Cattle farm husbandry – monthly management diary

Cattle, farming, husbandry, monthly management tasks, livestock, feeding/pasture management, animal health, fertiliser, general & business management tasks

By Dr Clive Dalton



All farms are different
Every NZ farm is different and there are enormous differences between regions and districts in the timing of farm operations. Generally farming activities in the NZ South Island are at least a month later than on North Island farms. So use this calendar as a memory jogger, and get advice from local farmers or consultants who have many years of experience in your area.

JUNE
Livestock

• All non-productive stock should be off the farm to reduce feed demand.
• Check cow weight and condition score targets.
• Make early plans for calving – check you have all the gear.
• Finalise the calf rearing programme and check you have all gear needed.
• Check that disposal methods for dead stock are in order.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Feed will be getting short so carry out a full feed budget, and check feeding levels for stock, especially those needing special care like pregnant cows and young stock.
• Avoid pugging pastures in wet weather.
• Check management of new grass paddocks sown in autumn.
  

Animal health

• Discuss a detailed animal health programme for next season with your vet.
• Ask your vet to arrange blood profiles for minerals and trace elements.
• Start supplementation with magnesium if needed.
• Palpate dry cows’ udders regularly (weekly) for possible mastitis.
• Watch out for early abortions – and get all cases checked by your vet.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Plan for some nitrogen fertiliser when soil temperatures are above 6-10°C, provided soils are not too wet.
• Check progress of new pastures sown in autumn – they may need nitrogen at 25-30 kg N/ha.
  

General & business

• Check the farm maintenance programme.
• Depending on balance date, book the date for your annual formal review of the business with accountant, banker and farm consultant.
• Contact banker/accountant to check GST payments and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

JULY
Livestock

• Cows should have reached condition score 5 and heifers condition score 5.5 for calving.
• Separate cows about to calve (springers) and watch for mastitis.
• Make sure early-calved cows get full attention – dairy cows to be milked out fully, and check all calvers are free from udder problems.
• Fully feed all calved cows.
• Get calf tags, rearing pens, bedding and feeding equipment ready.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Have regular farm walks to assess pastures and update feed budgets.
• Check on feed and mineral supplement use.
• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Lactating cows to be fed on rising plane of nutrition.
  

Animal health

• Continue magnesium supplementation.
• Watch for abortions.
• Watch for bloat.
• Note all cows that are likely to have delayed oestrus – e.g. difficult calvings, have twins, downer cows and cows with metabolic diseases. These may need treatment before mating.
• Vaccinate calves for blackleg when 6-8 weeks old.
• Check calves for lice.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen at 30 – 50 kg N/ha to provide feed post-calving.

General & business

• Do regular checks of electric fence, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

AUGUST
Livestock

• Give special attention to feeding newly-calved cows and especially heifers.
• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Milk out all cows as soon as possible after calving and check for mastitis.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Feed budgets to be updated.
• Have regular farm walks to assess pastures.
• Checks on supplement use.
• Grazing rotation should be around 20-30 days.
• Grazing residuals should be around 1600-2000kg DM/ha with no clumps left.
  

Animal health

• Continue magnesium supplementation.
• Treat clinical cases of mastitis and keep records.
• Check cows that have not calved by due dates and discuss with your vet what to do with them.
• Tail paint to record when cycling activity starts in dairy stock. This is not so important with beef cows mated later.
• Watch for bloat.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen at rates similar to July which will provide feed in the second and third grazing round after calving.
• Plan and carry out your soil and pasture testing programme
  

General and business

• Do regular checks of electric fence, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

SEPTEMBER
Livestock

• Cow live weight and condition score targets to be checked.
• Check planning and facilities for AI programme with dairy stock next month.
• Check you have beef bulls organised.
• Get the vet to check non-cycling cows.
• Tail paint and start recording pre-mating heats. Some farmers like to start this earlier (August).
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Fully feed all lactating cows.
• Feed budgets to be updated.
• Do regular farm walks to assess pastures.
• Check on supplement use.
  

