11 May Sheep farming practices and its advantages
भेड़ पालन और उनके फायदे In India, Sheep are among the most efficient of all the domestic animals and have been for thousands of years. Usually sheep farming is defined as ‘rearing sheep commercially for the purpose of meat, milk and wool production’. Sheep with its multi-facet utility for wool, meat, milk, skins and manure, form a crucial part of rural economy particularly in the arid, semi-arid and mountainous areas of our country. It provides a dependable source of income to the small farmers through sale of wool, skin and animals. Large percentage of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers engaged in sheep rearing, mainly in hilly areas for their livelihood. It is among the traditional occupations and business of the people of some areas of our country. However, sheep farming for commercial milk production is not very popular, mainly it is good for meat and wool production. Different from cattle and swine, sheep are adapted to the most extreme environmental conditions. They are very agile and graze easily in the most rugged of mountain terrain, where cattle choose not to feed. Furthermore, some sheep breeds are well suited to survive on sparse desert range that would not be used otherwise. Thus, sheep have the ability to convert the natural forage of these extreme habitats into protein...