And birds. In terms of nutritional value, it surpasses hay and silage by several times, the content of proteins and vitamins in it is much higher than in grain mixed feed.

The benefits of grass feed in animal husbandry and poultry farming

In subsidiary farms and on farms, hay, silage, grain feed, straw and branch feed, as well as root crops are harvested for the winter in the old fashioned way. Modern technologies allow harvesting grass fodder with much higher productivity.

Grass feed plays a huge role in cattle breeding, pig breeding, rabbit breeding and even poultry farming. The climate of our country does not allow the use of fresh grass and free pasture all year round. For this, various systems of grass conservation for fattening animals in the cold season have always been used.

The simplest is, of course, hay making. At all times there was a period of haymaking. Mowed and dried grass in the meadows was collected and stacked. In winter, the cattle were fed with hay. Hay is well stored, but when dried in the sun, up to 50% of its useful substances are lost. Most of all, hay loses carotene, protein and vitamins, the sun's rays destroy them very much.

Harvesting feed in the form of silage significantly improves their usefulness, but it is impossible to feed only with silage. Root crops and crushed grain are very good food, but they are inferior to fresh grass in terms of the content of useful substances. In addition, root vegetables also need to be crushed, and they quickly deteriorate, which can cause intestinal disorders in animals.

Nutritional value of herbal flour

Grass flour in terms of its nutrient content is close to fresh green grass. Even with long-term storage (8-10 months), it retains up to 95 percent of useful substances. The content of protein, carotene, sugar, vitamins and other substances depends on the herb from which it was made.

The best herbal flour in terms of nutritional value is flour from cut grass during the budding period, before flowering. During this period, herbs are the richest in vitamins, carotene and all useful substances. If mowing is late, then the content of protein and other useful substances is significantly reduced, only the fiber content increases.

Preservation of carotene in flour depends on its storage conditions. If it is stored in bulk, then up to 50 percent of the substance is lost, and if the flour is compressed into granules, then the loss of carotene will be no more than 10 percent for 10 months of storage.

Types of herbal flour

There are several types of herbal flour: from alfalfa, clover, vetch-oat mixture and herbs. According to the content of carotene, protein and other useful substances, herbal flour is divided into 3 classes. The smaller the class, the less useful substances in the flour. Therefore, the best flour is the 1st class.

According to the content of vitamins, macro- and microelements, carotene and protein, as well as amino acids, herbal flour made from alfalfa is in the lead. In addition, after mowing, alfalfa quickly recovers, so it can be mowed three times per season for flour production. This significantly reduces the cost. Because one area of ​​land is used, and the crop is harvested from it 3 times.

Powdered and granulated herbal flour

Grass flour comes to the consumer in two types. It can be purchased in bulk and in the form of granules.

Loose flour loses nutrients faster, it absorbs more moisture from the air and can become caked or moldy. In addition, in this form, it takes up too much space, because it is very light. Therefore, it is inconvenient and expensive to store and transport it in this form.

Herbal flour in the form of granules is in great demand. Granulated feed loses less nutrients during storage. The granules are dense, hard and shiny. If the technology is not violated, then they can be stored for a long time without crumbling, they take up much less space during storage and transportation. The granules are essentially a concentrate. For animals, granulated flour is given in portions many times smaller than powdered flour. Therefore, if a granular product is used for fattening animals, then it does not need to be bought in large volumes. It is also beneficial and convenient.

Production of herbal flour and granules from it

Grass is cut for vitamin flour until it blooms, but only picks up buds. If you miss this moment, then the grass will lose carotene and protein every day. Mowed chopped grass is transported for artificial drying. The crushed grass is loaded into the drying drum along the conveyor. From there, the dry mass enters the crusher. After the crusher, flour is obtained from dry grass, fed into a cyclone, precipitated and stored in an operational bunker for temporary storage. From this bunker, if necessary, grass flour enters the pressing chamber for the manufacture of granules and volume reduction. The pressed mass is squeezed out through the holes of the matrix and cut off with a knife. Granules are obtained 2-3 cm in radius and approximately 5 cm long. During this procedure, the granules are heated, and so that there is no large loss of carotene, they are placed in a cooling chamber. There they lose excess moisture, become hard and durable. Then they are placed in a temporary storage bin, from where they are packed, packed and stored.

To reduce the cost of artificial drying of grass, a different harvesting system is now being used - drying. With this method, the cut grass is left in the swaths for several hours, and then a special technique collects the swaths, grinds the slightly wilted grass. It is loaded and delivered for further artificial drying. Evaporation of moisture from such raw materials is reduced by almost 2 times, which speeds up and reduces the cost of the whole process. With this method, a small amount of carotene is lost in the sun in the windrows, so it is not recommended to dry the grass for more than 4 hours.

Store granules and flour in a cool, dry, dark room. The storage must comply with certain microclimate parameters (temperature and humidity).

In order to preserve as much carotene in flour as possible during storage, 0.5 percent sodium pyrosulfite is added to it. For the greatest preservation of nutrients in flour during long-term storage, irradiation with gamma rays is used. The preservation of nutrients is affected by low temperature, darkness and the addition of oxidants to the flour (during granulation).

High-quality granules and flour have a pleasant green color and smell of hay. The granules are hard, shiny on the sides, even, without signs of mold.

Compound feed with herbal flour

Feeds must be complete and balanced, and they must also have a low cost. The low cost of feed will ensure lower prices for livestock products: meat, milk, eggs, and so on.

Any feed mill wants to produce a quality product at a low, competitive price. For the manufacture of such compound feeds, grass meal is the best ingredient. According to several recipes, it can be contained in compound feed in the amount of 15, 25 and 35 percent. The remaining components are grain, meal, bran, cake and mineral additives. When grass flour is added to compound feed, the product is enriched with vitamins, carotene, amino acids, fats and proteins. As a result, the composition of the compound feed is completely complete, balanced and inexpensive.

Can use hay flour instead of artificially dried herbal flour in the recipe. But hay flour is significantly inferior to grass flour in terms of the content of nutrients. The composition of feed with it will be less saturated with carotene and vitamins, which disappear during the natural drying of grass. The cost of such compound feed may be lower, but in terms of useful components it will be less productive in animal husbandry.

Convenience of combined feeds

Combined feeds are very convenient to use. This is especially true for large farms. For example, when raising rabbits, it is enough to feed them with compound feed for rabbits and give them water. A complete compound feed completely replaces juicy root crops, branch and hay. With such feeding, rabbits quickly gain weight, do not get sick and multiply well.

Fattening pigs primarily involves feeding them with compound feed. Compound feed with herbal flour fully provides all the needs of the body of pigs. It's no secret that in part-time farms they give large quantities of freshly cut grass and vegetables to pigs. All this, together with cereals, provides for the full fattening of pigs. But it is much more convenient to use compound feed with grass flour and drinking water.

Compound feed with herbal flour increases milk yield and fat content. Cows gain weight even during lactation. The condition of the blood of animals improves, the level of hemoglobin in the blood increases. As a result, a full-fledged strong offspring is born. True, the feeding of cows should include in the diet, in addition to compound feed, hay and silage, as well as fodder root crops (beets). But this is only in winter. In summer, cows feed on the pasture, but even then they must receive compound feed.

Surprisingly, compound feed with grass flour is used in the largest amount in poultry farming. This is especially true when breeding geese, ducks and turkeys. Compound feed is in great demand on ostrich farms.

High-quality, full-fledged feed for farm animals is the foundation for the successful functioning of any farm. Any living being needs good nutrition, where proteins, fats, carbohydrates, trace elements and vitamins are fully balanced. But the main thing in compound feeds is the convenience of feeding animals, cleanliness in the room. They are convenient to transport and store, this is a good canned concentrate.

Manufacturing is a very profitable business. Modern technology allows you to automate everything. If a feed mill has its own sowing and production areas, then this is a doubly profitable business. Of course, we need equipment for field work and seed. It is necessary to purchase equipment, start production and organize advertising and logistics. As a rule, barley, corn and other grains and legumes must be sown for the manufacture of compound feed. And for grass flour, it is better to grow alfalfa.

It is much more profitable to produce compound feed than to engage in animal husbandry. Less risk and non-standard situations. Animals get sick. They require vaccinations and veterinary care. How many pigs were destroyed because of the plague, and birds because of bird flu! Dairy farms suffer losses due to mad cow disease and foot and mouth disease. Epidemics of coccidiosis and myxomatosis occur on rabbit farms.

It is necessary to organize the processing of products and sales. Meat, eggs and dairy products are perishable goods. And the competition is high. There are a lot of problems, it's hard to be a profitable farm, being engaged in animal husbandry.

Production is a once-adjusted system for generating income. Compound feed has a long shelf life. He is always in demand. Feed mixtures are in demand by large farms and private traders. The demand for high-quality compound feed, grass meal and pellets is only growing. But there are still not enough offers for the sale of granulated grass flour. So this niche is still little occupied and has great prospects for development.

How much does herbal flour cost?

The product is mainly sold in granular form, because it is cheaper and easier to transport. How much does herbal flour cost? The price depends on which batch the buyer purchases. The minimum purchase - 1 bag (25 kg) - with VAT will cost an average of 700 rubles. Wholesale granules are supplied in bags, big bags and in bulk. Therefore, prices may vary (10,000-15,000 rubles per ton). It turns out 10-15 rubles per kilogram for wholesale buyers. Retail purchase for a private trader will cost 2 times more.

Grass pellets seem to be more expensive than regular feeds. But it is worth considering the comparison to understand how profitable it is to feed animals with them. When fed with grass pellets, the weight gain of young cattle and foals will be 20% higher compared to conventional feed. Pigs gain 15% more weight and poultry 10%. All this against the background of the fact that feed is required 10% less than usual. And when recalculating, it turns out that it is profitable with granules.

