In the modern world, many owners of their own plots think about housekeeping. At first glance it seems that there is nothing difficult. But in fact, this is a very serious and responsible occupation. If you have never done this before, it is best to consult with an experienced farmer initially. One of the most profitable areas in animal husbandry is sheep breeding. This is due to the fact that they give not only excellent meat with high taste qualities, but also wool, the demand for which does not decrease from year to year. However, in order to receive a large amount of the finished product, it is necessary to select for animals a high-quality, nutritious diet rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Let's try to figure out how to feed a sheep so that it develops normally and grows healthy.
general information
As each of us knows, sheep belong to the group of herbivores, so their diet consists almost entirely of plant foods. However, for normal growth and development, individuals must receive vitamins, macrocells and amino acids, which are found only in animal products, along with food. Today in stores you can find a huge number of universal balanced combined feed containing all the necessary nutrients.
If you do not want to use any purchased mixtures, it is very important to diversify the daily diet of sheep as much as possible. A lot of indicators depend on this, the main ones are animal health, weight gain, thickness and softness of the coat and reproductive abilities. Let's try to figure out what kind of sheep food at home is best used to ensure that cattle breeding is the most productive and cost-effective occupation.
The main component of nutrition
Let's dwell on this in more detail. So, how to feed a sheep? Mostly the diet of animals consists of succulent feed. Any green grass is suitable for this. But the best, according to many experts in the field of animal husbandry, are clover, plantain, wheat grass and nettle. Moreover, if the sheep are too hungry, then they can eat absolutely everything, including weeds and even thorns. There is nothing wrong with this, since even such plants contain vitamins and nutrients necessary for animals. However, it is not recommended to give them freshly cut dew-irrigated grass, as it can lead to bloating, and in this case one can’t do without the help of a veterinarian.
If you are breeding sheep with free range, it is not recommended to let them out on pasture after rain. Having eaten wet grass, animals can get tympanum, which develops as a result of excessive gas formation in the intestine due to eating easily fermenting feed. In the absence of proper treatment, a sick sheep dies very quickly and painfully.
When choosing a pasture for grazing, you need to carefully look at what plants it is rich in. It is not recommended to release animals to areas where the following types of herbs grow:
- henbane;
- hemlock;
- dope;
- spurge;
- hellebore;
- celandine.
Despite the fact that some of them are useful for humans, for sheep they are poisonous and can lead to the development of very serious diseases, most of which are fatal. Therefore, if you do not have the slightest idea about how sheep are fed, and you can’t choose your own food, then it’s best to consult with experts in the field of animal husbandry. Each of them will tell you that the best place for walking is a forest glade or meadow where animals can find not only herbaceous plants, but also young shoots of trees. The latter contain a much larger amount of vitamins and minerals than grass.
For the winter, you can independently harvest branches of such trees as:
- Apple tree;
- willow;
- honeysuckle;
- pear;
- hazel;
- cherry;
- plum;
- Birch;
- alder.
It is worth noting that it is recommended to store food for the winter around the end of spring or early summer, since it is during this period that it contains the largest amount of nutrients.
Additional component of the diet
Silo is the main food for sheep in the winter, when there is no possibility of free grazing of animals due to snow. Therefore, every summer, the farmer must independently stockpile dried grass.
To do this, you can use the following:
- seeded herbs;
- garden and vegetable waste (beet tops, cabbage leaves, etc.);
- forage crops, for example corn or sunflower.
When preparing silage feed for sheep, it is necessary to take into account the fact that it turns out to be too acidic due to the high concentration of acetic and butyric acids. To avoid this, the plants are previously slightly dried. This will not only significantly reduce the acid content, but also significantly speed up the process of preparing silage.
There is an alternative method of harvesting feed. Straw is added to the freshly cut grass, which absorbs excess moisture and does not affect the quality of the silo. It is pre-crushed, and then well mixed with the bulk. The finished silo is placed in specially dug holes or trenches, carefully tamped and covered with a plastic film.