Animal health

• Vet check non-cycling cows.
• Maintain tail paint and record pre-mating heats if going to use AI.
• Day 42 of calving – check all late calving cows.
• Check that all service bulls have been arranged.
• Watch for bloat.
• Ensure all calf dehorning is being done effectively (with anaesthetic).
• Castrate any calves not left as bulls before they are 6 weeks old.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen at rates as for July and August.
• Consider applying your maintenance fertiliser nutrients, including P, K, S and Mg if and as required, based on soil and pasture test results and farm production.
• Trace element additives, such as Se, Cu or Co can be applied with the maintenance fertiliser if required.
  

General and business

• Do regular checks of electric fence, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
• Finalise cash book.
  

OCTOBER
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Check calf growth progress.
• Start AI programme or turn the bulls out.
• Monitor heat detection progress.
• Organise bulls to follow up after AB programme. Have reserve bulls in case of accidents.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Fully feed all lactating cows.
• Have regular farm walks to assess feed.
  

Animal health

• Check on calf weaning strategy.
• Check need for clostridial vaccinations.
• Review drench programme.
• Get vet to check late cycling cows.
• Vet check all bulls that come on to the farm (especially for Tb, EBL and BVD). Watch for bloat.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen at 20 to 30 kg N/ha to increase silage production and make sure cows are fully fed.
• Apply any capital fertiliser recommended if the objective is to lift soil fertility levels.
• Apply maintenance fertiliser as for September if you haven’t already done so.
  

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

NOVEMBER
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Analyse and check progress of AI programme and how bulls have been working.
• Check bulls are actually serving the cows – and watch for injuries.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Fully feed all lactating cows.
• Do regular farm walks to assess feed.
• Start identifying true pasture surpluses for silage or hay.
• Make silage from surpluses.
  

Animal health

• Check calves for any weaning checks in growth.
• Watch for bloat.
• Update animal health records.
• Make plans for pregnancy testing.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen to build up a feed surplus for summer.
• Lime can be applied any time from now until late April if needed.
  

General and business

• Checks electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

DECEMBER
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Finish AI programme and analyse results. Take appropriate action if needed.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Fully feed lactating cows.
• Do regular farm walks to assess feed.
• Make silage or hay from surplus pasture.
  

Animal health

• Check growth and health of calves.
• Carry our early pregnancy testing of dairy stock.
• Examine and treat repeat breeders.
• Plan to start zinc drenching for Facial Eczema (FE) next month (in prone areas).
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen provided there is adequate soil moisture and the pasture is still growing.
• Apply lime if required from soil test results.
  

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

JANUARY
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Remove bulls and decide on their fate.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Fully feed lactating cows.
• Feed supplements when needed.
• Do regular farm walks to assess feed.
• Make hay and late silage (balage).
• Start increasing the grazing round if pastures get dry.
  

Animal health

• Start FE protection and check that dose rates are delivering the correct level of zinc.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Probably too dry and hot to apply nitrogen, unless irrigation is available.

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

FEBRUARY

Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Get rid of early culls (unproductive or barren stock) and fully feed productive stock.
• If pastures are drying up rapidly, feed out supplements.
  

Animal health

• Continue FE protection in prone areas.
• Start calf leptospirosis vaccinations for dairy stock.
• Watch for ryegrass staggers when pastures start to dry up.
• Update animal health records.
• Start pregnancy testing.
  

Fertiliser

• Probably too dry and hot to apply nitrogen, unless irrigation is available.
• Lime and maintenance fertiliser may be applied if required.
  

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

MARCH
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Fully feed all lactating cows.
• Dry off early any cows that are not producing or losing condition.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Update feed budgets.
• Make regular farm walks to assess pastures.
• Check on supplement use.
• Feed supplements if needed to maintain lactation and body condition.
• Identify pastures that may need to be renewed.
  

