The next day at lunchtime, Uncle De told Chen Lan the results of his inquiries with Grandpa Zhou and the others at the dinner table.
Uncle De swallowed his food and said slowly, "Xiao Lan, about raising Gaizhou cashmere goats you mentioned last night, I asked those old guys this morning. Grandpa Xu, Grandpa Li, and Grandpa Chen from your Heilongjiang province have all raised sheep for several years. Grandpa Zhou from your Liaoning province is even more of an expert. He was a young shepherd since he was a child, and he raised sheep for over a decade for wealthy families in his area, so he knows the temperament of sheep very well. His family is also from the Gaizhou area of Liaoning province, not too far from Gaixian in Gaizhou you mentioned, only about fifty to sixty li away.
Your Grandpa Zhou said that our valley isn't buying sheep for fattening and selling for profit, but for our own self-sufficiency. If we are to buy sheep and breed them ourselves, buying young lambs is much more cost-effective."
After saying that, he took another bite of food and picked up a chopstickful of shredded potatoes.
Everyone was listening with great interest when Uncle De suddenly stopped, and they all looked at him expectantly for the rest of the story.
Uncle De swallowed his food and continued, "For the same amount of money, if you buy adult sheep, you can only buy five. If you buy lambs, you can buy eight to ten. Of course, lambs are more delicate and require careful nursing, so raising lambs needs experienced old hands, otherwise, it's easy to make mistakes and they won't grow well."
After saying that, he picked up another chopstickful of vegetables and put it in his mouth. Looking up, he saw everyone still watching him, waiting for him to continue, so he quickly chewed two or three times, swallowed, took a sip of soup, and continued his previous topic, "Your Grandpa Zhou said that we definitely won't just buy three or five sheep for our valley, it's better to buy them in flocks. Because generally, people are reluctant to sell ewes unless they are in dire straits and need the money for emergencies. Otherwise, it's likely the ewe has a problem."
He stopped and took a bite of food.
Chen Lan interjected, "Uncle De, did you ask Grandpa Zhou how many sheep are appropriate for us to buy for our first time raising sheep?"
Uncle De drank some soup and said, "I asked. He said it's best not to buy too many at first, just thirty ewe lambs and thirty ram lambs will suffice. Your Grandpa Zhou said that Gaizhou cashmere goats are quite in demand, and it's most suitable to buy lambs in early spring. He'll take a group of our able-bodied old folks with him to Gaizhou a few days in advance to buy them. By autumn, the rams will be fat, estimated to be around a hundred jin on average. We can keep fifteen rams as breeding stock.
After the first snow in late autumn or early winter, the remaining fifteen can be slowly butchered. Killing one every so often will last us until early the following spring."
At this moment, young Mingzhe, not ashamed to ask, voiced the question on everyone's mind. He asked, "Uncle De, why do we have to wait until after the first snow to eat mutton? Can't we eat it earlier?"
Grandma chuckled, poked Mingzhe's forehead with her finger, and chided, "You little glutton, do you have worms in your belly? All you think about is eating! You've got a gluttonous mind! Aren't you afraid of getting angry and having a nosebleed if you eat mutton before it snows?"
Mingzhe, now quite shrewd, curled his lips dismissively and said, "Mom, you're trying to fool me. I'm not like Jia Yao and the others, a little kid who doesn't understand anything, am I? Haven't we eaten mutton before it snowed, and quite a few times? How come no one got angry and had a nosebleed?"
Grandma was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to answer!
Uncle De said with a serious expression, "Because before the first snow, the adult sheep are preparing to give birth to lambs, so they cannot be slaughtered in advance. Understand?"
Mingzhe nodded in confusion, but he still didn't understand. What should he do?
At this point, Chen Lan understood Uncle De's underlying meaning. She had researched Gaizhou cashmere goats herself. The information stated that cashmere goats mature around five months, usually coming into heat in late autumn or early winter. They can start breeding at eighteen months old. The estrus period averages about seventeen days, and the gestation period for ewes is one hundred and forty-five to one hundred and fifty-five days.
After Uncle De finished speaking, he quickly shoveled the rice in his bowl into his mouth, put down his chopsticks, and continued, "And by that time, the ewes will be close to lambing. The key is that after raising sheep for a year, everyone will have accumulated a year's worth of experience in raising sheep. Even if we raise more sheep the following year, we won't be afraid of making mistakes, not to mention having Grandpa Zhou and that group of old experts around?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and continued to eat.
Since the issues of raising sheep and going to Gaizhou to acquire them were mostly resolved, the remaining matters were building the sheep pens and how to feed them.
So, that evening after the twins were asleep, Chen Lan opened her system with her mind and searched for relevant information. According to the habit of goats preferring a dry living environment and disliking dampness, the sheep pens for goat farming should be located in a place that is high-lying, well-drained, sheltered from the wind, sunny, dry, and well-ventilated.
If possible, the sheep pens should have a rain shelter to prevent the shed from getting wet. It is best to build a raised platform in the sheep pen for them to rest on, about fifteen to thirty centimeters above the ground.
The activity area outside the sheep pen should ideally be more than twice the size of the sheep pen, to provide ample space for the sheep to move around. The activity area must also be equipped with water and feed troughs.
To raise sheep well, providing water is very important. If sheep do not drink enough water, their reproduction and growth will be affected. Severe dehydration can even be life-threatening. They should drink at least twice a day, with more frequent watering in the summer, and in winter, during the dry grass season, it is even more important to provide them with plenty of clean warm water.
Similarly, feeding sheep an appropriate amount of salt is also important. Feeding salt not only supplements trace elements like sodium and chlorine that the sheep need, but it also increases their appetite and water intake.
The method of feeding salt is to put the salt directly in the salt trough for the sheep to lick freely. However, it is important to note that you should not give them water immediately after feeding salt. Feed salt every five to six days, and it is best to stir-fry the salt until it is slightly yellow when feeding.
When feeding feed, frequently add some ground, heat-clearing, and appetite-stimulating Chinese herbal fodder, which can aid digestion, increase appetite, and supplement nutrition.
It is important to ensure that the feed troughs and water troughs are kept clean and hygienic at all times to guarantee the health of the goats' diet and drinking water.
Chen Lan also found that alfalfa is the pasture grass that sheep like the most, so she also looked up information on the growing environment and planting methods of alfalfa.