[melholly]

Hello all,

Not posted for a while, recent gales killed off the mast where we get mobile broadband from as poxy BT won't digitalise our exchange for 'proper' broadband. ANYWAY... am started to get a little worried about the winter. I don't want to get caught out as we can get a bit cut off here.

Most know I have 7 sheep (2 Polled Dorset Mums who will have their 2nd lambs in spring all things being equal) 2 PD lambs and 3 orphan lambs similar age... My question is a simple one I guess but one nagging me nonetheless in my greenness!

They all eat grass, grass and grass and every 3rd day (as a treat) some sheep nuts. Now when the frost arrives will they still eat just grass? and when the snow arrives what does everybody do? I am assuming I need to get some hay for them to eat whilst snow is on the ground? Or is it a case of during all the cold months, snow regardless, they should have hay as a supplement?

Thanks!
Mx

[Fleecewife]

Grass loses its nutritional content later in the year and when it is frosted, so although grazing will give the sheep something to keep their jaws happy, they won't be getting much feed from it.  This is fine for non-breeding animals of some breeds, but certainly breeding ewes will need something more than that.  I can really only tell you what we do for our Hebrideans, at 1000' in southern Scotland, where we can expect seriously below zero temps from Oct onwards, and several weeks of deep snow (our sheep can scrape it away to a depth of about 8-9" but no deeper).  We start putting ad lib hay out in late Oct, or earlier if we judge the weather is severe, and continue until we have grass growth again in April.  Sometimes we have a couple of weeks of grass growth in Feb but that is just an extra treat for the sheep.  As well as hay, our sheep have a 'Crystalix' type bucket over the winter, and are fed a general coarse mix - the primitives don't need the high protein feeds available such as ewe pencils and can't really get their mouths around big rolls, and all that protein can make them scour. High protein feeds would be appropriate for your breed, on an increasing dose from 6 weeks before they are expected to start lambing.  In addition, we feed willow and ash branches for extra vitamins and trace elements, as well as the fun for the sheep of stripping the bark.

[Pasture Farm]

Hay adlib for mine as soon as we start to get ground frosts. Plus coarse mix for the pregnant ewes

One thing to be very aware of is the water freezing.

A few years ago I had the finest looking Jacob Tup you had ever seen, around late Feb i fetched the ewes into the barn ready for lambing along with the Jacob Tup. After a few days the tup started to go off his hay and then off the coarse mix he had as a treat. A few days passed and he started sucking in his stomach as though he had got griping wind pains, i called the vet who gave antibiotic straight away and then took blood samples.
The results came back with terrible news his kidneys where failing due to infection that the vet put down to the fact that sheep hate drinking freezing water through the winter months especially the tups and therefore was not flushing his kidneys through. The vet did say that he could have had the kidney problem before we purchased him and the cold water had brought it on. The outcome was that we had to have him destroyed.
Now i have the water in the barn with a small fishtank heater in so the water does not freeze, a bit over the top for a lot of big sheep farms but one i am happy with.

[Fleecewife]

Good point about the water pasture farm.  My OH faithfully carries out buckets of warm water from the kitchen twice a day when it's freezing - which seems to be most of the winter.  We have a gravity feed systrem from giant rainwater collection barrels but of course it all freezes up in winter.  Another point with a horned tup is to make sure he can get his mouth down to water level if his horns get in the way.

[HamishMcMurray]

Last year (our first with sheep) we put out hay twice a day and some sheep nuts in the evening as a treat. We also had a mineral bucket out for them. We were advised not to over feed them and told 'you don't want fat lambs causing problems at lambing'  . Our mixture of Hebrideans and Shetlands all came through fine (all pregnant). This year none of them should be pregnant but we plan on feeding them about the same.

Pasture Farm: Good point about the water. We broke the ice at least twice a day in their water buckets. We also  have a small stream they can drink from although I've never seen any of them drink from it either in winter or summer.

[Rosemary]

If our ewes are in good condition at the end of tupping (which they usually are) so that's the middle of December at the latest, they get ad lib hay and access to a feed block (Crystalyx Standard) over winter. I usually start them on a bit of hard feed about 6 weeks before lambing, so from about mid February, partly to get them nice and tame for coming in at night over the lambing period.