Making vitamin herbal flour pellets is a great business idea. That is why this niche will eventually be filled, and due to competition, the price of the product will begin to decline. Then feeding with pellets will be even more profitable.

How to feed pellets to animals

Pure grass pellets or mixed feed with grass meal can be fed dry to animals, especially rabbits and horses. In private backyards, 1.5 kg of pellets are soaked with 6 liters of water, and then this mass is fed to cows. It is also desirable for pigs to make a mash, so the product is better absorbed. It is also better for poultry to soak the granules.

In a private farmstead, cows and sheep need to be fed with grass meal pellets only in the cold season. In summer, as a rule, they graze and feed on fresh grass.

In addition, the storage of pelleted feed requires very little space, unlike hay or silage. Owners from private farmsteads are very pleased that the granules are long and well stored, they call them herbal canned food. This is much more convenient than storing fodder or sugar beets and potatoes. Moreover, vegetables can freeze, deteriorate, and granules, on the contrary, retain all their useful qualities even better in the cold.

A bit of history

Herbal flour in our country began to be produced in the 70s of the last century. It was mainly used in poultry farming. It was noticed that when using it, the bird develops rapidly, it has good immunity, egg production increases by 10% and high-quality breeding material is obtained.

The production of herbal flour in the USSR developed very rapidly. For example: in 1965, 82 thousand tons of green flour were produced, in 1970 - already 820 thousand tons, and in 1975 - more than four million tons.

At the end of the last century, in connection with the development of new technologies, concentrated vitamin supplements appeared, and much less herbal flour began to be produced. But soon animal husbandry returned to an environmentally friendly product - grass flour. The fact is that it contains large quantities of proteins, fats, and not just vitamins. For the convenience of using such a unique product, flour began to be produced in granular form, and it began to quickly gain popularity.

In general, herbal flour in the form of granules is a wonderful product in its pure form and as a component of grain feed. These foods are the future. The food is universal, it can be fed to all types of pets and birds. Animals that consume herbal flour and granules from it receive good nutrition. This ensures rapid growth, good immunity and performance. Cows produce more milk with a higher fat content, and chickens lay more eggs. Feeding pellets and grass meal simplifies animal care.

Nutritional value and chemical composition of herbal flour

Table 1. Nutritional value and chemical composition of herbal flour

It is useful to feed herbal flour to young cattle, sheep, horses, rabbits. It has been established that the replacement of field-dried hay with grass flour in the diets of bulls dramatically improves metabolic processes in the body and increases productivity by 12-18%.

Grass flour harvesting and grass cutting technology

The most valuable raw material for the preparation of herbal flour and cutting is the green grass of alfalfa, clover and their mixtures with cereal grasses mowed in the budding phase. During this period of development, in 1 kg of dry matter, these herbs contain up to 22% protein, more than 300 mg of carotene. The overgrowth of grasses sharply reduces their nutritional value, and consequently, the quality of grass meal and cutting.

The technology of harvesting grass flour and cutting includes the following steps: mowing with simultaneous grinding and loading of green mass into vehicles, delivery to the drying unit, drying, granulation (briquetting), packaging and storage. In the production of grass cutting, the dry mass, after leaving the drum of the drying unit, is fed by means of a conveyor, bypassing the crusher, into vehicles and, after holding for 48 hours, is sent to the warehouse.

There are two ways to produce grass meal: without withering and with withering of the cut grass. In the first method, grasses are mowed and crushed while loading the mass into vehicles. The performance of drying units depends on the degree of grinding of herbs. Particles up to 3 cm long grass flour and up to 10 cm cutting must be at least 85% of the total mass of raw materials. Such raw materials do not need additional grinding before drying, they dehydrate faster; fuel consumption is reduced, and the productivity of drying units is increased.

The initial moisture of grasses plays a decisive role in the productivity of drying units, therefore, recently, the second method of harvesting grass flour with drying grasses in the field has become more and more widespread. Drying grasses in the field in good weather for 2-3 hours reduces the moisture content of the green mass by 10-12%. As moisture decreases during wilting, less water will evaporate in the dryer. To obtain, for example, 1 ton of grass flour with a moisture content of 10% from grass with an initial moisture content of 85%, 5 tons of water must be evaporated, at a moisture content of 75% - about 2.5 tons, and at 65% - about 1.6 tons. increase the productivity of the drying unit and reduce fuel consumption and product cost.

When mowing grass into windrows, general purpose mowers can be used. Flattening herbs provides faster wilting. For the selection, grinding and simultaneous loading of the mass into vehicles, universal mower-conditioners are used. At the same time, it is necessary that the vehicles are equipped with barrier nets, which prevents the blowing of herbs.

Herbs should be dried only in good weather and at a strictly defined time. For each hour of drying grasses in the field, the amount of carotene due to destruction by solar radiation is reduced by 2-3%, so the deadline for drying is 4 hours, and the humidity should not be lower than 70%.

The preparation of grass cutting and its subsequent distribution to animals can be fully mechanized. The cutting is free-flowing, mixes well with all types of feed, so it is easy to prepare complete feed mixtures from it in loose and briquetted form. One of the disadvantages of grass cutting is that it takes up a lot of storage space. The mass of 1 m 3 cutting after drying is 70-80 kg. Therefore, it is advisable to briquet the cutting, which reduces the volume by 6-7 times. In the process of briquetting, the content of carotene decreases somewhat, but the rest of the nutrients are completely preserved.

To preserve nutrients, grass flour is granulated, and cutting is briquetted. Herbal flour entering the granulator usually has a moisture content of 8-10% and is poorly granulated, and the finished granules crumble. Therefore, in the mixer of the granulator, the flour is moistened to 13-15% with water or a carotene-stabilizing solution; thus the granules have a high moisture content. However, in the cooling column, under the influence of a powerful air flow, they are cooled and at the same time lose 2-3% of moisture. The granules laid for storage have a moisture content of about 10-12%.

The quality of the granules can be determined visually. Good granules after cooling are dense, dry, smooth, shiny, 20-30 mm long, hardly broken. Granules with a moisture content below 8% are easily kneaded in the hand, small (up to 10 mm), among them there is a lot of dusty crumb, which is sent for secondary granulation. Granules with humidity above 12% are rough to the touch, without a specific “polished” sheen, they are easily kneaded in the hands; stored, quickly become moldy and deteriorate (sometimes completely).

For briquetting grass cutting, briquetting presses OKS-2, OPK-2, a PVSH-2 (stamp) briquetting press and a ring-type briquetting press are used. The strength of the briquettes depends on the humidity and cutting temperature during pressing. At a moisture content of less than 10%, the leaves and stems of dried plants become brittle, and the finished briquettes crumble. The strength of briquettes is significantly reduced at a moisture content of more than 18%, and briquettes with a moisture content of more than 17% become moldy during storage. Good preservation of the quality of briquettes is achieved when the optimum cutting humidity ranges from 13-16%.

Methods for storing and stabilizing carotene in herbal flour

Proper storage of grass meal and cutting is the key to reducing the loss of nutrients and especially carotene. The rate of carotene oxidation in artificially dried feed largely depends on the physical condition and humidity of the feed, air oxygen access, solar radiation, ambient temperature and other factors. Carotene breakdown can be significantly reduced by adjusting the influence of these factors.

Grass flour when leaving the cyclone of the drying unit has a temperature of about 40-45 ° C, and when granulating or briquetting cutting, the temperature of the finished feed rises to 75-80 ° C. If these feeds are not subjected to active cooling, then the pellets in bags stacked in warehouses cool slowly, and the rate of destruction of carotene will be high. The warehouse for the permanent storage of artificially dried fodder should be dry and dark, and the relative humidity should not exceed 70-75%. In dried herbal flour, carotene is destroyed much faster than in flour with a moisture content of about 10-12%.

Grass cuttings, briquettes and pellets are well stored in regular hay sheds and other storage areas. When stored for 5 months. the protein content remains almost unchanged or slightly decreases. The most susceptible to the destruction of monosugar and carotene. Storing grass meal in the form of granules and briquettes in comparison with loose feed provides a higher preservation of carotene.

Of all the known ways to improve the preservation of carotene in grass meal and cutting, the most effective treatment of feed with antioxidants (antioxidants). The most active antioxidants are santoquine (ethoxyquin) and diludin, as well as butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole at a dose of 20 g per 1 quintal of feed. For example, the introduction of 20 g of santochin in its pure form or 40 g in the form of an aqueous emulsion per 1 quintal of herbal flour reduces the oxidation of carotene during storage by 1.5-2 times. Oxidants are added to grass flour and cutting during the granulation and briquetting process.

Loss of carotene can be significantly slowed down and reduced if the air oxygen contained between the grass meal particles is displaced and replaced by inert gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide and others. Studies conducted in laboratory and industrial conditions have shown that carotene in grass flour is better preserved at negative temperatures, in an atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, as well as when 0.5% sodium pyrosulfite is added to the flour (Table 2).

Table 2. Preservation of carotene in herbal flour with different storage methods

The All-Russian Research Institute of Animal Husbandry theoretically substantiated and practically developed the possibility of using gamma irradiation to stabilize easily digestible nutrients (sugar, amine nitrogen) and carotene in grass meal. The content of carotene in the irradiated loose herbal flour (after 8 months of storage in a warehouse) was 16% higher than in the control (without irradiation). At the same time, the amount of carotene in the test samples was similar to the amount in the samples stored in refrigerators at low temperatures. The safety of sugar and amino acids in the irradiated flour is approximately 2 times higher than in the control. The sugar content after 8 months of storage in the test sample was 7.2%, in the control (without irradiation) - 3.8%; the content of amine nitrogen is 0.45 and 0.23%, respectively, in absolutely dry matter. The optimal dose of gamma irradiation of herbal flour ranged from 0.1 to 10 krad.

