# Starving my sheep...



## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

I have two fat-hog ewes that are going on a diet! I've tried before but not directly before breeding season so by the time breeding season arrives they're right back up to fat and sassy status. So, now that fall is approaching I have penned them in the corral which is the only area that does not have some sort of forage on it and am going to have to feed them. Around here grass hay is hard to come by so I'm going to resort to alfalfa pellets as their sole ration. What I'm worried about is how much I should feed each ewe per day to both maintain health and encourage weight loss. I want them to lose the weight but I don't them to suffer health-wise. 

Oh, additionally, in the Poultry world people feed oats to keep birds trim and lean, I'm wondering if I should give them some oats along with their pellets. Maybe cut the pellets with the oats to increase fibre and lower the total protein? 

Ideas anyone?


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## brosil (Dec 15, 2003)

You didn't say what breed of sheep but if you're trying to slim them down, I wouldn't feed them oats or any grain. Even alfala pellets may be too rich.
One of the old tricks for breeding fat animals was to give them nothing but water for 2 weeks and then put the male in. Apparently, it triggers some survival reflex to make them more fertile.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

One is a romanov and the other is a who knows what. Both were lambs from a commercial flock, so there could be any number of things in there. 

I won't withhold all food for 2 weeks. By adding oats to the alfalfa pellets you'd cut the protein (approx) from 17% to 14.5% when mixed half and half. Oats also provide a large amount of fiber. I don't plan on feeding them a lot, I want to know what would be a good amount to feed each ewe to still provide nourishment while encouraging them to lose weight.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

i dont belive that not feeding them for two weeks is going to do any good. 
most animals will not be as fertile if they dont have ample food. i would wait to cut back on food after her lambs are born. with goats, you actually feed more a month or so before breeding, and its called flushing, because it brings more eggs down. i thought i would add that because sheep and goats are closely related.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Well, these two won't breed which is why they have to lose the weight. Had they been supporting lambs they wouldn't have been such fatties! If I fed these two more it would only result in fatter sheep!


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## livestockmom (Apr 2, 2005)

I guess have never seen a too fat sheep, we feed 85 lbs a day of alfalfa pellets and Show Feed to 2 strings of show sheep (22), we buy it by the ton.. Granted, we raise very large breeds.

The main flock is out on irrigated pasture and we only feed grain and alfalfa when we flush them prior to breeding and the last 8 weeks of pregnancy - thru lactation ).

I have never heard of restricting feed to flush...only the opposite.

Are these sheep slick shorn so you can be sure what your seeing is not just wool but actual fat? I say that because of the amount of people that are very surprised how ghastly thin their ewes are when the are shorn when they thought they were heavy.

I'd like your secret of how you got them so heavy!

I don't know about alf/oats, that is what we use as a beginning creep to get our lambs nice and sasy. Your right, grass hay would be ideal....


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Here are two photos of the ewes I'm referring to. The first has lambed once when she was a year old in 1999, the other has never lambed. The second ewe is the Romanov and she's a year younger than the first. 

I really don't do anything special feeding them. They rarely get grain and only when I'm either trying to work with them or when they're nursing lambs. Even then most often I don't grain them as they get a good quality alfalfa. During the spring and summer they have grass pasture and an assortment of weeds. 

They're shorn each spring. I've had sheep for 7 years and was raised around goats, pigs and cattle so I can tell condition. I just don't know enough about the science of nutrition to feel comfortable limiting their intake without first finding what others might suggest. Some have said that being overly fat won't stop their cycling, however both the friend that I got these from as orphan lambs AND the shearer that had to wrestle these monsters say that is exactly the case, and I'm inclined to believe them as there is no other reason that these two sheep out of all them would be the only ones A). overweight & B). fail to be bred year after year. I've ran about 30 ewes through here since I raised my first 4 in 1998. I've only had 3 (one is still lamb-less however she was dog-attacked earlier this spring so I'm not going to stress her out by trying to withhold feed. She's entitled to recuperate even if she's fat, IMO) that fail to lamb and all 3 are overweight. The third is a columbia X and she is a MONSTER!

I have my dorper ram in with them now, I'm going to run him with them until Oct. when I add him to the flock. Hopefully if they do come into season he's going to catch them.


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

I would just use some cattle panels and have them on limited grass. It will be alot cheaper and you wont have to worry about upset bellies from staight A only.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I honestly do not think you have anything to worry about. They do not look fat to me, just nice and healthy.

