Question about sheep and garden produce/plants....

Beekissed

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I took down the fence around my garden and the sheep are really tucking into green tomatoes, potatoes, yellow squash, cucumbers and green pepper plants right now, as well as broccoli.

Can they become bloated from too much of a good thing? The corn is safely shocked up and in storage, so they aren't getting too much corn.

They also have been powering up on the apple drops. Am I wrong in thinking these things can only be good for them? They seem quite fat and sleek, but can they get too much of a good thing with the veggies?
 

jenn

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Not sure about the garden things but I do know that GREEN seeds from apples are poisonous for sheep.

I give my sheep and goat all the left overs from my garden.:D
 

Iceblink

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I am wondering the same thing. I gave my girls green beans, which they liked for a couple weeks and now turn up their little noses at. Then for a couple weeks they liked leaves from my oak tree. Tonight I thinned my strawberry patch and they liked the strawberry leaves. They sometimes like apple slices, and sometimes not.

I have been watching their poops, and if they aren't solid berries, I stop feeding them whatever it was. This seems like a very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants method though. Has anyone found a good book about raising sheep and what they can and can't eat?
 

Beekissed

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I've read that beans are toxic to sheep, but then I also read about the apple seeds being the same.... :rolleyes:

If apple seeds are toxic, my sheep are the living dead! They are gorging on apples and have been doing so from the first summer drops.
 

freemotion

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Appleseeds contain only a tiny amount of poison. So it is my understanding that they are safe in reasonable amounts. If you live near some type of processing facility and can get them by the bucketful, that would be deadly. But the few seeds that a good-sized animal would get from eating a few cores should not be a problem.
 

6 sheep & a llama

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Glad to have found you people. I am new to sheep too. They are a bit picky about what they eat for treats (except a grain mix). I want to give them the last remains from the garden after reading what everyone else is doing. Maybe not the green beans- thanks for that. Thanks also to whoever suggested the ACV. One of my sheep had been affected by worms and had a bout with diarhea. She did pretty well through it but lost some weight. After giving her the ACV she gained the weight back she lost and looks herself again. Also her fleece is shinier (over night) is that possible or my imagination?
 

6 sheep & a llama

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About giving sheep ACV on a regular basis, what is the best way- do you think? I put some in the water today but the problem with that is they drink so little water (especially when it is rainy) and I have to pour the water out every day because it gets dirty. I still don't find it easy to get things in their mouths except grain treats of course. Do you think spraying it on the grain would work or any other ideas? My friend wants to do the same thing with her goats. She and her husband both do the 1 tablespoon ACV to 1 tablespoon honey in 8oz of warm water every morning themselves and swear by it.
 

Beekissed

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Some of them spray it on the grain and some give it in a drench, 20 ml, of 1:1 ratio of ACV and water and do this on a monthly basis. It has to be the UP ACV for the best affect.

I have found the same difficulty with the water, as this is a large bucket but am going towards a smaller waterer. I do know this.....I can put just about anything on their grain based treats and they will eat it just as quickly!

I am going to by myself a drenching gun anyway, as it seems a handy thing to have around for all my animals....ya never know.
 

frarmer1

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When giving any new food, it should be done gradually, and make sure they are up on their cdt shots. Pulling a few plants at a time is good. Green tomatoes have oxalic acid, I believe. They will enjoy the change.
 
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