At present, agriculture needs universal high-performance installations for irradiating feed and other objects. Along with the processing of dry feed, such installations can be effective for obtaining high quality silage or haylage with a certain amount of organic acids, sugar, pH value, as well as for increasing the nutritional value of various roughage, and straw-grain complete mixtures for animals.

The use of industrial gamma installations for irradiation will make it possible to stabilize nutrients and carotene in grass flour in the process of mechanized harvesting by its in-line method in conditions of complexes.

Grading the quality of herbal flour

Grass flour and cuttings are usually introduced into the diets of farm animals and poultry as an additive that covers the deficiency of certain nutrients and vitamins. The quality of these feeds must strictly comply with the requirements of GOST 18691-88 (Table 3). Depending on the composition and nutritional value, herbal flour is divided into three classes.

The quality of herbal flour and cutting is determined by appearance, paying attention to color, smell, grinding size, granule size. In addition, the content of carotene, protein, fiber and moisture is determined in cutting (see Table 3).

Grass meal is fed to all kinds of farm animals, and grass cutting is fed to cattle, sheep, horses and rabbits. The optimal norms for giving grass flour and cutting: for cows - flour no more than 3 kg, cutting 5 kg, for young cattle - flour 0.3-1.0, cutting 0.5-2.0; for adult sheep - flour 0.3-0.5, cutting 0.6-0.7, young stock - flour 0.07-0.1, cutting 0.08-0.2; for adult pigs - flour 0.2-0.5, young animals - flour 0.05-0.2; for adult horses - flour 2-3, cutting 3-4; for adult rabbits - flour 0.2, cutting 0.3 kg; for poultry - flour 10-15 g per day. Grass flour is introduced into complete feed for poultry and piglets in the amount of 2-7%, into feed for pregnant and lactating sows - 5-10% by weight.

Table 3 Grass Meal Quality and Cutting

Conditions affecting the quality of herbal flour

The quality of grass flour is decisively influenced by the nutritional value of the feedstock, early harvesting of grasses (young plants have more leaves, in which the concentration of protein is 2-3 times higher, and carotene is 5-6 times higher than in the stems), drying speed. Humidity grass flour should be in the range of 9 - 12%. The quality of herbal flour also depends on the degree of grinding of plants. The cutting length must be up to 30 mm. Long cutting causes uneven drying and reduces the capacity of the dryer.

The nutrient content of herbal flour also depends on storage conditions. Flour is stored mainly in bulk or in granules. It should be taken into account that in the first case, the loss of carotene in the process is 50-60%, while in granules this figure is 4-9%. For better preservation of carotene, various synthetic antioxidants (santochin, agidol-1) or industrial fat can be used. Grass flour should be dark green or green in color, with no signs of burning, and musty or moldy odors.

Grass flour can replace up to 20% of grain feed in the diets of ruminants, up to 10% in the diets of pigs and up to 3-5% in poultry diets of the total nutritional value.

* Calculations use average data for Russia

As you know, the main diet of many types of farm animals is grass. But fresh grass is available from spring to autumn. In summer, it is harvested for future use and dried into hay, which is then used to feed stall animals. However, this is very laborious and time consuming. It takes a lot of space to store enough hay for the winter. And, finally, in dry hay (especially if stored for a long time), the supply of nutrients is much lower than in fresh grass. Modern technologies have made it possible to create new ways of harvesting grass, which help to preserve more useful components in it. These include the production of vitamin herbal flour and herbal granules.

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What is herbal flour? This is a protein feed intended for farm animals and birds and obtained from artificially dried grass, harvested in the early phases of vegetation (at the first stage of bud emergence), dried at high temperature and crushed to a powder. Grass flour is used as a substitute for hay and as a high-quality vitamin supplement with a high content of carotene in combination with rough or concentrated feed. The use of specialized equipment for the production of herbal flour makes it possible to avoid significant losses of feedstock, which are observed during the natural drying of grass (breaking of shoots, flowers and leaves). Also, this method of production eliminates the adverse effects of moisture and the flow of various biochemical and microbiological processes. Granules are made from herbal flour. The granules lend themselves well to storage, unlike hay, which, with the usual harvesting method, can become caked, moldy or rot. Experts say that when grass is artificially dried, the content of feed units increases by at least 1.5 times, protein - by 1.6, carbohydrates - by 3.5, and carotene - by 7-8 times. In addition, grass meal and granules are easier to digest than hay, allowing you to get good weight gain and milk yield. In the West, this type of feed has been widely used in the feed industry, primarily in the production of feed for poultry, pigs and young cattle.

The production of grass meal and pellets from freshly cut grass is a promising business, because the yield of succulent fodder is several times higher than the yield of grain. However, the need to strictly comply with technological requirements and expensive equipment make it very expensive. This production assumes a continuous process, carried out due to the complex mechanization of all stages of the preparation of herbal flour. These stages include mowing the green mass, loading and subsequent transportation of raw materials, drying, grinding, storage. Let's consider them in more detail.

Production process of herbal flour and herbal granules

Sown annual and perennial grasses, meadow grasses with a high content of legumes, etc., vetch with oats, alfalfa, clover, goat's rue, nettle, lupine are used as raw materials for the production of flour. The nutritional characteristics of the feed also depend on the type of herbs collected. The latter are confirmed by a veterinary certificate and / or the conclusion of a chemical laboratory. As in the case of fresh feed, there are three main types of raw materials: herbs, legumes (clover or alfalfa, less often goat's rue), leguminous mixtures (vetch-oat mixture, etc.).

The height of the mowed legumes should be about 50 centimeters. The optimal timing for harvesting clover and alfalfa for the production of grass meal is at the end of the stemming phase. The duration of this phase is approximately 21 days. That is, during the growing season, when mowing legumes, you can collect 3-4 full mowings of high-quality green mass. Meadow grasses begin to be mowed during the booting phase (during this period, the height of the plants is about 30 cm). The quality of the finished product largely depends on the quality of the raw materials for cutting or grass meal. Herbs of one mowing experts advise to use for no more than 12 days. It has been scientifically established that most carotene in plants is found in the morning hours from 6 to 10 am. Then its level begins to decrease, and by 20:00 its amount can decrease by 4-6 times compared to the initial one. Thus, in order to preserve the maximum amount of carotene in the raw material, it is best to mow and process forage crops in the early morning hours, but, of course, this requirement may not always be observed.

To increase the productivity of dryers, you need to grind herbs as best as possible. The maximum allowable particle size at the first stage of raw material harvesting should not exceed 110 mm. At least 80% of its total volume should be particles up to 30 mm in size. Trust me, the time spent sharpening and adjusting your mower-chopper blades will pay off in the long run in fuel savings (one of the biggest expense items) and a significant improvement in product quality.

The total weight loss when mowing grass and loading it into vehicles should be no more than 2%. For harvesting grass mass with its simultaneous grinding, special equipment will be required: self-propelled forage harvesters (Don-680, Maral-125, KSK-100A, etc.), semi-mounted forage harvesters (Polesie-3000), forage harvesters complexes or trailed forage harvesters with tractors of traction classes 1.4; 2 and 3. In this case, the combine is adjusted for fine cutting.

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It is very important to establish the process of transporting the crushed mass to the place of further processing of raw materials. At the same time, its loss or contamination should not be allowed: the period between mowing fresh herbs and drying it (including the period of storage on the site near the drying unit) should not exceed two to three hours. The fact is that in a loose heap, chopped grass quickly warms itself, as a result of which it loses its most valuable qualities. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to synchronize the operation of transport and dryer. Tractor trailers and dump trucks with additional mesh sides are used as transport. The boards will minimize losses by saving grass during loading, transportation and unloading.

So, less than three hours after mowing, the grass should go to dry, after which the grass mass will be ground into flour. The crushed mass is fed to the drying unit on the feeder tray, from which it enters the drying drum via a conveyor and an inclined conveyor. Drying is carried out at a raw material heating temperature of not more than 70 °C. The relative humidity of the finished grass meal should be 8-12%, and that of the grass cutting 10-15%. Violation of these requirements (for example, overdrying of raw materials up to 5-6%) can lead to loss of mass of carotene and protein, as well as to an increase in the risk of fire. And underdrying of the mass can overload the electric motor of the crusher and cause frequent clogging of the sieves. The loss of carotene during the drying process, according to the requirements, should not exceed 5%, and the loss of dry matter should not exceed 2%.

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For drying, high-temperature drying units can be used (they differ in productivity - from 0.5 to 1.5 tons of dry product per hour) or low-temperature dryers, where the air is heated to 100-130 ° C using heat generators, and the mass is processed by an ultra-high electromagnetic field. frequencies, which can significantly speed up the process and improve product quality. At the exit from the drum, heavy particles and foreign inclusions are released from the dried mass.

Using the same line, grass flour, grass pellets and grass cutting can be produced from the obtained raw materials. The grass cutting production technology is generally the same. The only difference is that the dry mass from the cyclone does not enter the crusher (as for the production of flour), but into a special bunker or onto a tractor trailer, where it is kept according to fire safety rules for at least twenty hours, and then sent to a warehouse with a level humidity 17-19%. Grass cutting takes up a fairly large volume, so it is more expedient to briquet it at the next stage of production. This will require additional equipment - press briquetters, which tamp the cutting at a moisture content of 13% into briquettes. Upon completion of work, it is necessary to check that the mass with a moisture content higher than 12% does not remain in the channels of the press.

