Sheep nutrition Flashcards
How much faster do single lambs grow to twins?
80g/d faster
At what age cam lambs digest forage and concentrates?
2 weeks- they can digest pasture at 3 weeks as the rumen can digest pasture
What age should the lamb be weaned earliest? When is it good to wean them?
8 weeks old- this is when the rumen is fully developed
Good weaning is 12-14 weeks for a healthy lamb.
What is creep feed?
Providing concentrate that only lambs can eat and not able for the ewe to access
What does creep feed enable the lambs to do?
Gain more weight per day. Means the lambs can hit the “peak” price in may for early flocks but may not be beneficial In later flocks
Why is it better to feed the concentrates to the ewe in weeks 6-8?
To produce a higher milk yield.
What can overfeeding concentrate in lambs (especially male lambs?)
Bladder stones and bladder problems
How do you fix the cause of bladder stones in lambs?
Gradually introduce concentrates, add salt to feed so they drink more to try and flush out stones, and ammonium chloride to prevent them forming in the first place.
What are short keep store lambs?
When the lamb is around 5kg under the weight they need to be for slaughter so the farmer sells them on for a short period of time to be reared to the correct target weight
What are short keep lambs fed?
Beet tops, roots, turnips
What are long keep store lambs?
Far off the target weight so are sold to farms to bestowed for 8-12 weeks before sent to market?
How much weight should a short keep lamb gain per day? How much does a long keep lamb need to gain per day?
Short= 70-130g per day, long= 5-60g per day
What are long keep lambs fed?
Grass and stubbles and then finished on root/ arable by-products
What is nutrition flushing?
Feeding the ewe 250g/head/day for 3 weeks pre-tupping and 6 weeks post-tupping
What must you avoid when flushing?
Drop in plain nutrients
What are the pregnant ewes requirements?
Max 3% of BW but usually drops to 2. Mid pregnancy= 10MJ 4 weeks from lambing= 15 MJ (with twins), lambing = 20 MJ
Why isn’t hay enough for a pregnant ewe?
Because it only has around 8MJ/kg
What should you feed a pregnant ewe and why?
Concentrates because they’re higher in energy and forage also as concentrates alone will damage the rumen microflora, hay is not enough energy alone
What needs to be assessed to ensure a ewe is getting correct nutrition?
Assess condition score, scan for foetal numbers and ensure she’s pregnant, check the teeth to ensure they can eat
What cam you do if the teeth are not good quality?
Feed smaller pellet feed and fix presentation of feed is able to be eaten?
How can you ensure a ewe gets enough uptake in a group?
Ensure they have shelter from bad weather, have enough trough space for everyone, ensure food is distributed in gatherings (split feed into 2 rather than 1.)
What body condition score should a tupping ewe, pregnant ewe and weaning lamb have in hill, uplands and low lands?
Tupping 2.5 (hill), 3 (uplands), 3.5 (lowland) Pregnant 2 (hill), 2.5 (uplands), 3 (lowland) Weaning 2 (hill), 2 (uplands), 2.5 (lowland)
What is pregnancy toxaemia?
Where the energy requirements are higher than the energy received in a pregnant ewe?
What causes pregnancy toxaemia?
Longer term under feeding and acute shortage.
When is peak lactation in ewes and what is the energy requirement?
4 weeks and 20 MJ
How much more milk is produced when having twins?
30%
When is hypocalcemia common? Why?
Pre and post partum (milk production and foetal skeletal growth and stress)
How much of the flock is likely to have hypocalcaemia?
Around 25%
When is hypomagnesiamia common?
In lactating dams as they have no;storage of magnesium and are not receiving magnesium from food storage
What does deficiency in copper cause and how do you treat it?
Sway-back, poor growth
Injection, per-os
What does a deficiency in cobalt cause and how do you treat it?
Pine, ill-thrift, scour
Per-os
What does a deficiency in iodine cause and how do you treat it?
Goitre, poor growth, decreased fertility
Feed, salt-licks
What happens if the pH of silage is not lower than 4.5?
Lysteria forms in the silage
What does a deficiency in selenium cause and how do you treat it?
White muscle disease
Feed, per-is, injection, fertiliser
What are the disadvantages of using root crops to feed?
- when the group feeds they can’t access the roots.
- linked to vaginal prolapse as the food is bulky so increases abdominal pressure so introduce slowly.
What BCS should a ram have at the start of mating?
3.5-4
What is a shearling?
A sheep between first and second sheering
What is a hogget?
Young sheep of either gender slaughtered before permanent incisors have erupted
Sheep between weaning and first shearing
What is a grimmer?
young female, between 1 to 2 years of
age, that has not born a lamb
What is a ram / ewe lamb?
male / female young < 1 year olD
What is a wether?
Castrated male
What is a tup?
Uncastrated male
What is a draft lamb?
ewe too old for rough grazing (such
as moorland), drafted out of the flock to move
to better grazing on another farm
What is a 2 tooth sheep?
sheep with first pair of permanent incisors erupted (followed by 4 / 6 / 8 – tooth)
What is a broken mouth sheep?
adult that has lost some or all of its incisors (usually over 6 years old)
What is a hefting sheep?
combined instinct & copied behaviour
in some breeds to stay in small local area,
therefore no fencing needed. Useful for hill /
moorland areas.
