Northof49 Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Hi everyone - the little flock of sheep we keep at the arena to train the young dogs in the cold winter months up here are getting on in age. We don't usually keep them this long, but they have been a good flock of sheep and haven't gotten dog heavy, so we have kept them. As they get the summer off, they are fresh to start in the winter again with the dogs. They have their salt block, supplemented with crushed oats and have good hay. However, as they are getting older I would like to know what other supplements we should be looking at for them. They are outside in a pen, well sheltered from the wind and have a three sided shed, well bedded down in straw and a heated water trough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdyjabo Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Are they reproducing? If not and they are holding their weight-- then nothing-- unless they are looseing their teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 No, they are not reproducing - they are just used for stockwork. They have it pretty good actually. I am going to check on their teeth this weekend. If their teeth are not as good as they should be, what do you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdyjabo Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Looseing teeth in the front makes it hard for them to pick grass-- should do ok on hay and feed. Looseing back teeth(or just slicking over) makes it hard to grind hay, grass and feed. Need to feed them something that doesn't need any grinding. Leafy ALfalfa(just waste the stems),Alfalfa pellets;cotton seed hulls,ground feed, beet pulp are a few examples. Shouldn't have to look at them all-- you can tell by body score if one has a problem.Its doubtful that they ALL have teeth issues.If one is dropping weight-- Then you can check and see if thats it. Thier requirments unless being worked very hard are minimal-- they should do fine on minimal inputs till the day they die. Their body score will tell you if you are doing enough. Basically if you don't see a problem-- quit looking for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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