Sheep and Goat Care Management

CARE AND MANAGEMENT

CARE OF KIDS

Almost immediately after birth, the kids, if healthy and strong, are on their legs and make attempts for their mother’s teats.
If more than one kid is born, it may be necessary especially when they are very young, to ensure that the smallest of them gets its due share of milk, because it may be prevented from doing so by the stronger kids.
In case the udder is too full, a proportion of the milk should be drawn from as otherwise the weight of the udder will cause discomfort to the animal.
As soon as there is free flow of milk the kids should be put to the teats, and if they do not suck properly, the teats should be held by the hand and pressed into their mouths.
Once they have drawn a little of the milk, it will not be long before they take to the normal methods of suckling.
Generally, male kids are heavier than the female kids.
At birth, a male kid of the Beetal breed will weigh about 3 kilograms and a female kid about 2-5 kilograms.
For the first three or four days after kidding, goats’ milk like cow’s milk, is considered unsuitable for human consumption. This milk, the so-called colostrum, is yellowish in appearance and is viscous; it coagulates on boiling. It is nature’s first provision of food for the new born and it must be given to the kids whether they are to be reared on the goat or artificially.
Colostrum acts as a laxative and, because of its large contents of vitamin A and serum globulin, it confers immunity against certain diseases.
When about two weeks old, kids begin to nibble green food or dry fodder, and it would be well to see that small quantities of these are within their easy reach at this time.
It is also important that kids are allowed plenty of open air and sunlight.
In the hot weather, this can best be done by keeping them in an enclosure build round a tree so that they may also be provided with shade.
The enclosure should be large enough to allow them plenty of exercise.
At the age of 2 to 3 months, the suckling may be practically discontinued and at four months the kids should be completely weaned because by this time they will become fit like the older goats to eat solid food, although they may as well be allowed to suckle a little longer.
Male kids, unless they are required for breeding purposes, should be castrated at the age of 2 to 3 months for it has been proved that castration improved the quality of meat. Otherwise, they should be kept separated from the female kids.
The rearing of kids may be either natural (with mother) or by hand rearing and each has its advantages and disadvantages. In India, it is the natural method that is usually practiced and this consists of in leaving the kid to take what amount of milk it can obtain from its mother.
Hand rearing is resorted to when weaning is practiced or when the goat dies. There are two methods of hand rearing; one consists of feeding the kid with a bottle and the other is feeding it off the pail.
Both methods are learned by them easily, but bottle feeding is to be preferred because the saliva that is produced during the process of suckling the milk aids digestion. Kids will also readily take to feeding on a foster mother when they are put on her teats.
As mentioned earlier, kids start nibbling solid food usually two weeks after birth. They become quite fitted for receiving concentrates in their feeds, when they are four months old.
The quantity of these to be given will vary with the season but may be approximately 60 grams.
Hand feeding is also the method commonly used by breeders of Barbari goats, in Etah district.
Male kids for breeding should be fed and handled in much the same way as doe kids, except for the fact that they require a little more milk as well as gram ration than the female kids on account of the larger size they have to attain.
Kids with body size below normal should be discarded, as they seldom prove good breeders when mature.
They should be fed well at all ages to keep them in good condition, but excessive feeding should be avoided, particularly when they are old because, if fat, they become sluggish and are slow breeders.
Where the animal is unduly fat, its grain ration should be cut. At one year, a buck should receive 1.8 kg of grain mixture the allowance being increased by 50 per cent during the breeding season. A liberal amount of fodder should be given.
An average of 7 to 8 kg of green fodder per day should be adequate for a full grown: Jamunapari buck when entirely stall fed.
In order that the buck may be in good condition and well-suited for breeding it is desirable that it should be on range and graze some two to three miles each day.
Bucks often become sluggish and slow breeders for lack of adequate exercise, because they are kept confined in small enclosures.
For giving them exercise, they may be yoked to small carriages used for hauling light loads. A buck given plenty of exercise and kept away from does and also allowed company of other bucks will be very active during the breeding season.
The buck’s hoofs should be regularly attended to as otherwise it may develop foot rot or lameness.

CARE OF DOE AFTER KIDDING

Provide warm brans mash with small amount of oat meal ginger, Pinch of Salt, mineral mixture with jaggery.
After two days ration of choice of goat be given ad-lib.
Give concentrate mixture of 5 per cent DCP and 60 per cent TDN 450 gms/ day.
Doe may return to heat after 4 weeks but do not breed until 40 days have passed.

