportunity.

This behavior is especially evident during the hunting season. The rams begin to butt heads and behave aggressively, both towards each other and towards humans. And while sheep and lambs are cute and pleasant to the touch, a blow from a ram's horns can easily cripple a grown man. Therefore, you should never lose sight of the rams, much less turn your back on them.

Keeping a flock of sheep

Keeping sheep costs farmers much less than keeping any other animals. Sheep are able to find food for themselves even in the remote steppe, which cannot be said about cows, which need high-quality green pastures.

These animals are also unpretentious in housing. The flock spends most of its time in the fresh air, which helps to increase the amount of wool.

At night, the herd is led into pens under shelters to protect them from attacks by predators. In winter, sheep are kept in sheepfolds. They do not represent complex architectural structures. This is a dark room with an adobe floor. Bedding in a sheepfold does not require frequent replacement, because... Sheep waste does not have an unpleasant odor.

From this we can conclude that a flock is the most profitable way to make money from keeping small ruminants.

Atypical behavior

Changes in sheep behavior may be the first sign of illness. And, first of all, this concerns the herd instinct. Therefore, if you see a sheep that is isolated from the rest of the herd, most likely it does not feel well and this is the first sign of illness (of course, if the sheep has not simply strayed from the rest). You should also pay attention to sheep that enter the pen last and lag behind, especially if nothing like this has been noticed in the flock before.

Replenishment of the flock

A month and a half before mating, the sheep are transferred to a special diet. Her diet includes selected hay, root vegetables, etc. The main thing is to ensure that the sheep does not gain excess weight; nutrition should be complete and balanced. The lamb is pampered with cottage cheese, root vegetables and raw eggs.

Owners have a special attitude towards pregnant sheep. To prevent the expectant mother from having a miscarriage, she should not be frightened, worried or overtired. The diet should be supplemented with chalk and bone meal for an additional source of calcium.

As a rule, sheep do not require assistance during childbirth. But in case of complications, it is better to have the veterinarian’s number at hand. After the lamb is born, the sheep must be given drinking water. Then you need to express the first colostrum, because... it is highly concentrated, which can be harmful to the lamb. And then you can let your baby in for feeding.

You can switch the lamb to adult food after 20 days of life. This should be done gradually, starting with soft hay. The lamb can be put out to pasture in the fourth month of its life. After the lambs have begun to be brought out to pasture, the lambs and lambs need to be resettled. At five months they begin puberty, which can lead to mating of closely related individuals. Incest can result in weak and inferior offspring. Sheep reach sexual maturity at one and a half years.

Where does the formation of a herd begin?

Creating a flock must begin before the lambs are grown, since it will be much more difficult to do this in adulthood. As a rule, the creation of a flock begins when the lambs reach 4 months of age. In order to competently perform this work, you must:

• analyze the health status of young animals from the moment of birth to the current time;
• transfer all individuals to adult food;
• take into account all the characteristics of the breed and physical condition of the young sheep.

The process of separating the young from the uterus is quite difficult. It should not be carried out in one day, as this will affect the health of the female and her cub. At first, it is necessary to give the queen less food so that her milk production is somewhat worse. The number of times the mother feeds the cub is also reduced, and after complete separation the young individuals are not allowed out of the stall for several weeks.

After parting with the baby, the queen should be switched to dry food, and should be given water no more than once a day. This must be done so that her milk completely disappears. With young animals the situation is the opposite - you need to give more succulent grass and water more often (the number of waterings can reach 3-4 per day). As a rule, this diet lasts no more than one week.

For one herd it will be necessary to allocate one or more shepherds who will control the grazing process.

The number of shepherds depends mainly on the size of the herd. It will be quite problematic for one shepherd to cope with a flock of a thousand heads, so it is necessary to form groups, also based on the number of workers on the farm.

Sheep care

A flock is not just a herd of sheep. Each of them requires individual care. Because Sheep spend most of their time outdoors; they are subject to systematic attacks by parasites. Baths with the addition of a 1% creolin solution help get rid of ticks.

In the winter season, sheep practically do not leave the stall, so you need to monitor their hooves. They can outgrow, which will cause pain to the animal.

