Keeping livestock takes a lot of nerves and time. Not everyone is ready to do it professionally. There are a lot of expenses for food. To start breeding sheep and rams, you must first familiarize yourself with all the requirements regarding grazing, feeding and watering the flock. The drinking and food ration of animals is not the same and depends on many factors and nuances.
How to feed sheep: diet, what depends
An important role is played by the location of the flock, the climatic conditions of the livestock, as well as care. It is on these factors that the method of fattening depends. Basically, sheep breeding is widespread in the territories of Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Kazakhstan with huge pastures.
The more pasture, the longer the animals will be able to graze. In this case, care for them will be minimal, since fresh herbs will be used for food. Do not forget to water the flock, using special containers and reservoirs for this.
Climate conditions also play a role. The most optimal are tropical and subtropical zones. Raising sheep is possible both in hot conditions and in cold, harsh ones. The temperature amplitude can vary from +40°С to -40°С. Therefore, today many breeds have been bred that are able to join any locality.
The flock should be fed in combination, using vitamin supplements, green grass, hay, vegetables, etc. With the help of such a variety, the animal will receive all the necessary useful components, vitamins and macroelements for maximum growth and fattening of body weight.
Important! Feeding sheep with wet dew grass is not safe, as such feed provokes intestinal bloating, which can result in a visit to the veterinarian.
Additional feeding of sheep with grain, hay or silage is necessary when pastures lack grassiness and in winter. In winter, juicy complementary foods (vegetables and fruits), as well as fresh grass, are almost completely absent, so the diet of animals must be enriched as much as possible with foods rich in useful substances.
The selected program of auxiliary feeding will allow the sheep to grow well, be fruitful and bring income to the entrepreneur. In this case, it will be necessary to use as much dry feed as possible for the pen, as well as provide enough complementary food to support optimal growth. There are several types of feed, diets and feeding rates for sheep at home.
Hay
Feeding animals must be balanced. This takes into account what sheep eat depending on the season, age category, and the purpose of their cultivation. The diet of sheep consists almost entirely of plant foods, since these animals are herbivores. As a rule, the herd spends most of the time grazing in the countryside and eating pasture; during this period, the animals practically do not need additional feed additives.
It is necessary to include many different products in the diet for the full fattening and development of young individuals, increasing the number of livestock. This is done at different times of the year, so the amount of complementary foods will not be the same. For example, with the advent of winter, hay will be the basis of the diet, and greens in the summer.
If we compare the benefits of mowed grass, then it is worth noting three types that contain many vitamins and nutrients even in dry form:
- clover;
- alfalfa;
- peas.
If stall maintenance is provided, then hay is one of the most basic products. The daily norm for one adult is from 2 to 4 kg, so in the summer you need to prepare the necessary amount of grass for haylage.
Did you know? The largest amount of nutrients in forbs during flowering, so it is worth it at this moment to mow the grass for hay.
Straw
Supplementary feeding is the supply of complementary foods (usually grain, hay or straw) to rams feeding on pastures. Late summer and autumn feeding often becomes replacement fattening. As a variation in the diet, straw can be used instead of hay.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that this option is not the best, because an excess of straw will provoke intestinal upset in animals, since it practically does not contain useful substances. If straw is added to the daily ration of sheep, then its amount per adult should not exceed 2,5 kg, for young animals – no more than 1 kg.
In this case, the straw should be from plants such as:
- oats;
- leguminous plants;
- barley;
- millet.
Silage
Supplementary feeding aims to meet the nutritional needs of the sheep. It is especially important to prevent excessive body weight loss during the dry fattening phase in weaners and pregnant ewes.
If the cultivation of sheep is intended for the production of meat, then it will be necessary to correctly make calculations regarding the quality of the diet and the ratio in the protein supplement, which is rich in fodder cereals, young grass, and legumes.
The most appetizing for sheep is silage. It is used for the rapid growth of the animal. It is recommended to use corn silage along with legumes and roughage. According to its composition, it practically does not go to hay. Approximately 4 kg of this supplement can be given to an animal per day.
Important! When grazing sheep in the garden, you should avoid such a plant as lily of the valley, as it is poisonous to the animal and can even cause death.
Mixed Feed
Compound feeds are used most often when the animal is slaughtered. In this type of complementary foods, there is everything you need for rapid growth and fattening of body weight. The proportionality of the daily dose of compound feed is different, depending on the age of the animal.
For example, for an adult, it will be 0,5 kg, and for a lamb – 0,4 kg. When choosing such food, special attention should be paid to the manufacturer, since the quality of the feed will depend on this.
Vegetables: carrots, potatoes, fodder beets, gourds and fruits
The most useful and rich in vitamins, fiber, microelements and other nutrients are complementary foods vegetables, fruits and melons. In this case, fodder beets, potatoes and ordinary carrots are ideal.
