Feeding sheep in winter

[Rob30]

I am looking for info about feeding sheep on the pasture in winter. I have read about rolling out bales across the snow. This is usually done for large herds. Has anyone done this? How was your experience?
I have read that the waste is minimal because the sheep are able to eat easily off the snow. Plus the fleese stays cleaner. Grain can also be fed on clean snow. Feeding on pasture is supposed to better for the pasture as well. Because the waste hay and urine and marure is spread through out the pasture.
Hay has to be transported to the field some how. But in a confined feeding situation the manure has to be cleaned up and spread. Not to mention the storage idf you want to compost the manure.

[Ross]

It's a good idea so long as the snow isn't too deep. Sheep need exersize feeding on pasture is one way to give them some muscle tone.

[Liese]

Here in the VA/NC area we don't have snow but we did feed large round bales last year eventually enclosing them in field fencing to reduce waste. This year we are leaving the bales under cover and pulling off enough each feeding - hay shortages means every last stem must be available, we are using plastic barrels cut in half as troughs. We move the troughs around too. The girls are in a 3 acre field and next month are moved to another field so this area can be limed and seeded, if we get any good rain forecasts.

[cathleenc]

winter feed questions: my sheep (5 shetland lambs) have hay on snow to free feed from - I bring fresh hay out 2x a day. They act like they are starving to death! And a good amount of hay is going unused. Are they fussy, like goats, about eating hay if it's been stepped on or worse? I've been alternating grass hay and alfalfa hay each feeding as we transition into only having alfalfa hay for the rest of the winter. They do have a mineral block.

Nother question: do shetlands need water if they have snow available? I remember reading that another shetland owner stopped hauling water whenever snow was available, saying that her sheep clearly preferred snow. It's 1/4 mile uphill to haul the water, in the snow, and I'd love to give it up.

thanks
Cathy

[Ross]

Grass hay is not the best feed for sheep, they prefer leafy forage to stemmy. If they are always acting hungry I'd get a hand on them and make sure they are not right (score them to be sure they're fater than thinner, wool covers alot) but sheep are a bit fussy on feed and worse if catered to. Let the sheep guide you on water they do like to eat it but water is too important to leave to chance.

[hintonlady]

I would have some concerns with feeding on the ground. With any animal it greatly increases the internal parasite issue. Of course winter cold may kill many parasites off it's just a bad habit to get into.

With my flock placing a round bale on the ground is a terrible idea. They are picky eaters and will spread it out quickly. They walk over it, sleep in it and most importantly go to the bathroom in it. Then valuable hay reserves (especially in a winter following a drought) are wasted. once it hits the ground they ignore it, trample and spread it going back to eat just from center of bale.

I can get twice as many days out of a bale that is in a feeder. Unless they are pets or you are wealthy it is not cost effective.

A cheap solution for us is a feeder. We took old wood pallets and put 4 of them around a pallet base, sort of a box with no top. We took out a couple boards from the center, about head height so they can get in just enough to reach hay.

Pallets are either free or very cheap. It keeps hay off the ground and from getting bottom soaked in wet weather. We do not usually waste much hay anymore. What does fall out is so close to the feeder that the little ones eat it because it has not been soiled upon.

We have some pallet forks on a tractor so can move it for pasture rotation or just filling so we don't have a bale in the pasture. If you are lacking a tractor or forks just keep the feeder within a pitch fork length of your fence and keep the bale right there. Forking fresh hay over is a quick job.

As for water I would be very careful. Keep some in there anyway, if they truly like snow better the waterer will remain full, no? Then you can at least be sure they are not thirsty.

We got an old farm chemical bin. It's a giant plastic thing that sits on a metal pallet and has a small "cage" around it. I can try to get a photo. Anyway, many places just give them away and they are fine after good rinsing. They are one use only for the farm chemicals. they have a fill hole on the top, with a screw on lid. They also have a spicket on the bottom. My DH got some very basic plumbing supplies and attached a wide hose on the bottom.

Now all we have to do is slide the pallet forks under it when it and drive it out to the pasture. A simple valve is turned and the water pours into our waterers.

So in order to keep a large flock winter fed all we do is drive the tractor, fork some hay, fill the tank, drive some more.

Everything was under $10 for equipment (minus tractor of course) saves sooo much time and gets the job done with minimal waste.

I'll post pix later as soon as I get out of my jammies and into this nasty weather.....