CARE OF BREEDING BUCK

Buck is half of the band therefore select pure bred buck of good breeding ability. Breeding males should not be tethered. Bucks should be housed separately to have enough movement and exercise.
A single stall measuring 2-5 x 2 m with usual fittings for food and water is suitable for the buck.
Two bucks should not be kept together, particularly during breeding season because they may fight causing injuries to each other.
Buck should be taken to does for breeding only when needed.
Ensure proper nutrition for bucks specially during breeding season. Give enough exercise to prevent them becoming sluggish.
Buck should neither be overfed nor underfed otherwise health break down may occur.
Good pasture alone will maintain them healthy. Also provide enough salt, minerals and vitamins in diet.
Cleanliness and feeding plenty of greens will help to reduce “goaty smell”.
Average green fodder per buck/day is 7 to 8 kg. Carry out grooming/brushing everyday to keep them clean, free of parasites and to make them docile.
Young buck up to 1 year age be used for not more than 25-30 does, but those of age 18-24 months may be used for 50 does.
Periodical trimming of hoofs to prevent lameness be followed.
Drenching with vermifuge is carried out to keep them free from parasites.

CARE OF PREGNANT AND LACTATING DOES

(a) Pregnant does

About 6-8 weeks before kidding doe should be dried off for developing healthy unborn kid, to keep good health and maintain high milk yield during lactation.
Feed laxative, leguminous and nutritious ration along with 450 g concentrates daily. . If they are permitted to go on range then separate pasture be used for these does.
Avoid overfeeding and underfeeding to prevent metabolic disorders.
Unduly thin goat prior to kidding is likely to have kidding problems leading to birth of weak kids, whereas over fat goats are likely have increased incidences of difficult kiddings.
Avoid sudden changes in ration of does.
Provide ration with enough protein and minerals as per requirements according to body weight and state of pregnancy.
Water is made available at all times.
House the pregnant doe in separate pen to avoid accidents, injuries from other animals and also to give better care.
Make provision of clean soft bedding material in maternity pens for pregnant goats in last 15 days of gestation.
Reduce the concentrate mixture for goat 100 gm/day in last week of gestation before kidding.

(b) Signs approaching parturition in goat

Sunken look at tail and hip
Udder shows shiny appearance and enlarged.
Heavy breathing and worried look.
Looking back and at sides.
Restlessness and bleat in low voice.
Great display of affection for keepers.

Clean the place of kidding, disinfect and dispose of the placenta.
Wash the hind quarters of goat with antiseptic solution.
Protect the doe against the inclement weather especially cold.
Give a warm bran mash containing a small amount of oat meal, ginger, a pinch of salt, mineral mixture and jaggery.
Two days after kidding provide ration of her choice.
The concentrate amount per day should not be more than 500 g/day.
Doe may return to heat after about a month but breed only 40 days after kidding.

(d) Average age at first kidding .70 to 75 weeks.

Factors affecting age at first kidding are as follows:

Season
Age at the conception.
Breed
Feed

(e) Average service period 160 to 220 days depending upon breed prolificacy.

(f) Average dry period 110 to 150 days depending upon prolificacy.

(g) Average kidding interval in milk breeds 310-350 days; Three kiddings in 2 years.

CARE OF LACTATING DOE

Give good quality greens and following concentrate mix:

Gram 15% + maize 37% + groundnut cake 25%, mineral mixture 2.5% and salt 0.5 per cent. Rate of feeding is 400 g/liter of milk

Spencer (1939) suggested following conc mix.

Corn100 parts + oat 100 parts + wheat bran 50 parts and Lin seed meal 25 parts. Rate of feeding 450 gm/liter of milk.
Wash the adder with 5 per cent Dettol solution
Milk the doe completely with dry hand.
Clip off the hair from hind quarters.
Carry out measures of clean milking.
Daily grooming of milking doe makes them docile, clean the body, increases circulation, eradicates parasites, keep them in good health and it is advantageous in making close observations of body.