It could be many things keeping your ewes from lambing, from Genetics to infection of the uterus,..etc..etc..
Many look fine with no drainage, but have absorbed or aborted the fetus(s).
Most of the time it is hard to figure out on your own, the Vet taking samples will tell you what is going on.


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## livestockmom (Apr 2, 2005)

I agree with Bergere. 

I wouldnt want to see her any thinner or take any condition off of her. Your shearer would think our's were real :1pig: !


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Thanks for the responses everyone. Here is a photo of one of my ewes that is in good condition, along with a Nov-Dec '04 ewe lamb. She just weaned a lamb this spring and is in ideal condition. She's nice and lean, meaty, but not fat. Now, of course the photos are going to be slightly different because I wasn't able to take them at the exact same angle, but the difference in the fat found on the chest of the romanov in the 2nd picture I posted, Anastasia, and this third photo is remarkable.

There's no doubt in my mind that they're too fat. That's not the issue. I was hoping to get input on how little alfalfa pellets and possibly oats that could be fed and still maintain good health and vitality while encouraging weight loss. As it is I went to the feedmill and bought some grass, unfortunately it's more expensive than any alfalfa I can buy around here, but, it's going to be much easier than trying to handle pellets. I just hope that he keeps it around long enough that I can get them back to within a reasonable weight. Unfortunately, as I said before, it's hard to come by and he doesn't always have it available.


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## havenberryfarm (Dec 9, 2003)

OK. Mind you , I am a goat person, not a sheep person, but I would just put them out on pasture and give them a handful of oats or hay in the morning to keep their tummies happy. Put their water, shade, and hay in opposite corners of the pasture and make sure they have to walk to get to there. I wish I could help you with your dilemma. I don't really know how much oats and alfalfa to feed. I would give them 12-16 % protein though. No less for sure. Grass hay is great. See if you can get some more of that. A little extra roughage will help a lot. Keeps them feeling full, good for the rumen, etc. You may have a breed that just naturally takes on a lot of weight. Some sheep were bred to get fat on nothing but grass. (I've been doing research.) Exercise is probably key too. Good luck. I hope they come into season soon. I bet their little ram lambs will grow FAST.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Thanks HBF,

They were on pasture up until I sorted them the other day. lol To feed them hay on top of that would just make them fatter! :1pig: Sadly, they're able to maintain morbid obesity status on nothing but pasture. :grump: They have to be penned where they can't eat constantly. I've been told to just bring them in for all but about 2 hours a day, but even that is too labor intensive and they're not dumb. The first day I let them out for their two hours they'd not come back into the corral! Nope :nono: they're penned on dirt until they're lean!!! :grit:


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

livestockmom, 

I am perfectly capable of determining what needs to be done with my animals. If you don't agree you're certainly entitled to your opinion but that does not mean that what I plan to do does not need to be done. My friend has been running sheep for 30+ years, and the shearer that many if not more. The welfare of all of my animals is of utmost importance [people who know me know this] and I have absolutely nothing to prove to you. If you doubt me, well, such is life. At no point in time did I suggest that I intended to do a thing that would be harmful to either of these two sheep. You can roll your eyes all you want, but I am not going to sit back and let you project your agenda onto my thread. I wanted opinions on what others would be considered a reasonable amount to feed, not opinions as to whether my animals are overweight or not. That conclusion has been made for quite some time. So, your self-righteous 'won't do any good' attitude can run along somewhere else. I have no use for it.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

ÃÃ¥ThÃ«RÃ®Ã±Ã¨,

If you do not want to hear what good people are trying to tell you, Please do not post. 
Your last letter is bording on being rude and as far as I am concerned out of line.

I also stand by the information I wrote earlier. Your sheep are not fat, there is some other problem going on. Yet, it is not what you want to hear.
I also have life time of experience to draw upon, along with having my father raise sheep, and his father, and etc..etc..,


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

bergere,

Funny, at no time did I say that I did not want to hear what 'good' people are trying to tell me (please don't project your opinion as being my intent), however, this particular supposedly good people was obviously not interested in answering the question posed, rather, felt obligated to try to convince me that one, what I know to be true, and two, what has been confirmed by men in the business who have actual, in person, hands on knowledge of these sheep is wrong!!! As I stated, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, however that does not mean that I am obligated to view your opinion as gospel. 

