Sheep - AgRIS

stock. Shearing of sheep in distant places and sale of wool at far away markets do not give them
any chance for organised collection, processing and marketing of wool and the sheep breeders
are unable to bargain for a remunerative price. These difficulties could be alleviated if the State
AnimS Husbandry/Sheep and Wool Departments set up service centres on the migration routes.
In the north temperate region sheep are grazed on alpine pastures during most of the
summer months; in autumn and winter seasons, they are grazed on harvested fields in the lower
ranges of the hills and reserve forests. Usually 7 to 8 hours of grazing is practised in a day.
However, grazing in winter does not meet the nutritional requirement especially for the animals
in advanced pregnancy. This reduces lambing percentage and results in poor lamb survival and
growth due to low mothering ability. Serious efforts are, therefore, called for in improving
grazing/fodder resources during the winter. This is possible through raising a short term fodder
crop after rice. It is estimated that even at present about 13 per cent of the flocks are hand fed
on some grains, conserved fodder or green leaves during winter. In the north western region,
sheep are grazed on uncultivated lands during monsoon months. During post-monsoon Deriod
when kharif crops are harvested, they are grazed on stubbles. In November and December nonmigratory
flocks are mostly grazed on uncultivated lands, whereas migratory flocks are grazed
on harvested fields and in reserve forests on their migration routes. Top feeding by lopping tree
branches and the feeding of pods are common. During extreme summer months, the flocks are
grazed in the cool hours of the day and rested during the noon hours. In the peninsular region,
there is hardly any migration of flocks. The flock size in this region is generally small and the
sheep are mostly grazed on stubbles in the harvested fields or in forest or hilly areas. The sheep
have thus to subsist at present mostly on stubble, tree loppings and grasses in denuded landjs all
over the country except in northern hill region where during summer they graze on relatively
better pastures in the alpine region. Almost no attention has so far been paid to improve
grasslands and to make provision for supply of drinking water to the flocks.
9.1. 2 Extensive management
Under ie existing system of management sheep are mainly raised under exclusive
rangeland grazing with supplementation of top feed resources during critical lean season.
Organized husbandry practices, nutritional inputs commensurating with various physiological
stages and production traits and prophylactic and curative health coverage are almost
negligible. The native sheep have poor production potential and efforts for their genetic
upgradation by introduction of high producing breeds has not been largely successful under
field condition subsist by grazing/browsing on variety of grasses, bushes and top feeds. The
present grazing practices for sheep are indiscriminate and governed by compulsions offeed
resource availability, toboos and tradition specific for the regions and socio-economic
conditions of the farmers. Under the existing management practices of exclusive range land
grazing the lambs hardly achieve 15 to 16 kg at six months of age whereas they marketed for
slaughter carcass weight of 10 kg.
9.1. 3 Semi-Intensive management
The slaughter weight is farm lower and the age at which target weight is achieved is far
higher than expected. The system requires input of concentrate which although cost effective,
yet has not been adopted due to socio- economic conditions of the farmer. The work done in the
country on grazing with supplementation have indicated that in addition to free grazing
supplementation of limited quantity of concentrate amounting to 1.5 to 2.0 per cent of body
weight will provide marketable finishing weight of 25 and 30 kg at 6 and 9 months of age
respectively. The lambs under sole of grazing on Cenchrus pasture with concentrate
supplementation @ 1.5 per cent of their body weight; achieved 26.7 kg at 6 months of age with
about 100 g ADG.
9.1. 4 Intensive management
The mutton lambs require intensive feeding to allow exploitation, oftheir growth potential .
Maximum growth during preweaning period is very important for subsequent growth of the
lamb. From birth to 3 weeks of age the lamb has non-ruminant stomach and feeding during this
period should be mostly on milk through suckling or feeding of milk substitutes. From 3 weeks
to 2 months of age, it is transition phase, during which rumen development takes place. A creep
feed should be fed to lambs as early as 2 weeks of age so that they would consume more energy
and also the rumen development could be faster. In addition to ad lib. feeding of cultivated
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