Animal health

• Continue FE protection in prone areas.
• Check on calf growth and health.
• Update animal health records.
• Use liver samples from culled cows to check for trace element status through your vet.
• Carry out pregnancy testing.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen at 20-30kg N/ha to start and build up autumn feed.
• Carry out soil tests and review fertiliser programme with consultant.
• Apply any autumn fertiliser needed.
  

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
• If 31 March is balance date – lodge books with accountant by 1 May.
  

APRIL
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Consider fate of non-productive cows – dry off or cull them.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Fully feed any lactating cows.
• Feed supplements to maintain productive stock.
• Do regular farm walks to assess pastures and update feed budgets.
• Check on supplement use.
• Start pasture renewal programme.
  

Animal health

• Finish FE zinc prevention if not required. Could continue into May.
  
• Do liver tests for trace elements through your vet.
• Check growth and health of any young stock on the farm.
• Update animal health records.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen at 20-30 kg N/ha to build up late autumn/early winter feed.

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
  

MAY
Livestock

• Check cow live weight and condition score targets.
• Dry off any cows still milking.
  

Feeding/Pasture management

• Do regular farm walks to assess pastures and update feed budgets.
• Check on feed supplement use.
• Make plans to avoid pugging during winter.
  

Animal health

• Use appropriate dry cow treatment in consultation with vet.
• Arrange liver tests for trace elements.
• Check new pastures and crop for high nitrate levels.
• Review animal health programme with your vet (for the past and future season).
• Update animal health records.
• Check growth and health of young stock on the farm.
  

Fertiliser

• Consider strategic use of nitrogen as for April.

General and business

• Check electric fences, farm vehicles and water supply.
• Check financial budget and cash flow and pay accounts monthly.
• Input data to PC to estimate cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors and finalise cash book.
• If 31 May is balance date – lodge books with accountant by 1 July.
  

Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Cattle farm husbandry – feeds for cattle

Cattle, farming, husbandry, feeding, feeds available, pasture, silage, balage, hay, good and bad features of feeds, stocking rate, stock units

By Dr Clive Dalton

Pasture
“Pasture” is what grows in a paddock, and if you mark out a square metre to make close inspection easier, you’ll see different species of grasses, some of good feed value and others not. Then there will be different species of clover all of which are excellent feed. There will probably be a range of weeds most of which cattle will eat but they won’t be ideal feed for production. There will also be bare ground and dung patches.

Good things about pasture

Pasture has highest feeding value when it's kept at a vegetative state

• Pasture grows well in New Zealand’s temperate climate, so it’s comparatively cheap to grow and feed to stock compared with cereal grains.
• All stock will eat grass and clover with relish – until it becomes very mature and stalky.
• You don’t need expensive machinery to control pasture –all you need is an electric fence.
• It’s a simple system so pastures feed your stock and your stock control your pastures.
  

Bad things about pasture

• The main aim of a pasture plant (grass or clover) is to mature as quickly as possible and produce seed.
• Pasture feeding value varies in both quality and quantity every day of the year.
• It may be deficient in copper, selenium or cobalt depending on the soil type.
• Good pasture management is as much art as science.
• Regular water is needed for good growth – rainfall or irrigation.
• There is no free lunch. You must replace the nutrients removed from what goes off the land.

This is the worst thing you can do to a pasture.
Pugging destroys the delicate crumb structure of the soil
and delays recover for months if not longer

How feeding value changes over time
The table below shows how feeding value of pasture at different stages of growth changes over time


Key points from the table

• As pasture matures, DM and fibre content go up rapidly.
• And as pasture matures, protein, minerals, digestibility and energy (ME) go down.
• So try to keep pastures at the vegetative green stage for as long as possible during the year – and the best and cheapest machines you have to do this are your animals.
• Your pastures feed your animals, and your animals keep the pasture under control preventing it seeding. As stated above – it’s a very simple system, but not always easy to get it right all the time.
• At the first sign of the stock losing this contest, then take the paddock out of the grazing rotation and make silage or hay to be fed back to them in summer droughts or winter feed deficits.
  

