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Next sheep management plea for guidance


Pippin's person

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We do not currently have a hay feeder (there are 15 sheep). Our neighbors have a feeder that was for draft horses, but their horse got tangled up in it, so they don't use it and said we could have it. It is 36 inches wide (it's the kind with a pan). Most of the feeders that I've seen advertised for sheep and goats are 28-30 inches wide. Several of our sheep are this year's lambs and are still growing. We also have a Shetland. Does this sound too wide for them?

 

Is the V-shaped feeder the best one to use? I've also been interested in this one from Sydell

 

hay%20feeder%2036.JPG

 

Almost lastly, is a feeder necessary? We're using square bales and I've read that it's not a good idea to feed them on the ground because the sheep will pee and poop on the hay, but I've also seen videos of hay being delivered on the ground from a tractor for some of the large flocks on the range (I think the film Sweetgrass showed that)--kind of spread in a trail rather than in a pile. If we ordered something from Sydell, we can save on the shipping costs by picking it up when they come to the area in January for a show--but that would mean several months feeding on the ground.

 

And lastly, what's the best implement to use to lift or spread the pellets in the pasture? Our sheep leave quite a bounty of pellets in their sleeping areas and I've been mucking it up with a shovel, but it doesn't seem particularly efficient to me.

 

Many thanks for the advice--I never suspected how much I would enjoy having sheep to observe and getting advice on their care is really invaluable.

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We've used the Premier style feeders for the last 10-12 years and I really love them http://www.premier1supplies.com/img/instruction/30.pdf You buy the panels from Premier (very well made, well worth it, shipping is nominal) then build the feeders yourself. They are pretty straight forward to build and you can probably get the pieces cut to size at Lowes or Home Depot for a small fee if you don't have the means to do it yourslef at home.

 

You can waste quite a bit of hay feeding on the ground and it also gets spread through the fleeces.

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I use old gates leaned up and tied into a fenceline at an angle. And I deep litter when ever I have sheep inside. Then I clean out in the spring with the tractor.

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We do not currently have a hay feeder (there are 15 sheep). Our neighbors have a feeder that was for draft horses, but their horse got tangled up in it, so they don't use it and said we could have it. It is 36 inches wide (it's the kind with a pan). Most of the feeders that I've seen advertised for sheep and goats are 28-30 inches wide. Several of our sheep are this year's lambs and are still growing. We also have a Shetland. Does this sound too wide for them?

 

Is the V-shaped feeder the best one to use? I've also been interested in this one from Sydell

 

hay%20feeder%2036.JPG

 

Almost lastly, is a feeder necessary? We're using square bales and I've read that it's not a good idea to feed them on the ground because the sheep will pee and poop on the hay, but I've also seen videos of hay being delivered on the ground from a tractor for some of the large flocks on the range (I think the film Sweetgrass showed that)--kind of spread in a trail rather than in a pile. If we ordered something from Sydell, we can save on the shipping costs by picking it up when they come to the area in January for a show--but that would mean several months feeding on the ground.

 

And lastly, what's the best implement to use to lift or spread the pellets in the pasture? Our sheep leave quite a bounty of pellets in their sleeping areas and I've been mucking it up with a shovel, but it doesn't seem particularly efficient to me.

 

Many thanks for the advice--I never suspected how much I would enjoy having sheep to observe and getting advice on their care is really invaluable.

 

We're going with a variation of the Premier style feeder. The Shetlands worm their way into anything - their heads are very small and underneath all of that fluff, their bodies really aren't that big. You might find yours climbing into the feeder you picture just to be sure she gets her fair share.

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I take cattle panel (or that's what we call them around here) The stiff panels with the wire graduated from small to larger holes in the top.

I flip them over so the bigger holes are on the bottom. Then wire them either to the wood supports in the barn or a fence outside. So wire is tight at bottom keeping the panels close to whatever I've attached them to. The let them fall open at the top and use hay string to attach to the top. It forms a V where I can drop hay into the top of them. That way I can move them when I want to.

Makes a mess in the barn cause they stand there and poop/pee while they eat so mucking the very bottom close to the feeder is a bit tough but cheap as can be and works for us.

 

I am like Tea, I keep stray or old hay in the barn deep and Tractor muck maybe 2 times a year. Maybe more if they spend to much time in the barn.

 

I prefer not to feed anything in the barn. The less mess the better.

 

I also am feeding some square bales off the ground. Lots and lots of waste as they pee and poo on it then they don't eat that. But I spread it out in different places so nothing adds up to bad.

