[Bramham Wiltshire Horns]

I want to discuss feeding prior to lambing

Here's a brief recap

I dated all sheep when mated but once raddle was changed 2 of the ewes looked to have been re-covered in the second cycle
So I had lambing dates 1week apart give it take a day

I brought the first 2 sheep back home at week 5/6 to start feeding regime and left the other 2 sheep at the field on limited grass, Adlib hay and a 17% protein mix couple times a week

2 weeks later I brought the the 2 ewes I left in the field back to start feeding
8 days later one of the ewes that I brought back later last gave birth to a ram lamb she was only on 120g 18% feed per day so hardly any feed
Yet the lamb has been the biggest to date so far at 1 day old and the ewe has had plenty of milk (the real concern was if she had enough milk)

So here's my question
Is it really nescessary to feed from 6 weeks to pregnancy or have I got lucky

Please discuss

[crobertson]

Mine were tupped the last weekend in october and then left well alone as there was still plenty of grass left and they're in good condition.

January - started adding hay, topped up once per day
February - mid feb is 6 weeks to lambing, starting adding a handful of ewe nuts to introduce them & topped hay up twice a day
March - lambs due end of March, 4 weeks pre lambing consists of hay, concentrates twice a day and a lifeline bucket added.

They are due next week and have concentrates twice a day, hay checked 4-5 times a day and pretty much re-filled each time and a lifeline bucket ..... they all look fab.

 So in answer to your question, ours get a 'maintenance' diet until 4 weeks pre-lambing. They are in good condition so feeding earlier than that just puts on weight whereas now their condition score hasn't changed so is being used on the growing lambs.

[Old Shep]

You have to take into consideration breed of sheep (some need more feeding than others), how much grass you have and quality of that grass, if they are having twins or singles or multiples, and the weather!  It's a black art that every farmer/sheep keeper conjures up their strategy for each year!

[Womble]

It's a black art that every farmer/sheep keeper conjures up their strategy for each year!

Indeed!  But it would be really useful to hear what other people do, AND in what context. Also what are you looking for in order to monitor and modify your strategy (e.g. 'at 6 weeks to go, I want them to be condition score X'). I'll be honest, this is the part of sheep keeping that confuses me the most at the moment!

[Sbom]

I feed zwartbles and dorsets a few weeks prior to lambing as they seem unable to cope without, but my NZ Romneys have grass only with a lifeline bucket.
Will be vaccinating this weekend so will condition score but without touching they look in fab condition (Roms)

[Marches Farmer]

This is why sheep feeding is both an art and a science.   I have a Flock Plan and find there are revisions to be made every year.  The quality and quantity of grass, condition of the sheep (particularly older ewes) and the weather will cause me to deviate from it.  In the shed at present I have a 6-crop ewe that was doing fine until she damaged a tooth and lost condition.  She's now being fed 400g coarse mix (which she manages better than ewe nuts) three times a day in order to fend off TLD.  I also have a 4-crop ewe that produced twins yesterday, two days before lambing was due to begin, so has been slightly underfed - twins are a bit on the small side but otherwise fine.  Endless flexibility seems to be the name of the game .....

[twizzel]

The grass has been good this year and reading on other forums a lot of farmers have reported bigger than normal lambs because of it. 6 out of 9 of my ewes have now lambed, they came in 2 weeks before they were due to lamb and on 0.5kg 18% ewe nuts per day. A couple of them came in 4 weeks before lambing just to give an early lamber company.  Up until they came in they were on 150g/day just to keep them tame in the field. They had Lifeline buckets from beginning of January and limited grass/ad lib hay. Aside from a set of twins that were nearly a week early (both survived and strong though, just on the small side), all of the lambs have been a very good size and very strong, ewes are milky. So I would say if you treat your ewes well over the winter, condition score regularly and the grass is good, then you probably don't need to feed huge amounts of concentrates from 6 weeks out. Don't under estimate the amount of grass and how much the Lifeline buckets give as well. That's my novice opinion from my first season lambing 

[bj_cardiff]

Mine get ad lib haylage from December/January and when I start to feed depends on how well they look on it. This year they've all overwintered well so I only started feeding 2 weeks before lambing was due to start. My lambing usually goes on for about 5 weeks and I'll continue to feed concerntrates till the grass comes through

[shep53]

So many variables , the biggest of which is the weather . My ewes are in the best condition they've been for years and the silage is the best ever plus over the winter they have eaten far less ( all down to the weather ) so this year had the best ever scan  and the ewes are getting a half the nuts they had last year even the triplets .  SO yes depending on  breed  and  number of lambs grass only  / hay or silage only or + a lick bucket or + nuts or similar all will work  .  Constant condition scoring allows an increase or decrease