If we sprout it, is it still grain?

KIT.S · #1 09/10/10, 09:52 PM

My daughter read that the sheep use different flora in their stomaches to digest grain, from the ones they use to digest grasses/browse/hay. I want to grain up the butcher lambs, and also provide some extra feed to the ewes, as we don't have a lot of pasture and the Finns have several lambs at a time.
If I feed the sheep sprouted oats, would that still be classified as grain, or would it be "grass?" I'm planning on feeding the pigs sprouted oats, hoping that they can digest it more efficiently since I don't have the ability to roll or grind the dry grain.
Just trying to get the most nourishment from my $1.
(Oh, additional information: whole oats are costing me $5/50 pounds, and the pigs also get 2 gallons of milk products, mostly sour cream, yogurt and whey, and about 10 gallons veggies/fruit each per day, all free.)
Kit

**Ross** · #2 09/11/10, 06:07 AM

Sprouting it is malting where the starch in the gran is converted to sugar. Great for pigs but you don't have to do this for sheep. Sheep don't need rolled or ground grains whole is fine. Nothing wrong with it and it would be a high energy suppliment not very different than unsprouted grain.

bruce2288 · #3 09/11/10, 06:04 PM

I agree with Ross no real need to sprout the oat for the sheep. If you want to drive the hogs wild soak the oats in water or even better the dairy products overnite. It makes for heavy feed buckets but hogs love it. Old way seperated milk soaking grain =slopping the hogs.

KIT.S · #4 09/11/10, 11:07 PM

OK, good. Thanks. The sheep don't really like it if it's been raining and their grain gets wet in their dish, but DD says she read that they don't digest their food as well if it's switched from grass/hay to grain frequently. Like daily. Doesn't seem logical, since the seed heads on the hay should equal grain, but we can read almost anything if
we look long enough. Then we have to decide what to believe.
Thank you,
Kit

**Ross** · #5 09/12/10, 06:08 AM

If you're feeding grain daily that should be fine. Make any change in type or amounts slowly and they will do just fine 95% of the time. There are no perfect methods. Technically feeding half the grain ration in the am and half in the pm is better than all at once especially if you're feeding over a pound each.

birchtreefarm · #6 09/17/10, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIT.S

OK, good. Thanks. The sheep don't really like it if it's been raining and their grain gets wet in their dish, but DD says she read that they don't digest their food as well if it's switched from grass/hay to grain frequently. Like daily. Doesn't seem logical, since the seed heads on the hay should equal grain, but we can read almost anything if
we look long enough. Then we have to decide what to believe.
Thank you,
Kit

Coming in late to the party here....

If your sheep are on a grass/hay diet, and you suddenly switch them to a lot of grain, you are going to have trouble. At the least, they could bloat (and possibly die), at the worst they could end up with acidosis and die or if they don't die, remain unthrifty. It takes time for the rumen microflora to adapt to new feeds. So switching from mostly forages to mostly grain and back again is what will play havoc and end up killing sheep.

You can start adding a small amount of grain mix to their regular diet. Like maybe one cup per sheep, and work up from there if you need to. But give the sheep several days to adjust to any changes. Once you have them on a ration, you can keep them there as long as you want.

Yes, seed heads on hay are grain, but the amount they consume compared to the leaves and stalks is probably much less than feeding them a concentrated grain ration. I find that if the seedheads are mature on the hay, they often end up lost in the bottom of the hay rack, or stuck in their wool (which I then have to pick out when I skirt fleeces!).

If you want to play around with a ration program to figure out how much you need to feed to get to your goal, there's a good one at http://www.msusheepration.montana.edu/default.aspx

Maura · #7 09/19/10, 05:15 PM

My sheep get fat on pasture during the summer and hay in the winter, even the boys. Why don't you butcher one now and see what you've got.