The main trend in sheep breeding is a steady increase in the volume of mutton production which determines the increasing demand for meat and wool. The development and application of effective methods for increasing and improving meat productivity is relevant. Biophysical methods used in animal husbandry is of interest. One of the methods is the impact of low-intensity laser radiation. Biophysical methods used in animal husbandry can activate biological reserves and realize the genetic potential of productive qualities. At the same time, it is necessary to consider morphological features of sheep exposed to low-frequency infrared laser radiation. The article studies quantitative and qualitative indices of meat productivity, the degree of internal organs development, and the chemical composition of muscle tissues. Intergroup differences in young sheep exposed to low-frequency laser radiation were found. Positive changes in the degree of internal organs and systems development in animals exposed to low-intensity infrared laser radiation were identified. They indicate the intensity of metabolic processes in the body, the positive productivity dynamics.

As the livestock industry, sheep breeding takes the third place in the world, this is one of the most extensive types of agriculture. Currently, the main attention in the sheep breeding is directed to increasing in meat productivity and improving the quality of products. The important technique that contributes to the increase and improvement of the quality of livestock production is the use of laser radiation. The article presents the results of research directed to studying of influence of low-intensity laser radiation on the organism of young sheep. The area of impact of laser radiation on the animal organism is defined. The positive influence of laser radiation on the growth and development of young sheep and their immune reactivity is established. The revealed regularity is confirmed by the bigger size of the live weight, increased energy of growth in all studied periods of ontogenetic development, the more developed factors of natural protection at the experimental animals. The effectiveness of the directed impact of laser puncture on the organism of young sheep has been proved to improve meat productivity and resistance. The developed method of laser puncture can be used to increase the meat productivity, safety and resistance of young sheep.

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Due to the increase of consumption of food products by the population, especially of animal origin, the need of the livestock industry including sheep breeding for high-quality feed from an ecological point of view also increases. Recently, insects have received a lot of attention as a source of feed protein in the diet of farm animals. This is evidenced by numerous studies on the nutritional value and use of larvae of Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), Green-bottle fly (Lucilia Caesar), House fly (Musca domestica), meal worm (Tenebrio molitor), silkworms (Bombyx mori), and crickets (Gryllusbi maculatus) as food for farm animals. It is well known from foreign literature sources about the use of additive from silkworm pupae in the ration of sheep, as well as meal from crickets as the source of protein in the diet of lambs. The silkworm is a monophage eats in only at the caterpillar stage absorbing and accumulating the necessary nutrients and water from the mulberry leaves. The analysis of the works of foreign authors shows that the protein content in the silkworm caterpillars depending on the breed ranges from 63,02 to 67,99 %. However, the analysis of the content of the main nutrients in the section of silkworm breeds as well as the age of the caterpillars was not carried out in the works of domestic scientists. This research presents data on the nutrient content and metabolic energy in silkworm caterpillars by age depending on the breed for further development of the feed additive from silkworm biomass and its use in sheep breeding. In the course of the conducted research, the following results have been obtained. So, at the end of the 4th age on average the caterpillars have a body length of 4,5–5,0 cm, the weight of one caterpillar is 0,6–0,7 g. The largest size and weight are the caterpillars on 10 days of the 5th age; their body length on average for the studied breeds was 8,0–8,5 cm, the weight of one caterpillar was 4,5–5,5 g. The optimal stage of development of silkworm caterpillars for the production of feed additive is 10 days in the 5th age. During this period the caterpillars of the studied breeds Kavkaz-1, Kavkaz-2, Belokokonnaya-1, Belokokonnaya-2 contain protein from 62,71 to 66,55 %, fat from 14,81 to 16,95 %, fi ber from 2,36 to 2,81 %, ash 4,39–3,96 % and nitrogen-free extractive substances 9,31–15,81 % in absolutely dry matter. The highest content of nutrients and metabolic energy is allocated to the breeds Belokokonnaya-2 (protein – 66,55 %, fat – 16,95 %, metabolic energy – 20,86 MJ/kg) and Kavkaz-2 (protein – 64,10 %, fat – 15,59 %, metabolic energy – 20,24 MJ/kg).

Increasing the productivity and effi ciency of lamb production is a key factor in the competitiveness of the meat sheep industry. Therefore, in order to conduct sheep breeding more effectively it is necessary to apply new approaches to increase and improve the quality of products.Considerable interest are modern technologies involving the use of DNA markers, which are widely used in national breeding programs of a number of countries with developed animal husbandry and have a signifi cant impact on improving productivity indicators. A significant number of genes associated with meat productivity and meat quality have been identifi ed. However, in sheep breeding, information about the main genes or loci that affect the growth characteristics and productive traits of sheep is relatively limited. Due to the growing interest in the production of young mutton and lamb, priority is given to the study of genes that control meat productivity. The greatest interests are studies on the evaluation of the polymorphism of the growth hormone (GH) gene, which controls growth and development, as well as infl uencing the meat productivity of sheep. In this regard, the purpose of this work was research aimed at fi nding associations between polymorphic variants of the growth hormone gene and the qualitative characteristics of meat in meat and wool sheep of the genotype ½ Poll Dorset × ½ North Caucasian Meat and Wool breed bred in the Stavropol Territory. The data obtained when studying the histostructure of the m. Longissimus dorsi, depending on the genotypes of GH gene, indicate that the muscle tissue in individuals with AB and BB genotypes was characterized by a large number of muscle fi bers by 5,7 and 6,4 %, their smaller diameter by 7,6 and 9,2 %, and a lower content of connective tissue compared to animals with the genotype AA of GH gene.