The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: fgaskell on August 22, 2021, 02:56:21 pm
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Hi,
Interested in what other people feed their sheep through out the year
Hoping to get sheep so wondering what I should feed a couple mules.
TIA!
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Depends if in lamb or not really. Nothing needed if they aren’t in lamb. Maybe a handful of ewe nuts once a week to keep them tame. [size=78%] [/size]
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It also depends on where you are and what you want from your sheep.
Here, our primitives get grass all summer, hay all winter, plus some Carrs Champion Tup and Lamb coarse mix (designed for male sheep, but great for breeding primitive ewes as it doesn't have such high protein as commercial ewe feeds) in the six weeks before lambing or when there's snow lying (we get a lot of that). The tups only get the T&L if there's snow lying.
We also feed willow branches and leaves, especially in winter as a vitamin and mineral supplement. A red licky bucket (Crystalix) and a Himalayan salt lick help ensure no deficits.
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In Penrith area,
Hoping to eat lambs, So just using the ewes for breeding
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So would you think those licks would be ok for mules? And
They would be all year round? The (licks)
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Zwartbles kept. They get grass most of the year and hay in winter. The rams do not get anything else apart from a general purpose lick bucket. Young stock females get sugar beet shreds in bad weather over winter and the ewes get ewe pellets for the last 6 weeks of pregnacy and after lambing. I lamb in late January/early February so feed the pellets until the grass starts growing, although they get to go out on a field which has not had sheep in since the previous years lambs.
I then take a crop of hay from this field and follow that with grazing equines until September, when it is shut up for the ewes early bite.
The females also have a general purpose lick bucket.
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So would you think those licks would be ok for mules? And
They would be all year round? The (licks)
If you mean crystalix, it is intended for commercial breeding ewes. Whether you use it all year round depends on your ground and your system - I only know about my own sheep and it benefits them :D There are many different licks available, take your pick. The salt stays year round.
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grass only in summer, hay in winter. concentrates in last few weeks of pregnancy . maybe mineral lick depending on where you are and grazing type.
Also always have min of 3 sheep.