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01278 444829 or email info@molevalleyfarmers.com.

Feeding Organic Ewes

By Nigel Mapstone, Mole Valley Farmers Organic Feed Specialist

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It has been a hard couple of months for out wintered ewes, with grazing covered in snow for several weeks, requiring the feeding of already scarce hay or silage. With only 4 weeks to the start of lambing for many, ewes should be offered compound feed to maintain energy intakes. If the ewe has lost condition it will affect, not only foetal, but udder development leading to lower milk yields after lambing.

A ewe carrying twins will have such restricted rumen volume that it will be impossible for her to eat enough to satisfy her own and the lambs’ energy requirement if the forage has low energy or dry matter. The conditions this winter will make twin lamb disease much more likely and lead to lower lamb vitality, birth weights and less milky ewes. There is also likely to be more cases of milk fever, or calcium deficiency.

Under organic guidelines, the ewe must be fed 60% forage at all times, so it is essential that the preserved forage is analysed, with the best kept for pre and post lambing. Rumigan 16, 18 and 21 nuts are all high energy, cereal based organic compounds suitable for sheep pre and post lambing.  It will be important to have milk substitute ready for lambs that are struggling and creep pellets to help get lambs growing. Rumigan starter pellets are suitable for creep feeding and we can supply organic approved sheep milk substitute Zelmo green.

Guidelines

  • A 70 kg Lowland ewe carrying twins requires 15MJ of energy and 170g of protein per day and will have an average intake of 1.8kg DM/day.
  • The maximum compound allowed (40%DM) is 0.72kg DM or 0.85kg nuts. 
  • If the dry forage has 9.8MJ /kgDM or better, then 0.5kg of Rumigan 18 nuts should be enough to balance, giving 16 MJ and 190g protein to a ewe achieving her maximum intake. 
  • If she is carrying triplets even at maximum compound, the forage will need to be very high quality.


Call our FeedLine on 01278 444829 or Nigel Mapstone on 07979 708294.

 


Contact us at MVF if you need more help >>

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