FEEDING LEVEL OF PREGNANT EWES AND ITS EFFECT ON THE MILK PRODUCTION OF TUSHINO SHEEP

Correction of feeding in the dry period is relevant, especially in the conditions of distant mountain keeping used to keep breeds in which metabolic processes are more intensive, and, accordingly, a greater amount of nutrients should be supplied with the feed. To establish the optimal amount of nutrients in the diets required for pregnant ewes, in the conditions of the distant mountain keeping of the North Caucasus in 2018, after the end of the breeding campaign, 120 ewes of the Tushino breed were selected, going to the third lambing. They were divided into 4 groups of 30 heads per each. The ewes of the first control group received a food ration prepared in accordance with the standards of the Federal Science Centre for Animal Husbandry (2003). The diet of ewes of the second, third and fourth groups was increased in total nutritional value by 10, respectively; 15 and 20%, compared with the diet of the control group. For the entire lactation period, the average daily milk yield of the ewes of the III experimental group, who received a diet where the total nutritional value of feed was 15% higher than that of the control group, was 719.2 g, which is higher than the indicators of the ewes receiving a diet prepared according to the standards of the FSCAH. by 32.1% (P ≤ 0.001); and ewes receiving 10% more nutrients than animals of the control group by 16.1% (P ≤ 0.01) and IV experimental group receiving 20% more nutrients substances, by 5.1%. Thus, we can conclude that the increased level of feeding during the period of pregnancy contributes to an increase in the milk production of ewes by 13.8-32.1%. It was found that the optimal dose of increasing the nutritional value of the diet by 15% of the ewes showed the highest milk productivity, an increase of 20%, on the contrary, contributed to a slight decrease in milk productivity.