Is it possible to feed sheep grain only? I only have an acre of land with 5 sheep so there is no pasture. They waste so much hay and I really have no where to dispose of it. Can they be fed only sheep feed? What about hay cubes? Would they choke on them? What if I soaked the cubes first?

Thanks in advance,

Karen

-- Karen (KarenVF@aol.com), May 02, 2002

Answers

No

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), May 02, 2002.

Forget the cubes. How is your one acre of pasture, where are you located. When I lived up North (NW corner of ILL) you could raise 5 on one acre. Here in OK. NO WAY. Now, why can't you get a hay rack to store your hay. Sheep are rumuns and must have hay. Sometimes when my feeder lambs get too much grain I have to take them off grain and back on grass hay to start everything over. Are these breeding ewes or are you feeding out lambs for slaughter, if the later you might be all right but breeder ewes have babies and then you do not have enough for sure. Also, unless these are show sheep, the price of lamb is down and I mean down. I have some ewes I am selling for 1/4 of the cost of last year! If their young, your talking protein grain, older can get by with corn and a protein block plus some good loose minerals (Moormans, comes to mind). Debbie P.S. My sheep would choke on the cubes, in fact they sometimes choke on corn!

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), May 02, 2002.

Seems to me I've heard of feeding cubes to sheep. Probably on one of the show sheep boards. It wouldn't be something I'd try sheep are more tricky to feed. What sort of feeder are you using? Have you considered chopping the bales before you feed it? We chop a lot of our feed, it can be quite dusty but they prefer it to long stemmed hay. Small square bale choppers are out there used, but still pricey. Maybe a garden chopper?

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), May 02, 2002.

You could also limit their hay to what they eat in a 2 hour period each day,they can't waste what they don't get.

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), May 03, 2002.

Again, please don't feed the cubes, I had an older ewe choke recently (on corn). She was throwing up for ever, it wasn't a pretty sight. She is fine but I can't imagine them eating those cubes. I have them for treats for the horses only. debbie

-- debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), May 03, 2002.

Hi, With my breed of sheep I don`t feed grain at all.Grain and pellets do not have enough fiber in them to keep the sheep healthy.

But however, I have for the past 8 years, fed my sheep High Quality aflalfa cubes,,ie like Montana pride.(make sure the cubes have NO vitamins in them!!!) I have "Never" had a problem with my sheep choking. The Alfalfa cubes have enough fiber in them to keep the sheep in very good condition.

There are many crib type hay feeders out there... nice ones the sheep can`t jump into and mess the hay up. Alfalfa hay will get into your sheep`s fleece and make a mess of it....Timothy, if you can get it, would be a good substute. They will not waste as much of this hay as they do with the Alfalfa.

But what you use is up to you...if you go to cubes intraduce them slowly. Good luck...

-- Bergere (autumnhaus@aol.com), May 03, 2002.

You HAVE to feed hay as at least part of the sheep's diet. Not feeding enough forage (hay and/or pasture) will result in some really sick sheep. I know of several horses that are fed partialy soaked hay cubes. Others eat the cubes dry. The soaking is to make them easier to chew. If choking is a big concern then soak them by all means. However, this will be more time consuming and messy. You'll need to wash out the feeders often enough to keep harmful bacteria from growing. Also keep in mind that if sheep are anything like horses with respect to their eating habbits, then feeding pellets (less time spent foraging and chewing for the sheep) may result in some boredome issues. Maybe hay and pellets, and then some grain if it's really nesecary. Good luck with the sheep!

-- Erika (misserika129@hotmail.com), May 03, 2002.

I have always fed second cutting alfalfa and whole oats to my sheep. They do waste a bit of the stems, but with good second there aren't many of them. My sheep have always wasted more of the grass hay than the alfalfa. With alfalfa they clean up all the flake out of the feeder. Do you have any other stock? I usually throw the stems to the horses and let them clean the stems up. I don't know what part of the country your in, but here in the Northwest, lamb prices have been descent while wool has been worthless for several years, so here I don't worry about the leaf getting into the wool. I always have nice lambs, and the ewes and bucks stay fat on their feed. I feed for about 6-7 months, and pasture the rest of the year, but they get oats year round.

-- Mark (mcford@theofficenet.com), May 03, 2002.

I was just at the feed store they they had small alfalpa cubes and were advertised for sheep. I stand corrected. Debbie

-- debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), May 08, 2002.