Feeding in-wintered ewes

[Stockwell]

Hopefully going to house our ewes on slats next winter for the first time, or some of them at least, usually they are outwintered on roots but winters seem to be getting wetter and ground to grow roots harder to find.
Ewes are lowland 80kgs scanning 180%. Would be shorn and housed mid December and turned out mid March before lambing late March outdoors.
Would good quality silage be enough to see them through to turnout? Excluding triplets and thins.
Trough space is the concern of hard feeding needed as the ewes can be stocked tight on the slats but then struggle to make enough trough space. Would liquid feed be an option? Otherwise probably consider going down the tmr route but that would require quite a bit of investment. Thanks

 

[Al R]

The only experience I have of ewes inside for more than a few days is singles pre lambing on good haylage/silage only for 6 weeks, they dropped from BCS 4 to 2.5 in 6 weeks and I started having TLD in singles. I’m a big one against feeding concentrates but even I would if you’ve got anything in over 2 weeks and carrying more than 1 lamb

 

[cheviot53]

Kept ewes inside on & off for 40 yrs , used to feed precision chopped pit silage twice per day with 9" trough space for silage & 18" for concs , welfare code say's 5" for ad-lib forage , fed 60 ewes per ring feeder inside . Always started silage feeding outside first and condition scored reguarly ,moving sheep to different pens when needed , trips /quads seperate and gimmers seperate from ewes

 

[pauld]

I have got no experience of slats but have gone down the TMR route with great success. Twin lamb and prolapses now rare, no rush at feeding time and sheep content

 

[Skintagain]

The only experience I have of ewes inside for more than a few days is singles pre lambing on good haylage/silage only for 6 weeks, they dropped from BCS 4 to 2.5 in 6 weeks and I started having TLD in singles. I’m a big one against feeding concentrates but even I would if you’ve got anything in over 2 weeks and carrying more than 1 lamb

Doesn’t sound quite right to me.

 

[le bon paysan]

I know it's youtube, but look at Sandi Brock in Canada (sheepishly me) Her sheep are in all year.

 

[Hummin-Cummins]

I have got no experience of slats but have gone down the TMR route with great success. Twin lamb and prolapses now rare, no rush at feeding time and sheep content

What ration are you making? And how much feed space have you got per head?

 

[pauld]

What ration are you making? And how much feed space have you got per head?

Red clover/ryegrass bale silage, rolled barley, soya/rapemeal protein blend , molasses and minerals.
Ewes have about 30 ft of feed barrier per 100 ewes, ok as long as you don't let TMR run out

 

[irish dom]

The only experience I have of ewes inside for more than a few days is singles pre lambing on good haylage/silage only for 6 weeks, they dropped from BCS 4 to 2.5 in 6 weeks and I started having TLD in singles. I’m a big one against feeding concentrates but even I would if you’ve got anything in over 2 weeks and carrying more than 1 lamb

Cant have been that good. I keep my singles on closest thing to bare clay pre lambingand they are still too fat. There are boys l know that only feed silage and turn out a fortnight before lambing. No meal bill at all

 

[Al R]

Cant have been that good. I keep my singles on closest thing to bare clay pre lambingand they are still too fat. There are boys l know that only feed silage and turn out a fortnight before lambing. No meal bill at all

Fair enough, it smelled good and was a young ley but obviously wasn’t good enough. Admittedly leaving them outside they would have stayed to fat but the purpose was to slim them to make lambing easier, ended up not pulling any lambs as opposed to pulling a big majority when singles are BCS 4+

 

[texelburger]

I would get the silage analysed and go from there .We have been told our silage is good enough to feed to our doubles without concentrate with a little for the trebles.Im still going to feed the doubles a little concentrate,to be sure,though.

 

[hally]

I would get the silage analysed and go from there .We have been told our silage is good enough to feed to our doubles without concentrate with a little for the trebles.Im still going to feed the doubles a little concentrate,to be sure,though.

I think that’s a good idea, for sheep we find the silage never seems to feed as well as it analyses. Been caught out more than once to the extent we rarely analyse out bales nowadays. We have learnt by experience over the years......that said we are moving to tmr this year so I have no doubt a steep learning curve will follow.

 

[will6910]

I house mine on mesh slats for years. Just feed bale silage and meal on top. Have tested silage in past and have found when follow the feed advice from samples ewes were lacking milk and small lambs so now just feed groups at set times. Triplets and twins get the most and singles get a handful few weeks before due just mostly to keep them settled and way troughs are hard to stop them getting it. Haven’t had much good silage most years, triplets and twins do need the extra food. If silage even ok quality and was able to keep singles apart they wouldn’t need meal

 

[hally]

They always tell us the singles only need silage but we feed them for the last couple of weeks so they are full of milk and a lot easier to set lambs on when twinning up

 

[Agrivator]

They always tell us the singles only need silage but we feed them for the last couple of weeks so they are full of milk and a lot easier to set lambs on when twinning up

Most nutritionists who advise on sheep feeding have never done a lambing.

And if you don't feed a bit of cake, the sheep are never pleased to see you! That's why I wouldn't want to be a sheep in New Zealand. Or anywhere else with a tight-fisted mean shepherd.

 

[hally]

Most nutritionists who advise on sheep feeding have never done a lambing.

Very true, find that about a lot of farming “consultants”. An old boss of mine once said the man who feeds the ewes should do the lambing, meaning if you underfed them it’s you that is mixing bottled milk at 2am

 

[irish dom]

Most nutritionists who advise on sheep feeding have never done a lambing.

And if you don't feed a bit of cake, the sheep are never pleased to see you! That's why I wouldn't want to be a sheep in New Zealand. Or anywhere else with a tight-fisted mean shepherd.

Gonna rush out with a bag to mine just in case they're feeling unloved the poor wee darlings

 

[neilo]

Most nutritionists who advise on sheep feeding have never done a lambing.

And if you don't feed a bit of cake, the sheep are never pleased to see you! That's why I wouldn't want to be a sheep in New Zealand. Or anywhere else with a tight-fisted mean shepherd.

I pride myself on being a tight-fisted mean shepherd, but my sheep are always pleased to see me. They know that usually when I arrive (often on my quad), they will be let into the next block of fresh green grazing.

Sheep love comes in many forms.