MAINTAINING PROPER RECORDS ON GOAT FARMS

Records are helpful in evaluation, selection and culling of goats, improvement of flock, systematic breeding programme, testing of bucks, economic feeding, maintaining history and pedigree registers, growth and health conditions, better care and supervision, fixing prices for sale and purchase, management of flock, income and expenses of farm, etc. Therefore, proper records for goats must be maintained:
1. Flock register
2. Kid register
3. Kidding register
4. Feeding register
5. Buck history sheet
6. Breeding register of does
7. Service register
8. Pregnancy diagnosis and fertility report.
9. Production report/card of does
10.Rearing and milk feeding register for young kids
11. Treatment, immunization, and deworming register, report card
12. Body weight register
13. Culling report
14. Maintenance record
15. Daily report
16. Labour management register
17. Goat history and performance record
18. Milk record register
19. Mortality register
20. Milk disposal register
21. Meat, skin disposal register
22. Post mortem report

CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP

CARE DURING PREGNANCY PERIOD

Give extra allowance of nutrients to provide enough protein, energy, water and minerals.
Housing the pregnant ewes in separate enclosures.
Provide green leguminous fodder ad lib/liberally.
Avoid taking them for long distance for grazing.
Keep houses clean, well ventilated. Avoid high temperature in houses of pregnant animals as it leads to birth of immature and weak lambs.
Provide enough clean and safe drinking water.
Keep them parasite free.
Avoid dipping of sheep in advance stage of pregnancy. Keep them comfortable.
Note:
1. During pregnancy, the ewes should have gain in body weight 4 to 6 kg depending upon breed.
2. If ewe loses weight in pregnancy period, then she will give birth to weaker lambs with more death rates.
3. Avoid all kinds of stress during this period.
Flushing
1. Provide good quality roughage (oat, dub, cowpea, etc.)
2. Provide 125 to 200 g of concentrates for flushing.
Reason
1. To prepare the ewes for pregnancy.
2. Stimulates ovulation rate.
3. To get lambs of better birth weight.
4. To get higher lambing percentage.
Time: Two weeks before mating.
Note: before giving extra grain ration it is essential to keep the animal underfed, otherwise, animals getting needed amount of feed, if given extra ration, will accumulate fat and reduce fertility rate.

CARE OF EWE AFTER LAMBING

1. Dispose off placenta thrown by ewe.
2. Sealed orifices of teats be cleared by removing greasy plug by hand.
3. Provide separate clean area in night enclosure.
4. Feed lightly on hay or fresh forages with little amount of grains.
5. Provide free access to water at all times.
CARE OF NEW BORN LAMB
1. Ensure that nose and mouth are free of membranes and mucoid fluid immediately after birth.
2. Place the lamb in a clean and sheltered place.
3. Clean the mucus from body of lamb and make it dry.
4. Let the ewe also lick her lamb for:
(a) Cleaning and removal of mucus from lamb’s body.
(b) Establishing the affinity between lamb and ewe.
5. Leaving 3 cm from the body cut the navel cord with sterilized scissors and treat with tincture iodine.
6. Mark the lamb and give permanent number and record age and number of ewe, sex of lamb, date of born.
7. Weigh the lamb and record it (normal birth weight varies from 2.5 to 3.5 kg in Indian sheep).
8. Help the lamb to reach the teats of ewe for suckling.
9. Make sure that lamb gets first milk.
10. Protect the lamb from getting chill by wrapping in jute/blanket.

MANAGEMENTAL FACTORS TO CHECK LAMB / KID MORTALITY

The management plays a crucial role at a sheep/goat farm to check lamb mortality. The results can be far more satisfactory by co-coordinating all activities of the whole staff.

(i) The farm dispensary should be always equipped with essential life saving drugs to combat odd/eventualities (Tympany, excessive dehydration, etc.).

(ii) Lamb pens should have good drainage system to keep pens dry and free from stagnant water.

(iii) Lamb pens should have facilities for tap water for drinking purpose. Stagnant water should never be used for the purpose.

(iv) Avoid lambs from stress like nuisance of flies, by eliminating manure pile and other filth accumulations around their pens.

(v) Always have plenty of ration, fodder bedding material, medicine in store and a veterinarian should regularly check the lambs/kids and treat them accordingly.

(vi) During colder season, sufficient quantity of energy feed should be given to lamb to offset energy resource for thermo genesis (Heinrich and Ross, 1991).

(vii) In case of diarrhoea, the lamb should be attended very quickly with emergency treatment of feeding of warm saline water (9 g of NaCl/litre) for 24 hours fed @ 1 litre thrice a day. The normal and dry or liquid feed should be withheld, till veterinarian is consulted.