[Somerhill]

I see 2 key problems in the posts from people who have trouble feeding hay on the ground.
1) - the sheep that are getting fed twice a day are cherry picking and spoiled. Sheep quickly learn to baa when they see you if you are going to feed them. And if they can, they will pick through and eat only the tastiest morsels, and then tromp through the rest and complain bitterly about needing more food. Find out how much hay your sheep need by weight, and then weigh the flakes you give them for a couple days until you get a good idea of how much to feed. Then feed them once a day, and make them clean it up before they get more. (yes, definitely do a body condition scoring, and check them from time to time)
2) If they can, sheep will sleep, trample and manure their hay. My sheep mentor (70 year old extension agent who was geven the master shepherd award by the Ohio Sheep assoc 2 years ago) feeds smaller round bales in the pasture. He rolls it out, and then uses a section of electric netting to divide the bale lengthwise. This way, the sheep can only access the hay they need to eat, and can't lay in it. He moves the netting back when they finish a strip so they can eat the next portion. My hubby does something similar - he puts a round bale on end outside the fence, and then unrolls what he needs and forks it over the fence along it. This also keeps them from laying or standing in the hay while they eat. You can feed shelled corn the same way by pouring it on the ground at the bottom of the netting. you'd be surprised at how little gets wasted (as long as the grass is short)

Lisa at Somerhill

[cathleenc]

I did do a quick physical check of my sheep this morn - they are fine.

For what it's worth, we've only been on our new farm 8 weeks come this friday. Have had record setting snow for the last 3 weeks. Husband gone on work trips 5/8 weeks. In other words, ground feeding was not our goal but it is the reality this week. Should have a feeder in place for them next week. (d comes home on friday, thank goodness)

Feeding 2x a day seems LESS wasteful to me than 1x a day because I give them just about only what they will clear up - and then adjust the next feeding based on whether anything is still left on the ground or not. They do have access to a goat hay feeder that is a bit too tall for them - but I've wedged a rr tie at the bottom - so they can 'step' up if they want to eat from that. It's never cleared out but then again, it is too tall for them.

When I was feeding grass hay (orchard grass/clover) they'd eat every scrap of hay. Just transitioning to higher quality pure alfalfa we just got last week - the alfalfa is going more uneaten. Makes me think the higher quality stuff is more satisfying and they need less.

[hintonlady]

Originally Posted by Somerhill

I see 2 key problems in the posts from people who have trouble feeding hay on the ground.
1) - the sheep that are getting fed twice a day are cherry picking and spoiled. Sheep quickly learn to baa when they see you if you are going to feed them. And if they can, they will pick through and eat only the tastiest morsels, and then tromp through the rest and complain bitterly about needing more food. Find out how much hay your sheep need by weight, and then weigh the flakes you give them for a couple days until you get a good idea of how much to feed. Then feed them once a day, and make them clean it up before they get more. (yes, definitely do a body condition scoring, and check them from time to time)
2) If they can, sheep will sleep, trample and manure their hay. My sheep mentor (70 year old extension agent who was geven the master shepherd award by the Ohio Sheep assoc 2 years ago) feeds smaller round bales in the pasture. He rolls it out, and then uses a section of electric netting to divide the bale lengthwise. This way, the sheep can only access the hay they need to eat, and can't lay in it. He moves the netting back when they finish a strip so they can eat the next portion. My hubby does something similar - he puts a round bale on end outside the fence, and then unrolls what he needs and forks it over the fence along it. This also keeps them from laying or standing in the hay while they eat. You can feed shelled corn the same way by pouring it on the ground at the bottom of the netting. you'd be surprised at how little gets wasted (as long as the grass is short)

Lisa at Somerhill

That sounds nice and dandy but it would depend on size flock.

I have way too many to feed twice, or even once a day for hay anyway. When the winter weather gets bad I am not doing any of that extra wandering from house to pasture stuff. They get checked once a day, given some grain, ice cracked on water and I look them over.

Once a week feeders get filled with hay and waterers get filled with , yup you guessed it water. The rest of the time they nibble on last years corn stalks/fodder left in pasture.

The only animals I ever fed twice a day were pets ie: horses, cats etc.

I do not doubt your mentors abilities but personally anytime I feed even near the ground my sheep have worm issues. I'm not interested in keeping them heavily medicated. They will nibble at feces by accident enough just being sheep and looking for treats and grass shoots, I don't want to encourage it anymore by feeding on the ground. At least in grazing they are not stationary. A single feeding spot, even if fresh hay is given, will most certainly accumulate lots of pebbles.

Beware of that in warm, humid months.

[Somerhill]

Daryl is feeding 230 ewes with the rolled out bale method. He is only feeding this way in the winter, when the ewes would not be picking up worm larvae off the ground. I agree, feeding that way in the spring/summer would not be a good idea. But at that time of year, they are being rotationally grazed.
Best
Lisa

[hintonlady]

Ah, much clearer, sounds lovely too when used with rotation.

I stand corrected.

[cathleenc]

just wanted to apologize for being defensive in my earlier post. I asked for advice, thank you for sharing. It's been a tough week here and I'm pooped and lost my perspective.

[FreeRanger]

Cathy,
I am thinking the quick freeze hit your farm earlier that expected, my farm too. All of my hoses are streched at across the back pasture doing me no good.