Hay
Good things about hay

• Cattle of all ages will eat hay with relish unless it’s really old, mouldy or full of thistles or docks.
• Hay has high DM and the high fibre content is good for rumen digestion which generates heat in the animal.
• It’s easy to make hay as long as the sun shines.
• It’s easy to handle when baled in the paddock, in storage and when feeding out – provided you have small bales or equipment to handle big bales which seem to get bigger every year.
  
• Hay keeps well for a couple of years and is easy to buy and sell.
  

Bad things about hay

• It can vary greatly in quality depending on the pasture it was made from and how mature the crop was when it was cut, also how badly it was weathered before baling.
• You lose about 80% of the feeding value of the original grass crop when you make hay of it.
• The protein content in good hay is only around 4%.
• Hay will catch fire, and if baled or put in a shed slightly damp it will heat up and self combust.
  

Silage Good things about silage

Big silage bales need good protection from stock - a single hot wire is not enough

• In good silage you only lose about 20% of the original nutrients from the pasture if cut at the 10-15% seed head stage.
• Good leafy silage is a high protein feed at around 17-20% protein in the DM.
• Really good silage is around 25% Dry Matter.
• After cutting a silage crop the paddock will return to regrow quicker than with hay.
  

Bad things about silage

Mouldy silage is dangerous to stock and humans

• Silage smells and many people say it stinks, regardless of whether it was made well or badly. On small farms this regularly causes problems with non-rural neighbours.
• You must get everything right in the ensiling process or you’ll end up with an inferior product which can cause animal and human health problems - especially if it goes mouldy.
• You cannot make good silage from short, lush spring pasture as it is hard to get a good fermentation, and the end product will be only 20% DM or less. This will restrict the nutrient intake of the stock.
• Likewise, pasture that is well on the way to hay makes poor silage.
• Silage is hard to cart around and feed out as bales are 500-700 kg, and too many folk have been injured by them. A bale on a small trailer pulled by an ATV can jack-knife and kill you.
• If you open a bale in the paddock and let stock help themselves, the acid in the silage will burn the grass and the stock will pug the area. Burning can also happen if you dump it in great forkfuls and stock don’t clean it up that day.
• The juice that can leak out of bales or pits is an extremely bad environmental hazard as if it gets into streams it eats up large quantities of oxygen.
• Old silage wrap is an environmental hazard too. It can cause serious digestive problems in stock if they eat it and it blocks open drains. It is supposed to be disposed of in “an approved land fill” – which could cost you dollars.
• Wrapped bales need care in handling and protection from stock, rats and magpies to prevent punctures, air entry and mould.
  

Balage and haylage – what’s the difference?

• There is no difference and balage seems to be most commonly used! Both are made from a very mature crop that ends up around 40% DM.
  
• But beware especially when buying it as it could be a hay crop that became wet, or a silage crop that went too far to seed.
• Get a sample analysed to be sure what’s in it before you buy it. And pick the sample from a range of bales.

This is 'balage' made from a mature crop which had gone too far for top silage and was cut too early for hay. Fermentation was good and the beef stock relished it.

A buyer’s guide to silage

• When you buy silage, get the vendor to open a bale and dig deep inside to see what it’s like.
  
• Check the bales for tiny holes as mould forms quickly if air leaks in. You can also do a squeeze test. Take a handful and squeeze it hard and if juice comes out between your clinched fingers – it’s too wet and certainly below 20% Dry Matter.
• Or take a sample and twist it to see if juice appears. It’s easy to squeeze juice from wet silage lower than 20% DM. Do a “sniff and feel” test using the Table below.
  

Again, send a good representative sample of the silage to a laboratory for feed analysis to get DM%, Protein% and ME.

