[Porterlauren]

Woomble - You go buy a ram at a sale / show / farm and he looks the bees knees. You get him home, turn him out on good pasture and a while later he looks like s**t, lost condition, size, shape etc. Why? Because he was pumped with feed from birth and is unable to maintain his condition off grass a lone. Which is something that is then passed on to his offspring potentially!

[Fleecewife]

I really don't understand why there is criticism towards me?? I simply asked a question and people jump to conclusions!

I don't think anyone is criticising you Hillview Farm, we simply didn't know the full story - your OP is very brief.

I have posted a little comment on this subject in the coffee room.  It's not directed at you, although the misunderstandings here did spark it off, but it's something which happens all too frequently.  Posters make their question short and to the point, which is great, but we don't know the background to the question, nor do we know the poster's own knowledge.  Sometimes we may write out a long reply which we think will be helpful but isn't really what the poster wants to know.

[Me]

It wasn't criticism I am pointing out that on 48 hrs work melting is unlikely to be a big issue!

Feeding is a difficult subject, as a breeder of a small number of small rams who feeds nothing I can tell you that the buyer will always pick the big one on farm and in a sale even if that means buying cross bred sheep masquerading as pure bred pumped full of barley (and some grass - or none!) - these will achieve the highest prices by quite a margin.

Most buyers are too worried about what dad, mates down the pub etc will say if he comes back with a little one which the breeder says has been brought up hard - also understandable because lets face it theres nothing to say it isn't small and mollycoddled! EBVs may help but going on the Pedigree Lleyn situation (where high maternal EBVs = Massive cake guzzling ewes that have triplets or more most of which are then reared on the milk machine) are open to abuse too.

Mine will probably solidify in their new homes!

[Womble]

Thanks for the explanation Porterlauren  . I'm new to all this stuff. We went to buy our first tup this week, and I was most surprised when he didn't mind having his b0ll0cks felt, but then wouldn't let me touch his feet! 

[Anke]

I didn't misunderstand the question - what to feed a tup IF/WHEN he needs it.

[Hillview Farm]

I wasn't aiming my comment at you anke, sorry if you feel that way.

Good point well made Me, and it wasn't aimed at you either!

[Ladygrey]

Sorry if my post was taken as criticism  I really didnt mean it that way

Generally if I said, "do I use jeyes fluid to dye my sheep with" everyone would assume thats what I was doing and probly post up "why are you dying your sheep???"

So when you asked, what feed to feed your ram if he needs it, in the middle of summer, its easy to assume thats what you were doing, I know you said when he needs it but that could mean anything to anyone such as if he needs to look fatter in the summer etc

So sorry that it came out the wrong way and I miss understood your post, I will try and ask questions before I answer questions next time  if that makes sense, if anyone else said they wanted to feed a ram concentrates I would question them aswel, I was not targeting you in any way


If it snows my rams get hay, apart from that nothing

[Hellybee]

Never ever feed ewe nuts to them, it's alright for the ewes to eat they're mix, but never the other way round. Ours are out on grass, hay n a little gesture of mix occasionally keep em sweet ha  x