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In the region of Central Asia, since ancient times, the breeding of sheep for meat and lard has been practiced. Lamb fat is considered a valuable product among the Central Asian peoples. Along the way, wool is obtained from these coarse-wooled sheep for felting.
One of the most common breeds of meat-fat fat-tailed breeds are edilbaev sheep.
The birthplace of this breed is Kazakhstan. The standard stereotype of a resident of the European part of Our Country in relation to Kazakhstan is a very hot country. In fact, this is not at all the case. Kazakhstan is located in the center of the mainland and has a sharply continental climate, that is, hot summers and cold winters.
For life in such conditions, the Edilbaev breed of sheep was bred. Sheep store fat reserves in the back of the body, the so-called “fat tail”, from which they received the name “fat tail”. The Edilbaevs fatten up quickly, because in the summer the Kazakh steppe burns out and there is nothing to eat in it. Since the summer is hot, the fat, evenly distributed throughout the body, would contribute to overheating of the sheep. Unable to “stack fat separately” animals usually lose weight in the summer.
The weight of the fat tail of the Edilbaev breed can reach 15 kg. Thanks to such reserves of fat, Edilbaev sheep endure both summer with dried grass and cold winters. Edilbaevs are animals adapted to nomadic life and able to travel long distances in search of food.
The Edilbaevskaya breed, in fact, is a lifesaver for the Kazakhs, since, in addition to mutton fat, quite high-quality meat and sheep’s milk can be obtained from the Edilbaevskaya sheep.
Productive characteristics
The weight of an adult edilbaevsky ram can reach up to 145 kg, and ewes up to 110 kg. The Edilbaevs are inferior in size to the Hissar sheep, about which there is a constant dispute. Some believe that the Edilbaev breed is in fact the Hissar. If you look at the map, the conclusion suggests itself: these breeds are related to each other. The borders between the former republics, and now the states, were clearly drawn in many places along the line. The livestock of local animals certainly mixed with each other.
Edilbaevskaya breed at the All- Sheep Show in Elista
Edilbaevtsy belong to the coarse wool breed of sheep, from them you can get 3-4 kg of wool per year. Coarse-wooled sheep should be sheared once a year in the spring. As a source of wool, the Edilbaev breed of sheep is not of particular value.
Being a breed of nomads, edilbaevs are valuable for their endurance and versatility. In addition to meat and fat, up to 120 liters of milk with a fat content of 6 – 8% can be obtained from an Edilbaevskaya ewe. The milk of the Edilbayev people is suitable for the manufacture of sour-milk products, as well as cheese and butter. In the traditions of the Central Asian peoples, cheese is made from sheep’s milk, not cow’s. And the Edilbaevskaya breed was bred with an eye to a high milk yield for sheep.
The breed is characterized by precocity. By the age of 4 months, the weight of Edilbaev lambs reaches 40-45 kg. At this age, lambs can already be slaughtered for meat.
The fecundity of edilbaev sheep is low. Usually only one lamb is born. The term of pregnancy in sheep is 5 months, so it will not be possible to squeeze out more than two lambings per year from a sheep.
In the photo, an Edilbaevskaya ewe with a lamb.
The body of the ewe must have time to recover after the birth of the lamb.
Edilbaev breed standard
Edilbaevs are strong, hardy animals with relatively long legs, which give out adaptability to long transitions. Growth at the withers from 80 cm.
The color of the Edilbaevs is usually monophonic. The suit can be black, red or brown.
Edilbaevs have no horns, hanging ears.
Content
At home, this breed is kept on open pastures almost all year round. Thanks to the fat tail, the Edilbaev people are able to withstand not too long jute. Thanks to their endurance, unpretentiousness and high productive characteristics, edilbayevs began to be bred in Our Country. And here the ability of animals to constantly live in the open air played a cruel joke on the Edilbaevites.
The weak point of these sheep are the hooves. In the absence of constant transitions and keeping in the same pen, the hoof horn begins to deteriorate. Sheep somehow breed mud and dampness, and the hooves are adapted to dry ground. During normal nomadic life, sheep’s hooves wear down on rocky ground; when kept in a pen, the hoof wall grows and begins to interfere with the animals. The sheep begin to lame.
When kept in dampness, a fungus gets on the hooves, causing hoof rot, which is very difficult to get rid of, since the main remedy in this case is constant movement so that the hooves are normally supplied with blood. Antifungal agents are ineffective, the fungus appears again.
Thus, edilbaevs need a dry clean room to avoid hoof diseases.
A thick layer of underlayment should be laid on the adobe floor to avoid stirring the clay, but the floors will still need to be repaired every year.