If the production of cutting at this stage ends, then in the case of the production of herbal flour and granules, this is far from the end. One of the most important criteria for the quality of herbal flour is the percentage of carotene content in it. Since this percentage inevitably decreases during the processing of grass mass, the antioxidants santochin or diludin are added to artificially grown feed in a dose of 0.02% of the mass of processed feed to reduce losses. This allows you to reduce the loss of carotene by 2-2.5 times. Antioxidants must be dissolved in the filler, which is fat or water (in the case of santochin hydrochloride).

At the next stage, after grinding, the herbal flour is granulated. This procedure has a number of advantages. Granules are more convenient to use (for distribution to animals). This form can reduce the need for storage space by 3-3.5 times (especially compared to grass cutting), reduces losses during transportation and storage, and is also more convenient for mechanized loading and unloading from a warehouse.

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Granulation is carried out with the help of special equipment - separate granulators with ring matrices or a granulation line. In the granulator hopper, the formation of granules of a given diameter takes place. According to GOST 18691 - 88, the diameter of the granules should be 3.0 - 25.0 mm (the most common herbal granules with a diameter of 8 mm), length - no more than two diameters, density - 600 - 1300 kg / m3, and crumbling - no more than 12% , The mass fraction of dry matter in herbal flour should be within 88 - 91% (moisture content - 12 - 9%), granular - 85 - 90% (moisture content - 15 - 10%). The level of humidity is very important, since the quality of the finished product depends on it.

When pressing flour, the temperature in the granules rises significantly, and they must be quickly cooled to ambient temperature. Slow cooling leads to significant losses of carotene. Cooling should not take more than 15 minutes, then the loss of carotene will be insignificant and fit into the norm up to 5%. For these reasons, after the granulator, the product is fed to the cooling conveyor, where it is cooled by the oncoming air flow from the fan, and through it to the sieving table, where the scattering is separated from the molded granules. Loose and rejected granules are returned to the granulator with the help of a screw conveyor, and granules that meet the requirements of GOST are sent to the scales. Ready-made herbal granules are poured into three-layer kraft paper bags with a capacity of 30 to 50 kg or Big-Bag bags of 1000 kg. Granules in bags of 30-50 kg, as a rule, are sold in retail or small wholesale, and Big-Bags are sold in medium wholesale. In case of large wholesale, herbal granules are usually loaded into trucks in bulk. During packaging, the temperature of the product must be equal to the ambient temperature (up to 8 °C is allowed). The filled bags are sewn up with small sewing machines and stacked on pallets up to two meters high. For moving pallets, sending bags to the warehouse, unloading and loading, you will need universal loaders.

There are a number of requirements for the room where bags of herbal flour are stored. It should be dark, as carotene is destroyed in the light. There are no strict requirements for heating, but good ventilation is needed. The optimum air temperature for storing pellets is 2-4 °C, and the relative humidity is 65-75%. All these requirements are met by granaries. However, in the absence of such, you can get by with a warehouse for storing raw materials or loose and granulated feed. The aisles between stacks in the warehouse should be about one meter, and the minimum distance between the walls of the store and the rows should be 0.7 meters. For the convenience of working in the warehouse, the width of the aisles between the stacks should be from 1.25 meters. Herbal granules can be stored in bulk in specially equipped warehouses or in an inert gas environment with an oxygen content of not more than 1-1.5 in special storage facilities. The latter consist of twenty hermetically sealed silos, each of which can be loaded with 50 tons of pellets, gas generators and a conveyor system.

Please note: the scheme for the production of herbal flour may differ slightly from the above. Manufacturers are trying to find new solutions to reduce the cost of finished products. After all, grass flour cannot be called cheap food. For example, to reduce the cost of production, the herbal mass is often pre-wilted before drying. Drying of chopped grass is carried out on windrows to reduce the loss of carotene under the influence of sunlight and again reduce the risk of contamination and spoilage of the feed. The duration of this stage depends on weather conditions. It can be 4-36 hours until the humidity is not less than 65-70%.

This additional step allows you to reduce the cost of the drying process: increase the unit's productivity by 50-60% and reduce fuel costs per unit of product by 40-50%! However, it also has certain disadvantages. Thus, the production of herbal flour with drying will require more harvesters (accordingly, they need additional fuel). The process of harvesting green mass becomes longer, more complex and, therefore, more expensive. At the same time, in the process of collecting and drying, the quality of raw materials also deteriorates due to the loss of leaves and inflorescences. In addition, weather conditions play a big role, which represents a certain risk (partly predictable). Finally, even in the case when this stage of processing takes place on windrows, and not in swaths, the carotene content in the grass is reduced by 2-4% during its process. Its digestibility (first of all, protein) also worsens, the risk of subsequent ignition of the dried grass in the dryer drum increases.

There are other ways to optimize the production process. For example, for the smooth operation of dryers throughout the season, some manufacturers create a raw conveyor. The length of the season depends on the region. In the forest zone and in the north of the forest-steppe zone, it is 90-120 days, and in the southern regions - 120-150 days.

You can also use new equipment that is more economical than traditional models. These include, for example, heat generators running on cheap fuel - straw. One kilowatt of heat when using straw as fuel is many times cheaper than diesel fuel, firewood, gas and electricity. According to the manufacturers of such equipment, 4-5 rolls of straw or 500-800 kg of birch firewood are required for a day of continuous operation of the heat generator. Up to 16 tons of raw materials for the production of herbal flour can be dried per day. Thus, it is quite possible to produce about 1600 tons of grass pellets per season. To provide the heat generator with fuel for the whole season, it is enough to allocate 50-100 hectares for straw.

In the production of grass cutting, you can increase the productivity of the equipment by 20% and reduce fuel consumption by 10% if you dry the mass in two stages: first dry it only to a moisture content of 25%, and then dry it with active ventilation. True, this method is suitable only when the air humidity is not higher than 70%.

Expenses and income

So, what does it take to start making herbal flour? Let's make an approximate calculation, based on the fact that the company will not be engaged in harvesting grass on its own. First of all, sufficiently large areas will be required to accommodate all the necessary equipment, store finished products and stocks of raw materials. The height of the ceilings in the production room must be at least four meters. The total area for equipment placement is 250 square meters. meters. Unlike storage facilities, the production workshop must be heated (the minimum allowable temperature in it is +5 °С) and have water supply. The list of necessary equipment includes: a conveyor for supplying raw materials to a grinder, an IMD material grinder, a cyclone with a frame, a drying complex, a hammer mill, a granulation unit (granulation press, bunker, console), a cooling column or unit, a packaging unit (conveyor, scales, frame), control panels. Three people per shift are enough to service this equipment. The cost of the production line depends on the configuration and performance. So, for example, a line with a capacity of 0.5 tons of finished product in granules per hour will cost 3.5 million rubles, a line with a capacity of 1.5 t / h will cost a little more than 6 million rubles, 3 t / h - 9.3 million rubles. A line for the production of finished product in bulk with a capacity of 0.5 t/h will cost almost 2 million rubles, 1.5 t/h - 4 million rubles, 3 t/h - 4.8 million rubles. Add to this the costs of transportation, installation, commissioning and training of personnel to work with the equipment.

If you care about your reputation, then your products must be certified for compliance with GOST 18691-88 and be accompanied by a certificate of conformity, a veterinary certificate and a test report. This also comes with additional costs.

Let's calculate the main costs for the production of one ton of herbal flour. These include electricity, gas (firewood, hay, etc.) for drying, equipment, raw materials, wages of employees of the enterprise. The exact cost of herbal flour depends, among other things, on the type of fuel on which the heat generator operates. The electrical power consumption of the dryer is 154.25 kW. Accordingly, the cost of electricity per ton of finished products will reach 500 rubles. The amount of gas consumed for drying is 86 Nm3/h. Thus, the cost of gas for drying one ton will be about 200 rubles. For drying, you will need about 80 kg of firewood (also per ton), which will cost 150 rubles. For the manufacture of one ton of products, three tons of grass are required. Such a quantity of raw materials will cost from 2500 rubles. The wage fund will amount to at least 30 thousand rubles per month (in the regions, an employee of such production receives 60 rubles per hour) based on one shift work (this item of expenditure is about 200 rubles per ton of products). In addition, it is necessary to include the cost of deductions for depreciation of equipment based on the service life of the latter for eight years (about 300 rubles per ton of products).

In recent years, such a progressive method of fodder preparation as grass dehydration in high-temperature dryers, flour preparation and cutting has been widely introduced into practice. The results of scientific research and the practice of advanced farms show that this method reduces the loss of nutrients during harvesting and storage, significantly increases the yield of feed units and protein per 1 ha.

About 6.5 million tons of grass flour is harvested in our country, which is widely used in the feed industry, as well as for feeding poultry, pigs and young cattle. Every year harvesting and grass cutting increases.

Grass dried at high temperature to make vitamin flour is an important source of protein, vitamins and minerals. 1 kg of it contains up to 0.85 feed units, 100-140 g of digestible protein and 180-250 mg of carotene.

Rice. 1. High-protein vitamin food in the form of briquettes and granules, prepared using advanced technology

The vegetation phase of plants plays a significant role in the nutritional value of herbal flour. The optimal phase for harvesting the green mass of legumes, in particular alfalfa, is the budding stage (Fig. 1).

Getting several cuts from crops of perennial grasses for the summer-autumn months makes it possible to dramatically increase the yield of nutrients per unit area (Table 1). With artificial drying of perennial grasses from 1 ha, you can get 1.5–2 times more protein and nitrogen-free extractives, and 4–5 times more carotene than with conventional drying of grass for hay.

