The breed of sheep Prekos is a type of merino, bred at the end of the nineteenth century by crossing ramboule and Leicester breed. From France, animals were brought to Germany. Officially, the breed was recognized as new only in 1929. Nowadays, Prekos sheep are bred everywhere. Consider the characteristic features of the breed.
Appearance
A strong physique is characteristic of sheep of breed Prekos. They have a stocky body, good support in the form of a strong lower back, and strong limbs. The legs are wide set. This feature gives the impression that the animals are very massive, with a wide chest, developed skeleton.
Prekos sheep have a variety of colors. Most often, dark gray representatives are found in farms, somewhat less often sand and milk animals. The rarest color is considered white.
All four limbs of Prekos sheep are covered with a small amount of wool - to the border with the hock. The head is large, the neck is thick, powerful. The tail is short. Pure-bred sheep have a small number of folds.
Sheep and rams differ in weight indicators. Male individuals reach a height at the withers of 80-90 cm and weigh about 130 kilograms. Females grow up to 70 cm (at the withers) and weigh about 80 kilograms.
The description of the breed of sheep prekos indicates that young animals are able to quickly gain weight - by the age of six months, lambs weigh more than forty kilograms.
The breed is characterized by the absence of horns. Although sheep are considered hornless, twenty percent of rams have growths on their heads.
According to the description and characteristics, the breed of Prekos sheep differs from others in the following properties:
- Light, strong skeleton.
- Compact neat ears.
- The neck is dense, without folds, short, powerful.
- The back is broad, muscle mass is well developed.
- In girth, the body of the sheep reaches 120-130 cm.
- The tail is short, shaggy.
- The rams are high, up to 90 cm at the withers.
Sheeps are hardy, able to travel tirelessly over long distances. The breed quickly adapts to various climatic conditions. The sheep’s temper is obedient, but fearful.
Productivity
As indicated in the specifications, the breed of sheep Prekos is famous for excellent meat. In addition, subject to favorable conditions for maintenance and a properly selected diet, you can get an excellent yield of fine wool. It has a spiral structure. Its length reaches ten centimeters. About nine kilograms of wool can be collected from a ram, and five from a sheep.
To enhance these showed, farmers cross-breed prekos with Australian merinos.
According to the characteristics, the breed of sheep Prekos is characterized by rapid growth. Young individuals by the age of four months already weigh about 40 kilograms. The average daily weight gain averages three hundred grams. Adults with good fattening can grow up to 120 kilograms. There are champions among representatives of the breed, whose weight reached 160 kg.
To obtain excellent mutton, slaughter is recommended at the age of nine months.
Advantages of the breed
Sheep and lamb are considered calm animals. They are appreciated not only because of their wonderful wool and delicious meat. These animals have other advantages. As stated above, they quickly gain weight. Sheep are very fertile - about 150 lambs per hundred females.
The advantage of the breed is considered to be the excellent adaptability of individuals to different conditions, to climate. Sheep gives excellent wool with a density of up to 500 wools per square centimeter.
disadvantages
Despite the advantages, the sheep of the breed Prekos have disadvantages. These include:
- Low wool yield - about 50%, which is due to the fact that not all parts of the body have a wool coat.
- Nastrig is heterogeneous.
- In some parts of the body, the fibers are different in length and density.
In farms where purebred breeds are breed, they pay attention to the rejection of individuals. Those that do not meet breed standards are slaughtered. These are lambs, slowly gaining weight, individuals with various defects, including underdevelopment of the genitals, low sexual activity.
Content
Prekos breed is not very demanding on care and maintenance. In the warmer months, animals are constantly in the fresh air. In the mornings and evenings, they graze on pastures, and at noon (during the sun) they are placed under a canopy. If climatic conditions allow, then you can practice year-round grazing. In regions with cold winters, animals are kept in pens at a temperature not lower than +5 degrees Celsius. In sheds containing uterus with lambs, the temperature is maintained not lower than +15 degrees.
Sheep, like other artiodactyls, are afraid of high humidity, drafts. Such conditions adversely affect animal health. To create a suitable microclimate for the breed, a ventilation system is installed in the room. It provides an influx of fresh air and removes excess moisture.
The corral floors are covered with straw or hay. Flooring is changed once a week, but more often. Be sure to process the equipment that is used to care for animals.
In the corral, a place is equipped where animals receive food.
Food
According to the description, the content of the Prekos sheep breed is not complicated. In summer, sheep eat green fodder from pastures. This is their main diet in the warm season. In the fall, animals begin to additionally feed, introducing into the diet:
- Bran.
- Silage.
- Cereals.
- Vegetables, fruits, root crops.
- Cake.
Vitamins are included to enhance immunity. Throughout the year, sheep should have free access to mineral fertilizing in the form of lick salt, fish or bone meal. They are necessary to improve the quality of the coat, appearance.
Sheep must also be provided with constant access to fresh water.
Breeding
Females are highly fertile. Every second uterus gives two lamb.
The breed is characterized by early sexual development. Already at the age of eight months, the ewes are ready for mating and bearing offspring. But it is recommended to carry out mating when they turn one year old.
According to the observations of farmers, the most productive age in ewes is from two to five years. Then productivity decreases. For breeding purposes, the uterus can be used up to nine years.
Lambs
At birth, babies have a body weight of up to five kilograms. With low feed costs, they quickly gain weight. Already at 4 months young growth weighs about 40 kilograms, and in half a year - 55 kg.
Throughout the entire period of the breed's existence, breeders are constantly working to improve its characteristics. With proper selection, the percentage of fertility increases annually by 2-4%. The main thing in this matter is to observe some rules:
- It is not necessary to cross too young individuals, as they give weak offspring.
- When mating animals from multiple pregnancies, offspring of high fecundity are obtained.
- When purchasing adults, preference should be given to sheep not less than two months old.
After birth, the lambs of prekos quickly rise to their legs and actively behave. They have a dense coat of wool, which becomes even more dense as they develop.
In ewes there are no problems with feeding offspring, since the breed is distinguished by good milk production. Lambs are weaned from the uterus when they reach a weight of 30-35 kg.
When breeding prekos sheep, it is important to provide young animals with adequate nutrition, especially in the first months of life, since it is during this period that intensive weight gain occurs, and when growing, the growth rate decreases.