The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: DonkeyGirl on June 28, 2017, 08:59:42 am
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I have 2 orphan lambs I have been raising from day 1 and day 3 respectively, and they are my first ever. I have enjoyed the process, though it has been hard work and a bit nerve wracking! They are pets only, with no intention of eating or selling. I have gotten myself to this stage with a lot of research (including a lot from this site, hence why I have joined!). They are 10 weeks old, and apparently fit and healthy. They have been going into a hastily fenced off area of about 75 m2 in my grassy garden for a few weeks during the day, and the grass in here has been demolished by them a while ago now, and they are only able to eat whatever new growth appears. They are allowed a bit of grass in the rest of the garden a few minutes a day, but this is under close supervision so they don't eat anything else that might be bad for them. They are having a bottle morning and evening, but only of about 150ml each time, more as comfort and for getting them in and out of their night shed. They have been eating creep well for a while too. They could easily go off the bottle now because of that of course, but we have a lot of milk left, and as I say, they are not getting much.
What I don;t understand is this: as I say, there is hardly any decent grass left in their penned area. We have a nice 3 acre field they will go into, and they will share this with 2 alpacas and 4 donkeys from September. Currently, the field has been growing since May (we take the other animals out of it then for the summer), and it is filled with grass of course, and clover, buttercups, and a few other wild flowers like a meadow (no poppies though). I have had it in my head that they will go in there when the farmer has cut it down for us, usually in mid to late July - am I right in assuming they should not go in there until then? Until then, while in their scrubby grassed pen, will they be ok completely off the milk and eating only creep and the little grass there is in it? I have held back from finishing milk altogether as I am really not sure how to manage that bit of it and can't seem to make a decision about it! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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If your hay field and the scrubby patch are the only choices you have, I think I'd keep them where they are and give them hay. Just creep and milk is not good - they must have forage.
Where are the alpacas and donkeys at the mo?
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I'm not quite sure what your asking?
Ideally at 10 weeks I'd want them to be out 24/7 and only on grass. If you put them on your 3 acre field they'll trample more grass than they'll eat. Could you fence off 1/2 an acre for them?
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When the field is cut you will have a little grazing around the edges but not much for a few weeks, depending on how hot and/or wet the weather is to encourage regrowth. If you're planning to keep them how are you going to feed them through the Winter? Grass growth is weather and sunlight dependent. The grass will stop growing by around mid-Autumn but might not start again until the following May if it's a cold Spring. My lambs have more-or-less weaned themselves now and are on good grazing. Grass or hay is necessary for development of the rumen.
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I would feed hay in the evening in their shed, and you can also add in things like AlfaA or Readigrass, if money isn't too tight. Yes they do need forage - but you could also supplement with branches (like willow, willowherb some ash, hazel). If you have a 3 ace field that should be plenty for two lambs even after hay-making and you can still supplement with hay over the summer. If these are pets the growth rate is not that important I assume...