How much do you feed your in lamb ewes?

[waltonCharollais]

So I'm curious as to how much concentrate you all feed your ewes?

After moving away from commercial ewes some years ago and lambing just pedigrees, I now have a group of suffolk mule shearlings carrying embryos and I cannot remember for the life of me what qualities i used to feed.

Singles and twins, probably on the fatter side of ideal and will be on an 18% higher spec ewe nut and hay.

I've heard from 250grams per lamb to a flat 1kg a head all round

 

[Mc115reed]

You’ll not go wrong with 0.25kg per lamb really…

 

[waltonCharollais]

You’ll not go wrong with 0.25kg per lamb really…

Thank you!

 

[M-J-G]

Triplets 0.1kg 8 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.8kg by lambing.

Twins 0.1kg 6 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.6kg by lambing.

Singles just get fed while they're in the shed pre lambing and are given just enough to shut them up while the others get fed

If twins have plenty of grass I'll maybe only start them 3 weeks pre lambing starting them off on 0.3 or so stepping them up after that to react target levels by lambing

 

[waltonCharollais]

Triplets 0.1kg 8 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.8kg by lambing.

Twins 0.1kg 6 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.6kg by lambing.

Singles just get fed while they're in the shed pre lambing and are given just enough to shut them up while the others get fed

If twins have plenty of grass I'll maybe only start them 3 weeks pre lambing starting them off on 0.3 or so stepping them up after that to react target levels by lambing

Cheers for that, that's really helpful.

 

[Wooly]

You feed concentrates to ewes !!?!

 

[neilo]

It surely depends what the forage is available?

That said, when I was young and keen, straight out of college, I had the silage sampled and carefully worked out exactly what we should be feeding each group of ewes, allowing for scanning figures. On the reasonable quality silage we had that year, after careful calculations, I worked out that we should be feeding at a lb of concentrates per lamb carried over the last month. Coincidentally, that was exactly what we had been feeding them forever and a day. I’ve rarely bothered running the numbers since tbh, although quantities are reduced now as we make more use of fodder crops.

 

[neilo]

Triplets 0.1kg 8 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.8kg by lambing.

Twins 0.1kg 6 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.6kg by lambing.

Singles just get fed while they're in the shed pre lambing and are given just enough to shut them up while the others get fed

If twins have plenty of grass I'll maybe only start them 3 weeks pre lambing starting them off on 0.3 or so stepping them up after that to react target levels by lambing

Forage quality and size of ewe will make a difference. @waltonCharollais has a hungry/heavy breed of ewe with a high maintenance requirement.

 

[waltonCharollais]

@neilo They are moving home tomorrow to a paddock with a decent bite. About 10 days off I'll run them in at night and out in the day. Just be having hay when inside. They are big girls.

Just a little paranoid after an awful lambing of embryos last year, mostly down to not having the right recips in my eyes. I'd rather a small but viable lamb than big fat brutes. Pulling 9kg lambs was not ideal but I need them to have enough milk too. I always say there is an art to feeding sheep!

So would you say a lb a lamb would be about right for my ewes?

 

[andybk]

mine are out on silage aftermaths wont be fed till a week or two out from lambing depending on what feed is left if 2-4" or so wont be fed at all , then up to 2lb a day for 4 weeks post lambing , (lambing jan - feb) 170% ish , Old pasture or o hay would be fed 3-4 weeks pre lambing building to the 2lb then same after (still working on lbs here as a bucket is 24lbs )
nb Boulsing has saved a lot of feeding with stronger more viable lambs

 

[neilo]

@neilo They are moving home tomorrow to a paddock with a decent bite. About 10 days off I'll run them in at night and out in the day. Just be having hay when inside. They are big girls.

Just a little paranoid after an awful lambing of embryos last year, mostly down to not having the right recips in my eyes. I'd rather a small but viable lamb than big fat brutes. Pulling 9kg lambs was not ideal but I need them to have enough milk too. I always say there is an art to feeding sheep!

So would you say a lb a lamb would be about right for my ewes?

Are the embryos implanted as singles?

My (March lambing) single bearing recips come in from forage crops about a week from lambing and have only silage tbh. Trace elements supplemented according to needs. Those recips are Highlander ewes that do well on forage only rations though. Mules might stand a bit more?

If you were getting 9kg lambs last year then they were having too much, for too long, so adjust ration accordingly (assuming same/similar recips).

 

[waltonCharollais]

Singles and twins. I planned to give the singles a smidge to keep the peace at feed time. And thought 500g for the twins.

The 9kg was to be fair a freak/odd one out. Biggest issue was getting the buggers heads out most were small but the ewes were tight as hell. These suffolk mules are twice the size of my last recips so fingers crossed they have more room inside.

 

[shearerlad]

I feed 18% protein rolls at 1/2lb for the ewe and 1/2lb per lamb scanned prelambing and then increase that to 1lb + 1/2lb once lambed until sufficient grass. My ewes average ~78kg pre tupping.

 

[M-J-G]

Forage quality and size of ewe will make a difference. @waltonCharollais has a hungry/heavy breed of ewe with a high maintenance requirement.

The OP asked how much others fed, so I answered the question.

I'd base those levels on a fairly heavy ewe, (including 20 Zwartbles ) fed along with fairly average feed value (but well got) hay.

Grass is pretty much nonexistent here by Feb and I don't feed hay outside unless the snow gets too deep for them to dig through.

I'm reducing ewes size so I'm hoping to ease that back a bit, this year's hay was cut in May, so I'll likely feed a little bit less along with that.

How much would you offer?

 

[Agrivator]

Triplets 0.1kg 8 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.8kg by lambing.

Twins 0.1kg 6 weeks pre lambing built up gradually to 0.6kg by lambing.

Singles just get fed while they're in the shed pre lambing and are given just enough to shut them up while the others get fed

If twins have plenty of grass I'll maybe only start them 3 weeks pre lambing starting them off on 0.3 or so stepping them up after that to react target levels by lambing

The nonsensical ascending-rate of feeding was superseded by the flat-rate of feeding many years ago.

 

[M-J-G]

The nonsensical ascending-rate of feeding was superseded by the flat-rate of feeding many years ago.

It was still being practiced by SAC until recent times.

Much and all as I'm happy to drop practices carried out by the oldies, ewe gut capacity reduces as lambs grow and it works fine in practice.

What's nonsensical about that?

How much do you feed?

 

[jack6480]

Can you not just feed them grass?

 

[will6910]

I feed start to feed triplets a tiny tiny amount 10 weeks pre lambing built up to just over a kg at lambing if they need it depending on size and how good or bad silage is.Twins start 8 or 7 weeks built your to around the kg mark again depending on silage. Singles get a mouth full for few weeks just to keep them quiet when all else getting fed. Mine are mostly Suffolk and texel crosses and Suffolk Cheviots so quite large sheep. Triplets are housed at moment and due in 10 weeks. Winter grazing runs out week after Christmas so they all be inside then

 

[andybk]

Can you not just feed them grass?

winter lambing flocks looking to sell into easter market (dec-feb) would see lots of TLD without feeding and weak lambs with poor brown fat , and ewe condition would fall , Its the backfat that feeds lambs in lactation , grass quality is very poor after christmas unless you have access to dairy keep .

 

[neilo]

The nonsensical ascending-rate of feeding was superseded by the flat-rate of feeding many years ago.

I think either system works, it’s just that flat rate is considerably easier, and avoids the highest feeding levels near lambing altogether.