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SHEEP requirement

Sheep have specific dietary requirements that vary depending on their age, weight, and production stage (e.g., growth, maintenance, or lactation). A balanced diet typically includes forages like hay or pasture, supplemented with grains or concentrates to provide essential nutrients such as protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals. Adequate fiber is crucial for proper rumen function, while protein needs are higher during growth and lactation. Ensuring clean water and access to salt or mineral blocks is also important for overall health and productivity. Adjusting feed according to the specific needs of the flock can optimize growth, reproduction, and wool production.

SHEEP FEEDING

Sheep feeding primarily relies on high-quality forage, such as pasture grasses, hay, and silage, which provide the necessary fiber for healthy digestion. Depending on their life stage, production goals, and seasonal availability of forage, their diet may be supplemented with grains or concentrates to meet additional energy and protein needs. Minerals, particularly salt, calcium, and phosphorus, should be provided either in the feed or through mineral blocks. Fresh, clean water is essential at all times. Proper feeding management is crucial to ensure healthy growth, reproduction, and wool production in sheep.

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Feed Planning For Farm Sheep

Sheep are incredibly adaptable farm animals. However, the dietary needs of your flock must be satisfied by the feed you are supplying them to attain the levels of performance you are seeking.

Whether you’re feeding sheep or feeding goats, you can objectively match pasture supplies, and animal feed demands on your entire farm throughout the year by using feed planning. More organised feeding maximises output and also helps you reach livestock target weights.

Accurate knowledge of paddock and farm areas, your farm’s seasonal pasture growth, and an understanding of sheep feeding requirements are necessary for good feed planning.

These concepts are well within your grasp and simply mean the development of skills discussed in the following sheep feeding guide. 

 

Sheep Feeding Based On Rearing Cycles

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  • Feeding Ewes

Before mating, ewes should not be allowed to become excessively fat, but according to many guides to feeding ewes before mating, making daily gains is important in order to be at an optimum weight. Ewes may be confined and given high-quality hay and a modest amount of grain if pasture output becomes insufficient during mating. Ewes can be kept on pasture after mating, allowing sheep food to be stored for later in the year.

  • Feeding Lactating Ewes

Legume-grass pastures and forages with a more significant percentage of legumes will boost milk production in terms of nutrition. The milk yield of grazing ewes can be increased in response to additional supplementation if pastures and forage are not sufficient enough.

  • Lamb Feeding

Lambs should have unrestricted access to creep feed starting at about two weeks. They should be creep-fed for 1-2 months until sufficient forage is available in areas

with limited pasture. Whole grains may be utilised as the feeding period goes on, and the grain is gradually increased until the lambs are eating a full sheep’s diet.

  • Introducing Milk Replacer

Milk replacers are used when there is insufficient milk for lambs. Lamb-specific milk substitutes often have a high concentration of antibiotics, 25% protein, and about 30% fat. Farmers in hand-rearing systems often prefer ewe milk replacers. 

  • Finishing Feeder Lambs

According to feeding guidelines for lambs, lambs can be started safely on self-fed, ground, or pelleted diets combined with hay. Similar techniques can be utilised with other roughages, like silage.

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