Will lambs eat the turnips in a stubble turnip crop?

[sherg]

Grown a stubble turnip/rape/kale mix for the first time this year.
Lambs been on it 8 weeks now and really dissapointed at how they have done. Resorted to ordering in finishing pellets to feed as well.

Usually have them on kale pre-Christmas with any tail enders onto swedes after that. Will be returning to that system next year.

As a rule lambs will need to be on roots for 12 weeks to gain weight and finish properly especially this time of year its a different job in the spring you can get away with 8 weeks, if they've got plenty of keep left I wouldn't be too quick to put the pellets in

 

[hendrebc]

Thanks chaps, I won't move the fence so quickly and see how it goes.

They will back graze a lot of the bulbs mine have cleaned them up since they started. I was a bit worried they were wasting similar to what yours were.

 

[Bury the Trash]

They defo aren't well anchor, most are already pulled out the ground

Thats because its not a proper root crop, its more catch crop .............and the turnip such as they are dont like the competition from the other plants.
A Relatively shorter growing period and less space means smaller root ...blah,blah,blah.......
look at it as a whole,....a forage crop not a root crop, useful and high protein.....

anything left ploughed in are excellent for the next crop ....anyway, like Selectamatic says..........

 

[Robigus]

New to growing roots for lambs, but we had a chance to put a crop in a docky field that needs attention.

Crop is a stubble turnip, forage rape & kale mix.

Lambs have took to it after a slow start, they eat the leaf and stem no worries.....Although the waste seems horrific...... but they won't touch the actual turnip root.
I'm sure I read on here that you shouldn't push the lamb's to eat the turnips cause they'll stall.

So what do I do, keep letting the lamb's have a new section to eat the greenery then move fence again, then come back to the turnips at the end &see if they eat them?
Or follow through with other stock? Some ewes prehaps?

View attachment 612884

Centre of the photo was the last fence position til moved yesterday.
Is the waste either side normal??

We used to grow a lot of turnips for sheep. They would always eat all the volunteer barley, then all the weeds and then stand there with their backs up looking cold, wet and miserable. Then, out of desperation, one of them would eventually eat a turnip, decide it was not that bad really, tell it's mates and then there would be no holding them back.
They would eat all the bulb, and if they were big enough they would scoop out the insides leaving thousands of little water traps that would shoot wet, icy mud up your leg when you were having a shite morning.

 

[Bury the Trash]

.....................That's right they will, as long as there anchored....

 

[Bury the Trash]

New to growing roots for lambs, but we had a chance to put a crop in a docky field that needs attention.

Crop is a stubble turnip, forage rape & kale mix.

Lambs have took to it after a slow start, they eat the leaf and stem no worries.....Although the waste seems horrific...... but they won't touch the actual turnip root.
I'm sure I read on here that you shouldn't push the lamb's to eat the turnips cause they'll stall.

So what do I do, keep letting the lamb's have a new section to eat the greenery then move fence again, then come back to the turnips at the end &see if they eat them?
Or follow through with other stock? Some ewes prehaps?

View attachment 612884

Centre of the photo was the last fence position til moved yesterday.
Is the waste either side normal??

That's not roots its greencrop / catchcrop.

 

[Bury the Trash]

stubble turnips vary in their ability to stay in the ground as well,... some are better than others

 

[CornishRanger]

If you want to help get lamb eating the roots turn some cull ewes in with them, that'll eat the bulbs and the lamb will get the idea quicker than if they have to work it out themselves, works better if the ewes still have teeth tho