# sheep and hay



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

got a call from a prospective customer wanting to buy round bales for 8 sheep they own.
1. are sheep particular about hay? or are they able to eat lower quality "cattle" hay?
2. anything in particular they cant eat or wont eat?
3. is ordinary grass hay ideal for them?

thanks for any help or suggestions


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

I was selling horse quality brome early June and a couple raising sheep bought the majority of what I had. Guessing they will want quality.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

My sisters sheep get all our junk hay. They prefer things ie weeds with leaves but will eat grasses. There are some weeds they can't eat but I let her look after that.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

My sheep customers want fairly decent hay.Alf/grass mixed.For gestation aroung 16-17% protein and for lactation about 18-19% protein.No way would I bring them poorer hay.Stock cow hay or grinding hay.NO weeds either!!


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

ok I have 2 grades available and they are more interested in my better stuff.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Sheep can get by on junk hay. My grandma grew up on a dairy farm. The milk cows got the best stuff and the sheep were there to clean up after them with the left overs. But most people want the best stuff for there sheep to get the best performance. Also sheep are better at digesting forage than cattle, so they infact will do better than cattle on poorer feed. But its all about what the person buying want.


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

We raise Shetland sheep, primarily for their fiber. We feed second cut, OG/ clover. We find that they will pick through just about any hay, weeds even moldy garbage. But once they have good hay they will beg for it. If you feed them garbage most of it will end up as pen-pack. 
For instance, at present we are supplementing the pasture grasing with some rough first cut. As well as some small bales that have some wet slugs that went bad. 
So we will start the fall season out feeding out the worst of our questionable hay, then move to abetter stuff as the weather gets colder. As for the pregnant ewe's a good quality hay with alfalfa or clover is a must. 
So in short leafy hay is what they like. Feed them stems and expect a lot of bleating 
There are a few farms that feed silage. We tried it and it didn't go over very well.

The up side of bad hay for sheep, as I said is pen-pack. Makes for some great fertilizer.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Sheep have a fermenting gut with 3 stomach compartments. Cattle also have a fermenting gut but with 4 stomach compartments. Horses on the other hand have a single compartment stomach. Sheep can handle poorer quality hay than can horses but tend to not really go for the fermented fodder like cattle will. They have smaller mouths than do cattle so tend to require finer material (leaf) and cannot handle any heavy/strong stalks.

Pregnant ewes require high levels of protein especially in late pregnancy and even higher if bearing twins and even more if triplets!

In late pregnancy the developing lamb/s are calling on the ewes protein supply to build bone and muscle. The ewe is struggling to convert enough food to feed themself and the lamb/s in the uterus. If the ewe is not receiving enough protein for its and the lamb/s needs it then starts converting its own muscle mass to supply the lamb/s. It is a bit like anything else if the deficit in food over demand goes on long enough the ewe suffers catastrophic consequences. First sign the ewe becomes hyperglycemic (I think that is how it is spelt) and her muscle mass/tone fall below that needed for everyday living and the ewe cannot stand up. She will lie down with front legs folded under her and as the condition progresses cannot get up at all. If caught early enough the treatment is an injection of concentrated glucose solution and an increase in protein available in food. If not caught early enough the ewe will have lost so much muscle mass she will die. Depending on the stage of gestation she may deliver live lamb/s but not be able to stand to feed and my even die or have to be put down. The muscle loss can be sufficient so that even if she "recovers" and stands she may never recover the lost muscle mass and ever after be a much lighter framed sheep.

A "dry" (not growing, pregnant or lactating) mature sheep can survive, not put on condition with a daily ration of about 2 1/5 lbs of top quality hay per day. The need increases progressively as a pregnancy gets nearer term to be double that figure and maybe needing higher % protein in diet because lamb growth is at a max rate near delivery and the ewe is producing high energy colostrum for lamb's first feed.

Lactating ewes need between 35 and 50% more food intake than a survival diet.

Therefore low quality food means higher quantity to get the same food-value into the animal. As a result the price of low quality hay would need to be very low otherwise extra freight/handing/storage costs outweigh the higher price for top quality stuff. Put another way if the food value in the hay is halved I would need the hay at about 1/3 the price or less to compensate for the other increased costs/inconvenience/risk.

The equation changes if the hay is only there for bulk and the necessary food value is being provided via grain feed, manufactured stock food or out of high protein pastures.

Although in the US it is not generally prime wool production, diet is important for wool. Wool on a sheep grows in length at the same rate per day no matter the diet. What changes is the thickness of the wool, measured in microns. The thickness affects the strength of the wool. A sheep does poorly at some stage (illness, poor feed, or not enough) and the wool for that period ois thinner and weaker. It can be so weak as to even break off and a weakness is referred to as a break in the wool. A break affects the staple (length of the fleece that can be milled) and reduces the price. Some places through breeding programs aim to produce very fine wool (19 microns or below) which fetches a higher price for making into cloth. Others by breeding and keeping sheep in controlled conditions, yes even climate controlled sheds and feeding a bare survival diet (every sheep is fed an exact ration every day) aim to produce superfine wool for use in very high quality fashion garments with prices hundreds of times more than field reared sheep.

So diet is important for wool production meat production and lambing.

In short, if I have sheep, I would want the best I can afford to keep my flock in top condition. No different to the way I want to keep myself


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## PaCustomBaler (Nov 29, 2010)

All depends on what you're doing with the sheep. After the pasture is gone, I'll feed wrapped (high moisture) 1st or 2nd cut grass hay.


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