Priorities of sheep breeding development in the Lugansk People’s Republic

The subject of the research is development of sheep breeding in the Lugansk region. The aim ofthe work is to determine the priority directions of its development, taking into account localconditions. The economic and climatic characteristics of the LPR were found out - an arid zone ofthe average level with the main type of steppe vegetation, the absence of an increase in summerair temperature (by only 0.31 0 C over 180 years) with a noticeable increase in its autumn temperatures (by an average of 1 0 C) and an extension of the vegetation period of forage grass, the possibility of organizing winter grazing and exercise with unstable snow cover, the formationof numerous new pastures with increased yields of forage grass due to the drying out of smalllakes (staritsas). It was concluded that such conditions are favorable for sheep breeding in allareas of productivity. We studied the market of sheep products in the LPR and determined thepriority of mutton production. In the scientific and economic experience, the reproductive qualitiesof the Ascanian, Tsigai, Romanov and Hissar breeds were studied, the meat productivity of whichwas improved by crossing with ram of the Edilbaev breed. We received mixed young animals ofmeat-wool, meat-fur and meat-sucking types. In the experiment, it was found out that thereproductive qualities of these types of sheep in the conditions of the LPR are acceptable. Theyield of lambs per a sheep was maximum in mutton-fur sheep (1.79 heads), in mutton-wool andmutton sheep it was less by 0.65 and 0.74 heads. The dynamics of the growth of crossbredyoung animals of these types were studied. The largest live weight during the weaning was in theanimals of the mutton type (33.2 ± 0.34 kg and 33.9 ± 0.42 kg). They outrivaled their peers andpeers of the mutton-wool type by 6.3 kg (23.4%) and 1.6 kg (5.0%), and mutton-fur - by 10.4 kg(45.6%, p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }