We decided to do sheep farming, but where should we start? Let’s assume we have enough money for investment. 

We need to decide some things before starting sheep farming. First, the importance of the region where we will do sheep farming comes to the fore. What kind of region are we in? Rainy, Black Sea, arid, shrub vegetation, seaside, very hot, very cold, windy, high altitude, low altitude; first, we must determine these parameters. What is their importance? Maybe we have heard that Sakız sheep is very suitable for the Aegean and Marmara regions. Sheep breeds such as Tahirova and Sönmez, both as dairy and fattening sheep, are not very suitable for Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia Regions, they can be greatly affected by extreme cold and extreme heat.  In short, there is no breed that provides the same efficiency and lives in high welfare in every region (there are breeds with high adaptation ability, but is it worth spending time and effort to make them adapt?). Therefore, we must determine the sheep breed suitable for our region. It can be determined with the help of Sheep Breeders’ Associations, universities, or other experts.

Of course, during the breed determination stage, whether fattening animal husbandry or dairy farming will be done must also be considered. So, what will we choose based on? For example, is there cheese, ice cream, milk production, and market in the region? Or do you have sufficient pasture opportunities, raw feed materials? Actions should be taken considering these situations. The first rule of establishing a profitable enterprise is to act market-oriented. 

When considering a profitable enterprise, whether it is fattening or dairy farming, the length of time the animals will graze on pasture per year is directly proportional to profitability. Pasture animal husbandry not only reduces feed costs but also has a very high impact on animal welfare. 

Research and consulting with experts are very important in deciding the above steps. Decisions that are not easy to reverse can end the enterprise. One of the most important decisions to be made is how the animal barn should be. At this stage, the barn’s doors, windows, ventilation, concrete/tent walls, the direction of the barn, wind, cold, heat factors in the region, from the largest material to the smallest material to be used in the barn are important. You may know very well how to set up a tent, build a building. If you are doing it for animals, you must definitely consult an expert. 

Let’s assume we determined the location, determined the breed, drew our profit roadmap, is it finished? No. An enterprise where the expense/income balance cannot be kept under control is unthinkable. A few main items that come to mind: Veterinarian, shepherd, feed, electricity, water, internet, medicine, consumables, deaths, control of births, etc. 

Before starting, it will be very useful to talk with experienced people, exchange ideas, and visit farms.

Now let’s come to one of the most important topics. How will we control the efficiency of our animals? How will we do herd tracking? Why should we do it?

By herd tracking, we simply mean recording operations such as family tree, pedigree, treatment, death, birth of animals, similar to the e-government system, and tracking the current situation with statistics and reports. So, we set up the herd tracking system, entered each treatment, birth, ram service into the herd tracking system. What will happen after this stage? 

First, one of the important points in herd tracking is to keep information such as pedigree, mating, birth, death, lamb, feed ration, lamb death, lamb birth of the animal and other animals it interacts with from previous years relationally very important. For example, we have a lamb we want to add to our herd. We want to separate animals as reform or breeding stock to improve our genetics, make an elite herd. What should we do?

In the traditional method, it is done considering the father’s build, mother’s body structure, udder structure, fertility. While breeding our herd, we analyze by looking at all information of itself and animals in the family tree, such as twinning, fertility, fertilization yield, treatments, live weight gain, considering the family tree of past years. Analysis and reports provide us with relational data from past years for herd breeding. 

With a simpler example, let’s assume 200 of your animals give birth every year. Suppose an average of 300 lambs are born per year. It is an inevitable fact that you will have lamb deaths. Deaths may occur due to reasons such as inadequate care, crushing, disease, genetics, neglect. The purpose of herd tracking is to minimize deaths, calculate costs, and find the most efficient animal. How can we detect continuous lamb deaths due to genetic condition among 200 breeding animals without recording? Every year, the ewe you know gives twins, can the lambs go to slaughter? Or can you add them to your herd? Do you know the performance and efficiency of the mother and father of the lambs you set aside for your herd? Could the ram fertilize the ewe in every mating? If the mother gives milk, does she reflect the general characteristics of the breed? And was the mother’s mother also high-yielding? Did other animals in the family tree constantly need treatment? We call tracking these and many other parameters herd tracking. Herd tracking is indispensable for herd breeding. 

Enterprises exhibiting the best animal husbandry example in Europe attach great importance to herd tracking. They track the family tree to the end. They maintain a staff member who deals with routine recording and reporting in average and above farms. Do you think you can manage farm management healthily without doing herd tracking? Do you think investments made for herd tracking are wasteful expenses? 

We think enterprise owners are aware of the importance of herd tracking. Just as we look at what happened to a car when buying a car, research its brand and model, we also need to look at what happened to the lamb, ewe, ram, and research its breed and genetics.

Have you ever thought, different sheep breeds have been imported to Turkey from abroad for many years. Shouldn’t the import stop? What happened to the imported animals? Why do we still need to import similar breeds? Could this issue be related to both herd tracking and farm management not being done by competent people? 

Before starting sheep farming.. Where should I start?