[Je]

May I ask for some advice?
I have CRs due to lamb end March beg of April, they are out and eating grass plus a half cup mix each once daily. Their weight is good. How much should I be feeding ( ewe mix) Should i also put out a bucket? Which type? Also have Zwartbles,not in lamb, in same field, how much should I feed them? When would you advise to start hay, still grass, weather mild, getting some mix once daily. Thank you,  books I read have different ideas.

[Foobar]

I would only be feeding hay at the moment.  Introduce hard feed 6-8 weeks prior to lambing, depending on their condition.


If their weight is good now you don't want to be overfeeding them as that will just give you lambing problems.

[Rosemary]

I'm putting out hay once a day but they're not finishing it yet. There's no grass that I can see.

They have a molassed mineral lick that they can use if they want to.

I won't start giving them bagged feed until six weeks before they are due to lamb, with the an=mount depending on whether they are carrying singles, twins or triplets.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

If your CR's and Zwartbles are all over 12 months of age and a condition score of 3 or above they shouldnt need a concentrated feed if the have access to good quality hay or good grazing. The nutrition in the grass drops from around Oct time as the grass stops growing. A mollassed, high energy bucket can be used to top up nutritional / energy needs if the grass or hay is poor rather than a hard feed.


If your sheep were born this year however then the in lamb ones may need to be fed in order to meet their own developmental needs as well as those of the lambs.


Ideally pregnant sheep need to be on a rising plane of nutrition until lambing however if they are in good condition ( Ryelands generally are in VERY good condition) then this rising plane is usually achieved through a couple of shallow steps.


I flush mine prior to tupping on new pasture in Sept, then introduce hay as the grass runs out in Oct / Nov, followed by root veg in Dec, advancing to small but gradually increasing rations of hard feed from 6 weeks before lambing ( which for me is Feb / March ) and loosing the root veg completely by 4 weeks before.


A twin lamb bucket or two is also introduced around 4 weeks before lambing. These can be used up to 6 weeks before but I find that as my ewes lose the rumen space to digest sufficient feed the bucket helps them to take in the calcium and nutrients they need to sustain themselves and the lambs. Hard feed is increased after lambing.


If your ewes have had hard feed for a while then I wouldnt stop it even if they are overweight as gestating ewes can be on a metabolic knife edge. And overweight ewes are as likely to suffer from twin lamb syndrome as thin ones.I would monitor their condition carefully by feeling along their backs and their tails for stored fat. Up the feed gradually if necessary as their pregnancy advances and as their condition dictates or maintain it as required until 6 weeks before lambing then expect to step up their ration incrementally, week by week to meet the developmental needs of the growing lambs.


Please dont try and put them on a diet during pregnancy even if you think you have started feeding too soon. Fat ewes can have problems lambing but ewes who dont have enough available nutrition in late pregnancy can die of ketosis and calcium deficiency so less is definitely not more in this case.


Ryelands are a good doing breed that maintain lots of condition through the year they do well on poor pasture and conserve energy very well. Most peoples ryelands are a little fatter than the ideal but lamb just fine despite it. Feeding them can be a bit of a learning curve and the rations quoted in most books will be way too much for them. They tend to produce twins and relatively large lambs for their size so they have a tendency to loose rumen space far more than the Zwartbles would. Feed quality not quantity for the latter stages of pregnancy to make sure the get the nutrition that they need.


HTH

[Je]

Thank you everyone such good advice. It can be so difficult with little hands on experience and a truckload of books suggesting various things.
Also wondering when best to worm and with what, clean pasture - no sheep for 14 yrs.

[Anke]

Thank you everyone such good advice. It can be so difficult with little hands on experience and a truckload of books suggesting various things.
Also wondering when best to worm and with what, clean pasture - no sheep for 14 yrs.

Mucky bums/loose droppings? FEC test will tell you if you need worming. I would however treat for fluke, unless you are in a very dry area. Speak to your vet about local conditions re fluke.

[Buffy the eggs layer]

It's really hard Je and can be so frustrating when your are new to something and want to get it right.


Its probably worth taking some poo samples to the vet for a fecal egg count (FEC)as a starting point. If your sheep are good quality fro a registered breeder then they have probably been wormed regularly. The FEC will tell your vet if the have a worm burden and what product to treat them with as a result. in most cases the count is so low that the recommendation is not to worm. I do normally do an Autumn worm count when the weather is wet and mild and the grass is short this is usually a time for increased worm numbers so a good time to check. I worm the ewes after the have lambed and let them pass their worms in the lambing shed before being turned out onto clean pasture.


A mixed sample FEC will cost you about £10 and the vets advice on worming will help you to decide what to do next.


As a newbie I think any conversation with the vet is time well spent so dont be afraid to ask their advice. A number of vets at my practice are smallholders and keep hobby flocks of rare breeds such as Ryeland and Zwartbles. It may be worth asking your vets for advice on feeding your flock or for help with condition scoring. They may be experts on your breed.

[Marches Farmer]

Down sheep generally carry a little more condition than what's considered "ideal" for most native breeds.  We've never had any problems either getting ewes in lamb or lambing them, even the one that managed to stay at  condition score 4.5 all year, was always one of the first to lamb and had top quality twins but was fed for only a single for a short period each side of lambing.  She trundled up the field like a club armchair on castors for the last two months of every pregnancy and had 9 crops of lambs.

[Hellybee]

Hello 


Looky here for list

http://www.scops.org.uk/news_pdfs/`KnowYourAnthelmintics2015webversion20052015083005.pdf

[Hellybee]

Well we weeb naughty, tups are still in, we're moving every few days, got big red crystalix for them, plus they're going on to new grazing soon,  we don't start hard  feed til we've split multiples from singles after scanning.  Singles treated far more conservatively than the multiples,  theyre needs differ of course.