(viii) The imprinting of mother-young one relationship during early hours after birth is very crucial in sheep for the recognition of lamb by her dam. These delays first colostrum feeding and thereby transfer of antibodies. This can be avoided by rubbing its own placental fluid on the mouth of mother, salting of young one’s skin to encourage licking and covering of orphan lambs by skin of her own young one etc.

(ix) Ensure adequate labour during lambing as tired and bad tempered labour make mistakes.

(x) Mortality of lamb/does is generally higher in very young and very old dams because of inexperience to lick young ones and poor digestibility with debilitated conditions respectively.

(xi) The cost of mortality should include not only the value of dead lamb but also the cost of feed and treatment of disease before the lamb’s death (Roy, 1990).

(xii) Provide shelter if lambing is taking place outside in open, for prevention of hypothermic deaths.

RAISING ORPHAN LAMB

Objective: To raise lamb whose dam had died.

(i) Adoption to strange lamb by foster mother

The Measures are as follows:

Rubbing the foster mother’s milk on the rump and lamb and nose of the ewe.
Tie such ewe (s) that have lost their lambs closer to orphan lamb with small halter in a small pen.
Putting the whole skin of the dead lamb over the body of orphan lamb.

Note:

patience helps in getting ewe to accept an orphan lamb.
An attempt by ewe to lick an orphan lamb is an indication of success.

(ii) Raising orphan lambs by hand

Feed small quantity of milk frequently, i.e. 30 g milk at 2 hours interval for two days.
Increase the quantity of milk with age and weight/size of lamb and its appetite.
Increase the interval between feedings.
Make use of nipples and clean bottle.

Note:

(a) More troubles are noticed from overfeeding than from underfeeding. Therefore don’t feed too much at one time.

(b) The greatest losses in productivity in most flocks are due to mortality of lambs during first 48 hours or first week of life.

RESTRAINING SHEEP AND GOATS

Sheep can be easily restrained than other livestock species.

1.SECURING

Sheep can be secured for examination, as follows

1) Twig of legs: Three legs of the sheep are tied together and the one left for examination.

2) Portable sheep stocks: This consists of wooden piece with Y shape, the branches being far apart to admit a sheep’s head. Each branch is provided with holes through which an iron peg is passed. The bottom is driven into the ground. The head of the sheep into the two branches and pass the iron peg trough the holes. This prevents the removal of head back.

3) Two smooth stakes: Take two smooth stakes of 4 to 5 feet long and drive into the ground 4 to 5 inches apart. Keep the sheep head in between them and tie two ropes in the figure of 8 wise round the posts above and below the neck of the sheep.

The above two contrivances are useful for trimming feet, for doing dressing or to prevent a foster mother from injuring another ewe’s lamb when she is suckling.

2.GAGS

Gags are used in sheep generally for dosing them with fluids or capsules of medicines for control of parasitic worms.

Two types of gags are used in sheep

1) Round gag 2) Linton’s gag.

VICES OF SHEEP AND GOAT

1. Wool pulling and wool eating

Wool pulling is a form of abnormal behaviour which occurs in sheep within restrictive enclosure and indoor management systems.
Overcrowding and deficiency of roughage in the diet are the contributing factors for this vice.

2.Stealing young / lamb stealing

Pre-parturient ewes, cows and mares often approach, sniff and remain close to the new born young of other members of the group. This leads to reduced maternal support to the young and it become weak.
In lamb stealing, the foster mother may later reject her own lamb when it is born or may have no colostrum left for it. In these various situations lamb may often die. This problem can be controlled by separating the ewe or cow should separated from the group before and very soon after parturition.

Source: TANAU Agri expert system.

ESSENTIALS OF SHEEP MANAGEMENT ROUND THE YEAR

Managerial aspects of sheep rearing is vital for efficient production particularly, where rearing of sheep is exclusively a pastoral enterprise while other livestock are raised on stall feeding under intensive system of housing.

Country can be divided into four district sheep regions on the basis of topographical and agro-climatic conditions.

For the sake of efficient management of sheep all the year round at various regions, all care must be taken.

Winter Season (December-January and February)

It is the time when it becomes extremely cold in the temperate and in North Western regions and moderately cold in the Eastern and Southern region. Grazing condition deteriorates due to poor growth of grass.

