[SheepgirlSussex]

I like to give the penned, mothering-up ewes plenty of nuts as have heard this is good for milk production, but somebody told me that too many (not sure what constitutes "too many"!) can cause mastitis. Is there any truth in this? Would be grateful for any comments please.

[thenovice]

I have never heard that, but im not overly experienced. I wouldn't feed them too much, they don't need loads

[Bionic]

Sheepgirl, I'm not experienced enough to answer either but it might help others if you say what you mean by plenty.
 
This has made me think of when I went to Slimming World, where you can have unlimited amounts of some fruit and veg. One girl wasn't loosing weight and the consultant was confused as to why. The girl said she ate oranges for her dessert. Consultant said that was ok until she found out that the girl was eating 12lbs of oranges. So I guess the moral of the story is everything in moderation.

[shep53]

New one to me   the causes of are many    cold winds /  a physical damage  /  infection    their is evidence that  genes can have an effect ,       footrot and maedi-visna  can cause an increase

[bizzielizzie66]

I would say False

...as to how much is too many depends on condition score and quantity/quality of forage available. Big lowland ewes in last part of gestation can receive up to 1k per day of a 16-18% Ewe nut - but never more than 450-500g in any one feed. In peak lactation you shouldn't reduce the amount fed suddenly and should continue feeding concentrates for about 6 weeks after lambing.  In practise smaller breeds require much less, about 1/2 kilo per day but it does depend hugely on condition score. Lots and lots of good quality forage is important - plenty of really good hay or haylage to penned ewes. (If anyone has any left after this winter! )

[SallyintNorth]

If you kept feeding cake when a ewe had more milk than the lamb(s) would take, then you would get mastitis.  When you wean the lambs, you generally put the ewe on poor ground with no extras in order to minimise the risk of mastitis.

But they may well need cake when they're producing milk for their lambs - this year, I think most ewes have needed some help.

Yes, not more than 2lbs cake per day; cake should be no more than a certain %age of the total Dry Matter intake, so if they're on hay as well they need approx the same weight of hay as of cake as a minimum, and, most important of all, any animal on concentrates, especially if also on dry forage (not grass) need plenty of water.

I could imagine there being a tendency to mastitis if their water was limited.