Careful ewe feeding the key to successful lamb production
| Example concentrate feeding regimes for ... | Example concentrate feeding regimes for ... | Example concentrate feeding regimes for ... | Example concentrate feeding regimes for ... | |
| Weeks pre-lambing | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Incremental feeding (kg/head/day) | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Flat rate feeding (kg/head/day) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
What do you feed a sheep?
A wide variety of low-cost feedstuffs can meet the maintenance requirements of ewes. Pasture or grass hay is all most sheep need to maintain themselves. Pet sheep or wethers raised for wool should always be fed at a maintenance level.
What do you feed Lambs after they are weaned?
After the lambs have been weaned, the ewes should be maintained in dry lot and fed low quality grass hay or straw until their udders start to dry up and recede. It is not necessary to remove water from ewes at weaning.
What is the best feed for feedlot lambs?
It is usually the most profitable feeding program that can be used for grain-based finishing of feedlot lambs. Whole-grain diets consist of whole (unprocessed) grains, such as shelled corn or barley, mixed with a pelleted protein-vitamin-mineral supplement.
What is whole grain feeding of lambs?
Whole-grain feeding of lambs improves feed efficiency, increases average daily gain, and lowers overall feed costs per pound of gain. It is usually the most profitable feeding program that can be used for grain-based finishing of feedlot lambs.
What should I feed pregnant ewes?
Nutrition During Late Gestation To meet the increased energy needs during this period, it is often necessary to feed concentrates (grain), especially if the ewe is pregnant with multiple fetuses. In addition, if forage quality is low, it may be necessary to provide a supplemental source of protein and calcium.
What is the best thing to feed lambs?
Feeds that have high palatability for lambs include soybean meal, ground or cracked corn, and alfalfa hay. Some producers start lambs out on soybean meal. It is expensive, but the lambs do not eat much at an early age. Crumbled or textured rations are consumed better than pelleted creep feeds.
What foods do ewes eat?
Sheep are herbivores and eat mainly plant material. In the wild or when living in pastures, sheep spend a good part of their day grazing on grass and weeds. Sheep that live in an enclosure with no grass to graze are often fed hay or silage. Silage includes foods such as fermented hay or corn.
What nutrients do ewes need?
Sheep require the major minerals sodium, chlorine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, potassium, and trace minerals, including cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, and selenium.
How can I make my lambs grow faster?
Give your market lamb adequate shelter. Your lamb must have an environment that encourages its growth. This means your lamb should have plenty of pen space, good ventilation, protection from exposure to the elements and cool, fresh water. Feed your market lamb a balanced diet, with particular attention to minerals.
What to feed ewes after lambing?
After lambing, move the ewe up to full feed (6-7 pounds) of a diet containing 65% total digestible nutrients and 15% crude protein (when suckling twins). An example diet that would meet this requirement could be 4 pounds of moderate quality alfalfa hay and 2 pounds of whole corn.
What is the best grain for sheep?
Barley is a useful feedstuff for sheep. It contains a similar level of energy and higher level than corn. Barley is an excellent supplement to ewe diets during late gestation and lactation or when forage quality is low.
What vegetables are good for sheep?
78 Healthy Snacks Sheep Can EatCeleryPearsHoneysuckle BushCarrotsRosemaryWatermelonDandelionsBroadleaf PlantainDillCrabapple Tree Leaves34 more rows•Jan 5, 2020
Can you feed rice to sheep?
(1) Rough rice fed whole was a highly palatable feed for lambs.
Do lambs need salt?
Sheep need many essential nutrients. These include sodium and chloride (salt) as well as selenium, a naturally occurring mineral. Sheep rely on forage, which typically contains scant amounts of salt. To supplement, farmers hang salt blocks or pour loose salt into feeders.
How much protein does a pregnant ewe need?
The crude protein requirement for a 70 kg ewe in the last 4 weeks of gestation is 214g/day. Crude protein is necessary for udder development which would impact on colostrum supply and milk supply for newborn lambs. A ration with 16 – 18% crude protein is adequate once fed with good quality hay or silage.
What do you feed sheep before breeding?
Although ewes are bred, the fetuses are only growing a small amount during the first and second trimester. Ewes can be fed on pasture or if in confinement, a good quality grass hay. In both situations, ewes should be fed a sheep mineral and vitamin mix to complement the nutrient content of the forages fed.
What do baby lambs eat?
Lambs will start to nibble on solid food (hay, grass, and grain) soon after birth. By the time they are 4 to 6 weeks old, they may be obtaining as much as 50 percent of their nutrients from sources other than their mother's milk.
When should I introduce hay to lambs?
By the time the lambs are 6-8 weeks of age, they are ready to be weaned and should be eating a feed that is about 16-18% protein. They should continue to have high quality hay with tender leaves such as second cutting alfalfa along with a prepared feed for their age.
What is the best grain for sheep?
Barley is a useful feedstuff for sheep. It contains a similar level of energy and higher level than corn. Barley is an excellent supplement to ewe diets during late gestation and lactation or when forage quality is low.
At what age do lambs start eating grass?