(1) Provide supplementary feeding to ewes and rams,

(2) Mature animals are now to be prepared to face the strain of coming mating season,

(3) The animals must be protected against cold particularly in temperate regions.

Spring Season (March and April)

Mostly the season is mild, heading for the hot season. Occasionally the pasture land will have new grasses coming out resulting scarcity of grazing materials.
After the harvest of Rabi crops, stable grazing is available. The sheep show gradual increase in body weight.
With the gradual increase in day temperature condition goes in favor of parasitic infestations for which all possible care must be taken.
At the same time outbreaks of enterotoxaemia are likely to be experienced. The following operations may be made.

In Dry Northern, Southern and Eastern region:

Ewes are then planned for mating. Estrous in ewes range from 20-42 hours, with an average of 30 hours. Ovulation occurs about 24-30 hours after the onset of estrous. If the ewe is not bred, or if she fails to conceive, estrous recurs after an interval of about 17 days.
Just prior to breeding season shearing of the flocks make them more active and in many cases, will improve their fertility. Sheep in India are generally shorn immediately after the end of winter season when warm weather commences and sufficient grazing in the field is available.
Dipping at this time of the season is another essential provision for safe-guarding sheep for the following reasons:

(a) To remove excess of faulty materials and dung from the fleece prior to clipping

(b) To cleanse the skin from the products of sweat, shed epithelial scales and other waste materials;

(d) To prevent attack by the sheep-blowflies and consequent infestation with maggots.

The following is a list of dips classified according to disease to be treated.

Maggots — Any Sulphur dip

Lice — DDT, Dieldrin

Ticks — BHC, arsenic

Scab — Lime Sulphur solution

The dip must be carefully made up according to instructions, and fresh dipping powder and fluid added to make up the loss that occurs from the removal of a small amount upon the fleece of each sheep.
In band bath type of dip, each sheep is lifted individually into the dipping bath, which usually of wood or concrete about 4 ft. long, 3 ft. 6 inches in deep, and 1 ft. 9 inches to 2 ft. wide, and turned over on to its back.
They are held in the bath for about 2 minutes, their heads being immersed at least once. Then they are lifted on to a draining board where the excess dip is squeezed from their fleeces and runs back into the bath.
Two men are required at the bath and one man is usually engaged catching from the collecting pen.

Precautions

For 4 to5 weeks after service ewes should not be dipped as it might end up with abortion.
Sheep should be offered a drink of water before being dipped in hot weather, as there is some risk of thirsty animals drinking the dip, with fatal results if it is a poisonous variety.
The dip must be repeated at suitable intervals.
Due to Enterotoxaemia 5 to 10 per cent of sheep may die in any season. There are two forms of this acute disease, each caused by a different type of the organism e.g., Clostridium welchei Type C and Type D.

A vaccine is available for preventive purposes and it is advisable to give two doses at an interval of at least 14 days preferably during spring season.

In temperate regions, in addition to above functions, attention for lambing of ewes followed by care of lambs become additional problems for the sheep owners.

Hot Season (May and June)

Day temperature will be gradually on the increasing side. Everywhere the grazing lands will look like barren resulting scarcity of green grasses. However, stubble of rabi harvested crops may provide some feed materials to sheep. Supplementary feeding either as silage or grain mix is necessary.

The picture in the temperate regions will be different; here grasses will continue to grow.

The following operations may suit in Northern, Southern and Eastern regions:

Proper care of pregnant ewes

When the flock is large, separate the ewes those are close to lambing.
At this stage ewes will sink away on either side of the rump in front of the hips, the vulva will enlarge, wax will form on the ends of the teats, udder will distend and the teats will be tight and show signs of filling. Such animals should be protected from inclement weather.
During the first 3 months of pregnancy the ewes should be kept in fairly hard condition, neither gaining nor losing weight. The ewes should act as scavengers, clearing up stubbles.
The day to day management involves looking at the pregnant ewes once a day to see that all is well, and checking the feet periodically to see that they are free from any infection.

Steaming up

As the ewes become heavy in lamb, they will require more nutrients to feed the developing lambs. The feeding of supplementary concentrates during the last two months of pregnancy is strongly recommended.
This will lead to stronger and heavier lamb at birth, the ewes will milk better and the risk of pregnancy toxaemia will be considerably reduced.
The concentrates should be fed in trough which will need moving daily. Allow at least 0.5 m of trough space per ewe to prevent them knocking each other when feeding.

