The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Hillview Farm on February 05, 2013, 11:10:12 am
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I know there are a lot of questions asked on feeding in lamb ewes but none seem to fit what I need.
My ewes (shearlings) have a new due date from the scanner, 10th April so only 9 weeks away!
I have half with singles and half with twins. Splitting them into groups isn't a problem at all. At the moment they are being fed adlib hay and they suddenly all went mad for straw also. I feed soaked sugarbeet and course mix at 16% CP.
My question is how much per head do I need to feed and when to up it?
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What I did was look at the table on page 7 of this doc: http://www.eblex.org.uk/documents/content/returns/brp_l_sheepsbrp_manual_12_-_improving_ewe_nutrition_for_better_returns031210.pdf (http://www.eblex.org.uk/documents/content/returns/brp_l_sheepsbrp_manual_12_-_improving_ewe_nutrition_for_better_returns031210.pdf)
And percentage it down to match the weight of my sheep. i.e. those figures are for a 70kg ewe, so if you have a 45kg ewe then feed two-thirds of the amount shown there (as 45kg is two thirds of 70kg :) ). (a spreadsheet is handy for this, then you can tweek the ewe weight easily without having to do more sums)
I don't scan so can't split out twins from singles, so I feed them all as if they were twins, mainly cos they usually all are. As yours are half'n'half, I'd get the figures for singles and twins, and then split the difference and feed them all the inbetween amount :).
Feed 18% CP. Get the best food you can find, better to feed lower quantities of good stuff than higher quantities of poor stuff.
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My only concern is that i would be overfeeding the singles and under feeding the twins. I may split the group and feed according to that table!
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The feed will depend on the breed of ewe, the age of the ewes and how much grass they have. Split the singles, they need a maximum half a pound of 18% protein ewe nuts per head per day in one feed. The twins will need more, I would start them on half a pound per day for three days, 3/4 for four days, 1 pound for 4 days and then 1 1/2 until three weeks before lambing. At three weeks I would try and feed 2lb per head per day but given in two feeds. this is for commercial ewes in NE scotland. In softer climates leave at 1 1/2. For smaller ewes give a slightly smaller feed.
No need to soak your sugar beet shreds/nuts for sheep. Their gut is very different to a horse so no fears of problems feeding dry beet pulp and it makes less mess and less waste.