I find it awful rude that livestockmom in all of her holier-than-thou self-righteous glory felt compelled to post this emoticon:  then delete it and instead adds that it "won't do any good"! 

I didn't come here seeking an online diagnosis, I posted a question asking for opinions as to what others thought would be a good quantity of alfalfa and possibly oats that could be fed to these two sheep. For someone to imply that just because I don't agree with their (or your) opinion that I am somehow the devil incarnate I find it to be not only self-righteous but extremely disrespectful. Just as she felt compelled to reply to my post, I felt compelled to reply to hers in an equally opinionated manner.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

ÃÃ¥ThÃ«RÃ®Ã±Ã¨,

You did get opinions, just not what you wanted to hear. The only one here I see being rude to people is you.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

And you're certainly entitled to your opinion, as am I.


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## bumpus (Jul 30, 2003)

.
If the sheep are to fat cut all feed and alfalfa pellets out compleatly  until they get down to the weight that you desire.

Let them have limited hay ( lower quality --- not alfalfa ,or clover )
Provide salt, minerals, and water.

All feeds and alfalfa pellets, alfalfa hay, and clover, corn, etc. will only put on more weight.

They only need common grass hay or general grass pasture.
They do not need to eat all day.

Food has to be restricted, just like any diet.

Animals including livestock are just like people they gain weight because they eat to much food that has more food value than they need to live a normal life.

When you see that they are at the weight that you desire, or that they are loosing to much weight, you can start giving them their feed back in small quanityies until they are at the weight that you desire.

bumpus


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Thank you bumpus, I appreciate your post! 

Unfortunately where we live the only feed grown is alfalfa. We don't grow grass hay out this way, and the only grass hay available is what is trucked in and even then we do not have it (the feedmill does not carry it) at all times. I did get some, and I hope that he can keep it in stock long enough to get these things back to a reasonable weight. The reason I suggested alfalfa pellets is that I could feed as much as 500 lbs at once or as little as a single pellet and it's readily available here. I could also cut in oats which as I said before would lower the protein of the pellets, provide fibre, and is just a really good all around feed. I wouldn't have that kind of control with baled hay, and can't maintain that kind of control with pasture. One of the suggestions by the shearer was to limit their time in the pasture but if I let these fat broads out of the corral for an instant I'd have to wrassle 'they' big butts back in. They would NOT come willingly and I have NO desire to spend 2 hours each day fighting them! So, for now I am going with the grass that I was able to get and hope and pray that Richard can keep it long enough for me to get these things to a reasonable size. If I had the means I would put them in a lot where they had to do a lot more walkin' and get a lot more exercise but there's not a place on the farm that doesn't have forage that is large enough, and while I could take them to the sheep farm to live for awhile which would guarantee weight loss last time I had my ewes there to be bred one got caught up in the bog and drowned and he didn't know about it for weeks! At least here I can keep an eye on them and count heads and know what's going on with them. So, I'll have to see how successful I can be with the grass and the corral.

Thanks again!


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## scwaterfowl (Apr 13, 2005)

I'm glad you did get one answer (from bumpus) that wasn't pompous or condescending.

I was at Cat's farm a few weeks ago picking up some birds and I saw her sheep. The ones in question are too fat.

If some of these posts are indicative of "good people", then I need an updated dictionary.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

I have seen people feed a few oats and straw to horses to put them on a diet. Wheat and wheat straw is suppose to assist in getting an animal to cycle and settle according to some of the ole timers.


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## minnikin1 (Feb 3, 2003)

You could put em on a leash and walk em if they're not getting enough exercise. 

We make our fatso run for her grain. 
I go clear across the paddock and call her, then run away until she breaks into a run to catch me. Then I only give her a teeny tiny granule or 2. Repeat 2 times or more per evening. 
So far it seems to be working. I think she's losing a bit at a time. 
Bonus: So am I.


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## Celtic Herritag (Jul 14, 2005)

What would be the best for them would be to find a dead pasture, overgrazed with only dried weeds in it. They'll exercise traveling to find feed and they'll lose wieght because the quality is so low. I wish I had your problem I've got to get my flock of twiners and triplers up to weight for breeding season, we had a late booking with the ram last year and an early booking this year, so right after I get the babies off them they're gonna get about as much feed as my show lamb, not very excited about that.


