Sheep - AgRIS

of fleece is done on visual appraisal of length, fineness (handle or feel). Grading of Indian
wools was initiated under FAO/UNDP project based on wool quality, length, colour and
vegetable fault (content of vegetable matters, e.g. burr, seed). About 90 types were prescribed
besides lower lines. The Indian Standard Institution (IS 2900: 1979) evolved a grading system
based on micron value. It prescribes almost 120 grades. Thereafter style grading was introduced
in Rajasthan which cuts the grades to 32 only. However, none of the above grading sytems is
practised in the country to any significant extent. The results led to the following
recommendations: (a) wool from different agroclimatic regions and breeds may be marketed as
such; (b) at the time of shearing fleece should be properly skirted; (c) fleece after skirting may
be classed into at the most 2 to 3 grads, like fine, medium and coarse; and (d) bales from
individual lots should be sampled, and these samples be subjected to objective quality
assessment through laboratory testing for yield, length, average fibre diameter and vegetable
matter content.
9. 6.2 Meat
In our country the word mutton is used in a very broad sense to include goat meat also.
However, mutton by definition is the flesh together with the associated tissues such as blood
vessels, nerves, glands, fat and bones from carcasses of sheep older than 12 months of age.
Sometimes, mutton from sheep carcasses of 12-24 months of age is called as yearling mutton
whereas that from carcasses older than 24 months of age is called mature mutton. Meat from
sheep carcasses younger than 12 months of age is called lamb. Flesh from goats should be
called chevon (pronounced as 'shevon' which means a kid).
Mutton and chevon are substituted for each other once in a while by meat traders in places
where there are local preferences and price differential. Although it is very difficult for a
layman to differentiate sheep and goat flesh, the following points might be useful: Lamb is pale
pinkish with evenly distributed firm white fat. Mutton is slightly darker than lamb and many a
times there is a well developed and thick fat cover. Mutton may also have marbling in it. Both
lamb and mutton may have a few wool fibres sticking here and there. Chevon is dark red with
coarse texture and a sticky suboutaneous connective tissues layer which may have adherent
goat hairs.
For the production of wholesome meat with good keeping qualities, sound husbandry
methods and cleanliness ofthe animal during final stages before marketing are necessary. Feed
additives and antibiotics should be withdrawn at appropriate period before slaughter. Sheep
may often become dirty due to diarrhoea or during wet weather. Judicious drying off of wet
sheep on a clean straw for 12 hours beffire slaughter is of great value. Detection and
segregation of sick sheep before transporting them to a slaughter point will avoid transportation
and subsequent losses. During transportation from a farm to abattoir every possible care should
be taken to avoid injury, lameness, suffocation or transit fever. Sheep should never be lifted by
wool during loading and unloading as this will cause bruises leading to carcass trimming losses.
Water must be provided to sheep and goats during a journey of 36 hours or over. A minimum
floor space of 213 cm 2 per sheep must be ensured during transportation. Sheep normally loose
up to 3-6 kg of their body weight during transportation depending on the weather and duration
of the journey, due to seating, exhaustion, and exoretion of urine and faeces. Stress during
transportation and before slaughter affects carcass yields, microbial contents of the tissues,
onset of rigor mortis and the keeping quality of flesh and preserved meat Therefore, sheep
should be rested at least for 16 hours prior to slaughter with continuous access to water.
9.6.3 Milk
Since Sheep are small, many sheepmen prefer to have the ewes stand on a milking
platform. This also gets the milch animal up off the soiled floor. On the other hand, in India the
people are used to squatting down when they milk ewes/does so there is probably not enough to
be gained to warrant the cost of constructing a milking stand. Large commercial dairies in
European coutries construct a masonry platform 38 to 45 centimeters above the floor level. The
ewes/does place their heads in a stanchion and while 10 to 20 ewes/does are being milked
either by hand or a milking machine, the ewes/does are eating their concentrate happily. By the
time the 10 to 20 ewes/does are milked, they too have finished their grain and are ready to be
relaeased for the next group of ewes/does. In India the habit is to milk the ewes/does by hand
from the left side. This is preferable to milking from the rear.
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