Content
Meat sheep farming in Russia is traditionally practically absent. In the European part, the Slavic peoples needed not meat from sheep, but warm skin, which led to the emergence of coarse-wooled breeds. In the Asian part of the Russian Empire, meat was also valued less than lard. Fat-tailed meat-fat breeds arose there. But since the mid-twentieth century, the need for high-energy fat and warm natural sheepskin has disappeared. There was a need for meat.
This need could be met by breeding pigs or cows. But pigs bred in large quantities require strict adherence to sanitary standards. Although cows are more resistant to diseases, they grow very slowly.
The golden mean could be goats and sheep. But the goats were also only dairy, and the sheep were either fur coated or fat-tailed. There was no genetic material for creating our own meat breed of sheep in Russia. We had to attract foreign gene pool. To breed a new breed, sheep were used: Pople Dorset, Texel, Eastfriesian and others. The Tashlin breed of sheep is the product of complex crossing of foreign meat sheep with local stock.
Story
The creation of the Tashlinsky breed began in the Stavropol Territory in intensive farming farms. Previously, experiments were carried out on crossing Caucasian queens with Texel, Soviet meat and wool and North Caucasian rams.The experiments were carried out during the most difficult period for Russia in 1994-1996.
In the photo, from this angle, a ram of the Texel breed looks somewhat similar to a pig.
Experiments have shown that it is more expedient to use foreign Texels on local breeding stock than the other two Russian breeds of sheep.
Texel's offspring were larger and developed faster, up to 8 months. Given the same diet, crosses with Texel grew significantly faster during the fattening period and gained muscle mass better. The pre-slaughter weight of the raised lambs from Texel was greater, and the slaughter yield from the carcass and the percentage of the pulp part also increased.
Based on experimental data, a scheme for breeding a new meat breed of sheep was drawn up. According to this scheme, Texel rams of Finnish and Dutch selection were used on the local Caucasian breeding stock. The resulting offspring were bred within themselves.
If the born ewe “took after its mother,” it was bred again to Texel rams until offspring with the desired qualities were obtained. At the beginning of work on developing the new Tashlinskaya breed, local Caucasian sheep were also crossed with the East Frisian dairy breed for the effect of heterosis: the resulting queens had an increased level of milk production and fertility, and also a very well developed maternal instinct.
The resulting crossbred lambs, which had the necessary qualities, were crossed with Texel rams. From the born lambs, those who met the requirements for the future breed were selected, and then they were bred “in themselves.”
Selection work to develop the Tashlinsky meat breed lasted 7 years. During this time, over 67 thousand queens were inseminated on farms in the Stavropol Territory. The main emphasis during this period was on increasing the number of sheep with the desired qualities and their typification.In addition, “instructions” were developed for the maintenance and feeding of the future new breed.
In 2008, the breed was officially registered as Tashlinskaya. The name was given after the village of Tashla where the main breeding work was carried out. In 2009, there were already 9835 representatives of the new Tashlinskaya breed, of which 4494 were queens.
Description
Sheep of the Tashlinsky breed are large animals with semi-fine wool. The color of Tashlin sheep is white. The weight of the rams is from 90 to 100 kg. Uterus weigh 55-65 kg. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed. For meat breeds, this is a desirable quality, since it allows animals of both sexes to be fattened for meat with almost equal efficiency.
It is still too early to talk about the exterior of the Tashlin sheep, since the breed is young and unsettled. While Texel blood is still being poured into it to refresh the population. Because of this, even the shape and size of the head may vary. Tashlin sheep may have a straight Texel profile or a Roman one, inherited from local Caucasian ancestors.
The Tashlinsky ram in a private farmstead has a rather rough, hook-nosed head with a short muzzle.
The breeding Tashlin ram, which belongs to one of the breeding farms, has a relatively small head with a straight Texel profile. This ram also has a better body and limb structure. But it is clear that the breeding farm will not sell the best breeding sheep and the so-called culling breeds go to private owners - relatively good animals that have certain shortcomings that are undesirable when obtaining the final result.
Tashlinsky sheep are well adapted to the climatic conditions of Russia. The constitution is strong. Body type: pronounced meat type. Externally, Tashlin sheep are similar to the ancestor breed Texel.
Productive characteristics
Tashlin queens are very fertile. The productivity of queens is 155-170 lambs per 100 sheep. First cats give 128%. Safety of lambs is 91%.
Young animals respond well to fattening. Within 5 months after birth, he gains 220 g daily. The best rams at 3 months can weigh 42 kg. By the time of slaughter at 5 months, the carcass weighs 16 kg with a slaughter yield of 44%. At 7 months, 19.6 kg and 46%, respectively, and at 9 months – 25 kg and 50%. At 9 months of age, the meat content in the carcass is 80%, bones 20%.
A serious advantage of the Tashlin breed of sheep is the low percentage of internal fat. During fattening, fat reserves are deposited between the muscles, due to which an analogue of marbled beef is obtained from Tashlinsky sheep.
In addition to meat, you can get good quality wool from Tashlin sheep. The length of the fibers for rams is 12 cm, for ewes 11 cm. “Dirty” shearing of wool from rams is up to 7 kg, from ewes – up to 4.5 kg. After processing and cleaning, the wool yield is 64% of the original amount. The fineness of sheep's wool is 48 quality, that is, 31.5 microns. Wool from yearling rams is 50 quality. Queens and females have 56 wool quality.
Feeding
Tashlinsky sheep are not whimsical and are able to consume large amounts of roughage. They respond well to fattening. But in general, their diet is similar to that of any other breed of sheep:
- roughage;
- concentrates;
- succulent feed;
- salt;
- chalk;
- vitamin and mineral premixes.
Depending on the goals set, the percentage of feed in the diet may vary. For fattening, the main emphasis is on concentrates. It should be remembered that in cold weather the animal's need for feed increases.But it increases not due to concentrates, but due to roughage. Therefore, in cold weather you need to increase the amount of hay.
Juicy food should be given carefully, as it can ferment in the stomach, causing tympany.
Content
The Tashlin breed is recommended for keeping in areas with a moderately humid climate. This is mainly the Stavropol Territory, the North Caucasus region and the Central zone of Russia. In cold regions, sheep of the Tashlin breed need an insulated sheepfold. Here we must also take into account the fact that in cold weather the animal spends a significant part of the energy from the food eaten on heating. And this means a reduction in weight gain.
In winter, sheep are kept on deep bedding, which is naturally heated from below. The litter is not removed until summer, only adding fresh material on top. In the case of livestock, the optimal solution would be a “mattress” made of straw, which, even during use, will slowly rot into humus in the lower layers. The mattress must not be touched during operation. Manure is removed from above and some fresh straw is added. In the spring, the “mattress” is usually removed with a bulldozer.
But not many people know how to make “mattresses” correctly. For those who do not know how to better use sawdust with the addition of special bacteria. On the contrary, such litter must be dug up daily.
If it is possible to clean the sheepfold, it is better to do it on time, without bringing the sheep to such a state.
No, judging by the white muzzles, the color of these animals is actually white. But it will take a very long time to wash the cut wool.
Reviews
Conclusion
The Tashlin breed of sheep turned out to be very successful in terms of productivity. Tasty meat and by-products in the form of good quality wool have already made Tashlin sheep very popular in private farmsteads and among small farmers. And the calm disposition of rams makes this breed almost ideal for private owners.
