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Sheep wool, which once became the basis of wealth in England and New Zealand, with the advent of new artificial materials, began to lose its importance. Woolen sheep were replaced by meat breeds of sheep, which give tasty tender meat that does not have a characteristic lamb smell.
During the Soviet era, lamb was not a very popular type of meat among the population precisely because of the specific smell, which, most likely, was present in the meat of woolly sheep. In those days, the economies of the European part of the USSR did not seek to breed meat breeds, focusing on wool and sheepskin.
The collapse of the Union and the almost complete shutdown of production hit sheep breeding very hard. Even successful collective and state farms, getting rid of unprofitable branches, first of all liquidated sheep. Meat sheep also fell under this rink, since it was very problematic to convince the population to buy mutton, especially given the lack of money and the availability of cheap chicken legs from the United States on the shelves. In the villages, it was more convenient for private traders to keep goats rather than sheep.
Nevertheless, the sheep managed to survive. Meat breeds of sheep in Russia began to develop and grow in number, although Gorkovskaya still needs the help of specialists and sheep-breeding enthusiasts in order not to disappear altogether. Some of the beef breeds of sheep, now bred in Russia, were imported from the West, some from Central Asia, and some are primordially Russian breeds. A bright representative of the latter - Romanov sheep.
Romanov breed of sheep
The breed was bred as a coarse-wooled sheep with a skin suitable for sewing winter clothes. This is a primordially Russian breed that withstands Russian cold weather well, due to which it is today one of the most numerous breeds kept by private owners in their farmsteads.
The weight of Romanov sheep is relatively small, and their meat productivity is low. An ewe weighs about 50 kg, a ram up to 74. A ram lamb reaches a weight of 34 kg by 6 months. Young animals are sent for slaughter after reaching a live weight of 40 kg. At the same time, the slaughter yield of carcasses is less than 50%: 18 -19 kg. Of these, only 10-11 kg can be used for food. The rest of the weight is made up of bones.
Romanov sheep "take" with their abundance, bringing 3-4 lambs at a time and being able to reproduce at any time of the year. But the lambs still need to be fed to slaughter weight. And this is also a cash investment.
Gorky sheep
Meat breed of sheep bred in the Gorky region of the former USSR. Now it is the Nizhny Novgorod region and it is there that one of the small breeding flocks of these sheep. In addition to the Nizhny Novgorod region, the Gorky breed can be found in two more districts: Dalnekonstantinovsky and Bogorodsky. In the Kirov, Samara and Saratov regions, this breed is used as an improver for local coarse-wooled sheep, which will have a very good effect on the livestock raised in these regions and negatively on the Gorky breed.
These sheep were bred from 1936 to 1950 on the basis of local northern ewes and Hampshire rams. Until 1960, work was underway to improve the characteristics of the breed.
Description of the breed
Outwardly, the sheep are similar to their English ancestors - the Hampshire. The head is short and wide, the neck is fleshy, of medium length. The withers are wide and low, merging with the neck and forming a line with the back. The body is powerful, barrel-shaped. The chest is well developed. The ribcage is round. The back, loin and sacrum form a straight topline. Legs are short, set wide. The skeleton is thin. The constitution is strong.
The color is ermine, that is, the head, tail, ears, legs are black. On the legs, black hair reaches the wrist and hock joints, on the head to the line of the eyes, the body is white. The length of the coat is from 10 to 17 cm. The main disadvantage of the coat is the uneven fineness in different parts of the body. There are no horns.
Sheep weigh from 90 to 130 kg. Ewes 60 - 90 kg. The animals are well muscled.
Productive characteristics
Sheep give 5 - 6 kg of wool per year, ewes - 3 - 4 kg. The quality of fineness is 50 - 58. But because of the heterogeneity, the wool of the Gorky breed does not have a high price.
The fertility of the Gorky ewes is 125 - 130%, in breeding flocks it reaches 160%.
The meat productivity of sheep of the Gorky breed is slightly higher than that of the Romanov breed. By 6 months, lambs weigh 35 - 40 kg. Lethal output of carcasses is 50 - 55%. In addition to meat, milk can be obtained from queens. For 4 months of lactation from one ewe, you can get from 130 to 155 liters of milk.
The so-called hairless breeds of meat sheep are gaining popularity. Wool on animals, of course, is present, but it is akin to the wool of ordinary shedding animals and consists of awn and winter undercoat. It is not necessary to cut these breeds. They shed hair on their own. In Russia, such smooth-haired beef sheep breeds are represented by the Dorper, a beef breed of South African origin and an emerging breed group of Katum sheep.
Dorper
This breed was bred in South Africa in the first third of the 20th century by crossing Dorset Horn rams, fat-tailed Persian black-headed and fat-tailed sheep. Merino dogs also took part in the breeding of the breed, from which some dorpers got a pure white color.
Conditions in South Africa, contrary to stereotypes, are rather harsh. Including with sudden temperature changes. Forced to live in such conditions with a very modest food base, dorpers have acquired excellent immunity and very high resistance to infectious diseases and are able to endure even snowy frosty winters. There is no doubt about their ability to withstand the summer heat. Dorpers are capable of doing without water for 2 days even in the heat.
Description of dorpers
The Dorpers have a rather original color: a light gray body color with a dark head, inherited from the Persian blackheads. Those of the Dorpers who are fortunate enough to have a merino in their ancestors have a white coat both on the body and on the head.
The ears are medium in size. Skin folds on the neck. White-headed Dorpers have pink ears, and there is a small growth on their head, which they inherited from merino.
Animals have a shortened facial part of the skull, as a result of which the head looks small and cuboid in profile. The legs are short, strong, capable of supporting the weight of a powerful fleshy body.
The weight dorper rams can reach up to 140 kg, with the minimum weight allowed by the standard 90 kg. Ewes weigh 60 - 70 kg, some can gain up to 95 kg. The meat productivity of Dorper sheep is above average. Lethal output of mascara 59%. At 3 months, dorper lambs already weigh 25 - 50 kg, and by six months they can gain up to 70 kg.
Breeding sheep and rams
Dorper ewes can bear 2 - 3 strong lambs that can immediately follow their mother. Lingering in dorpers, as a rule, passes without complications due to the structural features of the pelvic region.
In Russia, they have repeatedly tried to cross the Romanov ewes with rams - dorpers. The results of the first generation hybrids were encouraging, but it is too early to talk about breeding a new breed.
Nevertheless, keeping a purebred dorper in Russia is not profitable because of the too short coat, in which he, nevertheless, will not be able to endure the Russian frosts. The second drawback of dorpers is their rat tail, which is absent in the photographs. It is absent for a simple reason: it is stopped.In crossbred animals, this deficiency is smoothed out.
Of the advantages, it should be noted the high quality of dorper meat. It is non-greasy, due to which it does not have the characteristic smell of lamb fat. In general, the meat of this breed of sheep is distinguished by its delicate texture and good taste.
Dorpers have already been imported to Russia and, if desired, you can buy both breeding sheep and seed material for use on ewes of local breeds.
Conclusion
Breeding meat sheep today is becoming a much more profitable business than obtaining wool or skins from them. These breeds are characterized by fast weight gain and good quality meat without the smell frightening off buyers. Considering that when breeding these sheep you do not have to wait a year before getting the first wool crop, sheep breeding meat production is becoming more profitable than the production of sheep wool.
