MONITORING RESEARCHES OF LAMB PRODUCTION IN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY RAW MATERIAL ZONE
Researches were carried out on fattening young sheep of the North Caucasus meat-and-wool breed with the aim of obtaining lamb and mutton for baby food in the raw material zone of the Branch of Tikhoretsky of DANON RUSSIA JSC. The results obtained indicate high meat advantages of carcasses and high quality meat of 4 months old lambs. It was found that the wethers grown under the grazing system had the highest growth rate. Their live weight was 15.5 % higher; the average daily weight gain for 10 months of fattening - by 16.7 %; slaughter weight - by 23.8 %, slaughter yield - by 3.2 % (p <0.01) in comparison with animals on stall keeping. Reliably greater amounts of crude protein (22.2) and higher protein quality index (5.45) were noted in meat of pasture-fattening wethers, which confirms the high biological value of meat. Lamb and mutton met nutritional and environmental requirements for the production of baby food.