How to raise and manage the mother-infant group?

Ewes lose a lot of water during delivery, so they should be given water 1 ~ 1.5 hours after delivery. Drinking water for the first time after delivery should not exceed 1 ~ 1.5 liter, and the water temperature should be 12 ~ 15℃. Therefore, it is necessary to put a water tank in the greenhouse, fill it up at night, and the sheep can drink it all night. In order to avoid mastitis in ewes, the amount of feed can be slightly reduced during lambing, and only low-quality hay and tubers can be fed. Concentrated feed, juicy feed and silage can be gradually increased from the third and fourth days after self-production.

Many sheep farms in China adopt the three-stage management mode of small circle, middle circle and big circle, which greatly improves the survival rate of lambs during lactation. Immediately after the lamb is born, check the ewe's breast, squeeze out the first few drops of milk, help the lamb to eat colostrum within 1 hour, then move into the small circle of mother and child for 1 ~ 3 days, and after the lamb is strong and the ewe recognizes the lamb, move from the small circle to the middle circle for breeding. The middle circle accepts lambs of similar age and healthy mother and child. According to the production operation, the number of ewes gradually increased from 15 ~ 20 to 30 ~ 50. When the lamb is about 3 weeks old, the ewes and lambs in the middle circle can be further merged into a large group. Single-lamb ewes 130 ~ 150 in each group and 80 ~ 100 ewes in each group were transferred to the lamb breeding house for feeding (Figure 9- 14).

Figure 9- 14 movable mother-child column

The feeding time in the small circle of mother and child mainly depends on the caress degree of mother and child, the health status of ewes and lambs and the surrounding situation of the small circle, and it is decided to advance or extend the date of leaving the circle. Strong single lambs can leave the pen in advance, and double lambs can appropriately extend the feeding time in the small pen. When feeding the mother and the child in a small circle, we should coax the ewe to feed once every 2 ~ 3 hours, and carefully observe its lactation and lactation situation to help the lamb eat enough breast milk. In particular, check the umbilical cord and eyelids for abnormalities. If it is found that the ewe's breasts are hard, suffering from mastitis, omphalitis, eyelid inversion, etc., it should be handled in time. It is most beneficial for mother and son to know each other when ewes are raised in small circles. If the ewe does not recognize the lamb, it needs artificial care every time it breastfeeds. In order to facilitate the management after leaving the circle and avoid the confusion during breastfeeding, the same number can be written on the side of ewe and lamb (the left side of single sheep and the right side of double sheep) with marking paint. In the management of mother-child circle, we should also identify lambs in time and wear ear tags according to the standard of variety identification.