Table 1
Comparative efficiency of harvesting haylage, silage, grass flour and hay from a clover-timothy mixture (at a yield of 160 q/ha)

In the complex of activities related to the production of herbal flour, one of the important problems is the preservation of carotene during the drying process and during its subsequent storage. With the usual methods of storing herbal flour (for example, in a bulk warehouse), a significant part of carotene is destroyed, after 5-6 months, its loss reaches 50-60%. Light has a particularly negative effect on the content of carotene in herbal flour, so it must be stored in a darkened room. The optimal amount of moisture in herbal flour is 10 - 12%. Overdrying of the same flour leads to an increased breakdown of carotene, with a moisture content of more than 15%, the flour becomes moldy.

Studies show that carotene in herbal flour is less destroyed at low temperatures, in an atmosphere of nitrogen or carbon dioxide, and also when 0.5% sodium pyrosulfite is added to the flour. Special antioxidants added to herbal flour also prevent carotene from oxidizing. The best results were obtained with the addition of 0.015% by weight of santochin flour (80-85% carotene is retained for 6 months).

Storing flour in cemented buried trenches or pits is easier and more efficient than storing it in paper bags. VIZh found that the average monthly loss of carotene in grass flour during storage in a trench is 4.3%, and during storage in a warehouse - 9%.

During the construction of large industrial livestock complexes, as well as the reconstruction of existing farms, it is necessary to reconsider the structure of feed, using types that would make it possible to more efficiently operate the means of complex mechanization during their preparation and distribution.

Of considerable interest in this regard are studies aimed at developing a technology for the preparation and storage of cost-effective, highly nutritious complete feeds in a dehydrated form. In particular, it has been found that the preparation of fodder in granular or briquetted form makes it possible to eliminate the cost of manual labor in fodder production and at the same time significantly increase the yield of nutrients per unit area occupied by fodder crops.

The study of the effectiveness of the use of briquetted and granulated feed in the diets of cattle began in the 60s. The experiments of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fodder, the Donskoy Agricultural Institute, VIZH and other scientific institutions have shown that briquetted and granulated feed enriched with the necessary additives provide high gains in live weight of young animals for fattening, increase the milk productivity of cows and the efficiency of feed use.

The main source of raw materials for the production of this type of feed is the green mass of natural and seeded perennial and annual grasses. As an additional source of raw materials, winter rapeseed, fodder cabbage, field crop and vegetable growing waste (tops of fodder root crops and potatoes, table cabbage leaves), as well as food industry waste are recommended.

In the forest zone and the northern part of the forest-steppe, herbal flour is prepared mainly from perennial herbs. They provide high yields of green mass, suitable for its quality and technological indicators for the production of feed on an industrial basis. In these areas, red clover is best suited for the production of briquetted and granulated feed, which accumulates a lot of protein in the above-ground mass and contains a large amount of carotene, vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids. Clover is mowed in the stalking phase at a plant height of 40-50 cm, under this regime, during the growing season, three cuttings of green mass are obtained. At this time, the green mass of clover consists mainly of leaves, which, compared with the stems, contain 2–3 times more protein, protein, minerals, 5–10 times more vitamins and 2–3 times less fiber.

In herbal cuttings or flour made from clover in the stalking phase of plants, there are 18.0 - 25.0% of crude protein and over 300 mg of carotene per 1 kg of absolutely dry matter; the fiber content does not exceed 22 - 24%. As the growing season progresses, the quality of the forage decreases markedly. So, in herbal flour from red clover, mowed at the end of budding - the beginning of flowering, the protein content decreases to 14 - 17%, carotene to 228 - 243 mg per 1 kg, and the amount of fiber increases to 27 - 28%.

On fertile, well-calcified soils (pH 7 - 8), high yields in these zones are brought by alfalfa (Severnaya hybrid variety), which in two or three hauls gives 400 - 500 centners / ha of green mass, and on irrigation - 700 - 800 centners / ha. ha or more. The first mowing of alfalfa is carried out in the period from the beginning of budding to the beginning of flowering plants.

In the forest zone, cereal grasses give more stable crops of green mass. In the early phases of the growing season, they produce high-quality raw materials for the production of cuttings or flour with a high content of nutrients. Widely used for the preparation of briquettes and granules are awnless fire, cocksfoot, meadow fescue, meadow timothy. The meadow foxtail and reed canary grass are also promising for the early link of the raw material conveyor. Perennial grasses, when mowing them before the start of panicle formation, give three mowings.

In the experiments of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fodder, awnless brome, cocksfoot and reed canary grass (when applying 180 kg of nitrogen per 1 ha - 60 kg for each mowing and mowing at the end of the booting phase) ensured the receipt of 450–500 c/ha of green mass, and the collection absolutely dry matter reached 96.8 - 105.1 q/ha. The protein content in the green mass of cereal grasses at the end of the booting phase was 18%, and at the beginning of panicle formation it decreased to 8–12%, while the amount of fiber increased to 30%. Yields of perennial cereal grasses are high when sowing clover with alfalfa. VNII fodder on average for three years received a crop of green mass of clover mixed with cereals (at the end of the emergence of cereals and stalking of clover), equal to 380 - 423 centners, and the collection of dry matter reached 77 - 86 centners / ha.

A significant amount of raw materials in the forest zone and the northern forest-steppe comes from hayfields. According to the data of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fodder, sown irrigated hayfields with cereal herbage, even on dry lands, yield here 120–140 q/ha of dry mass in three to five mowings. Irrigation and abundant nitrogen fertilization ensure a uniform supply of green mass throughout the season. With three-cut use, the yield is distributed approximately as follows: 33–37% of green mass from the first cut, 31–38 from the second, and 22–34% from the third. Without nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation, about half of the crop is taken for the first cut.

In order to ensure high yields of green mass and its uniform supply, it is important to choose the right types of grasses and their mixtures. In the central regions of the forest zone, for example, the economic maturity of individual crops occurs in the following order: meadow foxtail, cocksfoot, then awnless brome, meadow fescue and herbage with the participation of these species. With such a set of herbs and their mixtures, the duration of harvesting each cycle can last about 20 days.

An important source of raw materials for briquetted and granulated fodder are improved natural grasslands of floodplain and other types of meadows with sufficient moisture. A significant amount of raw materials - 150 - 200 kg / ha of high quality green mass - can be obtained due to its excess on cultivated pastures. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that about 24-30% of the area of ​​such pastures will be mowed in spring.

For the preparation of grass flour and cutting from annual herbs, leguminous crops are primarily used - winter and spring vetch, peas, lupins, soybeans, ranks, sown both in pure form and mixed with cereals - oats, barley, Sudanese grass, annual ryegrass and others. The flow of green mass of annual crops is easy to regulate with the help of different sowing dates. The yield of green mass of vetch-oat, pea-oat, chin-oat mixtures in the phase of budding of legumes and the beginning of panicle formation in cereals is usually 200 centners per 1 ha or more. When cultivating these mixtures for the preparation of pellets and briquettes, it is necessary to increase the sowing rate of seeds of the legume component so that the ratio of legumes and cereals is 2:1.

The most appropriate period for the use of legumes and legume-cereal mixtures is the period from the budding phase to the beginning of the formation of beans. The onset of these phases falls approximately in July, when the first cutting of legumes has already been carried out.

For the production of raw materials in the late-ripening period, you can take the tops of potatoes, fodder root crops (in terms of absolutely dry matter, it contains 14-19% protein and 12-14% fiber), fodder cabbage, winter rapeseed and other late-ripening crops. Fodder cabbage and winter rapeseed give 500-600 centners/ha of green mass.

In the southern part of the forest-steppe and steppe zone, the main raw material crops are alfalfa, grown both under irrigation conditions and on rainfed land, as well as sainfoin. From annual crops, winter rye is used in the early spring in its pure form and mixed with winter vetch, in summer - Sudan grass, sweet clover, vetch, pea and chin mixtures with oats or barley, a mixture of Sudan grass with chin or soy, tops of root crops, especially sugar beet , aftermath of perennial herbs. The yield of alfalfa on irrigation with five to seven cuttings reaches 700 - 1000 centners per 1 ha of green mass.

When sowing alfalfa, early cuttings are alternated with later ones in order to prevent the plants from weakening and to ensure a uniform supply of high-quality green mass for drying throughout the season. The quality of the green mass of alfalfa, harvested in the same phase of development, changes during the growing season: the protein content in dry matter increases from cut to cut, and fiber decreases. This allows alfalfa to be used starting from the third cut, at the beginning of flowering, and in the fourth cutting, in the middle of flowering.

Alfalfa-cereal mixtures are a good raw material for the preparation of briquettes and granules. Herbal flour from grass mixtures of the first year of life meets the requirements of the state standard and contains 17.5% protein, 25-26% fiber and 303 mg carotene in 1 kg of absolutely dry matter.

In semi-desert and desert zones, it is advisable to organize the production of complete feed in irrigated areas. The main source of raw materials here is alfalfa. With regular watering, it gives four cuts or more, which allows you to load the drying units from May to September. Along with sowings of alfalfa in its pure form, it is also cultivated in a mixture with cereal crops - hedgehog, perennial ryegrass, meadow fescue. In addition, wild herbs in their pure form, mixed with alfalfa and other components, give a good effect in these areas.

The main indicators of the quality of granules are their relative humidity, crumbling and carotene content.

The relative humidity of the granules is determined by drying a 5 g portion in an oven. To control it, an electric moisture meter (Super-Conti brand) is used; the determination time is 72 s. It can be installed in the flow and used for automatic control of the air conditioning system.

The relative humidity of the granules can be judged both by their appearance and by the amount of non-granulated flour coming out of the press: if it is normal, then the pressed granules have a smooth surface, and the amount of non-granulated flour does not exceed 5%; above the norm, the granules have a rough outer surface. In this case, the amount of moisture in the air conditioning system should be reduced.