4- 6 weeks oldLambs will begin to nibble on solid food soon after birth and will be fully eating grass by 4- 6 weeks old. Hard feed such as Sheep Nuts TM or Multifeed TM nuts can also be fed. Weaning can begin as early as 6 weeks of age but most lambs benefit from milk feeding up to 12-14 weeks of age.
How much feed should lambs have?
In a feedlot, lambs are fed 4% to 4,5% of their live weight a day to optimise growth. Such a ration should contain high levels of high-energy feed, which will lead to a higher feed conversion ratio. It should also have a high protein content and a 10% to 15% bypass protein content.
How much protein is needed for a 50kg sheep?
These proteins are found in fishmeal, oilcake and lamb feed, and contribute to lamb growth. A 50kg ewe also requires 95g of crude protein a day for maintenance. Lambs need at least 181g of protein for 300g/day growth over a 60-day growth period. Lastly, water plays a major role in sheep production. Cool, clean water should be provided ad lib.
What is the first phase of a lamb's life?
Kenneth Hamlett of Tau Mills believe that the first phases of a lamb’s life are crucial for future growth. He explains more about the correct feeding practices for lambs and in-lamb ewes. Genetics, feeding, processing and weather plays a big role in the first phase of a lambs development, but above all, management.
How much should ewe lambs weigh?
Keep only those ewes who meet your benchmark for performance. A good rule of thumb is that ewe lambs should weigh at least 70% of their mature weight at breeding. Lambs should be managed so that they are not excessively fat because fat will accumulate in the udder and decrease overall milk production.
Why is it important to feed lambs densely?
Nutrient dense feeds are very important at this point because the lambs will take up a large amount of space inside the ewe, which will limit how much she can eat. Poor nutrition can lead to problems such as pregnancy disease, weak or lighter birth weight lambs, and decreased milk production.
Why are ewes grouped separately?
These ewes lambs are grouped separately from mature ewes to insure that they receive additional nutrition to support their growth as well as that of their lambs. When ewe lambs are bred to lamb later than mature ewes, this also gives producers an opportunity to spend more time with ewes lambing for the first time.
What is lifetime performance in sheep?
Lifetime performance is an often overlooked measurement in sheep operations. Ewe lambs that lamb at one year of age have increased nutritional requirements to account for the growth of lambs in the uterus as well as the continued growth of the ewe. Ewes that produce a lamb at a year of age should have a higher lifetime production than a ewe ...
When should ewe lambs be separated from mature ewes?
Ideally, ewe lambs should be separated from the mature ewes during the last part of gestation. Some producers breed ewe lambs later than the mature ewes. This can allow producers to manage the ewes as one large group for a short period of time. Ewe lambs receive higher nutrition throughout the pregnancy to support their growth while the mature ewes receive higher nutrition only during the last part of gestation. Once all the mature ewes have lambed, the ewe lambs continue to receive higher levels of nutrition throughout the last part of their gestation and then throughout the period of time they nurse their lamb or lambs. Bear in mind that adequate feeder space must be provided so that ewe lambs are not pushed away from feed by the larger mature ewes. If adequate feeder space is not available, then manage the ewe lambs as a group separate from the mature ewes to insure they receive adequate nutrition.
Do ewe lambs get more nutrition?
Ewe lambs receive higher nutrition throughout the pregnancy to support their growth while the mature ewes receive higher nutrition only during the last part of gestation. Once all the mature ewes have lambed, the ewe lambs continue to receive higher levels of nutrition throughout the last part of their gestation and then throughout the period ...
Do bred lambs need grain?
Bred ewe lambs should be gradually switched over to higher quality forage at this time. Ewe lambs may also require a grain supplement, depending on their body condition and the nutritional value of the forage.
What do sheep need to maintain themselves?
Pasture or grass hay is all most sheep need to maintain themselves. Pet sheep or wethers raised for wool should always be fed at a maintenance level. Body condition scoring. Body condition scoring is a valuable management tool that can be used to evaluate the feeding program and the need for changes.
How long before ewes can you feed grain?
Weaning often takes place at a time when ewes are still producing a lot of milk. In this is the case, grain should be reduced 1 to 2 weeks prior to weaning. For the last week or so prior to weaning, no grain should be fed to the ewes.
How to prevent ewes from prolapse?
Preventing ewes from becoming overfat and limiting intake are two ways to reduce vaginal prolapses. Lactation. Lactation places the greatest nutritional demand on ewes. How much you feed a ewe will depend upon how many lambs she is nursing, her size and condition, her age, and the time of the year the lambs are born.
Why is spring grass good for ewes?
Spring grass is high in protein, water, and other nutrients which promote milk production. The overriding concern at weaning time for ewes is to prevent mastitis. Ewes need to be watched closely during the weaning period for mastitis. Ewes with spoiled udders have decreased or no future production value.
How long before a lamb is born should you flush?
Feeding the ewe so she is gaining weight about 2 weeks before breeding is called flushing. Flushing may increase lambing percentage by increasing the number of eggs that the ewe ovulates.
What is the average condition score of a sheep?
Most sheep have body condition scores between 2 and 4. A ewe's body condition score will change throughout her production cycle.
Why do sheep have milk fever?
Milk fever is low blood calcium (hypocalcemia). It is caused by either inadequate intake of calcium (usually) or the inability to mobilize calcium reserves.