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## ONThorsegirl (Apr 2, 2005)

I know I might not be of any help now but I have one expereince. We flush our ewes even though they may LOOK fat. We have weighed all of our ewes and many of them are over the 150lb mark with my big girl at 187lb. She is in Good shape actually pretty heavy looking when you compare ewes, concidering the type of summer we have had. If your Sheep are only on Pasture and are not getting any grain like ours. Let them be, if they wont catch(wont be breed) being the weight they are on Pasture They probably wont catch if you just switch to Hay. 
Just wondering but have you ever Weighed them? By The pictures they don't look all that fat. What to do is just feel the ewe can you feel bones or nothing at all?

I know there has been some disagreements back and forth with people her but personally, I would just leave the ewes alone and try to breed them if they don't catch they don't, but unless there is something wrong inside why they aren't comming into heat. I can't see them not breeding. Good Luck!!

Thanks, Melissa


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

If they are fat and all you have is high protein alfalfa hay then feed that. But either shake the leaves off it (the feed value) or leech it out by soaking it over night and dumping the water. I wouldn't bother with either pellets or oats, but you could feed a little bran? If not then perhaps a quarter pound of oats once a day. Ive tried feeding straw and my sheep won't eat much of it but it might be worth a shot if available.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Thank you everyone for the replies...

I have to laugh, not at you but the thought. ONThorsegirl...I couldn't find a bone on those ewes if I tried! Okay, that's not true. The Romanov, Anastasia does have these wee little legs that poke out like a tomato on 4 toothpicks! The shearer (I CANNOT for the life of me remember his name...) estimated that all 3 are WELL over 300 lbs. 

The friend/sheep farmer suggested that I put them on straw which, according to him is 4% protein, and give each a cup of grain a day for energy. Now, that's a bit too cruel to my way of thinking, and like Ross, I've never seen an animal willingly eat it so I nixed that idea. As far as dead pasture, the only way I could do that is to take them to the sheep farm (not that it's dead pasture but he runs 600+ ewes and his pastures are MUCH larger than mine, so they'd get exercise AND have to work for their food, but life is really hard there and I think I mentioned in a previous post that he kills my sheep and doesn't tell me for a month and then it's, "oh, btw I drowned your sheep." So, if I can avoid it I try to keep my babies away from him and on my own property! lol 

As far as them not breeding, they haven't bred since 1998. Of course, since they're not having to put out any extra energy and get fed the same as those ewes that have 2 and 3 lambs they've porked up a LOT! Out of ALL the sheep I have ran through this farm, the 3 overweight ones are the ONLY ones that have either failed or stopped lambing. 

Ross, I will have to ask at the feedmill and see if he carries bran. I've not run into it but I've not looked for it, he may be able to order it for me. What will the bran do? 

And finally...minnikin... <smile> I'm not going to try to drag two 300 sheep around even though I could use the exercise myself! lol I have a bad back. The only sheep I've ever had that would lead was my ram, the ewes are typically called when I need them. They don't know 'flee' and they don't know border collie, all they know is follow the blonde with the feed can and we can run her over and eat all her treats! lol If I only had one, and only had the sheep to worry about it might be a little different but I have probably 2-300 ducks of various ages to take care of and I just don't have the time to commit to handling them every day. 

What I have now to feed is a grass hay. I don't know for sure exactly what it is, I do not think it's brome as the blades are rather thin. I think it's a native prairie from central/eastern KS. I plan to feed that as long as I can. I hope that will do the trick if I keep them penned. I switched rams tonight so the dorper could get out and graze so I figure if I switch rams once a day or every few days they'll run them a bit and give them some exercise. Gotta love my little feminists! errr...big-ol' feminists!


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## hatwoman22 (Oct 25, 2004)

One question dont get mad! ! 
why are you trusting the opinion of someone who would have a sheep drown on his property and not even know it for a month? Maybe just me, but any animal on my property thats not mine I know where it is, or I at least know when its not there. Maybe its different with sheep though. Just an observation. Since I have nothing to add or to help with your problem sorry. Although I do feed oats and alfalfa pellets in the winter to my horse, different animal obviously, but he keeps rather fat and sassy himself.
I hate sheep anyway, they die of heart attacks WAY too easily for my tastes. Good luck.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I can't speak for Catherine however I can tell you if you have 600 sheep you have alot of property, and counting 600 sheep is hit and miss at best. Keepign 600 sheep alive does takes some skill, although nothing extraordinary, I do it, so its likely anyone could given the esources. I had always considered heart attacks in sheep rather rare, I take it your experiences are different?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Oh Bran is just a treat non fattening filler feed. My daughters pony luvs it!