Here, probably, you have a question about how much food a sheep needs. It all depends on the flock stock. The daily rate for one animal is about 3-4 kilograms. Thus, an animal consumes approximately 500 kg of mass per season.
Roots
Given the feed consumption per sheep, it will not be possible to physically prepare a sufficient amount of silage in the case of a large population. Therefore, the diet must be diversified by adding other products to it.
Root crops are an excellent option, and more precisely, forage crops and garden vegetables, among which the following are considered the best:
- beet;
- potatoes;
- turnip;
- oil radish;
- carrot;
- winter rape;
- colza.
All these cultures are an excellent source of fiber, and also have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the digestive system. In addition, the presence in the diet of fresh vegetables increases the amount of milk supplied by sheep. This is especially true in the winter, when animals are deficient in vitamins and macronutrients. Carrots and beets can be given raw in crushed form, but as for potatoes, they must be boiled, because otherwise the abdomen may become bloated.
Gourds
What else does sheep need for feed? One of the most beloved plant species is gourds, such as squash and pumpkin. They are rich in all vitamins necessary for the normal development of animals, milk yield and hair growth. However, taking into account their cost for one season, the flock will eat up very impressive amounts. Therefore, it is best to prepare root crops for the winter in sufficient quantities.
Roughage
Straw is used to feed sheep in the autumn, winter and spring. It has good nutritional value and can maintain its qualities over a long period of time. How much feed does a sheep need daily? One adult consumes an average of 2.5 kilograms of straw.
The following cultures are usually used for its manufacture:
- oats;
- barley;
- millet;
- wheat
- alfalfa;
- vetch.
An excellent alternative to straw is hay. Its harvesting begins in the middle of summer, when everything blooms and smells around. It was at this time that the plants contained the most nutrients, on which the development of the animal and the intensity of weight gain depend. One animal per day requires 3 kilograms of feed. Dietary supplements for the correction of sheep can also be added to silage along with straw so that the livestock not only does not lose kilograms during the winter, but by the beginning of spring it even gained a little in mass.
Experienced farmers recommend harvesting hay from herbs that have good taste and high beneficial properties. These include:
- clover;
- wheat grass;
- alfalfa;
- breadcrumbs;
- rump;
- Vika;
- clover.
Harvesting begins in mid-summer. After the grass is mowed, it is left in the sun until the moisture content in the plants is reduced to 50 percent. After that, the hay is placed in sealed containers, which are uncorked in the winter.
However, you should understand that roughage is significantly inferior to green in its nutritional properties, therefore it is not recommended to feed cattle exclusively with hay or straw all winter, as this will slow its growth and development, and can also lead to the development of various ailments. In order for the animals ’diet to be complete, experts advise giving hydroponic food to sheep. It represents the seeds of legumes and grains sprouted in water. But it is not recommended to completely eliminate haylage from the diet, since it contains many substances that will be useful to animals.
Concentrates
What are they? Concentrated feed (bioadditives for correcting sheep with them can not be used) are feed products with excellent nutritional value and vitamin content. They do not have all the nutrients necessary for animals, but concentrates are an integral part of a complete diet throughout almost the entire year. They are especially indispensable in the winter.
This feed group is represented by the following crops:
- Cereals: barley, wheat, oats.
- Legumes: beans; lupine, peas.
- Bran.
- Oilcake.
- Corn.
- Compound feed.
All of these foods contain protein, starch, and vegetable fats. If you breed sheep for milk and wool, then the daily rate of concentrates is 150 grams per head, but one meat sheep needs 600 grams.
As for the combined feed, they are universal, because they have a balanced composition. However, despite the fact that they contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals, nevertheless, not all of them are suitable for feeding curly wards. When choosing a combined feed for sheep in winter, it is necessary to take into account its focus. Some mixtures are universal, while others are designed to achieve certain goals, for example, for fattening lambs, for nursing individuals, for gaining body weight, and so on.
Sheep should be given special supplements during pregnancy. If you don’t want to spend too much, you can replace them with whey, boiled chicken eggs, milk and cottage cheese.
