Flock conditioning

[Arnaki]

i am looking for suggestions for conditioning my ewes after weaning. They are at 2-2.5 body conditioning and I'm looking to get them up to 3.5 for breeding the first of November. Presently we feed alphalfa pellets and grass hay. They do have some forage on poor pasture. What are folks feeding? We gave a small amount of oats with the alphalfa pellets the last month before lambing and during the lactation the first month. Any suggestions would be appreciated. They are not wormy.

 

[Mini Horses]

how many animals, ages and amount you are feeding?

 

[Arnaki]

We have 18 ewes. 9 over a year old, 9 4 months old. They get all the grass hay they want. We give them a cup each of alphalfa a day.

 

[Baymule]

Not wormy.
Alfalfa pellets.
All the grass hay they want.
Forage, poor, but forage.

It sounds to me that you are supplying their needs, what about a good mineral mix? I give mine Dumor Sheep mineral from Tractor Supply. If your local store doesn’t carry it, order online and pick up at your local store.

Where are you located? Can you plant/raise better forage/pasture? Are there tree species they like to browse on? Can you cut branches for a treat? Leaves and small diameter branches supply trace nutrients. Weeds with deep tap roots bring up nutrients. My sheep go nuts over giant ragweed and lambs quarters.

 

[Sheepshape]

Very much depends on what your pasture is like. Mine get nothing but pasture and treats at this time and they are mainly 3.5 to 4 with their lambs still in with them (ram lambs due to be removed this week). This is what they and their pasture look like at present.

Wormed on results of faecal egg count, flukicide as advised, Selenium/cobalt/B12 drench about every 6 weeks.

They all shoot down to the fence in the hope I'm bringing them more treats.

Total of about 130 animals with gates open so they can make their way into two other fields with similar type of grazing.

 

[Mini Horses]

They do have some forage on poor pasture.

IMO they need more groceries if they are truly at the body score you say. Poor pasture offers little nutrition, just busy work. Grass hay -- that can be less than optimal unless tested and you know how good it is. It should be available 24/7 right now. One cup of alfalfa is not much....especially consider some will eat more, others get nothing.

If the entire herd is low weight, it is a matter of feed, period. If only one or two, those need extra attention. Just saying, while we don't want to spend more, overfeed, etc., you see them being thin -- feed more/better. If your pastures aren't like those of Sheepshape, you will need way more supplementation. Obviously, her pastures are great! Those girls are getting well fed. Tap the picture & get a close up.

I also agree with Bay, get a good mineral mix, especially with pasture you say you have. It isn't supplying all they need. At some point, you may have your pastures improved and need none to little else.

ETA: You say "after weaning" -- but, it take more input from the ewes body resources to make milk than to grow a fetus. Possibly this is what is lowering their weight. I don't mean to come across as being demeaning because I am not judging you or your methods, just offering my thoughts based on what I read. Heck, I raise dairy goats and if you saw them some would look thin on their topline...they eat huge amounts and "put it in the bucket" So I know FIRST HAND, what it takes to make milk. One doe will get pasture, 2 pads of hay and about 8-10 # of feed. I get 1.5 gal of rich milk and kisses.

 

[Arnaki]

Not wormy.
Alfalfa pellets.
All the grass hay they want.
Forage, poor, but forage.

It sounds to me that you are supplying their needs, what about a good mineral mix? I give mine Dumor Sheep mineral from Tractor Supply. If your local store doesn’t carry it, order online and pick up at your local store.

Where are you located? Can you plant/raise better forage/pasture? Are there tree species they like to browse on? Can you cut branches for a treat? Leaves and small diameter branches supply trace nutrients. Weeds with deep tap roots bring up nutrients. My sheep go nuts over giant ragweed and lambs quarters.

Thanks. We give the dumor loose mineral free choice. Maybe I'm not giving them enough time to get back in condition.

 

[Arnaki]

IMO they need more groceries if they are truly at the body score you say. Poor pasture offers little nutrition, just busy work. Grass hay -- that can be less than optimal unless tested and you know how good it is. It should be available 24/7 right now. One cup of alfalfa is not much....especially consider some will eat more, others get nothing.

