Animal Husbandry

Sheep Farming
1. Why Sheep Farming ?
Sheep with its multi-facet utility for wool, meat, milk, skins and manure, form an important
component of rural economy particularly in the arid, semi-arid and mountainous areas of the
country. It provides a dependable source of income to the shepherds through sale of wool
and animals. The advantages of sheep farming are :
i)Sheep do not need epensive buildings to house them and on the other hand re!uire less
labour than other kinds of livestock.
ii)The foundation stock are relatively cheap and the flock can be multiplied rapidly.
iii)Sheep are economical converter of grass into meat and wool.
iv)Sheep will eat varied kinds of plants compared to other kind of livestock. This makes
them ecellent weed destroyer.
v)"nlike goats, sheep hardly damage any tree.
vi)The production of wool, meat and manure provides three different sources of income to
the shepherd.
vii)The structure of their lips helps them to clean grains lost at harvest time and thus convert
waste feed into profitable products.
viii)#utton is one kind of meat towards, which there is no pre$udice by any community
in India and further development of superior breeds for mutton production will have a great
scope in the developing economy of India.
2. Scope for Sheep Farming and Its National Importance
%.& The country has '(.) million sheep as per &**+ livestock census and ranks sith in the
world. The statewise sheep population are given in ,nneure I. -uring %..&-.% wool
production stands at the modest level of '..+.* million, skin with wool sheep '%/ #T, sheep
and goat meat +..'.. #T in %..&-.%, sheep fresh '%0). #T. The eport earnings from
different woollen products during &**/-*' was 1s.%'++0 million. The contribution of sheep
to total meat production in the country is around &/ percent. The contribution of sheep
through eport of meat is ) percent of the total eport value of agricultural and processed
food products. 2ive sheep are also eported for meat purpose. Sheep skin in the form of
leather and leather products is also eported.
%.% Sheep make a valuable contribution to the livelihood of the economically weaker
sections of the society. ,mongst the livestock owners the shepherds are the poorest of the
lot.
%.0 1ealising the importance of sheep in ,grarian economy the 3entral 4overnment had
established the 3entral Sheep and 5ool 1esearch Institute 63S51I) at ,vikanagar in
1a$asthan. 7umber of sheep breeding farms were established during various plan periods
throughout the country for evolving 6i) new fine wool breeds for different agro-climatic
regions capable of producing %.' kg. of greasy wool per annum. 6ii) new mutton breeds
capable of attaining 0. kg. live weight at ( months of age under intensive feeding
conditions. Sheep development activities were initiated under :
-8,8, #9,2 and S9-, programmes. Intensive Sheep -evelopment 8ro$ects 6IS-8:s)
were introduced in many of the sheep rearing districts. Setting up of wool boards in
important wool producing states was envisaged and States of ;ammu < =ashmir and
=arnataka have already set up these boards. Some of the states have set up wool
development corporations > federations. The states having such organisations are given in
,nneure II.
.! Financial assistance a"ailable from ban#s $ NA%A&' for sheep farming
0.& 7,?,1- is an ape institution for all matters relating to policy, planning and operation
in the field of agricultural credit. It serves as refinancing agency for the institutions providing
investment and production credit for agriculture and rural development. It promotes
development through a well organised Technical Services -epartment at the @ead Affice
and Technical 3ells at each of the 1egional Affices.
0.% 2oan from banks with refinance facility from 7,?,1- is available for starting sheep
farming. 9or obtaining bank loan, the farmers should apply to the nearest branch of a
3ommercial, 3o-operative or 1egional 1ural ?ank in their area in the prescribed application
form which is available in the branches of financing bank. The Technical officer attached to
or the #anager of the bank can help > give guidance to the farmers in preparing the pro$ect
report to obtain bank loan.
0.0 9or sheep development schemes with very large outlays, detailed reports will have to be
prepared. The beneficiaries may utilise the services of 7,?,1- 3onsultancy Services
6nabcons) having good eperience in developing livestock pro$ects for preparation of the
pro$ect report to avail the bank loan for the items such as purchase of breeding animals,
construction of sheds, purchase of e!uipments etc. The cost of land is not considered for
loan.
