The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: crobertson on September 10, 2019, 09:20:09 am
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Hi all,
We picked up our new boy at the weekend (named Albert) from a very reputable breeder. Despite them showing and breeding he comes from a hardy flock off High Peak, the lamb outside and grass feed only as much as possible.
Whilst talking to them they mentioned he has been running with 20 other shearling tups who for the past week have been having a small amount of feed just to ensure they are in good nick for tupping, with him being a shearling he will still be growing so ensure he doesn't lose too much weight after mating and has enough reserves for winter.
I wouldn't normally feed our boys as we only have 10 ewes and I think it can make them pushy around food but this year we are sponging so he will have quite a high demand. It got me thinking will he need a little bit of course mix a couple of weeks beforehand ? He's about CS 3 at the min with plenty of grass.
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Sperm production starts 6-8 weeks before tupping so that’s when to improve nutrition. My rams don’t normally get anything but this year they are running on some old permanent pasture so have an energy bucket for a bit of a boost. If yours has plenty of good quality grass I wouldn’t worry too much.
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Brill, thanks for that!
Just want to make sure he's well looked after and goes into winter at a correct weight - it was nice to see how much their breeder cares for their tups.
We are a couple hundred feet lower than where he came from so I'm hoping on our grass should be the biggest boost for him. I might just get him used to a handful of course mix occasionally in prep for raddle or harness checking.
Thanks again
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I would just offer a mineral bucket, if he looses condition when in with the ewes (which he will), he will have 11 months to put it back on!
The breeder will feed them because he would want them to be in tip top condition for any person wanting to buy them. If his stock rams are kept separately I bet they are not having any additional feed!
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If you’re sponging he probably won’t graze much if at all for a few days while he’s busy. But 10 ewes over a few days - he’ll live!
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Would you just put in a standard high energy mineral bucket?
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You need to make sure the calcium to phosphorus levels are greater than 2:1. That goes for any mineral bucket. Mole Valley green energy buckets are fine for rams, I think the blue ones are too.