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The topic of today's lecture is Sheep - farm
animals with a very diverse use - their importance

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both in the natural environment and in the
food economy of the society.

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The lecture is part of Module 4: Precision
Livestock Farming, that is a part of the ISAGREED

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project.

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This presentation was supported by Erasmus+
KA2 Cooperation Partnerships Grant "Innovation

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of the content and structure of study programmes
in the field of management of animal genetic

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and food resources using digitalization".

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As part of the lecture, we will first talk
about domestication and worldwide distribution

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of sheep.

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Then we will explain sheep breeds classification
with examples.

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Next, we will briefly talk about sheep production
traits and finally we will talk about environmental

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importance of sheep.

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The domestic sheep belongs, together with
the goat, to the oldest domesticated species

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of animals used for economic purposes.

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The area of the so-called Fertile Crescent
is considered to be the center of domestication,

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from where sheep then spread throughout the
world, and the beginnings of domestication

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are dated to the period approximately 10 - 11,000
years before the present.

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The conclusions of the studies are not entirely
uniform on the origin of the domestic sheep.

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Previously, a so-called polyphyletic origin
was assumed, meaning several possible wild

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ancestors species.

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According to the latest studies, there was
probably only one ancestor, Ovis Orientalis.

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The two different Latin names given here are
related to the fact that the taxonomy of sheep

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is still somewhat confusing, and the taxonomy
has changed several times over the years.

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From the above figure, it is clear that sheep
farming is currently most widespread in the

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developing countries of Asia (with 446 mil.

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pcs) and Africa (with 305 mil pcs).

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Approximately 127 million animals are bred
in Europe, of which 97 million are in the

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European Union.

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The countries with the highest number of sheep
include China, with 139 mil.

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pcs, India with 75 mils.

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pcs and Australia with 73 mils.

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pcs.

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Worldwide, the number of sheep is estimated
at 1.2 billion.

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The main products of sheep breeding are meat,
milk, wool, skin, and fur.

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Among the by-products is lanolin, a yellow
gooey substance secreted by the sebaceous

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glands that protects the sheep from getting
the wool wet.

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It is used in the cosmetics industry to produce
ointments and creams.

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Its water-resistant properties were also used,
for example, to produce shoe creams.

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Other by-products include sheep fat, blood,
hooves, and horns, intestines, and foreguts.

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Sheep casings are used in the meat industry
for the production of e.g., sausages and,

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in the past, they were even used for the production
of condoms.

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Currently, the agrotechnical and ecological
importance of sheep breeding for manure production,

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the use of pastures, and landscape maintenance
are very important, especially in less accessible

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areas.

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Sheep also serve humans as model and experimental
animals.

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Some of you may have heard of a sheep named
Dolly, the first mammal cloned from a somatic

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cell.

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This happened on April 5, 1996, at the Rosslyn
Research Institute in Scotland, where Dolly

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also died at six years of age.

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Breeds represent the basic taxonomic unit
of animal breeding.

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A breed is a specific group of domestic animals
having a homogeneous appearance (phenotype),

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homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics
that distinguish them from other organisms

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of the same species.

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These characteristics are genetically determined,
therefore, are passed to the progeny.

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We can classify breeds according to various
criteria.

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Here is a classification of sheep breeds according
to their performance presented.

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We distinguish between meat breeds, which
include, for example, Suffolk, Charolais,

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Texel, Oxford Down, and dairy breeds, such
as Awassi or Lacaune.

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Then breeds with high reproduction performance
as Romanov or Olkuska sheep, and last but

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not least, there are many dual or multipurpose
breeds, for example, the Merinolandschaf,

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Bergschaf, Kent-Romney or Tsigai sheep.

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In the pictures, you always see representatives
of the breed listed first in the given category,

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i.e., Suffolk, Awassi, Romanov sheep, and
the Merinolandschaf.

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Scherf and Pilling report that there are approximately
1,200 breeds of sheep in the world, the most

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of any livestock species, excluding poultry.

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In the so-called genetic resources, similar
to other species, mainly local, let us say

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more primitive breeds are included.

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In the Czech Republic, it is the Šumavka
and Wallachian sheep, which is also a genetic

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resource in Slovakia.

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There are 17 native breeds in Poland; you
can get to know them in more detail in the

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study of Kawecka et al. from 2022, possibly
in other presentations of this module.

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So now we will move on to the production traits
of sheep.

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Reproduction can be considered sheep's primary
and essentially most important trait.

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This is because other production traits, such
as meat and milk production, are directly

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dependent on reproduction, and if reproduction
does not go well, there cannot be good results

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in other areas either.

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From the point of view of reproductive biology,
sheep belong to seasonally polyestrous species,

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which means that estrus repeats several times
a year; however, estrus cycles are influenced

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by photoperiod, the estrus cycle begins with
the shortening of the day (i.e., the fertile

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period usually lasts from July to December).

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With specific husbandry interventions (mainly
by adjusting the light regime), the fertile

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period can be extended practically for the
whole year if more frequent lambing is needed.

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The average length of the estrus cycle is
18 days.

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Rams are fertile all year round, but the composition
of the ejaculate may vary depending on the

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season.

