Tabaski Sheep Fattening: A 90 to 120-Day Plan for Profit

To fatten sheep successfully for Tabaski, start 90 to 120 days before the feast with young, healthy, dewormed rams, feed a ration built on good forage with concentrate added gradually, and track weight and cost per head until the sale. The margin is not made by the price on Tabaski day. It is made by the purchase price, the ration and the start date.

In Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, Tabaski (Eid al-Adha) is the biggest event of the year for sheep keepers. Urban demand surges and prices climb, but so do costs: feed, transport, guarding. Many fatteners work hard and end with a thin margin because they never did the numbers. Here is a practical plan.

Choosing the animals

It all starts when you buy or sort. A poor animal will not become a fine Tabaski ram, whatever you feed it.

• Young males gain weight more efficiently than old rams; they convert feed to weight better.
• Frame matters. Tall, long, well-built animals in good health. Urban buyers look for size and conformation.
• Breed. Touabire, Peul-Peul, Bali-Bali, Ladoum or crosses depending on your area. Ladoum targets a separate premium market; see the Ladoum sheep guide.
• Health. Bright eyes, good appetite, no lameness, no diarrhoea, no cough. Avoid very thin animals of unknown origin.
• Religious requirements. The animal must be free of the defects that make it unfit for sacrifice (obvious blindness in one eye, visible illness, clear lameness, extreme thinness) and must meet the required age. These criteria directly affect the price.

Record for each ram: number, starting weight, estimated age and purchase price. Without that baseline you will never know whether it paid.

Preparing the animals: health and adaptation

The first two weeks are for preparation, not fattening.

1. Internal and external parasite control on your vet's advice. A wormy sheep eats without gaining.
2. Vaccination following your national veterinary services' schedule, especially against diseases common in your area. Switching to a richer ration is itself a risk factor for some digestive diseases.
3. Quarantine animals bought at market away from your existing flock.
4. Gradual feed transition over 10 to 15 days, raising concentrate step by step.
5. Withdrawal periods. For every treatment, note the date from which the animal can be sold and make sure it falls well before Tabaski.

The fattening ration

Forage remains the base, topped up with concentrate. Common feeds across the Sahel and West Africa include groundnut hay, cowpea hay, millet or rice bran, groundnut or cottonseed cake, and whole cottonseed. Exact amounts depend on body weight, feed quality and advice from your extension officer or vet.

Simple rules:

• Clean water available at all times, especially in the hot season.
• Salt or mineral licks always on offer.
• Regular meals at fixed times, split into at least two feeds a day.
• No sudden ration changes.

Tracking weight and cost per head

The fattener's real question is not "what is my ram worth?" but "what did it cost me?" Cost per head adds up purchase price, feed, health care, labour, transport and other expenses.

A practical method:

1. Weigh on arrival, then every two to three weeks. Without scales, a weigh band gives a usable estimate.
2. Record every bag of feed bought and how much each group receives.
3. Spot the animals that are not gaining: worms, teeth, disease. Selling them early is better than feeding them at a loss.
4. Work out the cost per kilo gained to know whether further finishing still pays.

In Throf you record each ram with its number, weight, treatments and withdrawal dates, along with meals, feed stock and every expense. The app calculates cost per head and net profit, which gives you a clear floor price before you go to market. For a detailed feeding timeline, see the 90-day lamb fattening plan.

Selling at the right time and price

Tabaski moves about 11 days earlier each year because it follows the lunar calendar. Work out your start date from the expected date of the feast, not from last year's habit.

• Set a floor price from your cost per head, then add your margin.
• Do not leave everything for the last day. Prices can swing sharply in the final week, and the risk of being left with unsold animals is real.
• Prepare presentation: clean animals in good condition that are easy to handle.
• Budget for transport to the big urban markets; it is often underestimated.
• Record every sale: price, weight, date. These figures shape next year's plan.

The bottom line

Tabaski fattening is won three to four months before the feast: good animals, health first, a gradual ration, regular weighing and a real cost per head. The breeder who knows his cost negotiates with confidence; the one who does not may sell at a loss without realising it.