Herd Management and Transhumance Activities of Nomadic Families in Animal Breeding: Case of Iğdır Province, Turkey

This research was carried to determine the herd management and transhumance activities of the nomads between 2017-2018 years at in Iğdır province in South Anatolia Region of Turkey. A survey was conducted with 174 breeders registered in the Sheep-Goat Breeders Association. χ2 (Chi-Square) test was used for statistical analyses. It is determined that 25.2% of the breeders are illiterate while 74.8% hold a diploma of some level. Milking is carried out in 91.4% of the farms while no milking is done in the remaining 8.6%. Suckling time of lamb and milking time in the sheep was 147.18±1.55 and 59.02±2.00 days, respectively. Total milk yield of sheep is determined 238.36±10.02 g day-1. The number of feeding times of the sheep was determined as 2.91±0.03. The average amount of concentrate forage, corn silage, straw, and dry weed were determined as 566.38±15.68, 700.00±118.02 (n= 8), 900.00±55.09 and 1449.70±43.89 g, respectively. 80.5% of the growers sell milk, 10.9% use it in self-consumption and 8.6% do not milk. As a result, it is concluded that the semi-nomadic families in Iğdır province practice traditional breeding and are experienced in ovine breeding.