Other crops

Maize is now a very popular crop to provide large amount of Dry
Matter when chopped and made into silage

• Look in any seed company’s catalogue and you’ll see a wide range of crops that can be grown to feed cattle. The term “crop” covers such things as subtropical grasses and a wide range of brassicas and pulses.
  
• The catalogue information is comprehensive and well presented and companies have specialist agronomists who will help you.

Soft turnips are a popular feed for cattle, but work out the cost of growing them.
The tops may look good but most feed is in the bulbs

Key things to look out for are

• ٱWhen do you need the extra feed the crop will provide?
• What yield of Dry Matter can you expect per hectare?
• What climate limitations does the crop have? Will it grow in your area?
• What soil type limitations does it have?
• What fertiliser requirements does the crop have?
• How will you control weeds? These are always a major threat.
• How will you harvest the crop – do you need a machine or can it be grazed?
• Are there any animal health risks from grazing the crop?
• What are the costs of establishment?
• How long will the pasture be out of production while the crop is growing?
• How do you treat the paddock after the crop?
  

There are probably many more questions so that’s why you need to talk to an agronomist.

Concentrate feeds

Feeding dairy cows maize silage.
It's not economic to feed it to beef cattle in New Zealand

It's not economic to feed high energy concentrate feeds to beef cattle, and it's only dairy cows where feeding them is justified - and that's not in all conditions.

Fodder trees
There are a wide range of willows and poplars which are very good feed for cattle, being rich in minerals. They can be especially farmed for this purpose. They are a great insurance for drought conditions.

Willow being relished by beef cattle
It has good feeding value and should be used more on
cattle farms for both feed and shade

Have you got too many stock?
This question is always a concern and can keep nagging away at you and it’s like how long is a piece of string? If you are constantly running out of feed, even in the spring flush, then the chances very high are that you have too many stock.

You are “overstocked” or have too high a “stocking rate”. These are all farming terms to describe the situation that needs fixing before you run into problems. So it’s a good idea to see what your stocking rate is, and to do this you can use the old, if not ancient, system of Stock Units or SUs.

Stock Units

• The idea behind Stock Units is to compare all the stock on a similar basis so that you can get some overall measure of the feed requirements.
  
• The theory is sound enough, but it’s an old if not ancient system and is of little if any value on today’s farms.
  
• But it’s still used for beef and sheep farms by vendor’s and land agents where the farm is described as carrying or wintering a given number of stock units. Farm workers and managers’ jobs are also described using stock units.
• A SU is also called a Ewe Equivalent (EE) as the base used is one 55kg breeding ewe rearing a single lamb needing approximately 520 - 550kg DM from good quality pasture, which includes what the lamb will eat up to weaning at 3½ months.
• You may also see the term LSU or Livestock Units used.
• A farm’s carrying capacity or stocking rate (SR) is expressed as the number of SUs carried on 1 July so is the number of stock that will be wintered.
• If you can farm your stock through the winter, then the rest of the year should be no problem.
  
• The table below shows you the Stock Unit conversion values. Remember these general values have great limitations and can only be a very crude guide.
  

So where do you go from here?

• The honest answer is probably - not very far! When you ask someone who is supposed to know the answer – they invariably start off by saying - “Well it all depends!”
  
• Here’s what you are supposed to do. After converting all stock on the farm into SUs, and then dividing by the number of hectares, then you’ll know your SU/ha.
  
• But how do you know if it’s too high or too low, or what’s the ideal for your farm? This is when you should talk to local farmers, neighbours or farm consultants – but don’t be surprised if they are scared to commit themselves and fudge the answer.
  
• If you hear of a farm successfully running 12 SU/ha then it must be a good farm as this is at the high end.
• To make some sense of the fudged answers you’ll get, go back and analyse what happened in the dead of winter. If you were in deep trouble then, reduce your overall stocking rate. Don’t judge your stocking rate in the spring flush!
• Smart operators know what live weight of stock they carry per hectare and this makes a lot more sense if you can work it out. This will be a lot more help when you do a feed budget.
  

