Influence of different lambing terms and use of feeding ewes with balancing mixed fodders on the level of marketable milk yield

Abstract

The article presents the results of research aimed at improving the technological methods of Carpathian mountain sheepbreeding, which is based on the production of sheep's milk and its processing into traditional cheeses, brynza and wurda. It has been established that ewes of the Ukrainian Carpathian breed that gave lambing in late February and in the first half of March had higher fertility (3.7 and 22.2 %) than those that gave lambing in late March and early April. Preservation of lambs before weaning in all groups was 100%.  Ukrainian Carpathian lambs born in late March and early April (March 22 – April 8) had lower birth and weaning weights than those born in late February and early March. Ewes lambing at a later date (late March and early April) are characterized by higher milk productivity in the first months of milking, which has a positive effect on increasing the total milk yield of marketable milk. According to this indicator, they predominate over ewes that gave birth in February in which the peak period of lactation falls on the suckling period. The optimal time for lambing is the second half of February, because in this case, due to higher fertility and better development of lambs before weaning, the highest cost of production is provided per ewe. The use of compound feeds for feeding dairy ewes during the period of milk production, the composition and nutrient content of which varies depending on the condition of grasses on natural pastures, helps to increase the milk productivity of ewes by 12%