Sheep's wool grows quite quickly, so they need to be sheared systematically. If you have never done this before, then it is better to entrust this matter to professionals. While grooming, you must not frighten the animal or cause it pain. The more comfortable a ram’s first haircut is, the more willing he will be to undergo subsequent ones.

Social animals

Sheep are very social animals. While grazing, they simply need to see other sheep next to them. It is by taking this feature into account that you can avoid the stress that inevitably arises when transporting animals and grazing them. Research has shown that a sheep needs a group of five other sheep to graze without stress. But if a sheep is separated from the herd, it becomes overly excited, which affects its emotional state and can even reduce weight gain.

All these mechanisms were developed as a result of a long evolutionary path to protect sheep from predators. Everyone knows the phrase “meek as a lamb.” Indeed, because of their kind and peaceful disposition, sheep are very popular in all countries. It is a pleasure to manage a herd that obediently runs wherever it is driven. In European countries, it was the docile nature of these animals that made them one of the most beloved pets for rural women and children.

Sheep, as we know, were among the first to be domesticated by humans. And today it is already quite difficult to imagine that these animals could exist in the wild, avoiding predators.

Business registration

Having decided on the site and the desired number of livestock, proceed to registering the activity. A farm can be registered under the same conditions as an individual entrepreneur. Collect a package of documents for the relevant authority:

• a copy and original of the passport, as well as the birth certificate of the person registering the household;
• registration application;
• power of attorney for a multifunctional center (MFC);
• permission from the sanitary station;
• a receipt confirming that you have paid the state fee.

The documents are submitted to the tax authority according to the registration of the applicant. The decision is made within 5 days, after which the data is entered into the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs.

Before you write a business plan

Before you start registering a farm, you need to know the answers to the following questions:

1. Buy or rent land?
2. What will be the focus of the farm's activities? On the sale of lamb and wool or the activity of raising and selling lambs?
3. What number of sheep will you need at the initial stage?
4. Which feeding system to choose and where to get feed?
5. How many workers will be required to maintain the farm?

This is not a complete list, but these questions are enough to understand what you should pay attention to first. To determine the amount of land required to feed rams, it should be assumed that at least one hectare is required to feed one sheep with its offspring for the year

But this figure is true only for the southern regions of Russia, where all the land suitable for pastures has long been dismantled. Therefore, the cost of purchasing or renting them is very high.

Features of sheep farming technology

Sheep farming technology includes types of products, rules for keeping and caring for sheep, reproduction of the herd and other aspects.

Types of sheep products are as follows:

• Wool products. It is valued for its properties - it retains heat and moisture, transmits ultraviolet rays, and has a long service life;
• Sheepskin and smushka. Fur, fur and leather sheepskins;
• Meat products. Lamb is highly prized and has excellent nutritional properties;
• Milk products. Sheep milk is a very valuable product from which I make cheese, feta cheese and other dairy products;

Sheep farming technology also includes the following:

• Herd reproduction
• Raising young animals
• Keeping and feeding sheep

Pedigree sheep breeding

Pedigree sheep farming includes breeding work with purebred sheep for breeding herds of the same type. Many farmers are of the opinion that sheep breeding should be purebred, believing that crossbreds do not always give effective results.

Today, sheep breeders are restoring fine-fleece and semi-fine-fleece breeds, as demand for their wool is increasing.

The presence of breeding status gives sheep farmers the opportunity to receive significant profits from the sale of young stock. The genetic pool of purebred sheep is preserved by raising herds, where breeding rams are especially valued. It is young animals of pure breed that are the main value of this type of sheep breeding.

Meat sheep farming

Sheep farming for meat has always attracted increased interest. The advantage of meat sheep breeding is that such breeds of sheep are unpretentious, fertile and have high early maturity.

Meat sheep quickly recoup the investment and generate net income. The most advantageous age for lambs is up to eight months; such meat is considered a very valuable product and is not inferior to beef in nutritional values. Meat sheep accumulate fat reserves well and constantly increase live weight.

Common meat breeds include:

• North Caucasian breed;
• Gorkovskaya;
• Romanovskaya;
• Gissarska and many others.

Where to buy livestock

When breeding sheep, it is necessary to carefully select the stock. You cannot buy animals from private owners who keep 100-200 heads, as they often sell defective rams, for example, with cryptorchidism (with this disease it is impossible to procreate). Outwardly, the animal will look healthy and will even attempt intercourse, but this will be of little use, since the ram will be completely infertile.

Therefore, you need to buy livestock from farms that have veterinary certificates and other documents that will be needed in the future, when authorities check the meat for compliance.

The cost of rams depends on the breed, as well as the place where they are raised. For example, adult animals of the fat-tailed breed can be purchased for 10-12 thousand rubles, a sheep will cost about 5 thousand rubles. Therefore, the starting investment will directly depend on which animals will be selected for breeding. Since the profitability of this business is low, keeping less than 500 head of rams is not profitable.

To breed sheep for meat, it is better to choose the Romanov breed, which is the most popular in Russia in terms of early maturation and productivity. In 7 months, the offspring of this breed can gain weight up to 200 kilograms.

Precos is a French breed of sheep and rams, raised by European breeders. Thanks to the work of specialists, individuals of this breed have high vitality and resistance to diseases. The average weight of a ram is 130-140 kilograms.

The Kuibyshev breed is also often used for breeding sheep for meat. Individuals have an impressive appearance, thick hair and excellent meat performance. They are resistant to temperature changes and can withstand cold and heat. A ram weighs on average 100-105 kilograms.

These are the main breeds of sheep suitable for breeding sheep for slaughter, with further sale of meat.

Popular breeds for breeding

Sheep breeding as a business involves selecting breeds in such a way that the bulk of the income will come from the sale of meat. You can choose a breed based on your own preferences, if the owner has a sheep farm and some experience. If you are interested in raising sheep at home, it is better to purchase breeds that have gained popularity:

1. Romanovskaya. A well-known breed, distinguished by the quality of its wool and excellent fertility. In some cases, the litter is so large that the ewe does not produce enough milk to feed the offspring. Several goats are raised to feed the lambs, and their milk is used for additional feeding. Breeding ewes of this breed at home as a private business, with proper organization and marketing of production products, can bring good profits.
2. Gissarskaya. Representatives of this breed are quite large in size. Breeding rams can gain weight up to 170 kg, and females - about 120 kg. The breed is considered profitable because lambs, even under normal growing conditions, quickly gain weight.
3. Karachevskaya. The breed quickly adapts to any climate; it is characterized by stable immunity, thanks to which breeding sheep have excellent wool that lends itself well to processing.
4. Texel. It takes root well in the middle climate and has high endurance. The meat of this breed is characterized by the absence of a specific odor, which stimulates the breeding of sheep for subsequent sale.
5. Edilbaevskaya. Fat-tailed sheep of this breed are bred in climates with warm winters. Although they belong to the low-fruiting type, their meat is very tasty and also healthy. Under appropriate conditions, Edilbaev sheep can be released to pasture all year round.

Regardless of the breed you choose, it is best to consult a veterinarian before you start breeding sheep. This will avoid purchasing discarded specimens. To purchase animals, it is advisable to visit a sheep farm or livestock market that has permission to sell livestock.

According to collected statistics, a small private sheep farm is only 25% profitable.

What you need to know about grazing

The effectiveness of the scheme depends on how fully the pasture is used. Minimal movement around the pasture is the key to success. Firstly, it is tiring for the animals themselves. Secondly, the sheep need to be given physical rest day and night. This way the roughage they eat is better absorbed.

Grazing of the flock begins early in the morning. To do this, select an area that was used the day before. Hungry sheep will first eat everything offered in that area and then begin to move to neighboring ones.

After the migration, the animals will rest and graze. Then the procedure is repeated.

It is extremely important to complete grazing in the new field. This is necessary so that the flock is not hungry before going to bed and is fully rested.

Pastures are organized near rivers and lakes. Drinking stations are also installed near the grazing area. Animals need to drink more. The daily fluid requirement of a sheep is from 3 to 5 liters.

Sheep are required to receive water in the morning, and this is done until they are completely saturated. The next dose is carried out after each rest.

It is not advisable to drive the herd for watering. It is optimal to bring water to feed the flock.

Drinking from swampy or other stagnant water is unacceptable. In such reservoirs it is easy to become infected with helminths.