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## havenberryfarm (Dec 9, 2003)

You said that taking them out in the morning for a couple of hours was too hard. Do you bring them in every night? Maybe you could keep them in all day with just a little grass hay for breakfast and then take them out at 5 or 6 PM???? Would that be too time consuming for you? Just a thought. Hey, I'm tryin' here. It might help to know your routine. 
I think the straw is actually a pretty good idea, but a little harsh. Maybe you could cut your hay with some straw. Just give them a bit of hay with a bunch of straw. Then if they get hungry after they have finished their ration, they can munch on straw to stave off the hunger pains. Think of straw as a slim-fast snack bar. :sing: 
You might even combine the two ideas. Give grass hay and straw in the morning, let them out after work, and put them in again at night with the rest of the flock. Of course this is all pie in the sky if your sheep are out in the pasture 24/7.


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## SmokedCow (Sep 25, 2004)

Hello. we have show ewes, market, and out pastures are green...I dont understand why your ewes arent loseing weight. Ours do as soon as they hit the pasture. And...if they havnt produced since '98, why didnt you sell them. I might have missed it as i was reading. but they would have to stick, and give you twins or tiplets to even TRY and catch up to what you have put in to them. I mean thats just what we do. They breed, lose the lamb. We turn them out witht he buck (wont breed) and then give them a year. as in the next lambing season. If nothing then, we sell them. Thats just what our farm does. What kinda birds do you have? Sounds like a lot! We raise poultry as well. Not for show, just a hobby. I do show waterfowl tho, have a killer Pilgrim Goose. Shes really good...hopefully ill get some goslings from her this spring!
AJ


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Okay, back amongst the living for a few days at least! 

As far as them going to the sheep farm to be bred, I did that my first year with my first 5 ewes because I didn't have a ram and it was offered and saved me from having to find a breeding age ram. Just as Ross says, this is a commercial farm and he has at least 600 ewes, that count was a few years ago when I was actively helping each year with shearing however I haven't helped for quite some time beyond my own animals so I don't know what he's up to now. He breeds in several flocks, and part of one of his pastures is a small pond that has bogs in several areas. In those areas the tamarack, cattails and other grasses etc. grow quite tall, and the ewe more than likely got stuck and kept pushing further in rather than using her reverse. The reason he didn't catch her is that he wasn't able to see her because she was below pasture level and got submerged all the way to the top with just about 10-12" remaining above the mud/muck. The only way he was able to identify her as my sheep was by the paint brand on her rump. I'll be the first to admit there is a lot he does that I don't agree with [feeding orphans cold milk replacer is a prime example] but that is a personality issue, that doesn't mean that he is incapable of telling if a ewe is fat or not. His animals are investments and he treats them as such. He isn't going to coddle anything, it's not in his nature. As far as sending these sheep there, if I did that they'd lose weight guaranteed. His sheep are under a lot greater stress than mine for the simple fact that they have a lot more area they have to cover to graze, and have a lot more competition between ewes. I have a ewe that was injured by the donkey last year so this year she's not near as healthy/vibrant as she once was and when I took her to be sheared this past spring I sorta apologized because she looked so poorly, and Bob said that he wished half his sheep were in as good of condition as this one! My sheep live in paradise in comparison.

As far as my routine, my animals are not brought in at night. They're on pasture at all times, day or night, or the 'back' lot which is not grass but weeds. The only place that I have that doesn't have forage on it is the corral where these two are now. The corral is also the only pen that is less than an acre at the very least, the pasture they're in now is 5-6 maybe? There is also another pasture that they have access to but I have the rams and the donkey in it at the moment. As far as how they gain weight on pasture, I can't explain the science behind it but I have the proof that it's possible sitting in the corral now. Also, we're talking about approximately 7 years of living life in the lap of luxury. They didn't get overweight overnight and I imagine that until they start lambing (if they do) they'll always be more prone to chunk up every year. Our place isn't that large so they don't have to walk far to the pasture, they don't have to walk far to the water, there isn't really any competition for food and during the winter when there is slight competition around the hay bale you know who's going to be the first there! These two ewes are the ones that will literally knock you over if you have something they want!! lol I feed alfalfa during the winter because I most of the time trade work at the sheep farm for my hay, and alfalfa is the only type of hay grown in this area. I don't feed pellets as a general rule but they are easy to come by at any time which is why I was planning on using that as their feed while they were penned. 

