Hi Renee,
Sheep are notorious for over eating and wasting hay. I really don't mind
the over eating but cannot afford the wasting of my hay supply. So I
practice limit feeding. Limit feeding is simply defined as not feeding more
than what the sheep will eat in 24 hours. If there is hay left
I guess my burst of enthusiasm over feeding trivia may have looked a
bit obsessive and unnecessary to some, but I got a real dose of
validation last night.
It's pretty undeniable that we all share a common goal of wanting to add
value to our animals. We know we can't manage them exactly like
Barb, what adjustment, if any, have you made to your nutritional
formulas to account for the weight-at-age factor? In other words, a
100-lb pregnant blackbelly will most likely be around 1.5 to 2 years
old. A 100-lb wooled sheep is generally a 5-6 month lamb. The
nutritional needs and
So, 25lbs of dry matter is
about right. I have also noticed that the ones with the big bellies
will raise 2 lambs without any problem.
Cecil, 25 pounds of hay is more than I feed my 900 pound horses per day
(each).
All this foolin' around with rations has come about in the months when I
being on time with the right
stuff for the sheep in all stages of growth and production.
Barb
- Original Message -
From: The Wintermutes [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 4:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Feeding Trivia
Barb
: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 4:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Feeding Trivia
Barb
We had a bad year here in the Midwest and I was scared
that the pasture would not carry the livestock. I
offered some hay at night - one to call them in off
the pasture and two it gave them alittle more to eat
I feed BP occasionally to my sheep and the one thing I have learned the hard
way is to always soak it- they will accept it eventually. I had animals that
ate a bunch of dry pulp, then went over and filled up on waterjust like
dogs will do after they eat their kibble. I had several lambs
been
about 20 years since I actually read them cover to cover...
Shel
- Original Message
From: Barb Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:55:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] feeding trivia
Shel,
Please note that the beet
Well, I ran out some discouraging numbers this morning. As it happens,
I wrote down what I was feeding the ewes in late gestation last
spring/summer, although the pasture analysis was probably past prime at
that time. Still, it was supposedly a major component of their diet.
My
, and thanks for your patience,
Barb Lee
- Original Message -
From: Nate Teig [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 4:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Feeding Trivia
Barb
We had a bad year here in the Midwest and I was scared
Could be I'm just seeing things, but the lambs are cleaning up more hay
since I started backing off the grain (which was not a huge quantity in
the first place.) But things are beginning to fall into place. Like,
for instance, their gains have fallen off from last year's lambs.
What's the
The lambs are beginning to accept beet pulp. I will have shredded B/P
on Wednesday (my sheep show a marked preference for un-soaked foods).
In 30 days or thereabouts, I will come back and tell you what, if any,
impact going to an all forage diet has on their rate of gain. The lambs
presently
Barb
I would have to agree - we flush out sheep and goats
and then cut out the grain and make sure we have good
quality grass hay - they comsume more hay - but get
more energy out of the hay. A few years ago we had
high grain bill, low conseption, and fat sheep. A
rancher told us to cut the
-
From: Nate Teig [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 6:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Feeding Trivia - More What Ifs...
Barb
I would have to agree - we flush out sheep and goats
and then cut out the grain and make sure we have good
Now that I've got all smart (haha!) and learned how to balance rations,
I've been making some interesting observations. The NRC charts for
sheep nutritional requirements show that 44 pound lambs need a total Dry
Matter (food after the water's been removed) intake of 2.2 pounds per
day.
Barb:
Just a thought: How do our blackbellies compare to deer? I am sure
there some figures on deer feed consumption somewhere, just finding
them. My opinion is that blackbellies forage much like deer, and their
systems seem to resemble deer more than goats or wooled sheep. Deer are
]
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 9:57 AM
Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Feeding Trivia
Barb:
Just a thought: How do our blackbellies compare to deer? I am sure
there some figures on deer feed consumption somewhere, just finding
them. My opinion
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