If a large amount of ungranulated flour comes out of the press and the surface of the granules is shiny, then their relative humidity is below the norm. The amount of moisture entering the air conditioning should be increased. When adjusting the humidity, it must be taken into account that the time for the material to pass through the mixer and the press is within 2–3 minutes, and only after this time has elapsed can the results of the adjustment be checked.

The main indicator of the strength of granules is their crumbling. In accordance with the rules adopted in most countries, the crumbling of the granules is determined 1 hour after they leave the cooling column.

To control crumbling, 500 g of conditioned granules are taken and loaded into a special device, which is a metal box in the shape of a parallelepiped 300x300x100 mm in size. Inside the box, a plate with a height of 30–35 mm is reinforced along the diagonal of the side wall. An axis is attached to this wall, which sets the device in rotation at a speed of 50 rpm. Test time - 10 min. After that, the entire contents of the box are poured onto a sieve with holes equal to 0.8 of the diameter of the granules, and sieved. Crumbness is determined by the formula:

K \u003d (C1 - C2) / C1 * 100%

where C1 - weight of sample - 500 g;
C2 is the mass of granules remaining on the sieve, g.

Determining the carotene content of granules is especially important when steam conditioning flour. Care must be taken to ensure that the loss of carotene during granulation of grass meal does not exceed 5%. If these losses are out of the norm, it is necessary to reduce the temperature of flour heating with steam and increase the air supply to the cooling column.

Physiological, biochemical and zootechnical studies have shown that feeding granulated and briquetted mixtures to ruminants can increase their productivity and save up to 20-50% of concentrated and other feeds. According to the main zootechnical indicators (easiness, cost of feed and nutrients per unit of production, animal productivity, etc.), granulated and briquetted feeds are not inferior to traditional ones - hay, silage, haylage. However, their effectiveness largely depends on the quality of the feedstock, the physical and mechanical properties of briquettes and granules, and the balance of the diet for the main nutrients. In this regard, for granulation and briquetting, it is necessary to use high-quality raw materials, include macro- and microelements and other missing biologically active and nutrient substances in mixtures, thus creating a complete feed.

The digestibility of nutrients largely depends on the size of the feed particles: the smaller the particle, the lower the digestibility. For cattle, the optimal particle size of the coarse component of the feed mixture is 3–5 cm. The critical minimum particle size of the coarse component in the composition of the feed mixture for cows is 0.65 cm. The use of a feed mixture of smaller particles leads to a noticeable decrease in milk fat content. In granules, as shown by studies of the All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds, the specified particle size cannot be achieved: their average size does not exceed 0.5 cm. In this regard, it is advisable for cows to prepare not granules, but briquettes.

It should be borne in mind that if pellets are fed in addition to the main diet, which includes roughage and succulent feed, particle size does not play a big role. To increase the average particle size, straw is added to the granules in an amount of 30–50% by weight. The palatability of straw in the composition of the pellets is significantly increased, which allows it to be used more efficiently.

Feeding with granulated and briquetted mixtures during the pasture period of highly productive cows with a daily milk yield of more than 20 kg of milk is especially effective. Pellets and briquettes can make up 80-100% of the sheep diet and do not require any additional preparation for feeding. It is only important to ensure that animals have free access to water.

In dairy complexes, as experimental data show, it is better to include granulated and briquetted feed in the diet in the amount of 40-60% (by nutritional value), taking into account the physiological state and productivity of cows.

With a high proportion of granules and briquettes in the diet, it is also necessary to feed roughage (hay, straw) in the amount of 2-3 kg per head per day. For highly productive cows, root crops, silage, haylage are introduced into the diet.

The use of briquetted and granulated feeds allows to increase the live weight gain in fattening animals by 15–25%, increase milk yield by 5–10%, reduce feed costs per unit of livestock products by 5–10%, and reduce feed losses by 20–30%.

According to the VIZh, the average daily milk yield of cows when fed with straw-grain granules from barley (40% of the nutritional value of the diet) in combination with silage was 0.9 kg higher, and feed costs were 7.7% lower compared to the usual diet (hay, silage, root crops, concentrates). In the experiments of the VNII fodder, the costs per 1 kg of milk when fed with granules and the economic ration amounted to 0.77 and 0.87 feed, units, 75 and 111.8 g of digestible protein, 229 and 350 g of concentrates, respectively. When grazing on a cultivated pasture, feeding with granules made it possible to replace up to 50% of concentrates with straw or grass cutting and reduce the average monthly decrease in milk yield from 9.2 to 4.5 - 5.9%.

Heifers raised from 3 months of age on granulated feed reached 396 kg at 18 months of age, while control animals at the same age - only 379 kg. Feeding calves with granulated feed made it possible to obtain 800–1200 g of average daily weight gain per head, reduce feed consumption by 15–25%, and reduce labor costs for production by 2–2.8 times (VIZH data).

One of the advantages of granulated and briquetted feed is their high consumption. So, the experiments of the Don Agricultural Institute found that the pellets eaten by sheep reaches 98 - 100%, while when giving feed separately, their waste is 20 - 25%. As a result, the additional costs of their granulation fully pay off. In similar experiments on sheep (Kyrgyz Research Institute of Animal Husbandry), the feed intake in the experimental group was 93%, in the control group (in bulk) - 77%; live weight of ewes at the age of 12-12.5 months respectively reached 42.3 and 36.6 kg.

According to the results of the All-Union Research Institute of Sheep and Goat Breeding (VNIIOK), when sheep were fed granular feed, weight gain (by 64%) and wool shearing (by 16%) increased significantly.

The All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds found that in the production of briquettes and granules, the yield of feed units, compared with the preparation of hay in the field, increases by an average of 70%, digestible protein - by almost 1.5 times, and carotene - by more than 6 times. At the same time, from crops that are usually taken for the preparation of only coarse and succulent feed (perennial and annual grasses, silage crops, root crops), they actually receive concentrated feed. The cheapest granular feeds are those that are prepared using inexpensive components - perennial grasses and grain forage crops harvested using the threshless method. When sugar beet and potatoes are included in the composition of the granules, their cost rises sharply.

The least labor-intensive (0.11 man-hour per 1 quintal feed, unit) was the production of granules according to a recipe that includes components that require less drying costs, for example, with a large specific gravity of straw and grain fodder. More labor is spent on the preparation of granules from perennial grasses (0.19-0.36 man-hours).

Experiments conducted at the All-Russian Research Institute of Feed showed that when granules are introduced into the diet of cows, the cost of feed per 1 quintal of milk decreases. So, if on the control (standard diet) the cost of feed was 9.54 rubles. per 1 centner of milk, then when feeding pellets - 7.57 - 8.30 rubles, or 13 - 21% lower. Due to this, the profit from the sale of milk increases by 19.5 - 30.9%.

VIZH carried out a series of experiments on the comparative assessment of the fodder merits of conventional field-dried hay and grass briquettes prepared from the same initial mass - clover-timothy mixture (yield - 165 c/ha). It turned out that briquetting significantly increases the yield of feed units and individual nutrients from 1 ha of sown area: ordinary field-dried hay - 24.1 fodder units, digestible protein - 3.2 carotene - 0.15 mg; grass briquettes - 36.6 feed, units 4.1 digestible protein, 0.57 carotene; respectively, the nutritional value of 1 kg of dry matter is 0.6 and 0.8 feed units, the amount of carotene in 1 kg of dry matter is 26 and 127 mg; sugar-protein ratio - 0.2 and 0.75. The new technology reduces the loss of nutrients not only during harvesting, but also during storage and transportation of feed: dry matter and feed units (compared to conventional hay harvesting) - 1.8 times digestible protein - 2.5, carotene - 6.2, sugar - 100 times (Table 2).

Briquetted feeds have almost all the advantages of granulated feeds, and at the same time, they compare favorably with them in that they more closely meet the physiological needs of ruminants, primarily dairy cows, in structure and shape. Granulated feed should not be introduced into cattle diets in large quantities, and grass bales can form the basis of the diet.

Briquettes are prepared from the vegetative mass of grain forage crops cultivated for fodder purposes. In this case, they are harvested without threshing in the phase of milky-wax ripeness. The collected grain-grass mixture was called monokorma. VIZH and VIESH, based on preliminary comprehensive studies on the development of technology for the production of briquetted monofodders from grain forage crops, offered the first samples of such feeds from barley in the phase of milky-wax ripeness.

table 2
Nutrient losses during harvesting and 10-month storage of field-dried hay and grass briquettes, %

In this phase of vegetation, as shown by the analysis data, the briquettes contain 90% of dry matter, the nutritional value of 1 kg of them is equal to 0.8 fodder. units The dry matter is rich in protein (12.5%) and other nutrients.

Along with briquetting, such feeds are also prepared in the form of granules. Feeding pellets in combination with a small amount of roughage makes it possible to increase the intensity of animal rearing, significantly reduce the consumption of feed, especially protein, per unit of live weight. This type of feeding has been studied quite well, and it can be recommended for widespread introduction into practice in the rearing and fattening of young cattle.

The technological process for the production of full-ration briquetted and granulated feed mixtures includes the following operations: mowing, grass chopping, transportation, artificial dehydration of the mass, dosing, mixing, pressing and cooling of flour.

For mowing and grinding, mowers KSK-100, KUF-1.8, E-280 are used. For preliminary wilting of the mass in the field, mower-conditioners KPV-3.0 and E-301 are used, and for selection and grinding - KSK-100 and E-280, equipped with pick-ups. Raw materials are transported on tractors with trailers PSE-12.5 or on other vehicles equipped with mesh sides and, preferably, roofs. In the process of dehydration, drum dryers of the type SB-1.5, AVM-1.5 and twin installations AVM-0.65 are suitable. It is recommended to equip the dryers with mechanized, buried green mass receivers.

