[Luce747]

Hellooooo sheepy peeps,


I have a new seven month old southdown ram lamb and was looking to put him on some mix but can't figure out which he should have because no feed info seems to give ages?


So which stage feed would best suit a 7mos lamb? His forage is hay.


Also am I stuck with 20kg bags or is there some place I can get smaller quantity?


Finally, will it really cause him harm if he does manage to access any goat mix? I doubt he will ever get a look in before my 8 pygmys stuff the couple scoops I give them but would feel better knowing a very small amount won't harm a sheep if he does eat any.


Thanks for reading     

[Young Ed]

goat feed won't kill him
at 7 months i would guess grower but may also be finisher if he is heavy enough
is the plan that he goes for meat this year?
Cheers Ed

[Luce747]

Nope, he isn't for meat at all. He is a pet.. Will be using his fleece for spinning.


Can I just put him straight onto ewe nuts or whatever you call the standard pellet?




Cheers.

[Anke]

If he (castrated I hope?) is for a pet, don't give him ANY concentrates, ever! He will do fine on grass just now, then move onto hay for the winter. If you have extended snowfall/frost you may want to give him a small quantity of soaked sugarbeet with a few rolled oats thrown in.

But actually he will grow well enough without any additional food. It's not that you are trying to grow him to a certain weight within a short time or that he has to do any work.

Don't let sheep eat goats food - goats feed has higher copper levels than sheep mix, and would do him more harm than good in the long run. OK other way round, if your pygmies are pets too, they can live on sheep mix happily as long as they have access to a Red Rockie (and sheep has NO access to it).

Is this a single sheep living with a bunch of goats? Make sure that before you introduce them to each other the sheep is clear of any worms and fluke.

[Luce747]

No, he is not castrated.. Why would that be a problem?


I don't have any grazing. The goats have hay year round and goat mix daily.
But you say hay and zero concentrate for sheep?


The lamb is separated by stock fence for now as I wanted to settle him in and introduce slowly as the goats are a bit scared of him!


He had a bit of carrot for a treat. Presume a bit of chopped veg ok?


Thanks for the advice.

[shygirl]

uncastrated pet ram is a HUGE problem - been there done that and had the kids hiding up a tree for 2 hrs 
a tame ram has no respect or fear of humans and when his hormones kick in, he is likely to mount / butt little people very hard. its a real danger and not worth it. castrate asap as leaving it until the sheep is mature is also dangerous for the sheep as they can die from shock.

[mowhaugh]

Agree with above that in this situation it doesn't sound like any feeding is needed, but if you do decide to, the feed must be suitable for tups in order to preven the formation of crystals in their urinary tracts.  (Is this the same for goats?)

[Luce747]

Lol. The great 'they' say the same about billy goats. Of which I've had 8 in my time.


The wethers are the worst!


Personally I believe all animals are difficult at maturity. After that period it's down to how they are socialised.




As for little people, I'm 5'10 and a competent handler. 



It's just the diet I'm not clear on   But thanks for replies.. I think I'll stick with hay and some chopped veg unless anyone knows of a problem with veggies?


Thanks again.

[Anke]

Why are you keeping a pet ram  ?

What breed is he? If you are absolutely sure you want to keep him, get him to the vets asap and surgically castrated.

[Luce747]

Southdown, as above

[Dogwalker]

Are any of the goats female?

[SallyintNorth]

Unlike goats, sheep do not do well on an indoor regime.  They need to roam and graze.  They should also have companions of their own species.

If you do keep him on a dry diet, you will need to make sure he not only has access to plenty of fresh water but also that he drinks it.  The urinary calculi are far more likely to form in a male sheep on a dry diet, whether or not it includes concentrates with or without any additives.  Some people recommend salting the diet so that thirst is created, to stimulate drinking, but I'm not sure this would be effective in preventing calculi.

I'm guessing this tup's alternative is the chop, so I can see there is an argument that a non-ideal life may be better than no life.  But for me, I would not feel right keeping a herd animal without company of its own kind, and I would not be happy keeping sheep without grazing year round.

[Luce747]

Thanks Sally


If he didn't appear to integrate well into the goat herd then I would certainly bring in a sheep companion for him but only time will tell on that one.


The dry diet part, I didn't know about but the lamb has taken to eating the hay like it's going out of fashion and has been chugging down his bucket of water so I wonder if he can adapt?


I must admit I did rather presume that a sheep would thrive as well as goats and mine breed  successfully which I feel indicates they are thriving.


No billy here by the way. Just does and two wethers.


And yes the alternative was slaughter which sadly will be the fate of his two companions who didn't sell but I was not able to take three rams!

[Anke]

Sorry, maybe I am missing something here... you bought an entire tup lamb with no intention on a) ever eating him, b) using him for breeding and c) ever offering him a blade of grass nor a companion of his own kind?

  Not sure he has got a better life after all. What's his purpose in life?

Sheep are not pets as such - they are bred for eating and their wool (before they are eaten). He will be a very frustrated boy when it gets colder and if anywhere near the pygmy grls may well bother them endlessly...

[Luce747]

Wow.


What made you presume b and c ?


It's people like you who prevent less experienced folk from bothering to ask any advice at all.


Just because I don't have a massive farm doesn't mean my animals aren't happy and healthy! For the record, I hired a 13 acre farm which I had to travel to and my goats were miserable as sin because the space was bigger, but boring. A kid I bred died when he got stuck in the electric fence and I wasn't there to save him. The pens were huge but as soon it rained they turned to mud and nobody had any grass anyway and it cost me a fortune for nothing so I bought them back home where they have a 22ft brick outbuilding and a relatively small but more interesting, safe and secluded enclosure.


As stated at the get-go, I bought him with a view to spinning his fleece. Getting a second is not out of the question, getting him a mate is not out of the question. However when people tell me this chap would have been better off going to slaughter why the hell would I get a second?


There are ways and means of making your point.


Thankyou for your input!