Farmers may select for characteristics such as wool quality, which includes fiber diameter and length, to enhance market value. They might also prioritize reproductive traits, such as fertility and lambing ease, to improve productivity. Additionally, farmers may consider growth rates and feed efficiency to optimize meat production, as well as disease resistance to ensure herd health. Finally, temperament can be important for handling and management purposes.
Farmers use selective breeding to develop sheep with bare legs and backsides by choosing individuals that naturally exhibit these traits and breeding them together. Over several generations, they select offspring that maintain or enhance these characteristics, thus reinforcing the genetic traits. This practice can improve hygiene and reduce the risk of parasitic infections, as less wool can lead to easier management and care of the animals. By focusing on these specific traits, farmers can create a more productive and healthier flock.
They selectively breed them. So that the animal has the best characteristics possible. Examples are pigs with more fat or sheep with thicker wool.
The breeding of sheep is that! Sheep reproducing more sheep...
Artificial selection. They select the sheep with the best qualities for meat production and breed him/her to other sheep with similar qualities and characteristics.
When breeding a sheep that is producing a high amount of wool most farmers will shear the hind end of the ewe (called crutching), just enough for the vulva opening to be easily accessed. Sheep are shorn annually, so it depends of the time of joining and shearing as to how much wool the sheep will actually have in that area. Also farmers are breeding sheep to have less wool in the breech area so that there is a lower risk of fly strike.
To produce sheep with finer wool through selective breeding, the farmer should first identify and select breeding stock with the desired wool characteristics, such as softness, fineness, and density. By mating these selected individuals, he can enhance the genetic traits associated with finer wool in their offspring. Over successive generations, the farmer should continue to select the best specimens for breeding, gradually improving the overall quality of the wool. Additionally, maintaining proper nutrition and health care can further support the development of finer wool in the flock.
Selective breeding is where you breed animals or plants in such a way as to increase the desirable traits, or characteristics. By specifically selecting breeding partners with high levels of these desirable traits, the likelihood of the offspring having these traits increases. Over several generations, these desirable traits become more and more profound. For example, if farmers take only the best sheep for breeding, then they can be more assured that future generations of sheep will have the same or even improved characteristics. Selective breeding also works in a similar way when developing new crops, or the breeding of dogs for example. Its all about human intervention, where the breeding partners are chosen (or selected) by people.
In New Zealand, sheep drafting is primarily done to efficiently manage and categorize sheep based on various criteria such as age, weight, and health. This process allows farmers to optimize breeding, improve wool and meat quality, and ensure better animal welfare. By grouping sheep appropriately, farmers can tailor their feeding and care strategies, ultimately enhancing productivity and sustainability in sheep farming.
The farmers in my area do not put their sheep inside so they are out all the time. Therefore they do not have to "let their sheep out."
akhal teke
The rearing and breeding of sheep is typically done on farms. These farms are located in many places around the world.
Herbert Gibson has written: 'The history and present state of the sheep-breeding industry in the Argentine Republic' -- subject(s): Agriculture, Sheep and sheep breeding