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Regarding the number of offspring, sheep can
be classified as multiparous species, which

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means that females give birth to several young
at once.

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However, there are significant differences
between breeds, where large meat breeds usually

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give birth to 1-2 lambs, while so-called fertile
breeds (e.g., Romanov or Olkuska sheep) have

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even four lambs.

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Pregnancy in a sheep lasts an average of 150
days, and the ideal frequency of lambing is

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three times in 2 years.

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From a practical point of view, the decisive
indicator of fertility is the number of reared

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lambs.

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There are several different mating systems
used in sheep.

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The methods of natural reproduction are: free
mating (the advantage is good conception,

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the disadvantage is the unknown origin of
the lambs and the necessary replacement of

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rams), group mating (the advantage is the
partial application of selection when dividing

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the herd into groups and selecting the most
suitable rams).

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In so-called harem breeding, each ram has
its group of females - the disadvantage is

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the demandingness of care, and the advantage
is the known origin of the lambs.

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The last method of natural breeding is individual
mating, so-called "by hand".

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This method is most commonly used in herds
where performance control is made.

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Teaser rams, which are young active rams with
an apron, vasectomized, or with penis deviation,

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are used for heat detection.

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Fresh or frozen insemination doses can be
used for artificial insemination.

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The advantage is the maximum use of the potential
of rams with the highest breeding value and

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the possibility of importing genetic material
from foreign breeders.

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The disadvantage is the low percentage of
fertilization.

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Meat production
Meat is currently the most important product

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of sheep breeding.

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Worldwide production of lamb or mutton is
approximately 8 million tons per year.

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As for consumption, it varies significantly
from country to country.

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While worldwide consumption of lamb or mutton
has been calculated at 2 kg per capita per

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year, in New Zealand, where sheep farming
has a great tradition, this consumption is

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more than ten times higher.

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Conversely, in the Czech Republic, lamb or
mutton is among entirely minority types of

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meat.

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The best quality production is provided by
young animals, slaughtered at the age of 4-6

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months.

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Lamb meat is considered very healthy and easy
to digest.

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The proportion of fat and protein is favorable.

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It is also valued for its low cholesterol
content, or lower energy content, if it were

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to be used in a reduction diet, for example.

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The dressing percentage, which is determined
as a percentage of the weight of the processed

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carcass body from the animal's live weight,
is approximately 50% for sheep.

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Milk production
The duration of lactation, the period during

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which the female produces milk, lasts between
100 and 250 days in sheep.

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The yield varies significantly depending on
the genetic background, i.e., breed and, also

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external conditions.

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It can be up to 600 kg of milk (exceptionally,
around 1000 kg per lactation values have been

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recorded), corresponding to 0.5 - 3 kg of
milk per day.

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Sheep are usually milked twice a day.

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Either manual milking is possible; at larger
farms, machine milking is used.

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The worldwide production of sheep's milk is
approximately 8 million tons annually.

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As for the composition of sheep's milk, there
are differences from cow's milk, which you

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can see in the table.

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Sheep's milk contains approximately 19% solids,
6% protein, 7% fat, and 5% lactose.

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Its energy content is approximately 4200 kJ
per liter.

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It is, therefore, significantly more nutritious
than cow's milk.

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The high content of solids and milk components
predisposes it, especially to producing various

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kinds of cheese.

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Sheep's cheeses have a long tradition, especially
in France, where, for example, the milk of

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Lacaune breed is used exclusively to produce
the original Roquefort.

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Other well-known sheep's cheeses are, for
example, Greek feta or Italian pecorino.

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To give you an idea, 1 kg of fresh cheese
requires approximately 5 liters of sheep's

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milk.

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Other possible utilization of sheep, which
I will briefly mention, are wool and leather

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production.

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Worldwide production of sheep's wool is approximately
2 million tonnes annually, with Australia,

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China, and New Zealand traditionally the largest
producers.

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The covering of the sheep body is called fleece,
and the wool fiber is the oldest natural fiber

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of animal origin with some unique properties,
for which it is valued and used even today.

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The fineness of the fiber is particularly
important for determining the quality of the

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wool, which then determines its price.

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Merino breeds of sheep are mainly used for
the production of high-quality, fine wool.

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On the contrary, practically all breeds can
be used for leather production.

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The so-called fur sheep include, for example,
the Romanov sheep and the Karakul breed, from

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which a unique product known as Persian is
obtained.

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This is fur obtained from lambs only a few
days old, so the ethical aspect of this production

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is sometimes questioned nowadays.

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Worldwide production of sheepskin is approximately
1.6 million tons per year.

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In addition to the benefit they provide directly
to their breeder, sheep also have ecological

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and landscape-forming importance.

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Historically, pastoral culture significantly
shaped the character of a landscape and helped

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ensure the livelihood of residents.

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Maintaining traditional sheep farming practices
can contribute to preserving cultural heritage

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and the associated biodiversity.

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Nowadays well managed sheep grazing helps
to ensure the maintenance and recovery of

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vegetation, especially in:
protected areas,

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difficult to access areas,
areas unsuitable for other animal species.

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Last, sheep breeding can also have social
and educational significance in maintaining

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people's contact with living nature.

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At this moment I would like to thank you for
your attention.

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If you have any questions, you can use the
email listed here.