The reason I keep these particular animals is because I do not require them to earn their keep. I don't have a problem selling lambs that the ewes raise, but I choose not to sell any that I have raised on a bottle unless I absolutely have to. I'd 'like' them to lamb, and want to try to get them to, but if in the end they don't they'll still live out their days here. I have them because I enjoy them, they're not something that I expect an income from. 

SmokedCow,

Right now I have FARRR too many ducks! :help: I have 7 breeds of duck, and I think 11 varieties of Muscovy. 200+ ducklings in all at the moment. I also have about 60+ '05 chicks, and a flock of probably 20 adult standard chickens. EEs, 3 varieties of cochin, 4 breeds of bantams....a pair of Narragansetts, and toooo many peacocks!! The peacocks are just a yard ornament and their days are numbered.


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## JoyKelley (Jan 7, 2005)

intersting thread, how about beet pulp. I mix in with feed for both the fat horses and the fat goats. ( everyone here is fat but I don't mind ) because everyone ( people ) is telling me how fat everybody ( animals ) is . supposidly it is just a filler with the sugar taken out . Question... am I about to find out that it's the beet pulp making them fat ?????


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## livestockmom (Apr 2, 2005)

Yep  we add beet pulp to our Pygmy goats feed to add weight and give them that big round tummy that fits the breed standard for showing. We also feed free choice so I don't know how much of their weight is from free choice feed or how much of it is from the additional beet pulp but it does put on weight.


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## Ngagchu (Sep 8, 2008)

My sheep are too fat. I'm seeking advice on slimming them down. The context:

First year, the sheep arrive skinny and scraggly from a rescue in PA. The pasture is nothing but 6-foot high burdock and lambsquarters, with some Jimson Weed for good measure. The previous owner quartered around 30 yearling heifers per acre there, so not much grew. I pulled the Jimson Weed, cut the burdock, and let the animals eat the rest. And I purchased a lot of oats and hay for the first winter. That spring, the shearer says the sheep are too thin. And that they are the worst sheep he's ever had to shear. A lot of them get shearing cuts.

Year two, I plant a lot of grasses and clovers. The sheep get 24-hour access to the pasture. During the winter they get a lot of oats with their hay. That spring, the shearer says the sheep are about right for weight, and he cannot believe it's the same sheep that flailed and kicked so much the previous year. Maybe two get shearing cuts.

Year three, the pasture is looking pretty good. The sheep get 24-hour access. At the end of the summer, they are fat. Too fat. And that winter the hay has a lot of burdock heads in it. That spring, the shearer is totally cranky because the sheep are too fat, full of burrs, struggle and kick, etc. Almost all of them get shearing cuts. The shearer loses his cool and yells a lot at the sheep and (more appropriately, perhaps) at us. He does sit down with us and calculates that we're feeding enough hay for 70 sheep, when there are only 43.

Year four, we try hard to slim down the sheep. They do not get let into the pasture until around noon, and during the winter they get only 2/3 the hay they did previous winters. They don't waste as much, so we bed them on straw instead of leftovers. But they like to eat the straw, too. For the second and third cuttings of hay, I spend a lot of time walking the hayfield before and after cutting, removing any burdock heads I can see. This spring, instead of hiring the shearer who lost his cool, I attempt to shear them myself. With some, it goes okay. With others, they are clearly still too fat, and have trouble breathing when I have them tipped. Those I shear upright after shearing their bellies tipped. The wool is beautiful, despite my poor technique. And no burrs! A few get shearing cuts, mostly due to my learning curve.

So they've lost weight, but not enough. How far can I go in cutting back their pasture hours? I don't want to stress or harm them, but it's not healthy for them to be the size they are. And there are some members of the flock that are thin enough now; would I be best splitting the group and concentrating on the heavy ones? The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned; I don't want to wait for a clostridium outbreak or something to take out the most overweight ones!

All advice / nutritional ideas / opinions welcome!


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