The Old Ram-Australia
Herd Master
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
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This question often arises when I explain to others about our system and methods, so I will endeavor to explain the reasoning behind the concept. If you examine wild herds in a rangeland situation they travel over large ranges and the animals self medicate by choosing selected plants from the vast array of plants on offer. They also select plants that deliver not only their nutritional needs, but they also need to replenish their stores of minerals both major and trace.
Once they are restricted from their nomadic wanderings it’s up to the farmer to supply these needs be they through the grazing of “wild pastures” or by “free access” to a balanced ration to ensure the animals are maintained in “peak health” without unnecessary intervention by the farmer with its associated costs and time. Young animals learn from their parents and from the flock and if you separate very young animals from this free tutoring they have to learn by “trial and error” which impacts on their overall health and production ability over their lifetime.
If you limit interference in stock health over time you increase Natural Immunity and propagate generation to generation transfer of knowledge and over time your cost of production will be reduced by both the cost of chemicals and your labor costs. The free feed system of mineral supplement we use means that at all times the sheep make the choice to consume or not, so let’s look at our season as it stands now. After an extremely dry Nov/Dec we have experienced welcome rains and to look at the lush pasture you would be forgiven asking “why do the stock need minerals?”.In a simple exercise if you gather up a KG of “lush pasture” and put it in a microwave oven and dry it out you are left with what the animal derives from that kg of feed. Now bearing in mind that much of the mineral content is “water soluble” most of it will be lost to the animal.
In our own mix the most important are Dolomite Lime and Seaweed Meal, both supply the “majors and trace “in its most natural form. T.O.R.
Once they are restricted from their nomadic wanderings it’s up to the farmer to supply these needs be they through the grazing of “wild pastures” or by “free access” to a balanced ration to ensure the animals are maintained in “peak health” without unnecessary intervention by the farmer with its associated costs and time. Young animals learn from their parents and from the flock and if you separate very young animals from this free tutoring they have to learn by “trial and error” which impacts on their overall health and production ability over their lifetime.
If you limit interference in stock health over time you increase Natural Immunity and propagate generation to generation transfer of knowledge and over time your cost of production will be reduced by both the cost of chemicals and your labor costs. The free feed system of mineral supplement we use means that at all times the sheep make the choice to consume or not, so let’s look at our season as it stands now. After an extremely dry Nov/Dec we have experienced welcome rains and to look at the lush pasture you would be forgiven asking “why do the stock need minerals?”.In a simple exercise if you gather up a KG of “lush pasture” and put it in a microwave oven and dry it out you are left with what the animal derives from that kg of feed. Now bearing in mind that much of the mineral content is “water soluble” most of it will be lost to the animal.
In our own mix the most important are Dolomite Lime and Seaweed Meal, both supply the “majors and trace “in its most natural form. T.O.R.
