What do sheep eat: what do they eat at home, diet and feeding rates

Sheep farming brings the farmer large amounts of meat, wool, milk, but subject to quality livestock feeding. Having figured out what rams and sheep eat according to the seasons of the year, the cattle breeder, by correcting the diet, achieves maximum livestock productivity. Sheep are omnivores in the choice of plant foods, and the he alth and well-being of animals directly depend on the diversity and balance of the diet.

What do sheep eat

Sheep feed is chosen taking into account not only the season of the year, but also gender, age, and purpose of the animals. The quality of livestock feeding is determined by the climatic region, pasture sheep breeding is most profitable in tropical and subtropical regions, it requires minimal feed costs.

The diet should be balanced. When sheep eat grass, hay, vegetables, grains, vitamin and mineral supplements, they receive a sufficient amount of useful substances required for the full development of the body, increasing body weight. Supplementation is especially important during the winter months when animals don't eat enough succulent plant foods.

Juicy Plant Foods

During the warm months, sheep eat grass in the pasture, the share of fresh greens reaches 85% of the total feed. The best plant food for livestock is meadow grasses (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, wheatgrass, plantain). If a sheep in the pasture eats grass with thorns, then you should not worry: weed thorns are no less useful for the sheep's body. The main thing that a farmer should do is to check if there are any poisonous vegetation in the meadow. Toxic to sheep:

• lily of the valley;
• henbane;
• hemlock;
• dope;
• puppeteer;
• celandine.

Do not allow animals to eat damp, dewy grass. It provokes swelling of the scar and flatulence, in the absence of surgical treatment, the sheep dies. It is useful to drive cattle to a pasture with woody vegetation. Sheep willingly eat thin branches and shoots saturated with vitamins and minerals, which has a positive effect on body weight growth and the quality of the coat. In the absence of pastures with woody vegetation, branches can be harvested elsewhere, tied into brooms, and dried.

Branches are good for animals:

• willow;
• apple;
• aspen;
• hazel;
• birch;
• cherry;
• ash.

One of the cheap and popular varieties of succulent feed is silage. They make it by fermenting the vegetative parts of herbaceous plants:

• forage grasses;
• waste garden greens, carrot and beet tops;
• lettuce and cabbage leaves;
• meadow herbs, bean green manure.

An adult animal eats up to 4 kg of silage per day. When fermenting, acids are released, sheep may not like the sour taste of the treat. To avoid this, either plants are dried beforehand, or ground straw is added to the mass. Periodically, sheep are treated with wheat, barley, corn grains in small quantities.

Roughage

The main roughage is hay. It is harvested in the summer, counting 3 kg per adult. The best option is meadow forbs. Straw is less important, contains few nutrients, animals eat it to satisfy hunger faster, normalize digestion.

E

e must be included in the sheep diet in winter, up to 2.5 kg are harvested per individual. Use wheat, barley, millet, alfalfa. It is advisable to harvest spring, its material composition is richer.

Straw should not be given to young individuals and rams-producers. For sheep, it is preferable to steam roughage by adding concentrates, grains, and root crops to it. A good source of vitamins for livestock is haylage - dried grass up to 50% moisture, harvested at the initial stage of vegetation, stored in the absence of oxygen. It is practiced to feed sheep with oats and the remaining bran from its processing. Animals willingly eat meal and cake obtained from soybeans, corn, sunflower.

Root crops

Rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber - fruits and root vegetables. Sheep eat potatoes, carrots, fodder beets from root crops, and apples from fruits. Beets and carrots are given raw. Do not feed raw potatoes to animals, otherwise the intestines will swell.

Daily portion for an adult - 500 g, for young animals - 300 g. Root crops are especially useful for lactating females.

Melons

From vegetables, sheep eat pumpkin and zucchini. Gourds are rich in vitamins, but they are given mainly as a rare delicacy, since it is not economically feasible to grow vegetables specifically for cattle breeding. Vegetable treat accelerates the growth of body weight of animals, increases the milk yield of the females who have given birth. Daily portion for an adult - up to 400 g.

Concentrated feed

Compound feed is given to animals intended for slaughter to speed up weight gain. An adult eats 500 g of concentrated feed per day, a young one - 400 g. For a dairy sheep, 200 g is enough, and a ram of a meat variety eats up to 700 g.