In practice the effect of steaming up can be achieved by feeding:

8-6 weeks before lambing: 100 g concentrates + usual grazing/head/day
6-4 weeks before lambing: 200 g concentrates + usual grazing/head/day
4-2 weeks before lambing: 300 g concentrates +usual grazing/head/day
2-0 weeks before lambing: 450 g concentrates +-usual grazing/head/day

Suitable mixture would be

(1) Cereal grains—40 parts, Wheat bran—30, GNC or Linseed cake—20 parts

(2) Barley, Dal or Maize – 46 parts Sorghum grain — 34, oilcakes — 20

(3) Any good dairy concentrate mixture containing 16-18 per cent crude protein.

The feeding of supplemental concentrate mixture can be gradually diminished after 8-10 weeks of lambing.

In temperate regions:

Since in this region most of the lambs have already born, the shepherd should remain careful in rearing of lambs scientifically including marking and castration of lambs.

Marking

Marking may be done at the same time the lambs are docked and castrated. Pure bred lambs are marked so that the sires and dams of any lamb could be known. Range sheepmen mark their lambs so that they cannot get mixed up with another’s.

Apart from these well marked lambs are a precaution against thieves. Marking may be done by any of the following ways:

(1) Ear notches: It provides a quick method of marking but the disadvantage is that it makes the ears disfigures and for this reason it is not commonly used by purebred breeders.

(2) Plastic tags: Plastic tags having various combinations of letters and numbers may be used. Two tags, one in each ear, may be attached. One tag carries the individual number and the other the flock number. This system will provide identification number of the owner as well as of the sires and dam of the lamb. Plastic or metal tags are costly for use in large flocks.

(3) Paint brands: The method is easy and can be applied with minimum expense and labour. Commercial branding fluids that will remain on sheep for a year, and may be removed from the fleece in the regular scouring process, are now available.

Castration

The three methods of castrating lambs are (1) Elastrator and rubber ring, (2) Burdizzo and (3) Surgical removal.

Elastration and rubber rings:

The rings are placed under the scrotum and spermatic cords before the lambs are two days old. Care should be taken to see that both the testicles are below the ring.

Burdizzo or bloodless castrator:

By taking burdizzo castrator in right hand, carefully draw one testicle down you’re your left hand.
Place the spermatic cord between the jaws and then apply pressure. Repeat the second testicle.
Lambs are best pinched before they are six weeks old.

Surgical removal

This is a surgical operation and should not be attempted unless accompanied by a veterinary surgeon.

Rainy Season (July, August and September)

During this season there is abundant growth of pastures. The sheep gains maximum body weight. The early period is ideal for reseeding of pastures; the later period is favourable for lambing. In the temperate region, the rainfall ranges from moderate to heavy, period is not favourable for lambing as the flocks are high up in the alpine pastures with least facility of providing protection.

The managerial practices for the regions at the rainy season may be summarized as below:

Temperate region

Preparation of ewes for breeding
Deworming of sheep
Pairing of overgrown hoofs
Crutching of sheep

Northern, Southern and Eastern region

(a) Lambing time, so requires special attention in this regard;

(b) Care of newly born lambs

(d) Reseeding of pasture lands

Autumn Season (October and November)

The condition of grazing land continues to be good. In addition sheep will stubble grazing after harvest of the kharif crops.
Sheep are migrated to remote pastures. Weaning, castration, shearing, dipping and deworming are some of important aspects of sheep farming at this season.