These vegetables contain substances that help the animal resist disease and digest food well. The daily norm is 4 kg. In addition to vegetables, melons and gourds are rich in valuable composition – pumpkin and zucchini. The daily norm for an adult is 4 kg. Of the fruits for feeding animals, ordinary apples are mainly used.
Did you know? Silage can sour. This can be prevented by reducing the moisture content of the substrate to 60% by adding dry straw.
crops
Cereals (grains) have a lot of fiber. This is worth remembering when compiling a daily ration for a sheep. If you overdo it with such complementary foods, the animal’s digestion may be disturbed. Barley, oats, wheat are the main crops, the use of which is necessary.
Vitamin Supplements
You can enrich the body of sheep with useful substances and vitamins not only with the help of complementary foods, but also by adding synthetic vitamin supplements, such as Vitasol. Their daily rate should be correctly calculated for each individual, depending on age and gender.
Water
When keeping sheep, the most important thing is their watering. Without adequate water availability, the animal will simply get sick and end up with no benefit. Its quantity should always be sufficient. One individual per day can drink up to 10 liters of water.
Grazing: green fodder
Green grass, weeds, thorns, shoots that are eaten by sheep are the most ideal and budget option for keeping sheep. Pastures should be chosen correctly, since the properties of the grass are not the same throughout the year. 
For example, it is better to drive the flock to elevated areas, because if you choose a lowland, it is not suitable for grazing due to swampiness.
You can sow for green fodder oats, rye, corn, legumes or winter wheat. Such juicy food will certainly appeal to animals. Branch leaves, young pagons and even trees are just perfect for animals.
Approximate calculation of the diet for the day
The composition of the daily ration is very difficult, because it depends on the number of livestock, its characteristics and composition. For each individual, you need to individually consider the amount of water, feed and other components of the diet. In winter, spring, summer and autumn, all of the above feeds are included in the food of livestock.
Important! Micronutrients such as selenium, iodine, copper and cobalt must be included in the diet of animals.
At the same time, their number, in different seasons and depending on the individual itself, will be different. If we consider in more detail the approximate calculation of complementary foods for a day, then for a breeding ram, a pregnant sheep and a sheep after lambing, it will look something like this.
Daily ration data in the table:
Tribal ram
feisty sheep
Sheep after calving
Concentrates – 300 g Concentrates – 600 g Concentrates – 600 g Grass and greens – 85% of the daily ration Grass and greens – 85% Grass and greens – 85% Hay – 2 kg Quality hay – 0,5 kg Hay – 1,5 kg Juicy feed – 3 kg Juicy feed – 3 kg Juicy feed – 3 kg
All three types of animals need special care, since improperly formed supplementary feeding will adversely affect the productivity of breeding rams, as well as sheep during lambing and after lambing during lactation. As for lambs, young animals and individuals that are fattened for meat, their diet will also be uneven.
An important role is played by the drinking of lambs with milk. Often, bottle-feeding is done. The number of feeding lambs up to 2 weeks old 5 times a day, and young animals is reduced to 3 times a day. Individuals fattened for meat must be densely and fully fed.
In the table, an example of daily norms for home cultivation:
Lambs
Young
Fattening for meat
Oat concentrate – 50 g Oat concentrate – 100 g Oat concentrate – 300 g Vegetables – 0,5 kg Vegetables – 0,7 kg Vegetables – 1 kg g Salt – 4 g Salt – 8 g Salt – 8 g Hay – 0,5 kg Hay – 0,7 kg Hay – 0,8 kg
Organization of intensive fattening of sheep
Sheep feeding must be properly planned. During the dry phase, pasture quality does not give an accurate picture of how animals will gain weight. The only practical way to achieve the goal of sheep production with supplementary feeding is to regularly monitor the weight of the animals to determine if complementary feeding is sufficient for the goals.
Did you know? In order for a sheep to gain weight, it is necessary to immobilize it as much as possible, that is, to limit movement around the paddock.
In the pasture
During the maintenance of sheep on pastures, it is also necessary to feed them, especially during the period of grass reduction. Do not forget about the constant availability of water. 
You need to introduce food with a high protein content, which is found in peas, barley and corn, into the diet, with its help the animal will quickly gain weight. Vegetables, shoots and tree branches should also be given constantly.
In the stall
If winter has come, then the cattle will be constantly corralled and kept in a stall order. Fattening in such conditions is even easier than on pastures.
Check out
It is necessary to correctly distribute what and when to give, so that the animal receives the maximum benefit.
Compound feed, silage and other feed composition options can be given in the following set and in sequence:
- hay in the morning;
- hay, concentrates and plenty of water during the afternoon;
- hay combined with succulent feed at 4 p.m.;
- hay with concentrate in the evening.
Observing the correct diet and its proportionality, it is possible to prepare an adult for slaughter in 5 days, adding a good weight gain to the bulk.
