Pre lambing ewe feeding requirements

[mlb123]

I’ve recently had my haylage analysed by feeding company that I get ewe rolls off. They have also put me together a feeding plan of what I should be feeding before lambing. I know what I would normally feed pre lambing and it’s considerably more. Was also told that the haylage isn’t a great feed but not the worst. I was hoping it would be quite good as a 1 year old ley and is lovely stuff.
Mainly Cheviot draft ewes and mules as wellView attachment LR_M.L.B. Farm Services_Haylage_L361553_Katy Raeside.pdfView attachment LR_M.L.B. Farm Services_Haylage_L361553_Katy Raeside.pdf. All in good order just now and are due to lamb beginning April.
Any help with how good forage actually is would be much appreciated.



A guide on concentrate feeding based on your forage:



Singles:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.2kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.4kg/day
- 0-2 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.75kg/day



Twins:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.4kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.75kg/day
- 0.2 weeks pre-lambing @ 1kg/day



Triplets:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.8kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 1.2kg/day
- 0-2 weeks pre-lambing @ 1.2kg/day

View attachment LR_M.L.B. Farm Services_Haylage_L361553_Katy Raeside.pdf

 

[Anymulewilldo]

If your Cheviot singles are fit now I wouldn’t be giving them any corn tbh. They’ll hang lambs for Britain if the lambs get bit big or they get fat

 

[muleman]

A lot of these reps wouldn't last 2 minutes as farmers coming onto farms and telling us what we have to spend!

 

[mlb123]

If your Cheviot singles are fit now I wouldn’t be giving them any corn tbh. They’ll hang lambs for Britain if the lambs get bit big or they get fat

I’d normally give single 0.2kg in last 3 weeks and twins I’d be up to about 0.5kg at most in last few weeks. Just wondered if i was really far off the mark or just trying to get more feeding out of me!!

 

[Anymulewilldo]

I’d normally give single 0.2kg in last 3 weeks and twins I’d be up to about 0.5kg at most in last few weeks. Just wondered if i was really far off the mark or just trying to get more feeding out of me!!

I reckon you’ve just hit the nail on the head, the Haylage doesn’t look bad at all carry on as you normally would I’d say

 

[neilo]

I’d normally give single 0.2kg in last 3 weeks and twins I’d be up to about 0.5kg at most in last few weeks. Just wondered if i was really far off the mark or just trying to get more feeding out of me!!

To be fair, that is some pretty mediocre forage, in terms of energy especially. But as above, I'd not be feeding singles any more than a sniff close to lambing. Building them up o 0.75kg at lambing would be asking for lambing trouble I'd have thought, unless the conc was absolute shite of course.

 

[mlb123]

I reckon you’ve just hit the nail on the head, the Haylage doesn’t look bad at all carry on as you normally would I’d say

Ok thank you

 

[mlb123]

To be fair, that is some pretty mediocre forage, in terms of energy especially. But as above, I'd not be feeding singles any more than a sniff close to lambing. Building them up o 0.75kg at lambing would be asking for lambing trouble I'd have thought, unless the conc was absolute shite of course.

Yes agree on singles far too much. Quite disappointing that forage isn’t all that good only a year old ley however it was late cut as was never a weather window to cut it early enough. Have attached pic of ewe roll spec.

 

[puppet]

I’d normally give single 0.2kg in last 3 weeks and twins I’d be up to about 0.5kg at most in last few weeks. Just wondered if i was really far off the mark or just trying to get more feeding out of me!!

If that has worked for your sheep before then keep going. Too much hard feed in that diet. Your haylage from young grass should be OK. We have Lleyn and Texel X. We would only feed thin singles, rest access to licks and grass. Twins outside 0.5kg by lambing, triplets 1kg split in 2 feeds inside.
I like to handle them 3 weeks before to find thinner ones as some will still have 6 weeks before lambing.
Just keeping that balance between milk and lamb growth but avoiding oversized lambs.

 

[neilo]

Yes agree on singles far too much. Quite disappointing that forage isn’t all that good only a year old ley however it was late cut as was never a weather window to cut it early enough. Have attached pic of ewe roll spec.

Concentrate looks pretty good, so certainly wouldn't need to be overfeeding that.

Energy & CP will be low because it was 'late cut', however long the ley had been in. There's a good reason a lot of dairy boys have gone to more frequent, lighter cuts. That obviously adds cost, but really reaps rewards in terms of quality and reductions in bought in feed.

My pre-lambing haylage is at the other extreme this year (12 ME, 18%CP and 75 D value), baled off a 6 yr old ley but at young, 3 bales/ac stage. More expensive to make of course, but as valuable as any concentrate. It would be far too good to feed all winter as the ewes would be rolling in fat unless you could ration it.