Mineral supplements
So what do you need to know about them? Any cattle, including sheep, need minerals. To replenish their supply, animals are given salt, bone meal and chalk. Moreover, their number is calculated individually for each individual, taking into account factors such as age, gender, closeness and other criteria. In order not to think too much when selecting minerals, you can buy special salt licks, which are sold in many shops for farmers. They are simply laid out on the paddock, and the animals themselves will, as necessary, receive substances in the right amount.
Water
So, we figured out how to feed the sheep. But it is equally important to provide the animals with a sufficient amount of fresh drink. This is especially true for young individuals that are at the stage of rapid growth and development, as well as pregnant and lactating queens, who need beneficial fluid much more than other animals. Water should be changed regularly to keep it fresh. In winter, drinking should be at room temperature, and in summer, on the contrary, lower to make the sheep easier to tolerate heat.
Feeding recommendations
As experienced farmers say, it is necessary to choose a varied feed for sheep. The norms dictate that the diet should be adjusted depending on the season of the year. In the spring, the menu does not require any special research, as, in fact, in the summer, since the animals receive a sufficient amount of fresh plant food during the walk. However, so that the livestock does not have problems with the digestive system, along the way, you should continue to give him straw or hay. Also during this period, the diet must necessarily contain concentrates in the amount of not more than 700 grams per adult.
In the summer, hydroponic food is not given to sheep, since about 80 percent of their menu is fresh, juicy grass from pastures. Giving birth to pregnant uterus and pregnant uterus requires about 9 kg of greenery for normal life, and adult animals - no more than 7 kg. For this, the flock should be on free walk for a long period of time. Experienced farmers argue that achieving maximum weight gain is only possible if grazing is at least 12 hours a day.
Despite the fact that there are no problems with food during the summer period, however, animals alone cannot grow normally and gain weight on greens alone. They need a variety of supplements, such as root vegetables, sprouted seeds, and hay. It is also very important to provide animals with salt.
By autumn, meadow grass and other vegetation almost completely lose all its nutritional value, so hay becomes the main component of the daily diet of lamb. For one adult ward per day, at least three kilograms of this feed is required, as well as 4 kg of root crops and melons.
In winter, sheep are deprived of free walking and lead a less active lifestyle, however, so that they do not lose weight, every day they should be given four kilograms of hay, 2 kg of root crops and silage, as well as about 250 grams of mineral supplements. If you have only straw at your disposal, then in this case you can use compound feeds. However, it is very important to choose the right mixture, because it must be well balanced. When buying, you need to thoroughly study the characteristics of sheep feed. Choose only those that contain all the necessary vitamins, minerals and macronutrients.
Recommendations for feeding young animals
What you should pay attention to? As soon as the lambs were born, they were breast-fed by their mother for five days. However, it may happen that the uterus for some reason refuses to feed its offspring.
In this case, the kids can be given the following:
- cow's milk;
- special artificial mixes.
You can also try to plant it with other sheep, but not all of them agree to feed someone else's lamb. As for artificial feeding, then warm milk is poured into a bottle on which an ordinary baby's nipple is put on. Eating should be carried out in sufficient quantities at least five times a day. When the lamb reaches two months of age, then feeding occurs 2 times. In this case, the animal is gradually taught to drink milk on its own from a bowl.
Solid feed begins to enter the diet in the first month of life. At first they are given in small quantities, gradually increasing portions, so that the digestive system can normally adapt to them. They start with the seeds of cereals and legumes grown in water, and then hay, silage and fresh herbs are added to the menu. By five months of life, the lamb is completely weaned and transferred to a general diet.
Conclusion
Sheep farming is a very profitable occupation, which can create for you not only a stable income, but also provide meat, milk and wool. However, in order for the business to be as profitable and profitable as possible, it is necessary to provide the animals with proper nutrition. This article considered how to feed a sheep, therefore, having carefully studied the proposed material and adhering to the general tips and recommendations subsequently presented in it, you can more than pay back on financial and physical investments.