Sheep - AgRIS

The availability of pastures which is seasonal depends upon the intensity of rainfall in
different areas. Again, the rainfall is concentrated during a few months and is not evenly
distributed over the year. Therefore the flocks of sheep migrate over extensive terrains, e.g.
from the Rajasthan to the central forests of India. Sheep are constantly in search of fresh
pastures, which may sometimes be along the edges of the forest lands and sometimes scrub
along the main highways. The selection of the grazing areas by flock-ownersis also related to
the availability of irrigation facilities, etc. For instance, sheep from Rajasthan usually migrate
to arid areas of Bundelkhand and western Uttar Pradesh after the kharif crops are over. There
owing to the lack of irrigation, fields are left fallow and no cropping can be done during the
rabi season. The Rajasthani sheep are found in large numbers folding over the fields.
9.1.1 Traditional System
Sheep raising is mainly in the hands of the weaker sections of the community which either
do not possess land or their landholdings are so small that crop cultivation does not provide
remunerative employment all the year round. Further, in the major sheep rearing areas
especially in north western districts of Rajasthan grazing and stock watering resources are
available only for a few months in a year, compelling shepherds to lead a nomadic life. The
system of constant migration is one of the main reasons for the high percentage of illiteracy
among these sections of the people. Even children of the family have no chances of education
because they are also constantly on the move and are employed by their family for grazing the
sheep flocks. Due to lack of education these sheep owners are not able to appreciate and adopt
improved sheep husbandry pfractices brought to them by extension workers. Sheep
management has thus remained in a neglected state. Migration and grazing practices have an
impact on the present status of sheep husbandry in the country.
In the northern hill- region, migration of sheep usually starts in April-May and it takes
about a month for the flocks to reach the alpine pastures. The flocks graze on these pastures for
about 5 to 6 months and then start returliing to the foothills by September-October and reach
the destination by November. The time taken to reach the alpine pastures largely depends upon
weather conditions and the vegetation available on the rolute of migration. In the hill areas, one
or two members of the family go with the flock during migration but the rest stay behind to
look after agricultural operations. The economic condition of shepherds in this region is better
than that of their counterparts in the plains. A fairly large percentage of sheep in Rajasthan is
rnaintained on rnigratory basis. According to an estimate about 1.5 rnillion sheep rnigrate from
the State every year and out of this about 0.6 million sheep are on migration all the year roundl.
Sheep migration is a regular practice with the sheep breeders ofthe western arid districts of
Jaisalmer, Barrner, Jodhpur, Pali, Jalore, Nagaur and Bikaner. It is understood that prior to
Partition, sheep from Jaisalmer and Barrner districts used to migrate to the canal areas of Sind
during the months of March to June while the sheep from the eastern areas used to migrate
towards further east or southwards to the bordering areas in the States of Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Sheep breeders from the districts of Jaisalmer, Barmer and
Bikaner and parts Of Jodhpur practise temporary migration extending over periods of 6 to 9
months. The flock owners usually start migration with their sheep after Diwali festival in
November. Sheep flocks excepting those from Barmer and Jaisalmer districts usually migrate
towards the south to Madhya Pradesh taking different routes and finally reach Nagda which is a
central place for sale of wool. Sheep flocks also move towards east to Uttar Pradesh along the
Chambal and Yamuna river belts. It has been estimated that about 0.2 to 0.3 million sheep from
Jaisalmer and Barmer and parts of Jodhpur and Jalore migrate towards Gujarat and the breeders
arrange for the sale of wool at Deesa in Gujarat. As the routes towards Madhya Pradesh are
new and quite unfamiliar to the sheep breeders of Jaisalmer and Barmer they do not migrate
long distances except under very acute conditions of drought and scarcity of fodder. This may
perhaps be one of the reasons for heavy losses of sheep sustained by the sheep breeders of these
districts during continuous drought periods. Sheep flocks from parts of Bikaner, Churu and
Sikar districts usually migrate towards north to areas in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Sheep
owners of Nagaur district practise migration all the year round because of heavy pressure on
land and they depend on the forest areas in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for the grazing of
their sheep. Maintaining sheepon migration through most part of the year does not permit the
sheep owners to obtain adequate income from their flocks. With such a system of constant
movement of sheep over long distances with uncertain grazing and stock wateringfacilities, the
sheep owners are unable to adopt scientific methods of breeding for genetic improvement of
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