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General Information

It is known for its excellent wool production and its milk is used to make good quality cheese. Mainly this sheep give birth to only 1 lamb and there are only 10% chances that they give birth to more than one lamb. It is a medium sized animal and has white color feet and face. In India it is found in Hissar region. Their legs and head are covered with wool. Because of its hardy nature it can be kept in any climate.

Fodder

Sheep’s mainly like to do grazing and love to eat leguminous feed such as Lobia, Berseem, and Cowpea etc. In fodders mainly cowpea/lobia is given as feed to the animals as it is the annual plant and is served with the mixture of maize or sorghum. Sheep mainly grazes in the field for 6-7 hours and requires pasture or hay in their food diet. For grazing they required fresh green grass especially timothy or canary grass.

Planted fodder: Podded:
Berseem, Garlic, Beans, Peas, Guar.
Non leguminous: Corn, Oats.
Tree leaves: Peepal, mango, ashoka, neem, berry and banyan.
Plants and bushes, herbal and climber plants: Gokharu, khejri, karonda, berry etc.
Root plants (Left over material of vegetables): Turnip, potato, radish, carrot, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage.

Grass: Napier grass, guinea grass, doob grass, anjan grass, stylo grass.

Dry fodder
Straw:
Chickpea, pigeon pea and groundnut, conserved fodder.
Hay: Grass, leguminous (chickpea) and non-leguminous (oats).
Silage: Grass, leguminous and non-leguminous plants.

Distribution
Grain
: Bajra, sorghum, oats, maize, chickpea, wheat.
Farm and industrial sub products: Coconut seeds skin, mustard skin, groundnut skin, alsi, shisham, wheat sawdust, rice sawdust, etc.
Livestock and marine products: Full and partial dry milk products, fish meal, blood meal.
Industrial sub-products: Sub products of barley, vegetables and fruits.
Pods: Acacia, banyan, peas etc.

Care of the breed

Care of pregnant sheep’s: Proper care of their feed and management must be taken to avoid abortions, premature births and toxemia. Protect ewes from cold weather and provide them clean and separate room/area before 4-6 days of parturient. The feed quantity should be increased in the later stages of pregnancy i.e. 3-4 weeks before parturient which help them to produce increased milk production and healthy lamb growth.   
 
Care of weaner: After birth clean the nostrils, face and ear with the help of dry cotton cloth and remove the placental membrane. Gentle rubbing must be done to clean the newborn kids. If new born kid is not taking breathe then hold the kids up with their hind legs having head downwards which will help to clear its respiratory tract. Clean the udder of weaner with tincture iodine and then give them its first colostrum drink within 30 minutes of its birth.  

Care of lambs: Extreme care must be taken at the early stages of their life. Provide lambs good quality hay or feed which is good for their health and is easily digestible. For nibbling, provide them leguminous fodder or fresh leaves.

Organizing identification symbols on sheep’s: For the proper record, good husbandry, recognition purpose and as the proof of ownership it is necessary to apply number mark on their body. It is mainly done with the help of tattooing, tagging, wax marking crayons, spray chalk, colored spray and paint branding.

Recommended vaccination to lambs:
In the first month of lamb, drenching must be done to protect them from gastro intestinal parasites and vaccination must be given to protect them from sheep-pox and enterotoxaemia.

Diseases and Treatment

•    Acidosis (Grain Overload): The disease occurs due to overeating of wheat or barley. The disease damages the rumen of the animal.
Treatment: If symptoms are seen then treat with the dose of sodium bicarbonate @10g/sheep.

 



•    Annual Ryegrass Toxicity (ARGT): The disease is caused due to eating of Annual Ryegrass. The infected seeds are eaten by sheep which are toxic for their health. This will cause death of animal. It mainly occurs in mid-October to mid-December.
Treatment: Take animals to different place if in surrounding the ryegrass is grown.

 

 



•    Cheesy gland: It is a bacterial infection which causes the accumulation of pus in the lungs or lymph nodes which results in poor wool production.
Treatment: Vaccination of clostridial medicine is given to cure this disease.

 



•    Cobalt deficiency: This disease mainly occurs due to the deficiency of B12 in the sheep.
Treatment: Immediate injection of vitamin B12 is given when symptoms are seen.

 



•    Coccidiosis:This is a parasitic disease which damages the intestinal wall of sheep. This will cause death of sheep.
Treatment: Two doses by drenching of sulpha drug are given at the interval of 3 days or the injection is given.

 

 



•    Copper deficiency: It occurs due to deficiency of copper. This deficiency results in abnormalities in sheep.
Treatment: The capsules of copper oxide or injections of copper glycinate are given to cure from copper deficiency.



•    Dermatophilosis (Dermo or Lumpy Wool): Mainly Merino sheep’s suffer from this disease. Mainly the infection is seen on non-woolen areas.
Treatment: The antibiotic treatment will help to cure Dermatophilosis disease.

 

 



•    Exposure loses: This is mainly occurring within 2 weeks of shearing as the sheep can’t maintain its normal body temperature because of heat loss.
Treatment: The sheep’s must be weather protected.

 

 



•    Foot Abscess: This disease occurs mainly in rainy season. The bacterial infection infects the toe.
Treatment: Antibiotic treatment is given to get rid of foot abscess.

 

 



•    Listeriosis (Circling disease): It is a spordiac bacterial infection which affects animals and also humans. In flocks the disease occurs because of eating spoiled hay.
Treatment: Antibiotic treatment is given by the vet.

 

 



•    Pinkeye: It mainly occurs due to polluted surrounding environment.
Treatment: Antibiotic sprays or powder is given to get rid of pinkeye.

 

 

 


•    Mastitis: In this disease the udder gets swollen or enlarged, milk becomes watery and the level of milk secretion gets reduced.