OBJECTIVE STUDIES OF PRODUCTIVE INDICES IN YOUNG SHEEP OF THE DZHALGIN MERINO USING A SHEEP MILK SUBSTITUTE

Abstract

One of the effective methods in rearing young sheep with a lack of feeding under the ewes is considered to be the drinking of a sheep milk substitute. For orphaned lambs, twins and triplets, it is necessary to use various recipes for sheep milk substitute when feeding. One of these is Servacid Pro produced by the French Serval company, which does not let the lamb weaken due to the high sugar level. It is used as a full or partial substitute for the period of the most important growth stages during the first 15 days of life and, thanks to the natural flavor, is well consumed by the young animals. Objective studies of the experiment results on the use of this preparation showed that the drinking during the suckling period of the Servacid Pro sheep milk substitution not only did not negatively affect the quality characteristics of the meat and leather tissue of young sheep, but, thanks to the vitamin complex that is part of the sheep milk substitute, had a positive effect, which was expressed in superiority over herd ma-tes reared by standard technologies. So, the meat of the young rams in the 3rd group, which received a substitute for sheep’s milk, was softer and juicier compared to herd mates of the 1st and 2nd groups. According the histological parameters of the skin, in the 2nd experimental group of young rams, with practically the same parameters of follicle density and skin thick-ness, a more pillar layer (where the follicles are located) was developed by 3,2 and 0,7%, and the total skin thickness was 16,0 and 2,5% more compared with herd mates of the control and the 1st experimental groups, respectively.