(.! Scheme Formulation
, scheme can be prepared by a beneficiary after consulting local technical persons of State
,nimal @usbandry -epartment, -1-,, Sheep development 3orporation, Sheep 3o-
operative society > union > federation and commercial farmers. If possible, the beneficiaries
should also visit progressive sheep farmers and government > agricultural university Sheep
farms in the vicinity and discuss the profitability of sheep farming. , good practical training
and eperience in sheep farming will be highly desirable. The sheep co-operative societies
established in the villages as a result of efforts by the Sheep -evelopment -epartment of
State 4overnment > Sheep -evelopment ?oard would provide all supporting facilities,
particularly marketing of live animals and wool. 7earness of the sheep farm to such a
society, veterinary aid and breeding centre should be ensured.
The scheme should include information on land, livestock markets, availability of water,
feeds, fodder, veterinary aid, breeding facilities, marketing aspects, training facilities,
eperience of the farmer and the type of assistance available from State 4overnment,
Sheep society > union > federation.
The scheme should also include information on the number of and types of animals to be
purchased, their breeds, production performance, cost and other relevant input and output
costs with their description. ?ased on this, the total cost of the pro$ect, margin money to be
provided by the beneficiary, re!uirement of bank loan, estimated annual ependiture,
income, profit and loss statement, repayment period, etc. can be worked out and included in
the scheme.
).! &e*uirements of a +ood ,ro-ect
, check list prepared by 7,?,1- for formulation of sheep development schemes is given
in ,nneure III. The scheme so formulated should be submitted to the nearest branch of
bank. The bank:s officers can assist in preparation of the scheme or filling in the prescribed
application form. The bank will then eamine the scheme for its technical feasibility and
economic viability.
A. /echnical Feasibility 0 /his 1ould briefly include
6a)7earness of the selected area to veterinary aid, breeding cover and wool collection
centre and the financing bank:s branch.
6b),vailability of good !uality animals in nearby livestock markets. The distribution of sheep
breeds in Indiaare given in ,nneure IB-a, while the wool production and !uality in IB-b.
6c)Source of training facilities. The ma$or institutions providing training in Sheep farming are
given in ,nneure B.
6d),vailability of good graCing ground > lands.
6e),vailability of green>dry fodder, concentrate feed, medicines etc.
6f),vailability of veterinary aid > breeding centres and marketing facilities near the scheme
area.
%. 2conomic 3iability 0 /his 1ould briefly include
6a)"nit 3ost - The average cost of Sheep units for some of the States is given in ,nneure
BI.
6b)Input cost for feeds and fodders, veterinary aid, insurance, shearing etc.
6c)Autput costs i.e. sale price of animals, wool, penning etc.
6d)Income-ependiture statement and annual gross surplus.
6e)3ash flow analysis.
6f)1epayment schedule i.e. repayment of principal loan amount and interest.
Ather documents such as loan application forms, security aspects, margin money
re!uirements etc. are also eamined. , field visit to the scheme area is undertaken for
conducting a techno-economic feasibility study for appraisal of the scheme. The economics
of sheep farming is given in ,nneure BII.
4.Sanction of %an# 5oan and its 'isbursement
,fter ensuring technical feasibility and economic viability, the scheme is sanctioned by the
bank. The loan is disbursed in stages against creation of specific assets such as
construction of sheds, purchase of e!uipments and animals. The end use of the loan is
verified and constant follow-up is done by the bank.
6. 5ending /erms 0 +eneral
6.1 7nit cost
Dach regional office 61.A.) Af 7,?,1- has constituted a State 2evel "nit 3ost 3ommittee
under the chairmanship of 1A-in-charge and with the members from developmental
agencies, commercial banks and cooperative banks to review the unit cost of various
investments once in si months. The same is circulated among the banks for their
guidance.
6.2 Interest &ate for ultimate borro1ers
?anks are free to decide the rate of interest within the overall 1?I guidelines. @owever for
working out financial viabilility and bankability of the model pro$ect we have assumed the
rate of interest as &%E p.a.
6. 8argin 8oney
7,?,1- has defined the farmers into three different categories and where subsidy is not
available the minimum down payment to be contributed by the beneficiaries are given in the
following table.

Sr.No. Category of Farmer Beneficiary's Contribution
A Small farmers 5%
B Medium farmers 10%
C Large farmers 15%
6.( Security
Security will be as per 7,?,1- > 1?I guidelines issued from time to time.
