Feeding sheep requires a systematic approach to feeding to ensure that each animal is meeting its nutritional requirement. The nutritional requirement of the sheep change based off the life stage of the sheep as well as the season of the year. Sheep require a balance of forage, grain, and minerals to fulfill their nutritional need.
Should the sheep provide the correct balance of forage, grain, and minerals, the flock will remain productively. However, should the sheep not provide the correct balance of forage, grain, and minerals, the sheep will experience health problem. There are different types of feed that can be provided to sheep for different purpose.
How to Feed Sheep
Grass hay, for instance, provide fiber to the sheep as well as aids in the proper function of the rumen of the sheep. Alfalfa is an type of legume hay that provides extra protein and calcium to the sheep diet. Alfalfa is recommended for ewes that are producing milk or for those that have twins.
Pasture grass is a type of feed that is low in cost, provided that the pasture is growing grass during the summer months. In instances where the quality of the pasture grass is low, grain and protein supplement may be fed to the sheep. Silage can be fed to the sheep as an alternative during the winter months, as well as mineral mix or salt block can be provided to the sheep to provide trace element that are lacking in their forage diet.
There are different nutritional need of sheep for different life stage. For instance, ewes in maintenance stage only require grass hay in their diet. However, ewes in late gestation require more protein to support the growth of the lambs in their bodies.
Ewe in the lactation stage require even more protein than late gestation ewes. For instance, maintenance ewes may require only three pound of dry matter intake, but lactating ewes may require five or six pound of dry matter intake. Growing lambs and breeding rams has different nutritional requirements than adult ewes.
For instance, each life stage of sheep has different requirements for protein and grain intake, and thus knowing the intake of the sheep compared to the requirements of each life stage can enable the sheep farmer to adjust the ration provided to the individual sheep. Sheep have different nutritional requirements based upon the season of the year. During the spring month, pasture grass is abundant, but the grass contains low level of magnesium, which is essential for the sheep’s diet, as insufficient level of this mineral can lead to grass tetany in the sheep.
During the summer months, rotational pasturing method should be used to prevent overgrazing of the pasture. During the fall months, the nutrition need of the ewes should be increased prior to breeding the ewes, which is referred to as “flushing”. During the winter months, when pastures are barren of grass, hay or silage should be provided to the sheep.
Additionally, late gestation ewes should be provided with grain supplement during the final week of pregnancy prior to lambing. Sheep require various mineral in their diets. For instance, the lack of minerals in the diet of the sheep can lead to health problem.
Ewes require calcium and phosphorus for the production of milk as well as for healthy bone in the sheep. Selenium is required for the diet of the sheep to prevent white muscle disease in lambs. Magnesium is provided to the diet of the sheep to prevent grass tetany in the spring.
Copper level in the diet should be provided with caution because the sheep are very sensitive to copper toxicity. A sheep-specific loose mineral supplement can be provided free choice to the sheep; this type of supplement is more reliable than mineral supplement that are provided for cattle or goats. Sheep should be protected from toxic plant.
Plants like rhododendron, nightshade, yew, and water hemlock is poisonous to sheep. Should sheep consume these type of plants, they may become ill or even die. These type of plants are often poisonous even in dried hay.
Thus, walks of the pastures should be conducted regular. Additionally, new source of hay should be checked for these type of toxic plant. Sheep require access to water.
Lactating ewes should have access to two gallon of water or more each day, while sheep in maintenance stage require only one gallon of water per day. During the winter months, when the water source may be cold to the sheep, heated trough should be provided; otherwise, the sheep will not consume enough water. A lack of water intake from the sheep will prevent them from utilizing their feed properly and may lead to various metabolic issue in the sheep.
There are several practical habit for sheep farmer to adopt when feeding sheep. For instance, body condition scoring of the sheep can help the sheep farmer to determine if the feed provided to the sheep is appropriate to their body condition. Additionally, the change of feed should be gradual to avoid harming the sheeps rumen microbe.
Another habit is to test the hay that is provided to the sheep each year to determine the level of protein and energy that is provided. Another management practice is to use feeder to provide the hay to the sheep, as this will reduce the waste of the hay and reduce the chance of parasite accessing the sheep. Finally, creep feeder can be used to provide grain access to lambs, so that they will not have to compete with the adult sheep for access to grain.