Sheep breeding standardization production technology

Author: Li Jianguo
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Lamb is characterized by low fat, cholesterol, and saturated fatty acid content, while being rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins. It is a nutritionally dense health food that meets the consumption needs of modern humans, with high market value and great development potential. Developing meat goat production can provide people with more animal protein food, improve dietary structure, and enhance health levels. At the same time, it is of great significance for optimizing rural industrial structure, improving resource utilization, enhancing dietary structure, and increasing farmers' income. Due to the increasing demand for lamb in the international market and the rise in lamb prices, meat goat production has developed rapidly, with annual increases in lamb output. In 2000, there were 1.78 billion goats worldwide, producing 11.251 million tons of lamb. The average carcass weight of sheep and lambs globally was 16 kg per head, with the highest being the United States (29 kg). The global per capita production of lamb was 1.86 kg, with the highest being New Zealand (138.1 kg). In recent years, China has made significant progress in meat goat production, becoming the world's largest goat-raising and lamb-producing country. In 2000, there were 280 million goats (16% of the world's goat population), with lamb output reaching 2.655 million tons, a 7-fold increase from 1979. Compared to the development of meat goat industries abroad, China still has certain gaps. The average carcass weight of Chinese sheep and lambs is 15 kg per head, lower than the global average, accounting for only 51.7% of the average carcass weight of U.S. sheep and lambs. China's per capita lamb production is 2.08 kg, exceeding the global average, but it is only 1/66 of New Zealand's. In the face of the new situation of China's entry into the WTO, how to improve the quality and grade of Chinese lamb products and quickly capture the international market, as well as how to achieve pollution-free and "green" meat goat industrialization and standardized production in China, we have compiled the book "Standardized Production Technology of Meat Goats" for reference by peers. This book systematically introduces all aspects of standardized meat goat production, such as meat goat breeds, breeding techniques, feeding and digestion characteristics, feed formulation, feeding management, fattening techniques, meat goat farm construction, disease prevention and control, slaughter, and lamb processing. The language of this book is easy to understand, and the techniques are simple and practical.