Disclaimer
This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Sheep Farm Husbandry - sheep farm calendar

Sheep, husbandry, monthly calendar of events, New Zealand, southern hemisphere

By Dr Clive Dalton

Every sheep farm is different and there are enormous differences between districts and regions within New Zealand. The biggest difference is between North and South Islands where events on South Island sheep farms run at least a month later than North Island farms. Use these notes as a “memory jogger” so that if you are not sure what needs to be done on your property, then seek advice. It’s usual to start the farming year off in June which is mid-winter in the Southern hemisphere.


JUNE
Livestock

• All non-productive sheep should be off the farm so that feed is allocated to high priority stock that need it.
• Check liveweight and condition score targets.
• Check that rams are being well cared for.
• Start planning for lambing – get equipment and lambing paddocks ready.
• Check all records are ready for lambing.
• Ensure you have a disposal method for dead stock.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Do a feed budget to check pasture covers and supplements.
• Check feed allocations to ewes.
• Build up pasture reserves for lambing.
• After grazing, residual pasture should be around 2-3cm high.
• Avoid pugging pastures in really wet weather.
• Check management of any new grass paddocks. Consider strategic use of N fertiliser provided soils are not too wet and temperatures are above 6°C.
  

Animal health

• Plan your animal health programme for next season with your vet.
• Check blood profiles for minerals and trace elements on vet advice.
• Carry out pre-lambing vaccinations on vet advice.
• Treat and clear up any foot problems made worse by wet weather.
• Watch for early abortions and get them checked with your vet.
• Update animal health records.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Complete all farm maintenance before lambing.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Depending on your balance date, book a date for your farm business review with your banker, accountant and farm consultant.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check OSH and farm safety policy for the property.
• Attend any farmers’ conferences, field days and vet clinic training days.
  

JULY
Livestock

• Draft ewes into lambing mobs to control their feeding levels.
• Put late lambing ewes on short feed and keep checking for signs of lambing as things can change quickly.
• Separate ewes that are clearly barren and put them on short feed or dispose of them.
• Watch for sleepy sickness in any ewes obviously very heavy in lamb, or that have been scanned as carrying multiples.
• In drafted-off early lambing ewes, watch for abortions or mastitis.
• Be prepared for ewes that lamb before the expected date.
• Have good feed and shelter ready for all ewes immediately after lambing.

Feeding/pasture management

• Keep a regular check on pasture growth and feed supplements if needed to maintain body condition.
• Consider the strategic use of N fertiliser to boost feed for lactating ewes.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Check the growth and health of young stock – hoggets.
• Don’t drench hoggets unless they need it - check with vet.
• Vaccinate ewes before lambing with 5 in 1 vaccine – check with vet.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
  

AUGUST
Livestock

• Lambing should be in full swing (North Island).
• Fully feed lactating ewes, especially those with multiples.
• Keep sorting ewes by lambing date into groups to control feeding levels.
• Try to save every lamb if shepherding system allows it. Watch for “bunged-up” lambs with sticky tails.
• Check the so-called late lambers for lambs – some will surprise you!
• Watch for sleepy sickness especially in ewes that are clearly carrying multiples.
• Check daily for cast ewes.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Check pasture growth and feed reserves are building up ahead of the stocks’ needs.
• Feed supplements wisely with no waste.
• Consider some strategic use of N to stimulate growth for the next grazing round if soil temperatures are above 6°C.
• Review your soil testing programme and fertiliser requirements.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Check that all lambs are doing well.
• Plan for docking and castration before lambs are 3-4 weeks old.
• Check with vet to check if lambs should be drenched at docking.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
  

SEPTEMBER
Livestock

• Lambing in full swing (South Island). See advice for North Island in August.
• Ewes will be nearing peak lactation in North Island so make sure they have the best feed on the farm.
• Docking should be well through in the North Island. Check for cast ewes.
• Ewes may start growing dags so watch for early blowfly.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Do regular checks on feed supply and demand as ewes will be at peak lactation and lambs will be starting to graze.
• Use supplements wisely.
• Consider strategic use of N fertiliser.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Check on lambs’ growth and health, especially for internal parasites.
• Check all lambs’ tails have dropped off cleanly and watch for any infections and early blowfly.
  

