Throughout 121 days of winter pasture period, the animals aged 9.0­12.9 months old were grazed on without supplemental feeding. The study was carried out in the winter pasture of Yeghegnut community, Armavir region of RA. 10 heads from Holstein and Flekvi heifers each, kept in stalls were selected for the research. During 121 days of winter grazing, female calves from 9.0 to 12.9 month­old were in the pasture from 12:00 to 17:00 and during the remaining 19 hours in the cattle shed, without additional feeding. Absolute, average daily, relative weight gain and growth factors were determined on the basis of weighing and body part measurements at the beginning and end of winter grazing. According to the weight growth data, the absolute weight gain of a 9.0­12.9­month­old female Holstein calf was 71.4 kg, the average daily weight gain was 610 g, the relative weight gain was 30.6 %, the growth factor was 1.4 times, compensation for 1 kg weight gainer – 5.4 energy feed units, and for the Flekvi breed – 62.6 kg, 535 g, 27 %,1.3 times, and 6.2 energy feed units, respectively. According to the data of linear growth, the height of the body parts of the 9.0­12.9­month­old female Holstein breed in­ creased by 3.0­3.7, width by 3.0­3.3, length by 0.9­4.3, chest depth – 3.1, breast width – 3.6, forearm width – 0.7 cm, and Flekvi – 2.3­3.2, 0.7­2.6, 0.7­6.1, 1.7, 5.5 and 1.4 cm, respectively. Body composition indices also prove that the body structure of the 12.9­month­old female Holstein and Flekvi breeds has also developed proportionally. Therefore, we suggest to graze 6­month­old calves and older animals of different gender and age groups in the Armavir region of RA in winter pastures.

In recent years, in Armenia, meat has become more important than other food-producing directions of sheep breeding, which is due not only to lower costs and the demand for the domestic market but also to the export of many sheep from the republic. Consequently, foreign breeds of mutton, such as Dorper, Hisar, Romanov, Blanch Central Massif, etc., began to be imported and bred in Armenia due to their profitability. On October 20, 2021, Blanche sheep from the Central Massif was imported to the Balahovit ANAU experimental farm. A sheep was mated with a female weighing 80 % of the live weight of an adult queen, about 45-50 kg, and a male weighing 80-85 kg. There was an average or above-average fat level in the animals. Live weight, the amount of feed needed, the level of feed intake, the ability to adapt to weather conditions and reproductive performance were studied. Methods used in animal husbandry were used in the studies. When the animals were moved, they lost about 2.6 % of their weight during the initial period. However, it was restored within a short time. Females gained 365 g in March 2022, and males gained 450 g, which is an excellent indicator. A kilogram of weight gain costs 5.15 EFU. The pregnancy rate was 136 %, and the inter-calving period was 271-320 days, which made it possible to provide three births in two years.