Sheep farming is not so popular in small households, although many farmers value these animals very much. After all, the sheep are completely unpretentious, consume little food, give a good breed. Wherein, important value is not only their meat, but also wool.
And many breeds are capable of accumulating and large quantities of very valuable fat. Such breed of sheep as Gissar completely corresponds to all these criteria. It has a very large number of advantages, so many people breed it and, in small farms, exclude
By what features can be distinguished Hissar sheep: familiar with the main characteristics
This breed is the result of the works of national breeders. Its homeland is Tajikistan, although today these animals can be found far beyond the borders of Central Asia. Hissar sheep are considered meat-greasy, because in addition to the meat carcass, which is the basis of productivity, a large greasy fat tail is formed on the back of the torso of these animals. Also, they belong to the group coarse wool sheep.
Assess whether these sheep are beautiful or not, we are not going to, poskoku is a matter of taste. And for many, the beauty of an animal lies solely in its productivity. It is about the last factor and indicate All external characteristics of the Hissar sheep:
- The body of animals is quite long, with a strong torso.
- The legs are very thin, straight and high. In adulthood, the height of sheep reaches 1 meter.
- Chest strongly comes forward, which is one of the most important features of the breed.
- The head of the Gissarka sheep is small. A characteristic feature of the representatives of the breed is a well-marked crook, which is located on the base of the bow of the animal.
- The ears are very long, so they hang down.
- The head almost immediately goes into the body and it seems that they have no neck. In fact, although it is short, its visual invisibility is created due to the fact that it is very wide.
- The coat is very short and gives the impression that the animal is very thin, although in reality the situation may be completely different.
- Individuals of both articles of the Gissar breed of sheep are komolyami. But then they have a well-developed and large-sized fat tail. If animals are well fed with high-quality and high-calorie foods, the weight of the rump can even reach 40 kilograms.
- Regarding the coat color, then among the Gissar sheep there are dark brown and completely black representatives.
In general, woolen oblasti is very weak and they have almost no value as woolen sheep. Even with a double hairstyle from a ram, it is not always possible to get even 2 kilograms of nastrig.
The disadvantage of wool is not only that it is very short, but also the presence of a large amount of impurity of the so-called dead hair and awn. Therefore, when breeding a given breed, its wool is not included in the profit from animals.
On the reasons for the popularity of the Gissar breed among sheep breeders
The most important advantage of breeding this breed is their efficiency. First, do not need a lot of feed costs. The described breed is the best suited for grazing on open pastures almost throughout the year.
Moreover, grasslands do not have to be abundant with respect to the amount of grass. The animals also have a good weight gain on scant pastures, as they are able to feed on any pasture. They can do without ponds, if you allow them plenty to drink water in the morning and evening (before pasture on the pasture).
The second item on the profitability of this breed is low cost constructions. After all, the most part in their construction is to ensure dryness and shelter from the wind. Sheep, even in the most severe winters, are able to keep warm thanks to each other. Only the room where ewes lambing and the content of dairy lambs occurs should be warm. However, here you can find a loophole, if you organize the piles solely for the spring period.
It is profitable to grow Hissar sheep also because they are unusually fast-growing. Thus, in just 2 years, the number of individuals in the flock may increase by a factor of 2-3, while without any efforts on the part of the owners.
Finding so hardy animals as described is simply impossible. They are bred both in the steppe and in the desert, where not only limited quantities of food, but also rather difficult climatic conditions of existence. After all, adipose tissue, thanks to which they can save life even in the absence of food, they accumulate not only in the fat tail, but also under the skin and around the most important internal organs. In the mountainous areas of Tajikistan, Gissar sheep are grazed throughout the year.
Briefly about the pros of the breed
In size Hissar sheep are one of the largest of its kind. Weight of males can easily reach 200 kilograms, and the height of individuals is usually more than 1 meter. Due to this, the meat productivity of animals is greatly increased. At the same time, during the slaughter of an animal about 60% of the weight of their carcass is the output of good and high quality lamb. Also, The meat has the following characteristics:
- Good taste, with a specific flavor, characteristic only of this breed.
- Lamb of Hissar sheep is very nutritious, because it contains sufficient amounts of adipose tissue.
- By the usefulness of the meat of the described sheep can compete with the meat of any other animals.
- Due to the popularity of the breed, its lamb value is much higher in monetary terms than in other breeds.
- Since the animals themselves are large in size, the size of the fat tail is very impressive. As we already mentioned, its maximum weight is 40 kilograms, although it usually fluctuates around 25 kilograms.
Also, these animals have a good immune system. This, in particular, is the main condition for their unpretentiousness. But, this breed occupies an equally important place in breeding, since it is widely used as a carrier of excellent meat qualities and large sizes.
The advantages of the content include the following characteristics:
An opportunity to adapt to the most different climatic and weather conditions.- For grazing Hissar sheep, you can use the most unsuitable pastures. The only caveat - the marshlands will not suit the sheep.
- The endurance of the breed allows you to keep them on grazing throughout the year.
- Not afraid of long transitions aimed at finding the best food.
- Also, the advantages of breeding mentioned above and early ripeness, as well as the high milk productivity of ewes, should be added to the advantages of breeding and keeping a breed. So, already after the first lambing, one ewe can produce up to 100 liters of very fat and tasty milk per month.
- It is usually used for further processing and preparation of various cheeses. All the dairy products of these sheep are easily digested by the human body and nourish it with a large number of beneficial trace elements.
- The wool of the Gissar sheep also has important advantages. Although it is not used for the manufacture of very valuable fabrics, it is ideally suited for the manufacture of various felts and felt mats.