 

[muleman]

I would call myself a hard feeder but would use about half the amount mentioned above, at those rates above a thousand ewe flock would be taking a ton a day

 

[Nithsdale]

They want you feeding 1.6lb/hd to single bearing ewes


Pillocks need to do a lambing, then they'd learn what bulls**t they're pedalling

 

[yoki]

I’ve recently had my haylage analysed by feeding company that I get ewe rolls off. They have also put me together a feeding plan of what I should be feeding before lambing. I know what I would normally feed pre lambing and it’s considerably more. Was also told that the haylage isn’t a great feed but not the worst. I was hoping it would be quite good as a 1 year old ley and is lovely stuff.
Mainly Cheviot draft ewes and mules as wellView attachment 1165630View attachment 1165630. All in good order just now and are due to lamb beginning April.
Any help with how good forage actually is would be much appreciated.



A guide on concentrate feeding based on your forage:



Singles:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.2kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.4kg/day
- 0-2 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.75kg/day



Twins:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.4kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.75kg/day
- 0.2 weeks pre-lambing @ 1kg/day



Triplets:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.8kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 1.2kg/day
- 0-2 weeks pre-lambing @ 1.2kg/day

View attachment 1165630

Along with this years hay 'ad lib' the twins and triples are getting 0.4kg per day from housing to lambing (roughly 5-7weeks), singles are getting the hay only plus access to a high energy lick bucket.

If anything there's one or two a bit fatter than I'd like but I hadn't the nerve to go much lower.

 

[Happy]

Seems a lot to me too. We are mules but singles go to hill on scanning day and get no hard feed at all
Would be 15% prolapses for us if we were feeding twins 1kg & triplets 1.2kg.

If what you’ve been doing before works, don’t change it.

 

[hill shepherd]

We probably feed more than most, the rates suggested above for singles are about what we'd feed to twins

 

[muleman]

Put it another way.. ....
I wonder how many feed firms have analysed silage/hay and come back and said this crop is good, I don't think you need any cake with it!

 

[M-J-G]

I’ve recently had my haylage analysed by feeding company that I get ewe rolls off. They have also put me together a feeding plan of what I should be feeding before lambing. I know what I would normally feed pre lambing and it’s considerably more. Was also told that the haylage isn’t a great feed but not the worst. I was hoping it would be quite good as a 1 year old ley and is lovely stuff.
Mainly Cheviot draft ewes and mules as wellView attachment 1165630View attachment 1165630. All in good order just now and are due to lamb beginning April.
Any help with how good forage actually is would be much appreciated.



A guide on concentrate feeding based on your forage:



Singles:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.2kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.4kg/day
- 0-2 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.75kg/day



Twins:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.4kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.75kg/day
- 0.2 weeks pre-lambing @ 1kg/day



Triplets:
- 4-6 weeks pre-lambing @ 0.8kg/day
- 2-4 weeks pre-lambing @ 1.2kg/day
- 0-2 weeks pre-lambing @ 1.2kg/day

View attachment 1165630

Our sheep start lambing in 3 weeks and the singles haven't had anything yet, and won't be until they are housed in 10 days time
Twins are built up to 0.6kg at lambing and triplets are built up to 0.8kg, that's with restricted hay when housed.

 

[hoff135]

Sounds like they are trying to make money for the feed merchants!

Cheviot singles here normally get a block plus ad lib haylage up until lambing, and perhaps a few rolls by mid lambing when grass in my lambing fields gets very short.

I'm currently giving the gimmer singles just over 1/4lbs of nuts 7 weeks out as they are pretty thin after the bad weather but you need to be very careful 3 weeks before lambing.

Twins are on 1/2 lb right now will be up to 3/4 lb a week from lambing and increasing to 1 1/4 lb by mid lambing to keep the milk on them.

Really have to be careful otherwise they will hang lambs right left and centre

 

[Jonny_2]

Ask them for a breakdown of their maths to see how they worked it out. A lot depends on what quantity of forage intake has been predicted and ewe body weight. Rationing software doesn’t factor in for body condition score loss either unless you tell it too

 

[Devil's advocate]

Every year I cut concentrates & the better my sheep do.

It was mad what we were advised to feed in the 80's.

People keep saying a block, it depends on the block of course if a hard high mineral bucket fair enougth but a softer blocker is feeding concentrates really.

Mine are having no concentrates yet (10th March lambing) but are munching away on the soft blocks, swedes & hay. Will house at night on the 1st March (all day if raining) & start feeding rolls, keep with the hay & swedes too. If it rains for two days they will be kept in 100%.