Sheep eating straw??

[steveR]

A title that sums up this section of the forum nicely, I feel.

I seem to have rather more ewe lambs kept back for tupping Autumn 2023, than I originally envisaged this time... Best laid plans, etc etc...

I have now got 50 odd lambs in the Solar farm, and anticipated feeding some hay to supplement them along with a mollassed mineral bucket or 2. However, as I seem to have used 1/3rd of my winter fodder stocks, keeping stock fed last Summer, I will struggle to have enough hay to last, unless I stop feeding hay to the store cattle.

I have plenty of nice straw, both barley and wheat and wondered, "what would the lambs make of it?" Happy to feed liquid mollasses on the site with the straw, but cannot feed fodder beet. I knew a chap who always used to but Oat straw for his housed ewes, and reckoned he cut his hay usage in half with oat straw!!

So the million dollar question to the Gurus..... Will the little blighters eat straw??? And then pour molasses on the straw, or lick/ball feeder??

 

[M-J-G]

They'll eat straw when there's nothing else, but they'll waste a lot.

 

[steveR]

They'll eat straw when there's nothing else, but they'll waste a lot.

Good point. A floor mounted round feeder would be better than a cradle I imagine? Else, I do have a trailed feeder here I can use...?

 

[neilo]

My hopper lambs in the shed are eating leafy Spring Barley straw happily. When I tried to give the same straw to ewes outside in a trailed feeder, they just nibbled at it unless I drizzled molasses over it.
The slightest bit of rain will put them off it too, so a non-starter unless you can cover it imo.

I did analyse some straws, many years ago. Leafy Spring Barley analysed with similar energy & protein as reasonable hay, surprisingly. Winter Wheat was a bit poorer, and winter barley even worse.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Dad started feeding tmr in 1985 and the ration was chopped barley straw,molasses and maize gluten. Cleared every scrap and sheep never looked better.

 

[steveR]

Dad started feeding tmr in 1985 and the ration was chopped barley straw,molasses and maize gluten. Cleared every scrap and sheep never looked better.

Well, the bales I have made from an axial flow, would sure work in a TMR I am sure, BUT, I don't have one

 

[spin cycle]

I think sheep dig about in straw for bits of barley and eat stalk as they go...a full Bale in a ring inside more attractive than rolled out Bale outside

 

[steveR]

My hopper lambs in the shed are eating leafy Spring Barley straw happily. When I tried to give the same straw to ewes outside in a trailed feeder, they just nibbled at it unless I drizzled molasses over it.
The slightest bit of rain will put them off it too, so a non-starter unless you can cover it imo.

I did analyse some straws, many years ago. Leafy Spring Barley analysed with similar energy & protein as reasonable hay, surprisingly. Winter Wheat was a bit poorer, and winter barley even worse.

Thanks Neil

In that case, the trailed feeder would be the better option. I can always fix some roofing sheets on it relatively easily, and park it well away from panels!! I have seen covered, round bale feeders, but never here in the UK! I might need to try a bale of hay first, and check they can access it all. Maybe a bigger inverted "V" to push teh material to the edges...

Possibly your ewes were still finding enough natiual fodder still?

 

[steveR]

I think sheep dig about in straw for bits of barley and eat stalk as they go...a full Bale in a ring inside more attractive than rolled out Bale outside

Rolled out, would be frowned on in the solar site anyway

 

[Pistonbroke]

Well, the bales I havde made from an axial flow would work in a TMR I am sure, BUT, I don't have one

We had to buy all of the straw and started with a Cormall small bale mill which smashed the straw up so the woody bits were edible. Big bale straw was cheaper so put it through a Kidd 6-10 chopper. A lot quicker and easier but maybe wasted a bit more. Didn't really matter because we just chucked any waste into the pen.

 

[spin cycle]

Rolled out, would be frowned on in the solar site anyway

only other trouble is that your 'axial flow" straw...having been thrashed to 'death" won't have much spare grain unlike my elderly,village idiot set dommy

 

[steveR]

only other trouble is that your 'axial flow" straw...having been thrashed to 'death" won't have much spare grain unlike my elderly,village idiot set dommy

Fortunately, I do have some "proper" straw here... Not sure on how much grain it will contain mind...

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Our sheep always seem happy to eat soft leafy straw

 

[steveR]

We had to buy all of the straw and started with a Cormall small bale mill which smashed the straw up so the woody bits were edible. Big bale straw was cheaper so put it through a Kidd 6-10 chopper. A lot quicker and easier but maybe wasted a bit more. Didn't really matter because we just chucked any waste into the pen.

I used to have a Teagle round bale chopper, and experimented with chopping different fodder into a bunker and feeding the blended mix in a round bale ring. Worked fine, but too much work I felt, for dubious gains!

 

[rancher]

A title that sums up this section of the forum nicely, I feel.

I seem to have rather more ewe lambs kept back for tupping Autumn 2023, than I originally envisaged this time... Best laid plans, etc etc...

I have now got 50 odd lambs in the Solar farm, and anticipated feeding some hay to supplement them along with a mollassed mineral bucket or 2. However, as I seem to have used 1/3rd of my winter fodder stocks, keeping stock fed last Summer, I will struggle to have enough hay to last, unless I stop feeding hay to the store cattle.

I have plenty of nice straw, both barley and wheat and wondered, "what would the lambs make of it?" Happy to feed liquid mollasses on the site with the straw, but cannot feed fodder beet. I knew a chap who always used to but Oat straw for his housed ewes, and reckoned he cut his hay usage in half with oat straw!!

So the million dollar question to the Gurus..... Will the little blighters eat straw??? And then pour molasses on the straw, or lick/ball feeder??

I've breeding ewes and ewelambs in a shed on straw plus .5kg 14% P lamb ration for the last two weeks, doing grand.
They're getting a 4 by 4 round bale of winter barley straw every two days to eighty of them. I throw straw in the troughs and they pull they straw out and bed themselves while they're eating the straw.
Feeding straw to sheep now for twenty years, so well tried.

 

[Nearly]

Our sheep always seem happy to eat soft leafy straw

I was told that sheep eat half the bale of straw but they have to choose which half.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

I was told that sheep eat half the bale of straw but they have to choose which half.

Quite possibly, ours are rather vindictive so they eat the bottom half and choose one of their number to be underneath it when the top collapses

 

[Pistonbroke]

I used to have a Teagle round bale chopper, and experimented with chopping different fodder into a bunker and feeding the blended mix in a round bale ring. Worked fine, but too much work I felt, for dubious gains!

When dad started,straw was £25 a ton delivered,molasses was £58,meally maize gluten was about £65. You couldn't make hay or silage for the money. He was helped a lot by a bloke feeding 4000ewes and a couple of hundred sucklers in the same mix

 

[steveR]

Quite possibly, ours are rather vindictive so they eat the bottom half and choose one of their number to be underneath it when the top collapses

Ahh suicide feeders...

I make an effort to push the bale down regularly to try and prevent this habit....

 

[neilo]

Thanks Neil

In that case, the trailed feeder would be the better option. I can always fix some roofing sheets on it relatively easily, and park it well away from panels!! I have seen covered, round bale feeders, but never here in the UK! I might need to try a bale of hay first, and check they can access it all. Maybe a bigger inverted "V" to push teh material to the edges...

Possibly your ewes were still finding enough natiual fodder still?

Those ewes had been wolfing haylage bales down for 2 months by that stage, but turned their noses up at straw in any quantity.