An opportunity to adapt to the most different climatic and weather conditions.What disadvantages of Gissar sheep need to know before starting to breed in their own farmstead?
Very meager wool cut. In order to prepare one normal felt, it is necessary either to collect nastrig for a long period of time, or to breed a large herd.
Although these sheep enter puberty very early, but they do not breed very abundantly. In rare cases, one sheep has a litter of two lambs.
To date, the population of individuals of this breed has decreased significantly compared with their prevalence in Soviet times. In this regard, finding pure Gissar lambs for further breeding may not be such an easy task.
Gissar sheep productivity: key indicators and types
We have mentioned a lot about productivity in the context of other characteristics above, but it’s still worth mentioning Examples of specific indicators of Gissar sheep:
- On average, sheep in adulthood reach 130-150 kilograms, although with very intensive fattening, this figure reaches 200 kilograms. The live weight of the ewes is not so great, but it is also significantly ahead of the ewes of other breeds - 90-110 kilograms, maximum - 150 kilograms.
- Taking into account the fact that the rate of slaughter yield of these animals is 60%, the weight of the carcass of an sheep can be on average about 84 kilograms (a significant part is taken by the weight of the fat tail).
- Due to the rapid growth, by the age of 6 months lambs are gaining weight up to 60 kilograms. When feeding with breast milk, in the first 2 months the average daily increase can be from 400 to 550 grams.
- Regarding the milk production of the Guissar sika, the ewes are the best. In the day they give about 2.5 liters of milk. Therefore, most often lambs are weaned from the mother very early in order to use milk for their own purposes.
- It is recommended to cut representatives of this breed twice a year. At the same time, for the whole year, on average, one ram manages to get 1.4-1.7 kilograms of wool, and from sheep - from 0.7 to 1.3 kilograms.
Dividing Hessars by Performance Types
Despite the fact that, in general, this breed belongs to meat-sebaceous, there are also several of its types, in which one of the characteristics far exceeds the other. In particular, experts distinguish the following types:
Greasy. The most important characteristic and external feature of this type is the presence of a large tail cat. The fat tail of the animal is concentrated in the fat tail.
Its size can reach one third of the entire body part of the animal. At slaughter, the weight of the fat tail reaches 40 kilograms, which can be two times more than among representatives of other types.
Meat and greasy. Although the amount of fat obtained from this type of sheep is significantly inferior to that described above, it is still at a high level. Their rump has a fairly large size, pulled to the level of the back. Meat characteristics they have expressed quite clearly.
Meat. Exclusively meat Hissar sheep are much rarer, they were born as a result of mixing with other breeds. The rump from them may not be noticeable at all, since they are very high tucked up to the back. Lamb of such animals is more succulent and fat, because fat accumulates near the muscle tissue.
Rules for the care and maintenance of Gissar sheep to achieve high rates of productivity
The rules for keeping and caring for Hissar sheep are completely independent of their type of productivity. In their homeland, where animals stay on free grazing for a year, in winter they are distilled as high as possible into the mountains, where not snow-covered areas remain and sheep can find their own food. And with the arrival of the heat of these animals, it is better to graze on plain pastures with more abundant greenery.
When keeping animals in farms, in the summer they are also grazed on pastures (moreover, they can be left in the open air even for the night). But in the winter they drive them to specially equipped sheds, where animals will regularly receive food.
The wool of Hissar sheep that is practically useless for humans helps the animals themselves to cope with exposure to adverse environmental conditions: it dries very quickly after rain and warms well. Although, in general, this breed tolerates high humidity poorly, it is therefore very important that the pens are always dry for them.
Hissar sheep is not so important to provide pasture with a large amount of food, as large in territory. After all, this breed belongs to the nomadic, therefore they need to move very much every day, passing very long distances. On grazing they can happen and cause lambing. Outdoors they can be milked.
But no matter how these animals were kept, checking their wool for the presence of parasites — fleas and ticks — must be carried out necessarily and regularly. To prevent parasites from spreading, animal hair is specially treated. At the same time, pest baiting should be carried out simultaneously for the entire flock, so that they do not move from one animal to another. It is equally important to process the sheds where the sheep are kept..
Caring for ewes during the period of durability and necessary care for the offspring
When weaning sheep and ewes there is no need to wean. In such a mixed herd, mating between animals occurs naturally, which is the reason for the year-round appearance of the litter in the flock. But pregnant ewes are best to be weaned from the whole flock. After all, during the period of lack of freedom, they will need the best food, for which they are grazed on specially allocated areas with abundant vegetation.
Lambs are eweed for 145 days. Up to three months, it is better to keep it near the mother, since in her milk it will develop faster and better. If sheep milk is more important for you - you can even wean it much earlier. After absences, young lambs are either allowed to be slaughtered, or they are grazed with the rest of the herd on farmerly poor pastures.
Features feeding Hissar sheep: what should be in the diet of animals?
Even in the preparation of the most meager diet, these animals will not suffer. They are accustomed to the fact that food may not always be enough and are able to store nutrients and store fat reserves "for the worst of times."
Even in winter, they can find their own food, feeding on plant roots. But if you want to get a lot of quality meat, it is better to graze animals on pastures with a large abundance of green grass and with access to a watering facility.
If you also expect to keep animals outdoors in the winter, they will still need to give extra food. You can equip the same feeders, as do the huntsmen in the forests for wild animals. But the best thing is to work a little and build warm and dry sheds without drafts for them (especially if there are milk lambs in the flock).
Animals will not eat a lot of food: they will have enough hay, milled cereals (mixed fodder) and chopped root crops. Also, we should not forget about drinking bowls with fresh water and special liners, which will help animals to fill the deficiencies in mineral components.