Mineral supplements

The lack of minerals negatively affects the he alth of animals, therefore, mineral sources are included in the diet of sheep.

Mineral deficiency in sheep shows:

• eating and licking inedible;
• development of rickets in young animals;
• convulsive muscle contractions;
• loss of appetite;
• sluggish, emaciated appearance;
• dermatological problems;
• breaking stool.

To fill the deficiency of minerals, sheep eat bone meal, chalk, s alt. Pet stores sell s alt stones for licking. You can use feed vitamin and mineral supplements, for example, Vitasol.

One adult requires 10-15 g of chalk or bone meal per day, young - 5-10 g, lamb - 3 g.

Pet supplements and drinking regimen

Pregnant females and occasional animals are given animal feed to keep them he althy:

• egg;
• milk;
• whey;
• cottage cheese.

Sheep need to drink enough fluids, which is as important to maintaining livestock productivity as quality feed. An adult animal drinks up to 10 liters of water per day.

Dependence of nutrition on the season

Feeding sheep varies greatly by season. During the warm and cold months, the animal's need for certain nutrients increases.

Spring

After rough winter food, animals eat the first greens grown on pastures. Don't stop feeding hay just yet. Give concentrated feed and suitable mineral supplements. The spring norm for one individual is 700 g of concentrates.

Summer

In summer, the basis of the diet is grass. The daily portion for an adult sheep is 7 kg, for a pregnant and lactating sheep - 8 kg. A lamb up to 9 months old eats up to 4 kg per day, a one-year-old - 6 kg. The daily duration of grazing is 12 hours, during which time the sheep eat enough grass to provide the body with the necessary substances.

Even in summer, sheep eat concentrated feed, hay, root crops, lick s alt stones.

Autumn

Pasture grass fades, no longer provides the animals with the required percentage of nutrients. Therefore, hay and compound feed are given in larger portions.

In the autumn months, an adult animal eats 3 kg of hay and 400 g of root crops.

Winter

Stall keeping and feeding is practiced in winter. An animal kept at home requires 4 kg of hay, root crops and silage per day. Winter portion of compound feed - 500 g. We must not forget about the sources of minerals.

Diet and norms

How much an animal eats per day depends on its age and the purpose of rearing. It is especially important to ensure the balance and quality of the diet of pregnant females. A bearing sheep eats 500 g of hay and straw, 300 g of bean haylage, 3 kg of fresh grass per day, plus fruits and root crops. Grain food is 300g and mineral sources are 15g.

For fattening sheep

Meat sheep maintains body weight when eating food rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber daily. To make the weight grow faster, they increase the caloric content of the feed, do not allow the ram to actively move.

Diet 2 weeks before slaughter for meat:

• 5kg silage;
• 1 kg root vegetables;
• 700g quality hay;
• 400-500 g of concentrates (you can give grain, corn and peas, dried bread).

Before slaughter, do not exceed portions of high-calorie foods, otherwise thick layers of fat will appear in the meat of slaughtered animals. Sheep prepared for mating require a lot of strength, so the calorie content of food is increased by 2 times. Animal fattening begins 1.5 months in advance. Breeding rams eat:

• hay - 2 kg;
• crushed cereal grain - 800 g;
• fodder root crops - 500 g;
• meal - 200 g;
• low-fat milk - 1 l;
• bone meal - 100g;
• s alt - 15 g.

For newly born lambs

The first 2 months of life, the lamb feeds on mother's milk. Further, the cubs can be given sources of minerals (bone meal, chalk, s alt stone) and concentrates (the initial daily portion is 50 g). Gradually enrich the diet with bean hay.

An animal over 5 months old eats:

• compound feed - 300 g;
• root vegetables - 500 g;
• cake - 150 g;
• minerals - 4g

Feeding of one-year-olds is carried out with the following list of products:

• 1.5 kg haylage;
• 500 g of cereal-bean hay;
• 150 g ground barley grain;
• 50 g meal;
• 8g s alt.

Newborn lambs eat 5 times a day, six-month-olds - 2 times.

What not to feed animals

Forbidden to feed sheep:

• marsh vegetation;
• sour cereals (e.g. sedge);
• food beets;
• vegetables and fruits without cutting into small pieces;
• bakery products without drying.

Proper feeding keeps livestock he althy and productive. The diet is selected, taking into account the age, physical condition, purpose of the sheep, the season of the year, the food should be of high quality and balanced.

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