It is also necessary to lay a lot of bedding on a concrete or asphalt floor, since the Edilbaev people freeze and get sick on a bare stone, but such floors are durable.
Recommendations to keep the edilbayevs on a wooden deck, at first glance, seem reasonable, but urine flows into the cracks between the boards, and anyone can easily find the house where the sheep are kept by smell. In addition, ammonia fumes are extremely harmful to a breed bred for year-round outdoor maintenance.
The best option is rubber mats for livestock, which save bedding, are warm enough and easy to clean. Unfortunately, they are expensive, although durable.
Sheep barn should not be too warm. It must reliably protect against drafts and have good ventilation. Most animals are not afraid of the cold. With enough food, they warm themselves with food. Animals warm the air in the room by breathing. A large temperature difference in the room and outside leads to respiratory diseases.
This is explained by the fact that the lamb is born wet and can die from hypothermia before it dries.
Feeding the Edilbaevs
Edilbaevskaya breed has the ability to quickly fatten up on green grass, while this grass has not yet dried up. In the spring-summer season, sheep need to add salt to the diet if the flock does not graze on salt licks.
In summer, edilbaevs can eat on the grass without needing other feed. In winter, in addition to hay, concentrates are added to the diet of sheep at the rate of 200-400 g per head per day. In addition, fodder chalk and vitamin and mineral premixes are added to the diet.
Many sheep breeders believe that sheep do not need water in winter, they can “get drunk” on snow. A fundamentally wrong idea, since snow is distilled water without the mineral salts necessary for the body. Snow not only does not provide the needs of animals for minerals, but also leaches microelements and minerals from the body. The best option in winter is to put heated drinkers. You can use the principle of a thermos if it is not possible to equip heating. But in this case, you will often have to pour hot water into the drinker.
Breeding
In fact, one of the advantages of the Edilbaev breed is their low fertility. Bringing one, maximum two, lambs for a lamb, the ewe has the opportunity to feed strong, strong offspring. Edilbaevsky ewes are distinguished by high milk yields. If a person does not take sheep’s milk for his needs, it all goes to the lamb, which by the age of 4 months often surpasses other breeds of sheep in size.
Measurements and weighing of 3-4 month old edilbaev rams
By the time of mating, the ewes should come well-fed, since with insufficient fatness, the number of dry ewes increases by 4-5 times. And here the fat tail of the Edilbaev breed plays into the hands of the owners. Even in the event of force majeure, the Edilbaevskaya ewe is more likely to successfully inseminate than a sheep that does not have fat reserves.
If you want to get a lamb in the spring, ewes should be with rams in the middle of autumn. If winter lambing is planned, then rams are launched into the flock in the summer.
In the first half of pregnancy, the needs of the ewe do not differ from the needs of the dry sheep. The ewe is given plenty of green grass or hay, 200 g of concentrates per day and 10 g of table salt.
But if it is possible to give compound feed for sheep, it is better to give it, thus reducing the deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
In the second half of pregnancy, the ewe’s need for nutrients and energy increases. If the second half of pregnancy occurs in winter, it is necessary to carefully monitor the presence of minerals and vitamins in the diet of the ewe.
With inadequate feeding of the ewe, the viability of the embryo is reduced.
A sheep ready to be lambed is placed separately from the rest of the flock. The air temperature during lambing should not be lower than + 10 ° C. Fresh straw is laid on the floor in a thick layer. After lambing, the lamb is thoroughly wiped and offered to the sheep. Be sure to check the placenta. It must be complete. If there are no pieces of the placenta, you need to follow the condition of the sheep for a couple of days. You may need the help of a veterinarian.
The diet of a lactating ewe
For the first 2-3 days, the lambing ewes are kept only on high-quality bean hay to avoid the development of mastitis. Later, they slowly begin to introduce concentrates, bringing their amount to half a kilogram per day. After 1 – 1,5 weeks, succulent feed is gradually added to the diet of the ewe, bringing their amount to 2 kg, and high-quality silage is also in the amount of 2 kg per day.
The ewe’s need for high-quality hay is also 2 kg. Thus, in total, the ewe receives 6,5 kg of feed per day.
Salt and vitamin and mineral supplements are required in the diet.
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Conclusion
Taking into account the fact that sheep breeding in Our Country was more focused on obtaining wool from sheep, meat and meat-fat breeds are practically absent. With some stretch, the karakul breed can be called meat, but it was also bred for the sake of the skin – karakul. Edilbaevskaya breed is quite capable of filling the empty niche of meat breeds of sheep. The Edilbaevs are inferior only to the Hissar breed, which is considered the largest in the world. But there are no Hissars in Our Country, and Edilbaevskys are already bred not only by large farms, but also by private traders. Buying the Edilbaev breed is much easier.