For the purpose of mixing and dosing the components of complete mixtures, including crushed grain, the units OKTs-ZO are operated. If it is necessary to introduce grass flour, it is fed into the receiving hoppers of these units by pneumatic conveying devices. Grass cutting with a length of 1-3 cm can be mixed with a grain component and dry additives using horizontal conveyor-mixers of the TK-5 type with a capacity of up to 3.5 tons per hour. At the plants of complete feeds developed by the All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds, the auger of this conveyor serves as a mixer. To do this, increase the number of its revolutions. Chain conveyors, equipped with buckets with a capacity of about 3 liters, feed briquettes and granules to storage hoppers.

Briquetting and granulation are carried out by briquette presses of two types: rotary presses with ring dies and reciprocating stamp presses. Granulation is the most mastered operation of the technological process. OGM and DG type granulators are reliable and high-performance machines. In the process of briquetting and granulation, especially when using cereal grasses, the temperature of briquettes and granules exceeds the ambient air temperature by 30-40°C, so they must be cooled. In order to reduce the temperature of the briquettes, the All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds has developed vertical conveyors with a length of 12 m and fans of the SVM-5 type installed in storage bins.

In farms where there are no pressing machines, cuts are prepared from artificially dried herbs in loose form for cattle. At the same time, from the crushing units, cutting with the help of fans, the rotors of which are equipped with throwing blades, bypassing crushers, is fed into covered tractor trailers of the PTS-40 or 2-PTS-A-887A type with a body volume of 40 - 45 m 3. The feed is kept for 10-12 hours, then it is transported and loaded into storage facilities using TPE-type pneumatic conveyors or TZK-type belt conveyors. Cutting as a result of separation in the air flow often accumulates in one place, forming a self-heating center, therefore, when using pneumatic conveyors, it is necessary to change the position of the deflectors to evenly distribute the mass.

Methods for storing briquetted and granulated feeds depend on their purpose, quality, and duration of storage. Full-ration briquettes and granules containing a large amount of carotene, 1.5-2 times higher than the need for animals, can be stored in a barn-type room in an embankment 3-4 m high. The granules are also stored in silos at a relative humidity of 80%, the temperature of the granules is 20 ° C at a moisture content of 12.5% ​​or they are packed in bags. Often the feed is placed in ordinary warehouses and attics in cowsheds, loading it with a TZK-type belt conveyor. Briquettes and granules are fed to the distribution conveyor from the receiving device. For additional cooling and maintaining the required temperature of briquetted and granulated feed, it is recommended to use floor units designed for grain ventilation.

In order to preserve carotene in briquettes and granules, some antioxidants (santochin, diludin) are introduced into grass meal, cutting or feed mixture at the rate of 200 g per 1 ton of feed. Antioxidants make it possible to reduce the loss of carotene by almost half. When stored for more than 6 months, it is advisable to store briquettes and granules in hermetically sealed storage facilities, the air from which is displaced by an inert gas. An oxygen-free environment in storage facilities can also be created by placing freshly cut green mass on top of the feed (5% of the total mass).

Granulated and briquetted feeds must meet the following basic requirements: in terms of nutritional value, they must correspond to typical diets for certain age groups and types of farm animals, retaining the nutrients of the original feed for at least 6 months. Introduced mineral substances (trace elements, vitamins, etc.) must be distributed evenly. The content of foreign impurities (dirt, sand) - no more than 0.5%. The presence of harmful, toxic substances is unacceptable in granules and briquettes.

Permissible density of granules and briquettes for ruminants is not more than 600 - 800 kg per 1 m 3, the diameter of the granules is 12 - 20 mm, and the average length of the roughage particles is not less than 8 - 10 mm. Cylindrical briquettes have a diameter of not more than 60 mm, cubic - 40x40 mm.

Feeding norms for granulated and briquetted feeds are determined in each specific case, taking into account the type and group of animals, the direction and level of productivity, the composition and usefulness of the feed. For example, in livestock fattening complexes, two types of animal feeding are used: in winter - haylage-concentrate and haylage-silage-root. In the presence of these types of feeding, granules or briquettes are used as an energy-protein-mineral supplement, replenishing the diet with energy, protein and minerals that are missing in the main feed.

In summer, when grazing animals on a cultivated pasture, it is advisable to feed special granular and briquetted additives, taking into account the type of herbage, its botanical composition, the grazing cycle and, in connection with this, the content of nutrients in the green mass. Thus, the new technology of feed preparation - granulation and briquetting - significantly increases the efficiency of their use both in fattening animals and in dairy cattle breeding, provides a sharp reduction in losses and an increase in the yield of nutrients. The All-Russian Research Institute of Feeds found that in the production of briquettes and granules (compared to the preparation of hay in the field), the yield of feed units increases by an average of 70%, digestible protein - by almost 1.5 times, and carotene - by more than 6 times. At the same time, from crops that are usually used to prepare only coarse and succulent feed (perennial and annual grasses, silage crops, root crops), they actually receive concentrated feed.

Cost reduction in the production of briquettes and pellets for cattle can be achieved by preliminary short-term wilting of grasses in the field, especially if conditioning is also carried out. During wilting, nutrient losses are negligible and transport and drying costs are greatly reduced. So, when drying herbs with a moisture content of 85%, to obtain 1 ton of flour with a content of 10% moisture, 470 kg of liquid fuel is consumed on the AVM-1.5 unit, and when drying herbs with a moisture content of 70%, only kg, or 2.6 times less.

The main volume of wool in our country and the world is obtained from sheep. High-quality wool (moger, or tiftik) is obtained from goats of woolly breeds (Angora, Soviet wool), from llamas, bactrian camels; coarse wool is obtained from yaks. In addition, high-quality down is obtained from rabbits (used for the manufacture of felt products) and down is collected during the spring molt of arctic foxes. Downy goat breeding (Pridon, Orenburg, Gorno-Altai breeds) is distinguished as a separate industry.

From sheep, coarse, semi-coarse, fine (merino) and semi-fine wool is obtained, used for various purposes - the production of fine pure wool and blended fabrics, suit and coat fabrics (beaver, carpet coat, drape), cloth; carpets - nap, woven lint-free, felt appliqué carpets - syrmaks; yarn for the manufacture of knitwear machine and handmade; felted shoes (boots).

Sheep are animals bred throughout the Russian Federation with the exception of the Far North; a number of biological features make them a particularly valuable object for breeding: sheep can be content with very low nutritional value of plant species, and they eat a much larger number of plant species than cattle and horses. Sheep can eat thorny plants (camel thorn), saltwort, wormwood, eat the leaves of shrubs. Sheep tolerate low air temperatures (Krasnoyarsk Territory, Chita Region, Novosibirsk Region, etc.), they can be pastured in winter with low snow cover (tyubenevat); can be bred in mountainous areas. Sheep can use natural mineralized (salty) water, make long hauls. Peace-loving animals - only in sheep breeding can you keep a flock of producers. Sheep of the vast majority of breeds have a well-defined herd instinct, good maternal qualities. Sheep are a promising object for farms, especially in the light of the modern transition of sheep breeding to meat, wool and meat - a number of technological processes in pig breeding can be carried out by the children of farmers.

The breeding of sheep of a particular breed is determined by the natural and climatic conditions of the region.

In the North-Western region of Russia, and the Novgorod region in particular, the planned breeds of sheep are: Romanov (coarse-wool sheep of the fur coat direction of productivity) and Latvian dark-headed (semi-fine-fleeced meat - wool direction of productivity).

The manifestation of the genetic potential of sheep in terms of wool productivity is possible when they create optimal conditions for feeding and keeping sheep.

In modern standards for feeding sheep, 21 nutrients are taken into account, including: ECE, dry matter, crude and digestible protein, lysine and sulfur-containing amino acids, starch, sugar, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, iron, copper, zinc, cobalt , manganese, iodine, carotene, and vitamins D and E. Per 100 kg of live weight, sheep consume 3.2 - 3.8 kg of dry matter with a concentration of 8.8 - 9.2 MJ in 1 kg of dry matter. Sheep are demanding on the level and quality of protein; on 1 ECU, adult sheep require 90-105 grams of digestible protein, replacement young animals - 100-120 g. Especially high nutrient requirements for rams during the breeding campaign and preparation for it, as well as for ewes - in the first half of lactation. Sheep use synthetic nitrogen-containing substances better than other ruminants, which are fed at the rate of 10-12 grams of urea per 1.2 ECU or amido-concentrated additives (AKA): cereal grains - 70-75%, carbamide - 20-25%, sodium bentonite - 5%. The fiber level should not exceed 27% (of dry matter) - in adult animals, 25% - in young animals 15 - 17 months old, 13% - young animals up to 6 months old.

Currently, the norms of LPU (digestible carbohydrates expressed in glucose) are established, calculated by the formula:

LPU, r = Sugar, g + Starch, g

0,95 0,925

For sheep, the level of sulfur in the diet is especially important, since its deficiency causes a deterioration in the digestibility of nutrients, a decrease in wool productivity. If necessary, it is possible to use elemental sulfur, sulfates and sulfites. For sheep of fine-fleeced breeds, with the predominant feeding of alfalfa (cut green mass, alfalfa hay and haylage), it becomes necessary to feed fodder phosphates, since the level of calcium in alfalfa is 4.5 g/kg, and phosphorus is 0.7 g/kg.