Last year, I had them scanned by the vet but he couldn't tell if there were singles or twins (all were in lamb) so I just had to guess at an amount. With only six lambing, I can't really divide them up into a group expecting singles and one with multiple lambs, even if I know - it's just not manageable.

[Anke]

I am a bit mystified by this bringing out warm water for the sheep - mine just eat snow! (and mainly haylage, no feed blocks until 6 weeks before lambing, and just a small amount of ewe mix and shreds when all-day frost/snow, increased a bit 6 weeks onwards before lambing).

It would have been impossible in the last winter to bring out warm water for both the sheep and the goats (goats got it, but then goats don't do snow!) - I still had a 170% lambing, only one ewe barren (she never came into season) and a problem free lambing season. No triplets either!

Funny thing though - I had 29 lambs, 21 of which were girls!

[melholly]

Oh my goodness, I never appreciated the link between whats IN their feed to successful lambing. I was looking at it purely from a survival point of view, now I understand so much more thank you.

My 2 P Dorsets who will be covered hopefully Oct time I now have much better understanding that the protein/mineral make up of food is vital to a good lamb.

The others who were April lambs will obviously be kept for next year (store lambs is it?) and go to the ram next autumn but I think it's fair to help them along over the winter too as surely healthy lambs come from healthy mums?

Amazing how much goes into it all, it's so easy to take grass for granted! Oh and thanks for the haylage tip - I assumed I could only feed them pure hay for some reason.

Mx

[jaykay]

I only feed mine pure hay, ad lib ie I keep the hay racks full. From about the start of October to mid way through April (ie lambing). They have a mineral lick all winter and I change this to a pre-lambing one about 6 weeks before lambing, when i also start feeding ewe mix. Fortunately we have becks in each field so they usually keep running.

I don't tup mine til they're shearlings (18months old).

I have built shelters in the fields from pallet with tin sheet on top. The ewes use them, when it's very wet and the lambs certainly do.

[feldar]

We lamb in December /January so we feed the ewes and shearlings according to what they are carrying, singles or twins
Last year with all that snow we fed hay on the ground and they ended up sleeping on it ! they were more happy to shovel snow away with their noses and pick at grass. This year we have bought a hay rack in preparation to hopefully save wastage
Still if we ever get planning for this blasted barn we might just get to lamb indoors!! what a lovely thought

[ellisr]

If you don't have money for a hay rack get some horse hay bags and hang them around the field (small holes) it keeps them busy finding them and lessens wastage

[Fronhaul]

Or tie used feed bags at the top fill them with hay and cut a hole in the side and hang those up.  Keeps the hay reasonably dry and the sheep occupied looking for the bags.  Its not really practical with more than a few sheep though.

What level of hard feed are people giving?  I was always told to build up to around a pound a head a day shortly before lambing.  I imagine Poll Dorsets being larger sheep may need a little more? 

And personally I love sugar beet shred as a way of ensuring condition.

[Fleecewife]

Please be very careful with using horse hay nets or feed sacks with holes cut in them.  Sheep will enlarge the holes and get their heads stuck, sure as eggs is eggs, especially but not necessarily only horned breeds.  Sometimes they will manage a twist or two and hang themselves, or get a foot stuck in there.  It is far better to improvise something with rigid sides and a lid.

Even with a hay heck feldar you will find a fair amount of hay wasted - and there's no point picking it up and offering it again as they will not touch it.  With the cost of hay as high as it is, and with making your own such a difficult job in bad weather, it's infuriating to see the wastage.  I just look on it as wonderful compost/manure for the garden 

[ellisr]

I tie them to the fence and have never had a problem with my flock but you must use small holed ones. Tie top and bottom to the fence and a little higher than the top of the head and they pull it out and eat it with surprisingly little waste and no tangling

[Fronhaul]

I tend to use feed sacks only in the nearest fields where I am checking once every two or three hours during lambing time in any event.  I have to agree with Fleecewife on the subject of haynets, they are a complete pain with horned breeds and there is a real risk of sheep getting tangled up.