 

I've noticed that where I was feeding them off the ground but have since moved to another spot, that the grass or whatever hay seed was in the hay is already popping up thought the remnants.

 

For round bales, I make my own feeders out of cattle panels, I think you can get the geest of it off premier catalog. I use hay twine to tie it together so I can adjust as needed.

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I'll add my support for the Premier feeders. We use them for the goats, who get square bales. They work amazingly well- the platform catches bits that fall out so those get eaten, too. My only advice is that if you want to move the Premier feeders at all, build them half-size (two 4' instead of one 8'). Those suckers are heavy!

 

I feed round bales to the sheep and have Sydell feeders. They work just fine. I put the bales on a pallet in the feeder. Keeps them off the ground, and the sheep clean it up. The lambs do climb in sometimes, but I don't worry about it. I also have a Premier big bale feeder. My bales aren't as big as theirs, so I use only five panels. The feeder doesn't collapse into the bale like it's supposed to, but I just pull the hay outwards with a fork. Or, more likely, the sheep knock the feeder over and clean up... The Premier bale feeder is easy to move, and it doubles as pen panels in a pinch :) The Sydell feeder allows more sheep to eat at once, but that doesn't seem to cause problems with my sheep.

 

I have this Sydell feeder.

 

hay%20feeder%2021.JPG

 

The only time my sheep are in is at lambing. My shed has a concrete floor, so I just scrape it with the tractor bucket. We clean our goat sheds by hand a couple times a year. In the summer, they're out on pasture most of the time, too.

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I try to avoid feeding square bales if I can help it, because rounds are cheaper, less labor intensive (except for moving them if you don't have a tractor with a hay spike), and less likely to be wasted. I use a hinged cattle panel feeder around the round bales. Like Ben's, mine doesn't collapse, but I can just pull it tighter or pull hay outward to the panels where the sheep can more easily reach it. I put the bale up on a pallet and now have a lean-to under which I can place it, so I don't have to tarp it to keep the rain off the top.

 

I have used my regular feed bunks for feeding flakes of square bales, but the sheep will push it out onto the ground anyway. I may try Tea's method and see if it helps, especially as I'm getting ready to put ewes in with the rams and will need to feed them some squares.

 

J.

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How long do you expect the hay to remain after you load it into the feeder (add hay every day or at longer intervals)?

Where do you plan on feeding (inside or out)?

How will you move the hay from your storage location to the feed location (both in good weather and bad)?

How will you clean up the area in the spring (there will be a build-up of wasted hay with manure)?

 

You answers to these questions should help guide you towards a good feeder for your situation.

 

 

We have a bank barn with livestock stalls below. Until our flock exceeds this area we will be feeding hay on racks (similar to the premier plans) in the stalls. We'll be able to drop hay through the hatches in the floor from the hay loft to the alleyway between the stalls and into the hay racks. Since we get our hay on barter (hay for storage of equipment and hay in our buildings) we don't mind the extra labor of handling square bales or unwinding round bales. Once our flock exceeds this area we will go feeding round bales outside on galvanized feeders like this one on what was the silage pit which has a concrete base.

 

EBF66-sm.jpg

 

We are doing everything to minimize manure build-up in areas because spreading manure impacts our nutrient management plan and labor/machine costs. What manure build-up we have we collect and cold-compost for use in our gardens. The quality of the hay we have had impacted the amount of waste we had; our sheep wasted more poor quaility (less expensive) hay than better quality (more expensive) hay.

 

Another thought. I prefer to keep the hay that is in feeders off the ground so it does not pull moisture from the ground and I will likley cover the top of round bales in the feeder shown above.

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How long do you expect the hay to remain after you load it into the feeder (add hay every day or at longer intervals)?

Where do you plan on feeding (inside or out)?

How will you move the hay from your storage location to the feed location (both in good weather and bad)?

How will you clean up the area in the spring (there will be a build-up of wasted hay with manure)?

 

We plan to feed once-twice daily, outside; we'll move the hay by hand (it's not far from our hay barn to the feeding area), all weather; we'll muck the waste in the spring (as soon as it's not frozen)--likely with shovels, pitchforks and the front loader--plan to compost; will likely chain harrow as well in the spring.

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We plan to feed once-twice daily, outside; we'll move the hay by hand (it's not far from our hay barn to the feeding area), all weather; we'll muck the waste in the spring (as soon as it's not frozen)--likely with shovels, pitchforks and the front loader--plan to compost; will likely chain harrow as well in the spring.

 

If you use the Sydell one, and it isn't somewhere where rain can't get to it, drill some holes in the bottom of the basin to let water drain.

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