[Mandyl]

We are sheep farmers of over 450 breeding ewes. We bought a Rouge Ram at the mart before mating.
He was a fine healthy ram. But his condition has rapidly deteriorated.
We have been feeding him lamb nuts hay grass and has the lick bucket but nothing is working. We have since found out he was faced Layer Mash so was artificially fat. Is there anything we can feed him to get his condition up. He is like something out of a horror film at the moment and we are at a loss what to do ......

[harmony]

How old is he and how many sheep did you give him to cover?  Tups that have been pushed hard and especially tup lambs can drop weight quickly at tupping.


What treatments has he had? Fluke is starting to be a problem in some areas.


From the condition you describe him in now I would take him to the vet asap.

[landroverroy]

Ram lambs that are fed up with concentrates from a young age do not have a rumen that works as efficiently as those that have been fed a predominantly roughage diet. The rumen just does not develop to be an efficient converter of roughage, and so when put out on grass alone these animals rapidly lose condition.
I've had it happen with a couple of rams I've bought in the past, and the one I have now who is running with ewes.  He's only had 7 ewes to deal with and has been fed the same as them throughout the winter but he looks really poor, whereas they all look fine.
I find the thing that puts condition back on better than anything and long term is spring grass. Those first few months of growth are far more nutritious than the grass will be at any other time of year. It's high in energy and feed value and it's ad lib. I would feed him enough now to keep going on, as you have been. But don't overdo the concentrates. You want his rumen to work for itself as it should.  Maybe give him some natural yoghurt, or rumen stimulant. I'm sure you'll have wormed him and done all the obvious things and as soon as the grass comes through, you should see a big improvement.

[Anke]

What about Readigrass?

[shep53]

Very very difficult i have had this with BFL rams in past and nothing ever worked , they spent all winter inside try all sorts but finally went down  .  Mollases / Treacle  ,sugar beet shreds  , low protein store lamb pellets , grass nuts ,licks  no high protein any little patch of grass on warm days . Internal organs may be damaged , i assume you gave wormer / fluke /  minerals to try and get him going and nothing works .  Not heard of layers mash being used but fish pellets do the same damage

[Fleecewife]

This sad story supports the practice of buying your new stock tup directly from the breeder.  That way you can see the animal at home, and ask the breeder about their diet and other factors, and perhaps see the sire.
 If you have to buy from the mart, be suspicious of the biggest fattest tup for sale because he's likely been brought on with concentrates.  Another way things can go wrong is to buy a tup from a southern area of lush grass and warm temps, then bring him up to the harsher areas of Scotland, or mountainous parts of England and Wales, where he will surely shrivel.
This is also a reason not to use a bottle lamb as a stock tup.

[landroverroy]

This sad story supports the practice of buying your new stock tup directly from the breeder.  That way you can see the animal at home, and ask the breeder about their diet and other factors, and perhaps see the sire.
 If you have to buy from the mart, be suspicious of the biggest fattest tup for sale because he's likely been brought on with concentrates.  Another way things can go wrong is to buy a tup from a southern area of lush grass and warm temps, then bring him up to the harsher areas of Scotland, or mountainous parts of England and Wales, where he will surely shrivel.
This is also a reason not to use a bottle lamb as a stock tup.

I did buy my last 2 straight from their breeder. And in both cases was told they had been reared on grass and only given a "handful" of concentrates just to keep them tame. But having said that, my present one - a Hampshire, although he looks poor now - will I'm sure improve when the spring grass comes through. 

[ZacB]

I did buy my last 2 straight from their breeder. And in both cases was told they had been reared on grass and only given a "handful" of concentrates just to keep them tame. But having said that, my present one - a Hampshire, although he looks poor now - will I'm sure improve when the spring grass comes through.

I’m sure your Hamp will come good Landroverroy...........however I may be a bit biased 

[landroverroy]

I did buy my last 2 straight from their breeder. And in both cases was told they had been reared on grass and only given a "handful" of concentrates just to keep them tame. But having said that, my present one - a Hampshire, although he looks poor now - will I'm sure improve when the spring grass comes through.

I’m sure your Hamp will come good Landroverroy...........however I may be a bit biased 

Thanks ZacB. 
Lovely sheep.
Amazing photo.

[Tim W]

We are sheep farmers of over 450 breeding ewes. We bought a Rouge Ram at the mart before mating.
He was a fine healthy ram. But his condition has rapidly deteriorated.
We have been feeding him lamb nuts hay grass and has the lick bucket but nothing is working. We have since found out he was faced Layer Mash so was artificially fat. Is there anything we can feed him to get his condition up. He is like something out of a horror film at the moment and we are at a loss what to do ......

Have you tested for MV? (cheap to do)
Last 2 tups i bought from a sale tested +tive in quarantine and were culled (expensive lesson to learn)