The aim of this book is to collect all available informations about sheep production to improve traditional methods. Most of the previous sheep books have concentrated on wool, but the emphasis in the present book is more in lamb with trend of the increasing importance of meat and milk from sheep. It is hoped that this book will be able to fill a gap in the literature for the students of sheep production, working for their graduate and post-graduate degrees in the field of veterinary and agricultural sciences. It is hoped that the book should also meet the need of the great number of those with veterinary and agricultural degrees in every walk of life-farmers and advisors alike. It is also hoped that it will provide reference materials and additional self study guide for research workers and veterinary practitioners.

The place and potential for sheep em tropical and subtropical regions; Available genetic resources: the origin and classification of the world's sheep; Improvement programs; Nutrient requirement of hair sheep in tropical and subtropical regions; Forage resources in northeast Brazil: their value and management; Supplemental feed resources and their utilization by hair sheep; Reproduction in sheep; Herd health management of sheep in the semiarid tropics; Facilities and installations for hair sheep production; Products and marketing; Tropical sheep production systems; Some suggestions for improved productivity through management; Recommendations for further research.

The objectives of this study are to assess the role of small ruminants (sheep and goats) in the food production systems of developing countries, examine their advantages and disadvantages, analyze the constraints limiting their further contribution to the welfare of small farm/low income rural producers, prescribe measures for overcoming these constraints, and make recommendations related to potential donor involvement in support of the development of sheep and goat production. Small ruminants are viewed as an integral, but not dominant component of complex agricultural systems. Particular emphasis is placed on sheep and goats in mixed herds grazing dry rangelands and in small mixed farm systems in medium to high rainfall areas. An analysis of major constraints -- ecological, biological, policy, and socio-economic -- leads to recommendations on the need for a balanced production system approach for research, training and development programs, and for a combination of support activities such as herd health programs, and formulation of favorable credit, marketing and pricing policies for small ruminants and their products.

This book presents a compilation of the latest findings from reputed researchers around the globe, covering in detail climate change and its effects on sheep production. In the current global climate change scenario, information related to its impact on livestock agriculture is lacking. The negative impacts of climate change are already being felt by all livestock species. Further, the mitigation and amelioration strategies that are applicable for one species may not hold true for another. As such, concerted research efforts are needed to identify species-specific strategies for mitigation and adaptation. With that goal in mind, this book is the first of its kind to gather comprehensive information pertaining to the impact of climate change on various aspects of sheep production. It also sheds light on the role of sheep with regard to the global greenhouse gas pool. The book highlights the status quo of sheep production from climate change perspectives and projects the significance of adapting future sheep production to the challenges posed by climate change. It addresses in detail the various adaptations, methane mitigation and amelioration strategies needed to sustain sheep production in the future. In addition, the book presents development plans and policies that will allow the sheep industry to cope with current climate changes and strategies that will lessen future impacts. Bringing together essential information prepared by world-class researchers hailing from different agro-ecological zones, this book offers a unique resource for all researchers, teachers and students associated with sustaining the sheep production in the face of global change.

Discusses raising sheep, sheep breeding, marketing, and selling.

Some general charscteristics of farming in a tropical environment; Shifting cultivation systems; Fallow systems; Ley systems; Systems with permanent upland cultivation; Systems with arable irrigation farming; Systems with perennial crops; Grazing systems; General tendences in the development of tropical farm systems.