New to sheep. Winter feeding question.

daydrinker

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Hi all,
I want to get three to five ewes to put on our old, long fallow, barberry pocked cow pastures. I am looking at some local Scottish Blackface and Icelandic sheep. My biggest question is how much hay to put by for winter and will they take any forage from under the snow? We are in southern tier New York State.
Thanks much!
 

bcnewe2

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Not sure on the how much is enough but my sheep will munch through light snow and nibble some shrubbery above the snow. But no they don't dig down in it unless starving.
As a general rule, so I'm not having to think to much I feed a flake or a flake and a half of grass hay(nothing fancy) a day, per head if there is nothing else to eat. If there is other stuff my sheep will hardly eat any hay unless dry lotted. If I'm feeding round bales I just leave one out till it's almost gone or to yucky to eat and get a new one. Thirty sheep(some lambs and a bit of grain) were going through about 1 round bale a week but they were small bales and wasted allot. They were dry lotted.
 

daydrinker

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Thanks Kristen,
I guess I need to figure out how long pasture will be unavailable and multiply how much hay I need
 

bcnewe2

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Or refer to the other post about feeding sheep and see sheepgirls formula. To much work for me but I'm sure she is pretty spot on. I just don't always know how big or small my sheep are. And some eat more while others hang back. So I do what works for me.
I don't have fat sheep, nothing erks me more than fat sheep. I'm sure it has something to do with my first year of sheep and losing 2 ewes during labor because they were huge, grew huge babies and couldn't push them out. I was devastated. So my sheep look like well fed athletes and I work them with my dogs up until I see enough bag on the, that I know birth is eminent. My young lambs do not always look pregnant. They don't look skinny but with winter coats its sometimes hard to tell. Old girls show much quicker.
 

vt_mountainman

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I have only had my sheep for a short time now, so haven't gone through a winter with them yet. I was told that 25 regular sized bales per sheep would be enough for a winter in northern New England. That amount is for smaller sheep, such as Icelandic's or Shetlands. I don't know how accurate that estimate is, but I'll have a much better idea next spring!
 

WhiteMountainsRanch

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We have American Blackbellies, and are dry-lotted, and we have figured that each one eats about a bale and half a month (of square bale alfalfa).
 

norseofcourse

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How much hay you'll need will also depend on what quality the hay is, and how much they waste instead of eating. They'll waste some if it's too stemmy or something they won't eat, but they'll also waste some that's perfectly good hay, if you feed in a way that lets them waste it.

Put some hay on the ground - they'll paw it, nose through it, pee and poop on it, eat some, but waste a lot (ask me how I know... lol). Round bales fed outside also seem to have a lot of waste, especially if they're not covered against the weather.

There's all kinds of feeders, and lots of different ideas people have come up with to help minimize hay waste. I made a feeder similar to someone here (I think SheepGirl?). Since mine are a wool breed and I want their wool, I stayed away from designs that would let the hay get into their wool too much (like wall or overhead feeders).

8771_hayfeeder.jpg


It certainly helped, they wasted less. But they still wasted some, and they picked through the hay and there was a fair bit they wouldn't eat, so I'd take it out and put fresh hay in. At least the ponies would eat what the sheep didn't, so it wasn't a total waste! I might make another style of hay feeder this winter and see how they compare.

I should only need to feed the sheep hay for, at most, 6 months. I'll be feeding them some pellets and corn, too. I'm hoping they'll also browse on whatever they can find even through the winter (I know they won't get much nutrition from it, but it'll keep them busy). For my 5 Icelandic sheep, I'm figuring a bare minimum is 50 to 60 50-lb bales. I'd feel better with 100 bales if I had the storage space.

Hope this helps.
 

Singing Shepherd

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I am reading through the posts here and find one thing lacking in your otherwise detailed answers to the original question. Everyone talks about hay in detail but just mentions grain... I wonder if you all would be so kind as to respond again with exactly how much grain and/or corn you give each sheep during the months between October and March when the foliage and pasture are gone. That would be so helpful to us newbies as a guideline.
 

norseofcourse

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Pawnee said:
I am reading through the posts here and find one thing lacking in your otherwise detailed answers to the original question. Everyone talks about hay in detail but just mentions grain... I wonder if you all would be so kind as to respond again with exactly how much grain and/or corn you give each sheep during the months between October and March when the foliage and pasture are gone. That would be so helpful to us newbies as a guideline.
Welcome Pawnee!

People might not be giving as many details about grain because there are so many variables to deciding how much to feed. Age, sex (or lack thereof), pregnant or not, nursing a lamb or lambs, intended purpose, time of year, available hay or pasture... Also, not all feeds are available in all areas.

I haven't had my sheep through a whole winter yet. I got them in the spring, and they were pregnant, so I did feed them grain/pellets. The seller told me about body condition scoring, which is feeling their spines and hips to see how fat or thin they are. I googled 'body condition score sheep' for more info. I started out with tiny amounts and gradually increased it, since they were both a bit underweight, till they were about a 2.5 to 3 body condition score. At the highest, they were each getting about a pound of pellets per day, divided into two feedings, plus a handful of corn and some soybean meal. They got less when the grass started growing, but still got some when they gave birth and started nursing.

The pellets I decided on were Buckeye 14% lamb and beef pellets, non-medicated. I chose that over grain because all the grain mixes I could find added sugar (molasses), and I didn't want that. I also felt pellets would be more balanced nutritionally. And non-medicated was important to me (and hard to find!). I added the soybean meal for extra protein, since they were pregnant and the seller advised it - although they didn't really like it, so I'm looking for a different protein source for this winter. And I added corn because... well, I don't have a real good reason, beyond that they liked it, and I know other people feed their sheep corn :D

The only other non-medicated sheep pellets here are Dumor brand at Tractor Supply, and they add molasses and IMHO the grain sources are a bit lower quality (processed grain by-products is the first ingredient). However, I fed it when my regular feed store couldn't get the Buckeye in, since I could not find any other non-medicated sheep pellets.

My feed store will custom blend grain mixes, so that is an option for some people, but mine had a 500 pound minimum order, and I only had two sheep!

Hope this helps.
 

Singing Shepherd

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Thank you so much!! You don't know how reassuring it feels to hear your details. It made complete sense when you pointed out the variety of situations that change feed amounts, and I am a little embarrassed to admit that I missed such an obvious thing :/. And thanks for your patient explanation : ) After I weaned them from bottle, I selected a "lamb starter" pellet feed from Southern States and now use the regular sheep pellets of same make. I started with a quarter cup once daily per lamb and now they are at 3/4 cup each. They have free choice loose minerals and from March til May. Had alfalfa hay (and will again this winter, from Nov through April when grass greens up). I sense from reading threads that I need to go by weight more than measurement-it seems that is how it is regulated to body weight. I am so glad u mentioned body condition because I have wondered how to tell if what I am feeling under their wool is "normal" or " healthy" compared to other sheep their age. I will google the body scoring info like u suggested. I often wish I could just get another shepherd to look at and examine my sheep to reassure me...but the realistic me knows that is a selfish wish. I am a grown-up right? and have handled more challenging things I say to myself. I guess, as I told my vet, that I look at their faces and feel them nuzzle me when I sing to them and think...oh my gosh I love these guys! Sounds a little sappy I know...but I have read similar sentiments on this site so I know they worm their way into our hearts. I have really benefited from your response. Thanks again.
 

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