Value Added Products

Value addition in sheep milk

Milk is a highly perishable food, so value addition increases its shelf-life like infant formulas from milk. Value-addition in sheep milk can boost revenue.
It can be converted to consumable or non-consumable products.
Consumable products from sheep milk include cheese, yogurt, ice-cream, kulfi, paneer, etc. which makes milk more palatable.
Non-consumable products include soaps, shampoo, lotions, lip balms, etc. These are mainly skincare products as sheep milk is rich in beneficial fats and essential minerals and vitamins.
Sheep do not have milk production potential similar to cow and buffalo, but sheep milk can be stored without hindering its quality. For maintaining protein stability for more than 12 months sheep milk should be rapidly frozen and stored below -200 C.
Internationally sheep milk is not popular in its native form but famous for value-added product forms like cheese, yogurt, Sheep Wool and Mutton.
Production and Value Addition 38 ice cream, infant formula, etc. Feta, Roquefort, Manchego, Ricotta, and Pecorino Romano are some well-known cheeses developed from sheep milk in different countries.
Sheep milk cheese is not only delicious but its appearance, texture, and nutrient-dense quality make it a worldfamous value-added product.
As sheep milk casein is bound to calcium, so there is no need of adding CaCl2 to milk for cheese preparation. Italy (36%) and France (20%) are leading sheep milk cheese exporters.
Sheep milk ice cream needs no more addition of fat or protein. As sheep milk is naturally homogenized, no more homogenization is needed in ice-cream preparation from sheep milk.
Due to higher protein and fat content, several probiotics that can survive in cold temperatures can safely be delivered to gastrointestinal sites by sheep milk ice creams (Rasika et al., 2020).
Concentrated form sheep milk fat can be obtained in butter, ghee, paneer and cheese formulations while fat free milk can be obtained in form of skim milk.
Sheep milk is also a perfect raw material for sweets preparation.
Sheep milk bio-peptides are gaining attention these days by most health cautious consumers as it has anti-aging property, anti-microbial property, anti-oxidant nature, antihypertensive qualities, etc.
Nowadays along with a nutrition interest, medical and therapeutic industries are also interested in sheep milk.

Sheep produce other than wool and mutton

Sheep also produce skin, manure, and a small amount of milk in addition to mutton and wool. Sheep skin is exported in the form of leather and leather products, in addition to its domestic use. Agricultural activities use sheep manure. Some sheep breeds that produce a higher amount of milk are milked and sold as whole milk or milk products.

Newer technology intervention for enhancing mutton production

A good number of newer technologies have been developed by the ICAR-CSWRI, Avikanagar for enhancing mutton production in the country (Shinde et al., 2017). These sheep technologies and innovations are summarized below:

Traditional philosophy of “More sheep means more money” to “more money from less sheep”
Introduce prolificacy in sheep to produce twins/triplets
Introduce sheep of extraordinary growth and feed efficiency
Accelerated lambing system to produce 3 lambs in 2 year
Marketing of sheep on live weights for better realization of value
Estrus synchronisation to produce lambs as per market demand
Stall feeding of sheep on balance ration for higher meat yield and quality
Disease management practices to reduce mortality losses
Market-oriented production to attract prime price for produce
Diversified functional and healthy meat products
Establish state of art slaughterhouse in production areas
Skill development of farmers in commercial lamb production

Value addition of mutton and live animal marketing

Market for processed meat in India is growing at a faster rate. Value-added meat products developed from meat are ready-to-eat, ready to serve and eat, and more appealing.
Non-meat components like low-value meat cuts, edible meat by-products can be used. Processing promotes entrepreneurship and employment. Functional and healthy meat products like low fat, low sodium/salt, fibre rich and natural antioxidants fortified meat products could be developed.
ICAR–CSWRI, Avikangar has developed numerous (nuggets, patties, kabab, sausages, loaf, salami, kofta, cookies, pickles, etc.) ready to eat and heat and serve sheep meat products for the consumers (Gadekar et al., 2013).
The marketing of live sheep is unorganized in the country and several intermediaries are involved and pay less return to sheep farmers.
The majority of sheep are sold in the market on physical appearance without actual weights and body conformation. This leads to the poor realization of price to farmers.

Value Added Meat Products Developed from Mutton

Meat Product

Diversified mutton products have been developed with a wide variety of flavors, textures, and shapes. Mutton nuggets are partially or completely emulsion based products, contain less fat. The mutton nuggets are also coated with suitable ingredients and then deep fat fried to give attractive golden brown color and to enhance palatability of the product. The other value added products prepared were sausages, petties, pickles, soap
enrobed eggs, mutton loaves and mutton kofta.

Source: http://cswri.res.in/technology_developed.asp

Major achievements of CSWRI

1. Suitable age and weight for slaughter has been considered around 12 week of age or up to 2.0 kg body weight for better meat yield and quality.
2. Meat sausage, nuggets, mutton patties, meat pickle, mutton soup, enrobed eggs, meat loaf, enrobed mutton nuggets, mutton kofta and restructured meat products developed.
3. In meat processing wheat or chick pea flour (@3% in meat product formulation resulted in better yield.
4. For natural casings hydrogen peroxide (0.06%) or per-acetic acid (0.1%) can be very effective deslimer for enhancing their keeping quality.