Do sheep eat hay..?

[secuono]

My trio has hay, but I never see them eat any of it. Surely made no dent in the hay they have as bedding, nor the stuff being stored they can reach and never the flakes left for them. Horses eat the hay, pony plays with it, ugh!
So do sheep even eat hay?? They been on nothing but grass, started some pellets for the preggo ewes this weekend.

 

[carolinagirl]

yes, they eat hay. But they'd rather eat grass so if that's available, they won't mess with the hay.

 

[Beekissed]

Sheeps eat hay like it's honey! Maybe they don't like your particular kind of hay or they are full on pellets or you have plenty of other things to tempt them but my sheep not only eat hay but will try to dig under tarps to get old, moldy, nasty and not to be fed to anyone hay.

Of course, mine were hair sheep and they are a little more goaty in their eating habits. They liked stemmier/rougher hay at this time of year and the sweeter/leafier hay in the fall and the first part of winter. My sheep weren't fed any other feeds, so hay is what they got and hay is what they loved.

 

[carolinagirl]

I have noticed that my Katahdins won't hesitate to hang out around the hay rack and fill up, but the Barbados Blackbelly sheep prefer to forage around, even though their pasture does not have much left in it.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

My Romneys would prefer to graze in torrential rains instead of go under the shelter to eat hay. But yes, they definitely eat hay.

 

[SheepGirl]

It's funny--our Babydolls don't eat hay when we have it out; they'd rather be out digging in the snow to get to some grass. At least that's what I've noticed when I'm there. I don't know if they are even coming into the barn after I leave (they are kind of wild) but I do know that my four sheep (Babydoll/Montadale crosses) like to stay in the barn and have food handed to them rather than working to find their own stuff.

 

[secuono]

Mine are also Babydolls, they go into the barn only to cool off. They will sniff over any hay I give, toss, show then, then look at me like I'm stupid, lol. They much rather scavenge what little grass there is than eat hay.
Grass is still growing, I can see that in our yard when I go scrap up some for the rabbits and guinea pigs. It seems to grow very slow, tiny bursts during the warm days. I can pull up nearly all down to the ground, 2-3wks later there's more. Guess the sheep know that.

The pony is always pawing at the hay, makes a massive mess of it if he can. My mare just calmly pulls some, eats it, pulls more. But noooo, not that dang pony...none of it is good enough for him, either!

Ah well, guess I won't feel so weird anymore, seeing as how no body is freaking out and worrying about them for me. Means its normal, yay.

 

[bonbean01]

Our sheep are Dorper/Katahdin crosses and they love their pellets and hay. Once the grass is in we'll be putting them on that for limited times until they get used to it, and with hay. We put them up every night in the very secure area with their shed and lights and even when they are eating lots of green grass in the summer, they still want some hay during the night. No wonder they still look pregnant after having their lambs!!!!

 

[Beekissed]

Mine do too! I kept expecting twins and nothing more came out. Very hard to tell when your sheep are preggers when they are so fat all the time.... I like a sheep that stays in condition on pasture and hay, means less money spent on feeds.

 

[SheepGirl]

Mine do too! I kept expecting twins and nothing more came out. Very hard to tell when your sheep are preggers when they are so fat all the time....

Hehe At the fair, I had my ewes in the "It's Fiber-Optics!" exhibit showing where wool comes from and people kept asking me if my sheep were pregnant (in September). And I was like...."No, they're just fat!"

I like a sheep that stays in condition on pasture and hay, means less money spent on feeds.

Same here. We only buy hay when there's snow on the ground. And we do buy grain, but only for late gestating and lactating ewes, as well as a handful as a treat to anyone who comes up to help keep them friendly My one ewe, "Ali" has been open since she lambed in 2010. She gained a BUNCH of weight just on pasture and she doesn't have any nursing babies to help de-condition her. She still has those two "fat balls" on either side of her tail. And don't even get me started on my ram...he's double wide just on pasture too!

I'm thinking of dry lotting them to get them to lose some weight!