If the entire herd is low weight, it is a matter of feed, period. If only one or two, those need extra attention. Just saying, while we don't want to spend more, overfeed, etc., you see them being thin -- feed more/better. If your pastures aren't like those of Sheepshape, you will need way more supplementation. Obviously, her pastures are great! Those girls are getting well fed. Tap the picture & get a close up.

I also agree with Bay, get a good mineral mix, especially with pasture you say you have. It isn't supplying all they need. At some point, you may have your pastures improved and need none to little else.

ETA: You say "after weaning" -- but, it take more input from the ewes body resources to make milk than to grow a fetus. Possibly this is what is lowering their weight. I don't mean to come across as being demeaning because I am not judging you or your methods, just offering my thoughts based on what I read. Heck, I raise dairy goats and if you saw them some would look thin on their topline...they eat huge amounts and "put it in the bucket" So I know FIRST HAND, what it takes to make milk. One doe will get pasture, 2 pads of hay and about 8-10 # of feed. I get 1.5 gal of rich milk and kisses.

Thanks. The entire flock is thinner so I figure it's not enough groceries. We are working this year on improving our pastures. That will make a big difference I know. Just want to make sure I'm feeding them enough. I want to breed them in November but will not breed if they are not up to 3-3.5. It's been extremely hot, humid, and wet this year. Since we are new to sheep, didn't know if the heat would cause them to not gain back their weight. Figure it's feed amount. My grass hay is only about 9% protein.

Do you ever give grains to get them up in weight?

 

[Arnaki]

Very much depends on what your pasture is like. Mine get nothing but pasture and treats at this time and they are mainly 3.5 to 4 with their lambs still in with them (ram lambs due to be removed this week). This is what they and their pasture look like at present.

View attachment 65403View attachment 65407 View attachment 65406

Wormed on results of faecal egg count, flukicide as advised, Selenium/cobalt/B12 drench about every 6 weeks.

They all shoot down to the fence in the hope I'm bringing them more treats.

Total of about 130 animals with gates open so they can make their way into two other fields with similar type of grazing.

My pasture is no where near this quality yet. We just clear cut two years ago this summer so a lot of scrub. We are working to improve. That why I want to make sure I'm supplementing enough. The ewes are thinner than your but about 2.5 after weaning. Figure I didn't feed enough during lactation and they were drawn down.

We weaned the ram lambs at 3 months, cut the ewes back to just hay and left the ewe lambs in with them. They dried up pretty good and no issues with mastitis. The ewes weaned the ewe lambs on their own. Started them back on the alphalfa pellets after about a month. Think it just pulled them down to much.

 

[Sheepshape]

My pasture is no where near this quality yet

I'm in Wales and my fields are poor in comparison with my neighbour as no fertiliser has gone on them for some years. Grass grows well in our murky weather....one of the few advantages!

Post some pics of your sheep, Arnaki. What breed do you have?

A lot of factors determine what Body Condition Score ewes will be in at this time of year. Some of them which come to mind...... When did your ewes lamb? (Have they had time to regain their weight?).Were your ewes supplemented with concentrate in the pre-lambing and post lambing periods? I supplement for 4 weeks before lambing to 6 weeks after. The number of lambs and the size of those lambs will affect ewe weight as will the length of time until lambs were weaned. The condition and amount of the available grazing, weather, rainfall etc. all pay major parts. Worms, fluke and ectoparasites all affect ewe condition. There are many, many more!

The sheep in my pic. are mainly Beulah Speckle Faced, a locally developed, medium-sized hardy hill sheep who gain weight easily. So breed of sheep is another important factor.

Over here we examine sheep about now to determine what, if anything, needs to be done for the ewes to be in optimal condition for tupping in mid to late October. Ideal BCS 3.0-4.0. Anybody 2.5 or less will get some supplemental feeding (referred to as 'flushing') to encourage ovulation. The biggest improvement in lambing percentage will be seen in those ewes who's body condition is improved from 2.0 or below to over 2.5 or above.....so not a vast amount of weight gain to achieve a much better lambing percentage, and usually easily achievable.

I'm not quite sure why my girls are looking so plump right now, but very few need any special preparation for tupping.