Dogs cope with the task along with shepherds

Why sheep

Sergei and I discussed which livestock sector could bring real income. Pig farming - not immediately due to the unstable situation with ASF (African swine fever - note "About business"). To raise cattle (cattle), considerable land is needed. They decided to place their bet on sheep breeding, an undervalued industry. Among its advantages:

• Relatively fast payback period - 3 years
• The need for feed is not as high as, for example, when raising cattle
• Getting wool as a bonus

One of the main problems is product sales. We studied the market, talked to networkers and realized that there is a demand for meat, and it is quite high, but there is little supply. Of course, there is farmed lamb in the country. But there is no supplier who would provide the required volume, timely deliveries and stable quality. So it turns out that you rarely see Belarusian lamb in stores; it costs 15 rubles per 1 kg. Imported meat in vacuum packaging is better in quality, but also several times more expensive - about 40 rubles. Don’t forget that the cost of the latter includes costs for logistics, supplier margin, and marketing. I am sure that a Belarusian farmer can offer a product no worse, but at a lower price. However, we must take into account the rules of the game in this market.

The culture of lamb consumption in Belarus is not developed. After the Chernobyl disaster, sheep began to be exterminated, because... how animal fur accumulated radionuclides. If before the accident there were 1 million sheep in the country, now there are about 100 thousand. And that number has grown significantly in recent years.

Obviously, Belarus alone will not be enough. But literally 700-800 km from us there is an immense market - two large “Muslim” cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. To get there, the manufacturer must take into account the canons of Islam and adjust production processes, equipment, documentation, storage facilities, raw materials, ingredients and even personnel to them. Is the game worth the candle? I think yes. A company that enters these markets with new high-quality products will play alone, since there is practically no competition.

Sales

Lamb is considered very healthy and is valued higher than pork and beef among gourmets. From the time of birth or purchase of a lamb to the receipt of an adult weighing from 100 to 200 kilograms, it takes about a year. One-year-old individuals can be shorn and sent for slaughter.

To sell wool, you need to find wholesale buyers, most often they are specialized factories located in rural areas. Lamb wool is used for high quality yarn.

It is much easier to establish sales of meat; you can sell sheep by live weight or sell cut meat. You can enter into a contract with a cafe or restaurant that has lamb dishes on their menu. Then the entrepreneur will supply fresh meat on an ongoing basis, receiving a stable profit. Another sales option could be delivery of carcasses to a meat processing plant.

How to go from stall to pasture

There is no single right solution that will make the ideal transition from stall living to pasture walking. On the other hand, a competent approach to this issue is necessary.

In general, you can change the grazing model as follows:

1. For the first time, send the sheep to graze after lunch for a certain period of time - no more than 30 minutes.
2. Before lunch, the animals feed on hay. Before grazing, they drink.
3. In order for sheep and rams to get used to pasture walking, care must be taken to ensure that the animals are not disturbed by frequent movements from place to place.

Animals need proper rest

The pasture will be less damaged by hooves if the sheep walk in a deployed formation. To implement this scheme, you will need two maintainers. One shepherd will go in front, and the other will go behind.

At the beginning of the grazing period, lush spring grass is rich in potassium. Therefore, you need to carefully monitor whether the balance of potassium and sodium is upset. Otherwise, it may happen that the sheep will suffer from convulsions. In general, to maintain balance for the specified period, additional table salt is given in loose form, containing a record amount of sodium.

If the sheep are closely spaced relative to each other, you can try to correct the situation

One sheep should receive 8-10 grams of salt per day so as not to upset the balance of trace elements in the body.

You need to start grazing sheep at 5-6 in the morning. In the morning there is no heat and an abundance of insects, which is perceived positively by animals. The walk continues until 11-12 noon. For rest, the period from 12 to 3 days is selected. At this time the flock lies in the shade, near the river, etc. When the break hours are over, you can continue to herd the sheep until late in the evening (from 8 to 9 o'clock).

Sheep can more easily tolerate a small amount of food compared to a lack of water. This is especially true in the summer months, when sheep are watered at least 2-3 times a day. As for autumn and other cool seasons, water is given less often - at least 1-2 times.

Diet is important for full development