Feeding Hill Sheep Prior To Lambing
Offering tips on feeding hill sheep prior to lambing, Enda Maloney, Drystock Advisor, Teagasc Westport, tells us why feeding ewes before lambing is essential for both the health of the ewes and their lambs.
The last six weeks prior to lambing is critical for the ewe’s nutritional needs. It is important to get ewes pregnancy scanned 80-90 days post ram turnout, so ewes can be grouped by litter size and fed according to their nutritional needs.
Body condition score
Body condition score (BCS) is key to hill ewe management and it is important to body condition score a sample of ewes every time they are handled. Write down the scores so that you get a picture within and between years of what is happening to ewe body reserves, which for hill ewes is vital to productivity.
Feed should be adjusted according to a ewe’s body condition score. Ewes should ideally enter lambing with a BCS of 3.0 (on a scale of 1-5). Twin bearing ewes at a body condition score < 2 need to be supplemented with extra concentrate eight weeks prior to lambing to ensure that ewes lamb down with adequate colostrum. Thin ewes lambing down are known for not producing enough colostrum and usually have poorer quality colostrum also. Colostrum is the engine that keeps the young lamb going, so if you have plenty of colostrum and you can get it into the lamb within the first few hours of life, you basically are halfway there to rearing that lamb.
Ewes that lamb down with low milk yield is a big issue. Small lambs at weaning time is mainly down to ewes not having enough milk for them, that’s why it is so important to get pre-lambing nutrition right to avoid having high numbers of smaller lambs at weaning time.
Energy
Energy in the diet is key in the run up to lambing to help support the growing lambs. Hill sheep especially may struggle to access sufficient pasture so supplementation according to the litter size is necessary. A high energy concentrate should be fed to ewes in late pregnancy. The ration should contain high levels of cereals such as maize, barley, oats and digestible fibres such as sugar beet pulp.
Protein
Protein is vital for developing muscle tissues in the lambs and helping to maintain ewe’s body condition. Supplementing ewes with higher levels of protein prior to lambing leads to heavier lambs at birth, more colostrum and fewer lamb losses. Protein is important for the final 3-4 weeks of pregnancy. Feed a 19-20% crude protein concentrate. Soya bean meal should be the main source of protein in the last month of pregnancy to improve the quality and quantity of colostrum.
Adequate levels of mineral and vitamins like calcium, phosphorous and magnesium are crucial for both the lamb development and the ewe’s ability to give birth.
When to feed?
Twin bearing ewes 4-6 weeks out from lambing need to be supplemented with concentrates and single bearing ewes should be fed two weeks prior to lambing. Where grass is scarce, offer good quality silage or hay and make sure it is free of mould. Introduce concentrates to ewes gradually, start off with 0.2kg/ewe/day and build up slowly. Avoid any sudden changes in concentrate type. Getting the nutritional needs of the ewe right prior to lambing will lead to less lamb mortality, higher milk yields and strong vigorous lambs at birth.
Also read: Reducing the number of thin ewes makes management easier