Feeding and Managing Sheep

1
Feeding and Managing Sheep

• Chapter 32

2
Sheep Industry

• U.S. Rankings
• 1st SD NE MN IA WI
• Ewes TX 4th 16th 13th 8th 18th
• 2nd WY
• 3rd CA
• Market Lambs CA 7th 8th 5th
• 2nd TX
• 3rd CO

3
Production Requirements for Farm Flocks

• Pastures
• Corrals and Chutes
• Feeding Equipment
• Feed Storage

4
Types of Producers

• Purebred Breeder
• Produce sheep to express the genetic potential
• Produce and sell breeding stock that provide
  genetic improvement

5
Types of Producers

• Commercial Slaughter Lamb Producer
• Lambs are born in the late winter and early
  spring
• Weaned at
• Pen fed to gain
• Can be fed on pasture or pasture plus supplement

6
Types of Producers

• Commercial Slaughter Lamb Producer
• Breeding Stock
• Choose rams that are heavy at 90 d of age
• 3-breed system
• Milk production Dorset
• Rapid growth Hampshire or Suffolk
• Ruggedness Cheviot
• Choose ewe that are growthy and large for
  replacements
• Daughters of ewes that produce many lambs
• Ewes with decreased production should be culled

7
Types of Producers

• Commercial Feeder Lamb Producer
• Typically producers that do not have the ability
  to produce the quality or quantity needed to
  finish lambs
• Fed out in the summer
• Kept on pasture with dams for the summer and
  finished in the fall

8
Types of Producers

• Commercial Feedlot Operator
• Finished in the feedlot on concentrates
• Lambs start with water, hay and a little
  concentrate
• Eventually only concentrates and water provided
• Lambs need to be treated for
• Feeding lambs is more risky

9
Feeding Ewes
10
Feeding Ewes

• Weight changes need managed by the producer
• Understand how the diet changes in each stage of
  the ewes life cycle
• Mature Pregnant Ewes
• Sheep chew grains very well
• No need for cracking or rolling
• If you do crack or roll grains, be careful on how
  fine the feed is

11
Feeding Ewes

• Sheep need
• Selenium in particular areas
• Mature sheep have little need for protein or Vit
  B
• Rumen can make protein from NPN from ration
• Water Supply!
• Sheep do not accept dirty water
• Water intake is influenced by
• Food consumed, protein intake, environmental
  temperature, mineral intake, water temperature,
  pregnancy, water content of feed, and water odor
  and taste

12
Feeding Ewes

• Energy
• Underfeeding can be a problem
• Understand digestibility
• Protein
• Amount of protein is more important than quality
  of protein

13
Feeding Ewes

• Mineral Needs
• Ca, Ph, S, K, Na, Cl, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, I,
  Nd, Se
• Requirements depend on
• Breed, age, sex, growth rate, reproduction,
  lactation, level in feed, climate, etc.
• is the most important
• Needed if sheep are grazing plush pastures
• Sheep may consumer too much when they drink
  brackish water

14
Feeding Ewes

• Mineral Needs

15
Feeding Ewes

• Most crucial nutritional times for ewes
• Prior to breeding and breeding season
• Prior to, during and after lambing
• After weaning, the lamb can perform well on
  pasture alone
• On pasture sheep can get all of their nutritional
  needs

16
www.agric.wa.gov.au/.../AAP/SL/M/FN069_1994.HTM
17
www.case-agworld.com
18
(No Transcript)
19
Feeding

• Lambs
• If mother is not productive
• Lambs can be fed on milk replacer or cows milk
• Colostrum needs to be provided when lamb is a
  newborn
• Creep feed should be provided when ewes milk
  production decreases and lambs energy consumption
  increases
• Rolled grains
• Rams
• Need to be healthy, but not fat
• Small amount of grain and good-quality hay

20
Feeding

• Ewes
• Young bred ewes need higher energy than mature
  ewes
• Utilize the winter time
• Limited grain and roughage
• At lambing,

21
Management

• Lambing
• Crutching
• At birth
• Make sure lambs nurse
• Heat lamp is needed in colder climates

22
Management

• Castrating and Docking
• Uterine or Vaginal Prolapse
• Cull ewes in which this condition occurs

23
Management

• Shearing
• Keep sheep off feed for 6 12 h prior to
  shearing
• Commonly occurs in the spring
• Wool dried and sold by the shearer
• Knicks from shearing should be treated

24
Diseases and Parasites

• Enterotoxemia
• Prevented with 3 treatments of type D toxoid
• E. coli complex
• Prevented by vaccinating all pregnant ewes 2 x in
  later pregnancy
• Lambs affected can be administered antibiotics

25
Diseases and Parasites

• Lamb dysentery
• Prevented by vaccinating ewes
• Footrot
• Serious and common
• Treatment
• Prevented by isolating new sheep for
  d
• Pneumonia
• Treated with antibiotics

26
Diseases and Parasites

• Ram epididymitis
• No treatment Cull ram
• Sore Mouth
• Vaccination?

27
Diseases and Parasites

• White Muscle Disease
• Nutritional disease
• Prevention
• Shipping Fever
• Due to transportation stresses
• Treated by antibiotics and sulfonamides

28
Diseases and Parasites

• Salmonellosis
• Causes dysentery in lambs and abortion in ewes
• Bacteria found in feces and stagnant water

29
Diseases and Parasites

• Polyarthritis
• Stiff lamb disease
• Caused by overeating
• Treated with oxy or chloro tetracycline or
  penicillin
• Milk Fever
• Caused by hypocalcemia
• Treated with injection of calcium salts
• Animal should respond within 2 h

30
Diseases and Parasites

• Abortion
• Prevented by vaccination
• Sheath rot
• Occurs in rams
• Not treatment cull ram

31
Diseases and Parasites

• Urinary calculi
• Kidney stones
• Prevented by supplying clean drinking water
• Ammonium chloride can be included in the ration
  to prevent issue
• Pregnancy Disease ketosis
• Metabolic disease affecting ewes in late
  pregnancy
• More common if they are carrying twins or
  triplets
• Sufficient in glucose
• Prevented by supplying a high-energy ration

32
Diseases and Parasites

• Grass Tetany
• Deficiency in
• Common with lactating ewes on lush grass
• Treatment
• Johnes Disease
• Lamb infected by colostrum
• Causes animal to become thin
• External and Internal Parasites

33
Determining Age of Sheep

• Age can be determined by teeth

www.cals.ncsu.edu/.../sheep/sheepfacts.htm
34

• Chapter 32 Feeding and Managing Sheep
• What is required to produce sheep in a farm-flock
  situation?
• What are the different types of sheep producers?
• How do they differ?
• Explain how and why a ewes weight changes during
  her life cycle?
• What are some management practices commonly used
  in the sheep industry?
• Be able to discuss some of the diseases found in
  sheep.
• How do you age sheep?