General

• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
  

OCTOBER
Livestock

• Plan for hogget shearing (North Island).
• Check for cast ewes.
• Consider dipping or pour-on treatment of hoggets 2-3 weeks after shearing or leave until whole flock are dipped after main shearing.
• Never dip any sheep for at least 6 weeks before shearing.
• Provide good feed and shelter immediately after shearing if weather deteriorates.
• Keep lactating ewes and lambs on the best feed as the lambs will be eating a lot of grass by now.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Make sure pasture growth is building up ahead of the stock’s needs.
• Feed supply should be starting to get ahead of feed demand (in North Island).
• Identify pastures that will be taken out of the grazing round for silage.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Check that lambs are growing well and not scouring. If they are, check the cause with your vet as it could be worms and a drench may be needed.
• Check health and growth of replacement hoggets. They should be at maximum growth rate/day after shearing.
• Watch for blowfly on daggy ewes and lambs.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Maintenance fertiliser could be applied.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
  

NOVEMBER
Livestock

• Fully feed the ewes and lambs. The lambs will be eating large quantities of pasture by now.
• Identify some good feed for lambs after weaning.
• If growth slows, open up any paddocks saved for silage as the lactating ewes are top priority.
• Early-born lambs will be ready for the premium market.
• Shear rams.
• Check for cast ewes.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Check the feed situation and the demands of the stock.
• Consider strategic use of N to boost feed for December.
• Keep watch for any pastures that have got out of control to make into silage.
  

Animal health

• Check with vet about a drenching programme for weaned lambs.
• Check the rams for any health problems.
• Watch any new rams purchased for health problems.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
  

DECEMBER
Livestock

• Shear all ewes and lambs if on annual shearing.
• Don’t dip or pour-on at least 6 weeks before shearing.
• Dip or pour-on the flock 2-3 weeks after shearing.
• Have good feed for ewes after shearing and shelter if weather gets rough.
• Wean lambs and have good pasture available for them. Check with vet if they should be drenched and which product to use.
• Let the lambs settle after weaning only checking them for blowfly. Check they have plenty of good water and some shade.
• Put weaned ewes on short feed until their milk dries up. Don’t deprive them of water. Keep a watch for mastitis.
• Once they are over weaning, then plan to feed them to replace lost body weight. This applies especially to ewes that reared multiples.
• Start to sort out which ewes to keep and which to cull before mating in March.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Check the feed situation and the demands of the stock.
• Consider strategic use of N fertiliser to boost feed for December.
• Keep watch for any pastures that have got out of control to make into silage.
  

Animal health

• Check the hoggets and decide if you want to put them to the ram.
• Don’t drench any stock until you have checked with your vet to see if they need it based on faecal egg counts.
• Check for blowfly.
• Regularly check rams and make sure they are not getting too fat through lack of exercise.
• If weaned lambs are not thriving check with your vet to test for mineral deficiencies (cobalt or selenium) or internal parasites.
• Plan for facial eczema prevention to start in January.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
  

JANUARY
Livestock

• Check all stock have adequate water and shade if it gets really hot.
• Give weaned lambs the best feed.
• Make sure ewes are recovering and gaining weight.
• Get rid of all culls.
• If you really want some very early lamb in the North Island, it may be worth joining a ram to some ewes in very good condition to see what happens.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Check feed supply and feed demand.
• Feed quality will be falling rapidly.
• Any pastures cut for silage should be re-growing. They may benefit from a strategic dressing of N fertiliser but it will need rain to be effective. Don’t apply N if it’s too dry.
• If pastures get out of control and are long and stalky, either make hay or graze with cattle. Don’t leave the dead litter on the paddock.
• Paddocks cut too low for hay will burn off if it’s hot. They may need N to get them going again but only if there is sufficient rain.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Start facial eczema protection and check the dose rate is correct.
• Check growth rate of lambs and hoggets. Only drench if an internal parasite problem has been identified. Discuss this with your vet.
• Check rams are in good health and have not developed feet problems.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
  