6.) &epayment ,eriod of 5oan
1epayment period depends upon the gross surplus generated. The loans will be repaid in
suitable half yearly > annual instalments usually within a period of about '-( years with a
grace period of one year.
9. ,ac#age of :ommon 8anagement ,ractices &ecommended for Sheep Farmers
#odern and well established scientific principles, practices and skills should be used to
obtain maimum economic benefits from sheep farming. Some of the ma$or norms and
recommended practices are given here under
9.1. Selection and purchase of Animal
i) It is necessary to select suitable improved breed of sheep available in particular area.
ii)3rossbred sheep are available for purchase from state 4overnment > 4overnment of India
sheep breeding farms.
iii) Dwes can be purchased in regular sheep markets or from breeders in villages, while
male sheep 6rams) of eotic > crossbred from 4overnment farms.
iv) , purchase committee, consisting of the borrower, the financing bank:s representative
and a veterinary assistant surgeon may be constituted or else cash payments could be
done to borrower to select his own animals.
v) It is desirable to purchase healthy animals of &%-&) months of age.
vi) , certificate regarding age and health of sheep is obtained from the veterinary assistant
surgeon.
vii)The animals purchased have to be identified by fiing ear tags.
viii) Sheep should be vaccinated for important diseases like sheep-fo and entero-toaemia.
i) The price of sheep depends on breed, age and health status.
) ,n entrepreneur should have a unit of %.-0. ewes and one ram.
9.2 ,regnant; ,arturient and 5actating 21es
3areful management of the pregnant, parturient and lactating ewes will have a marked
influence on the percentage of lambs dropped and reared successfully. So, the following
steps may be taken to afford proper attention to these animals.
i)-o not handle the pregnant ewes too fre!uently.
ii)Separate the advanced pregnant ewes from the main flock and take effective care in their
feeding and management.
iii)Dtra feed during the later part of pregnancy 60-/ weeks before parturition) will be
beneficial for the condition of the pre-parturient ewes which will help in improving milk
production of ewes, birth weight and growth of lambs.
iv) Inade!uate and poor nutrition may result in pregnancy, toaemia, abortions and
premature births of weak lambs.
v) ?ring lambing ewes into lambing corals /-( days before parturition and provide maimum
comfort. If possible, provide soft, clean bedding and individual lambing pens.
vi)5atch gestation length which ranges from &/% to over &'. days. Darly maturing breeds
have slightly shorter gestation period.
vii) Save parturient ewes from cold and chilly weather.
9. :are at 5ambing $ ,arturition
,n ewe about to lamb prefers to leave the flock. She is restless, the udder is often
distended and eternal genital are in a flushed and flaccid condition. 4enerally in a healthy
ewe parturition is normal. Still the following precautions may be taken during and after
parturition.
i)=eep a vigilant eye for dystokia or difficult birth.
ii)#aiden ewes in poor condition or small-framed ewes mated to big rams will generally
have difficulty in parturition and will have to be assisted.
iii)Seek prompt veterinary aid and advice from an eperienced shepherd or stockman in
case of dystokia.
iv) 7ewborn lambs. after being licked by the mother generally stand on their legs and start
seeking for teats and suckle milk. If they are not able to do so after sufficient time, provide
help to them in suckling colostrum 6the first milk) which is very essential for health and
survivability of lambs.
v)Save newborn lambs from cold, rain and winds.
vi)1esort to artificial milk feeding or arrange foster mothers to disowned or orphan lambs.
4oats can serve as ecellent foster mother but ewes which have lost their lamb early after
birth may also be utiliCed.
vii) 2igate, sever and antiseptically dress the naval cord of the lamb.
viii)4ive a teaspoonful of castor-oil or li!uid paraffin to the lamb to facilitate defecation and
passing out of meconium easily.
i) -o not handle lambs too fre!uently immediately after birth and let the dams lick and
recogniCe them properly.
) ,llow newborn lambs to be with their mothers all the %/ hours for first week or so.
i) 9eed sufficient !uantity of good-!uality hay and concentrates 6if possible) to the lactating
ewes for meeting nutritional re!uirements for early lactation.
ii) 8rovide plenty of clean fresh drinking water as the lactating ewes drink surprisingly
higher amount of water during lactation.
9.( :are of 5ambs
The lamb should be taken care of thes