Whats the thought of molasses for sheep this year

[neilo]

@neilo What do give your early lambers once they are turned out ? and do your outdoor lambers get anything post ( or even pre ) lambing.

December lambers don't get turned out until after weaning (8 weeks), as we have no spare grass here in the winter. March lambers (pedigree) lamb indoors and the twins will get a feed block and a bit from a snacker for a few weeks. No December lambers here this year though.
April lambing crossbreds won't get anything, if the grass is growing. In 2013 we had bugger all until May, so they had liquid feed & bales during lmabing, then feed blocks for a few weeks after. If grass is growing, it's better than anything you can buy in.

 

[TexelBen]

Come down and feed some pedigree Charollais ewes, then those weedy Texels will seem easy.

Lambs soon learn to move out of the way of a snacker, but feeding concentrates will be replacing forage, whereas a block is supplementing it. They'll still eat a kilo of concs if you put it out, whether they need to or not.

Sorry, only feed pretty white faced sheep


I'll get on eBay for a snacker


Anything to avoid/look for?

If these kids would hurry up and grow a bit then they could sit on quad with a bag of cake

 

[Cmoran]

Was thinking of feeding molasses also. My ewes are all on feed buckets since 1st Dec housed triplets last week giving them 1/2 kg of 20% nut and feed buckets with ad-lib first cut silage due to start lambing 1st feb are they getting enough?? Outdoor ewes only on feed buckets and grass will be starting nuts this week but would molasses be easier way to feed them?

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Our few sheep looked poor during the exceptionally wet and miserable January and February last year. I just had an idea I could do better for them so I mixed my own coarse mix from wheat, barley, oats, peas, sugar beet shreds, flaked maize, soya rape meal, 18% nuts and molasses. It ended up around 19%

The sheep loved it and looked far better for it a few weeks later.

I didn’t have time to faff with it this time so I bought a good moist coarse mix complete. It’s 16% so I put a bag in a wheelbarrow and mix a kilo or two of soya rape meal into it. I was told a feed with dark grains included would be a good thing and this stuff does have it. It’s very sticky too with a good coating of molasses, which I was thinking of feeding so it saves a job.

I can’t remember how much we pay for it, but when I priced it up I didn’t think it was that much more than a complete 18% nut. It was more money, no doubt, but I only buy a few bags at a time for our few sheep so I’m sure it could be bought for less, possibly direct from the mill in Staffordshire.

I doubt you can get it in bulk either, and it certainly wouldn’t blow.