I don't agree with Ross's statement about grass hay versus alfalfa hay. Some grass hay bales can have NO stems. Cathy saw such bales in my barn. The grass may just taste better because of the timing on the cutting. the alfalfa may have been past it's peak when cut making it less platiable (sp?). First crop of alfalfa will be mostly stem. Third crop Orchard grass/clover can be your best bales of the season. Clover is VERY tastee to sheep.

That said, I would try not to feed on the ground. I would provide water no matter what others say they have done. I might have problems of no water for 24 hours but try to keep it shorter than two days. If I had two hoses, I could stop the problem completely but right now I am hauling water in buckets to the barn.

My feeder is a wood pallet on the ground with a cattle panel basket on top. Fill the basket with hay and let them self serve since I have plenty of hay and am not worried about them over eating.

[Bearfootfarm]

I feed 5 ft round bales and use cattle panels to make a 5 1/2 ft square around the bale. The bale also sits on a pallet to keep the bottom dry. They can reach through to eat, but can't walk in it. One bale feeds 24 sheep for an average of 2 weeks

[hintonlady]

Originally Posted by cathleenc

just wanted to apologize for being defensive in my earlier post. I asked for advice, thank you for sharing. It's been a tough week here and I'm pooped and lost my perspective.

I never noticed anything defensive at all.

We all have yucky homestead days, that's what makes this forum so great!

Winter ick doesn't help either. Try to get past it because spring will be here before long and those lambs can certainly make you forget even the worst days.

[beoircaile]

What I find with my sheep is that if they aren't "really" hungry, they will pick through the hay (grass or alfalfa) to find the tastiest bits. If they are honestly hungry, they will eat every last bit of it. That's one reason we keep our grain to a minimum if we can. I tend to feed the grain only on the coldest or most stressful weather days just for a little extra boost of quick energy.

[flannelberry]

Originally Posted by FreeRanger

I don't agree with Ross's statement about grass hay versus alfalfa hay.

I think this can also be a primitive vs. white sheep issue as well. Given that Cathy has a primitive breed - they're not going to have the same level of nutritional issues that the primitives are. I constantly have a difficult time getting the right hay for my sheep. Everyone here wants to sell me the stuff that my white sheep having friends get theirs nicely plump on but it's not the right hay for them.

[kesoaps]

I think a lot depends on what you can get in terms of stemminess. Out here the alfalfa gets shipped from the eastern side of the state and is very stemmy, resulting in a huge waste when fed. I started out feeding alfalfa to my friesians, but was the only one up here who did that, the rest fed the local grass hay and their sheep were actually doing better on it than mine were on alfalfa, so I made the switch this year to free choice local grass, and it's working for us.

Lisa, around here rolling out a bale like that would result in rotten, moldy hay within days. Too much rain.

Someone was just telling me about how she feeds her round bales to her horses; they're in a round bale feeder, but she attaches a tarp to the top and as the hay goes down, so does the tarp. I'm still not able to figure out how the hay in the middle gets eaten...maybe she pulls it outwards as the bale dwindles in size. Anyway, I may give round a try next year if I can figure out how to keep it dry while it sits out in the weather.

[minnikin1]

Originally Posted by kesoaps

Someone was just telling me about how she feeds her round bales to her horses; they're in a round bale feeder, but she attaches a tarp to the top and as the hay goes down, so does the tarp. I'm still not able to figure out how the hay in the middle gets eaten...maybe she pulls it outwards as the bale dwindles in size. Anyway, I may give round a try next year if I can figure out how to keep it dry while it sits out in the weather.

I have heard several incidents where they eat from the bottom of a round bale, making the thing top heavy. So it falls on, and kills them.
I wouldn't feed an intact round bale without a feeder to prevent this from happening

Oh MY GOSH! SUN! It just came out! I haven't seen it in WEEKS!
Gotta run!

[Somerhill]

Or they eat the center out and it collapses on them. Or in my case- horrors-gets in their wool. I still prefer sitting the bale just outside the fence, and unrolling part to fork over and feed on the ground along the fence.
Yeh, kesoaps, unrolling on the ground only works for larger flocks that will clean it up in a couple days. We get a fair amount of rain here too, and it seems its ALWAYS muddy here in the winter.
We did unroll bales on a slope for the Highlands, and they would clean up a bale in about 3 days. Worked pretty slick. Well except when the bull got in the way of the bale rolling down the hill and caught it like a marshmallow on a stick using his big horns. He could be annoying that way.
Lisa

Originally Posted by minnikin1

I have heard several incidents where they eat from the bottom of a round bale, making the thing top heavy. So it falls on, and kills them.
I wouldn't feed an intact round bale without a feeder to prevent this from happening

Oh MY GOSH! SUN! It just came out! I haven't seen it in WEEKS!
Gotta run!