When organizing the feeding of sheep, various types of natural pastures are widely used, as well as driven pasture on long-term cultivated pastures. Sheep grazing avoids the development of invasive diseases, and also prevents the development of soil erosion processes, especially on sandy soils and in mountainous areas. Watering from standing water should be avoided. Grazing is recommended to start at a plant height of 10 - 15 cm, to stop - when the herbage height is 4 - 5 cm. If the herbage is high, a lot of green mass is trampled down, if it is too low, pastures are knocked out and their productivity decreases in subsequent years. In order to avoid contamination of wool, it is necessary to destroy weeds with thorny seeds such as string, burdock, feather grass. When grazing sheep, especially over rough terrain and in the mountains, shepherds use riding horses and shepherd dogs. When distributing fodder (hay, silage, haylage, concentrates, branch fodder), the sheep must be in another room to avoid getting fodder on the sheep and contaminating the wool. After the distribution of feed, the sheep are let in, and the feeders should be located perpendicular to the entrance gate so that the sheep do not overturn them.

In sheep breeding, as a rule, round lambing is used, respectively, and a random company lasts up to 2 months - August - November, depending on what kind of lambing is planned - at the end of winter or early spring.

Feeding rams

When organizing the feeding of sires, their age, live weight, intensity of sexual use (or dormancy), as well as the level of wool productivity are taken into account: sexual dimorphism is well expressed in sheep and the largest shearings of wool are obtained from rams. 40 - 60 days before the start of the breeding period, rams-producers are transferred to an increased feeding rate; at the same time, carrots, pumpkin, semi-sugar beets, leguminous crops and meal, animal feed: skimmed milk, meat and bone meal, chicken eggs are introduced into the diets. In this case, silage is either completely excluded or replaced with clover or alfalfa haylage. After the end of the breeding period, the rams are transferred to the previous diet.

Feeding rates for rams-producers of the Romanov breed are presented in Table. 58.

Tab. 58. Norms of feeding rams-producers of the Romanov breed (according to A.P. Kalashnikov et al., 2003)

During the pasture period, either sheep grazing or top dressing with mowed green mass is organized; during the stall period, rams are fed cereal-bean and bean hay, haylage, cereal-bean and corn silage, and concentrates.

For rams during the breeding season, VNIIOK recommends compound feed of the following composition (% by weight): oats - 18, barley - 17, millet - 14, wheat bran - 13.5, sunflower meal - 12, fodder dry yeast - 4, grass flour - 10, skimmed milk powder - 7, monocalcium phosphate - 2, table salt - 1, premix PO-1 - 1.5. 1 kg of such feed contains 0.99 ECE, 185 g of raw and 152 g of digestible protein, 92 g of fiber, 7.5 g of calcium, 10 g of phosphorus, 4.7 g of sulfur, 21 mg of carotene.

Approximate rations for rams-producers of the Romanov breed are presented in Table. 59.

Tab. 59. Approximate rations for rams-producers, per head / day.

Probe rams are fed in the same way.

In merino sheep breeding, they still contain a fairly large number of valukhs - castrated rams to obtain fine uniform wool. Separate flocks are formed from the boulders. In the pasture period, the only food for them is pasture grass, in winter - roughage (hay, straw), silage and haylage. Animals are on a maintenance diet almost all year round. Before slaughter, animals are fattened, including feeding with other full-age groups or on feedlots.

Feeding ewes

Feeding norms for ewes take into account the direction and level of productivity, live weight, physiological state (single, pregnant, lactating). The highest needs of ewes for energy, minerals and nutrients are in the first 6-8 weeks of lactation, the lowest are in single queens and in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (Table 60).

Tab. 60. Feeding norms for queens of the Romanov breed (according to A.P. Kalashnikov et al., 2003)

A similar dynamics of needs for normalized nutritional elements applies to ewes and other breeds, with the exception of those whose lambs are killed for astrakhan or lambs - lactation as such lasts in this case from 3 days or more. When lambs are slaughtered, the feeding rate of ewes is reduced so that self-starting occurs. Sheep milking is practically not used, although it is a promising direction in sheep farming.

During the pasture period, the main food is pasture grass, which the ewes consume in an amount of up to 8–9 kg/head/day; in the stall - up to 40 - 50% of nutritional value can be good-quality silage (from 2 to 4.5 kg / head / day). As a source of roughage, small-grass hay from natural or seeded hayfields, branch feed are used. Concentrated feed can be presented in diets with mixed feed concentrates for ewes or a grain mixture prepared on the farm with a content of up to 60% by weight of cereals. As pregnancy increases and after lambing, the proportion of concentrated feed and silage increases (Table 61).

Tab. 61. Approximate rations for Romanov queens weighing 50 kg, per head per day

Feeding young sheep

Feeding norms for young sheep depend on the purpose of rearing (replacement young, super-repair for meat, heaps in merino sheep breeding), sex, age, breed, weaning period.

For the first 2 - 3 weeks, lambs feed on their mother's milk, drinking 1.2 - 1.5 kg of milk per day. In this case, the average daily gain is 200 grams or more. Teaching lambs to feed as early as possible is of great importance from the point of view of the development and formation of cicatricial digestion and intensive development, especially when raising lambs of the Romanov breed, when a ewe brings from 2 to 6 lambs in one lamb and there is not enough milk.

From the age of 10 days, lambs are taught to feed with concentrates - oatmeal mixed with bran or special feed, and they also hang bunches or place alfalfa or clover hay in special feeders. As the lambs grow, the amount of concentrates will increase and will be: in the first month - 50 g / head / day, in the second - 100, the third - 150, the fourth - 250. When the grazing period begins, the amount of concentrates is reduced, as the lambs begin to eat grass. Lambs up to 4 months of age are recommended to be fed 3 - 5, older - 5 - 10 g / head / day of the mineral mixture (Table 62) or introduce microelements into the composition of salt briquettes.

Tab. 62. The composition of mineral mixtures,%

In the first month of life, lambs have imperfect thermoregulation of the body, therefore, there should be no drafts in the sheepfold, there should be enough dry bedding, and when keeping lambs, it is best to practice the so-called kosher-basic method, that is, during the first two months of growing lambs, they are left in the sheepfold, and the queens are fed to the base (fenced paddock adjacent to the shed); at the same time, 103 otok is let into the sheepfold (koshara) every 3 hours for the first 20-25 days and every 4 hours in later growing periods.

Weaning of lambs is carried out at the age of 2.5 - 4 months; it should be borne in mind that in the 4th month of life, the lamb at the expense of mother's milk satisfies the nutritional needs at best by 10%.

Young flocks are grazed on long-term cultivated pastures or kept on farm sites and fed 3–4 kg of green grass and 0.2–0.4 kg of a mixture of concentrates. At the same time, the average daily gain in live weight should be 120-200 grams, depending on the breed.

By the time the lambs reach 8 months of age, the stall period usually begins. The increase in live weight in the subsequent wintering should be at the level of 100 - 120 grams. It is widely practiced in sheep breeding to feed complete wet loose feed mixtures. For breeding rams, the feeding norms are higher than for ewes by 0.2 - 0.3 ECU. An exemplary diet for yaks of the Romanov breed at the age of 4-6 months may be the following: grass-forb hay - 0.4 kg, grass flour - 0.2 kg, cereal silage - 0.3 kg, disodium phosphate - 2 g, zinc sulfate - 14 grams.

Sheep fattening

To obtain more mutton before slaughter, the animals should be put on fattening, which will increase the yield of edible slaughter products. Sheep fattening has a number of features, unlike other types of farm animals:

Fattening is most often seasonal in nature - after lambing, queens are put on fattening, the lambs of which are killed for smushka and lambs, and the queens are not planned to be left for reproduction in the future. When breeding Merino sheep for fattening after spring shearing, they put culled valukhs. Fattening is most often carried out in the form of fattening - in the summer or summer-autumn months;

In autumn, the main part of the livestock intended for slaughter is put on fattening - over-repair young animals after beating off queens; culled queens of coarse-haired breeds after autumn shearing (do not inseminate anymore);

In late autumn - after the end of the breeding season, sires and samplers are culled, followed by fattening;

Valukhov of fine-wooled breeds after spring shearing is put on fattening, the duration of which will depend on fatness when put on fattening;

Fattening is carried out most often by feeding using available pastures, including grazing on stubble;

In areas with high plowing of land, fattening is used on feedlots using waste from field crops, horticulture, and green fodder;

When fattening sheep, complete feed mixtures, including those in granular form, are widely used (table). The composition of feed mixtures can include any crop waste; straw and chaff are widely used for fattening sheep.

It is important that the sheep at the time of slaughter have a wool coat of at least 4 cm, which will make it possible to obtain not only high-quality lamb, but also fur sheepskin.

When fattening, adult sheep eat 7–8 kg of grass on pasture, should receive mineral supplements and be provided with water; when organizing stall fattening, including at feedlots, sheep are fed with straw, hay, waste from fruit and vegetable growing, and grain waste (Table 63). Synthetic nitrogen-containing substances are widely used in fattening adult sheep. The average daily gain should be 140 - 200 grams.

Tab. 63. Approximate rations for fattening adult sheep (live weight 45 - 50 kg), per head per day

In addition to the traditional multi-component diet, sheep are fattened using granulated feed mixtures, feeding them from self-feeders. Such organization of fattening increases the rate of feed consumption, creates more comfortable conditions for fattening animals. When using hay or straw as part of granular feed mixtures, it is necessary to carry out fine grinding of these ingredients in order to avoid crumbling of the granules (Table 64).

Tab. 64. Composition of granulated feed mixtures for fattening young sheep, % by weight

In the composition of feed mixtures for young animals of younger ages, concentrates make up a fairly high proportion; when fattening adult animals, their amount can be reduced to 20% (Table 65).

Tab. 65. Composition and nutritional value of pellets for fattening adult sheep, % by weight