How to feed a sheep after lambing: the right diet and frequency, what not

Cattle breeding is hard work and a lot of responsibility. The success of such an enterprise is possible only as a result of proper nutrition and compliance with the conditions for keeping animals. To do this, cattle need to pay a lot of attention and correctly calculate their time. This issue is especially acute during the birth of small lambs. You need to know what is the best way to feed a sheep after lambing.

Diet for sheep after lambing

During pregnancy and after childbirth, females should receive enhanced feeding. In general, for sheep, the habitual diet is plant foods:

juicy food (forbs, beetroot, potatoes, silage, carrots) - 80%;
concentrates - 5%;
roughage (hay, straw) - 10%;
animal food (cottage cheese, eggs);
mineral supplements.

After the birth of the lamb, the sheep should receive more vitamin fortified feed, to which special animal supplements should be added. These include dairy products and chicken eggs. Be sure to monitor your water intake. The liquid must always be in the container. Otherwise, there may be problems with the formation of milk, which will ultimately affect the he alth of the lamb.

It is recommended to leave the sheep's diet as it was before childbirth. Since as a result of sudden changes, an upset of the digestive system in lambs can occur. At the first stage, their diet should not differ from that which was still in the womb.You can gradually change the menu only on the third day after calving.

In addition, the amount of food depends on the number of lambs born. A sheep with one offspring produces 40% less milk than a female with two. In the second case, the ewe spends much more energy on milk production. In this case, you need to accurately calculate the amount of food, because sheep should not be overfed.

How often to feed

After lambing, after 5-6 hours, the sheep should leave the afterbirth on its own. To facilitate this process every 2 hours, the ewe is given 1.5 liters of warm water. If, as a result, the placenta does not come out by itself, call the veterinarian, otherwise blood poisoning may develop.

When about 6 hours after calving, you can feed for the first time. To do this, you need to make a slurry of warm water and 0.6 kg of high-quality feed. Thus, you need to feed the female for 2-3 days.

In the second half of pregnancy, a sheep is fed three times a day. On the day the animal should consume 4-5.25 kg of different feed in total. The lower limit is suitable for females weighing up to 50 kg, and more food - up to 60 kg. After calving for a week, this amount of food should increase by 30%. Because he althy feeding requires more energy and therefore more food.

Forbidden foods

Sheep are not allowed to eat straw, hay or grass irrigated with dew. They like it very much, but it causes bloating, which adversely affects the he alth of the ewe. As a result, milk production processes are disrupted, and energy is spent on the rehabilitation of the digestive system. Under no circumstances should this be allowed.Therefore, some pastoralists add some absorbent (charcoal) to their food.

You can not overfeed the animal in the initial period. Therefore, concentrates can be excluded from the diet. They are replaced by animal feed and plenty of succulent feed. It is important to maintain the level of the sheep's rumen microflora so as not to cause digestive upset.

If fed with a concentrate, then its amount should not exceed 500 grams per day. Nutrition is the main component of animal he alth. Therefore, this process must be approached carefully, everything should be calculated and the sheep should be fed correctly, especially after lambing.