[ScribbleUk]

Hi All,

I know its a 'how long is a piece of string' type question with as many variables as you have sheep in the field, but I'm trying to estimate how much hay is required over winter for feed per sheep.  I've seen a few formula's online but most where in the context of North America where the sheep were being housed for long period of time to keep them out of the snow.

Are there any reliable UK models to use, or even just from your previous experience?  We only have a handful of Dorset sheep and will be using small bales via hay racks.

Thanks

[SallyintNorth]

For commercial sheep outside we use one small bale per 30-40 sheep per day as a guide.  Double that for indoors, or outside if there's snow on the ground or the ground is frozen, or if it gets so wet and muddy there's no real value in the grass.  Mind, we do also feed ewe rolls indoors, or if there's snow on the ground or the ground is frozen for more than a few days.  We're in north Cumbria, on severely disadvantaged hill ground.

For 10 Dorsets, you'll probably want to give about 1/3 bale a day, I'd think, more in extreme conditions or if you find they're losing too much condition.

Our small bales are well-packed, about 40 to the tonne, of our own hay.  You may need to feed more if your bales are light, or less if your hay is made from better grass than ours.

Edited to add that we generally start feeding hay about Christmas time.  Earlier if the weather and ground conditions dictate.

As to straw, you only need straw if they'll be indoors, although if the ground is covered with snow or is frozen solid, they will lie on straw if you put some out.  (We usually feed the hay spread out on the ground, and they lie on the spoil.). Although maybe you were thinking to feed straw rather than hay?

[Marches Farmer]

I always work out roughly what I think I'll need then add on 50%, to cover things like the six weeks of snow cover we had one Winter, or having to keep the lambs in the shed for three weeks one extremely wet Spring.

[ScribbleUk]

Thanks SallyintheNorth.

I assume you have to feed from Xmas through to March time - maybe 100+ days?

So for us it probably be up to 100 days * 0.3 bales per day = 30 bales.  Which is useful since that's exactly what we have at the moment :-)

[Foobar]

I think Tim Tyne says 3-4 small bales per sheep per winter.

[SallyintNorth]

Yes, usually until about March - though some years it's been May before there was any grass 

And one year we had snow - thick snow - in November, didn't really lift till January 

I do agree with MF, though - always have about half as much again as you think you'll need, in case of extreme weather and so on.  Unless you know somewhere locally you could buy more if you needed it, I guess. 

[landroverroy]

When we had Dorset sized sheep we used to reckon as a rule of thumb that 16 sheep ate one good sized (ie @25kg) bale of hay/day. That was banking on the contribution from the grass being pretty negligible, so in a mild winter they would get slightly more from the grass and eat a bit less hay.
 Like Marches Farmer says - you need to err on the side of caution. That should cover the most you would need/day; but aim for the worst possible winter, as I agree with Sally it is possible for the grass not to grow properly till May. We live in a particularly mild area of Yorkshire but even so, I have on occassion had to feed hay to the sheep for 5 months when it's been particularly wet and/or cold and the grass has been virtually non existent.

[Buttermilk]

Last winter 15 zwartbles were eating a small bale a day of hay and I used two round bales of straw for bedding when housed from christmas to mid April, although they could run out during the day from mid March.

[Hevxxx99]

I was told a bale per sheep for a flock our on the North York Moors.

I feed rather more to my field sheep: about half a bale a day to 20 and rather more when the weather is bad or the grass non-existant.