[benkt]

Hi Folks,


Now, I like getting something for free as much as the next person and our neighbour at the orchard where we graze the sheep has offered us the rubbish left over from their sugar beet harvest. Its a lot of odds and ends of broken beet- all a bit muddy. We've got 10 ewes and 5 fattening lambs there at the moment - is there anything to worry about with this? Do I need to limit how much he chucks over the fence or the sheep's access to it? Or do I just say "yes, please" and smile?


Ta,


Ben

[Buffy the eggs layer]

Is it the actual beets Ben?


I have fed fodder beets which are very similar and do feed sugarbeet pellets to my sheep but they will put on condition if they have lots a bit like if we ate lots of pasta and spuds. They can be a good source of fiber but if your ewes are eating them in late pregnancy they would be better off filling the small space in their rumen with something more nutritious. A few chopped up and thrown in to growing lambs or redundant rams when the weather gets harder wont go amiss but any broken mouthed sheep will struggle with them.


Personally I would take a couple of builders saks round ad get him to dump his beets in there, then you can bring it home and dish it out accordingly.