FEBRUARY
Livestock

• Ewes should be on a rising feeding plane gaining weight for mating next month (North Island). This may be hard if there has been no rain for a while.
• Rams should be in top condition. Isolate them from sight of the ewes.
• Crutch ewes ready for joining with the ram.
• Sell all culled stock as weather gets dry.
• Consider shearing two-tooths before joining.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Feed quality will be falling rapidly which will make flushing ewes difficult.
• Consider feeding some good quality silage if feed is very short.
• If you cut any paddocks for hay don’t cut down too low or it will make regrowth more difficult as soil will dry out faster.
• Identify any pastures that need renewing. Don’t start any work on them if it looks like a long dry spell is coming.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Continue facial eczema prevention.
• Check lambs (now hoggets) for growth and general health.
• If you are tempted to drench any young stock, check with the vet and do a faecal egg count and then get advice on which product to use.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Lime and maintenance fertiliser can be applied but make sure there’s a good chance of rain to wash it in to avoid animal health problems.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
  

MARCH
Livestock

• Time to join the rams to ewes in the North Island.
• Ewes should have been flushed to be on a rising plane of nutrition. Dry weather often prevents this as pasture is too dry to produce high quality green feed.
• If hoggets are to be mated, join them with the ram 2 weeks before the main flock.
• If ewes are shorn before mating, do it at least 3-4 weeks before joining with the ram.
• Stock need water and shade if it’s still hot weather.

Feeding/pasture management

• Hopefully the autumn rains will have arrived to produce some new green growth.
  
• With the rains, the dead litter in the pasture will have rotted in a couple of days so there could be very little for stock to eat until the grass gets going again. It’s a good time to feed out some good quality silage.
• Consider some strategic use of N fertiliser to boost growth for later autumn.
• Start any pasture renewal work.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Continue facial eczema protection.
• Check health of hoggets and only drench if faecal egg counts prove they need it. Check with your vet about which product to use.
• Check mineral and trace element status (e.g. selenium) if young stock are not thriving.
• Watch for any late flystrike.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Carry out a soil test if needed and get a fertiliser recommendation from a consultant. The soil test does not tell you how much to put on – a consultant needs to calculate this.
• Apply any autumn fertiliser but wait until rain is imminent to wash it in.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• If 31 March is your balance date, lodge your books with an accountant by 1 May.
  

APRIL
Livestock

• Rams should be well through their work (North Island).
• Use ram harnesses to see if any ewes are returning. Because marks fade, put another more permanent small raddle mark on the head of the first ewes to lamb.
• Use a different breed of “tail-up” ram at the end of mating so you’ll be able to identify their lambs and not keep them as replacements.
• Get rid of any rams not needed for next season and any that have had health problems.
  

Feeding/pasture management

• Hopefully there should be some good autumn feed by now if the rains have been reliable.
• Give the ewes the best feed on the farm. It’s a critical time when the embryo is being established.
• Finish any pasture renewal work.
• Consider strategic use of N fertiliser to boost pasture growth for winter.
  

Animal health

• Update animal health records.
• Continue facial eczema protection.
• Check health of hoggets and only drench if they need it. Check with your vet about which product to use.
• Check mineral and trace element status (e.g. selenium) if young stock are not thriving.
• Check that any rams being kept have recovered from mating.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• If 31 March is your balance date lodge your books with an accountant by 1 May.
  

MAY
Livestock

• Check rams have done their job in the South Island and take care of any that you are keeping for next season.
• See North Island notes for March/April.

Feeding/pasture management

• Accept that it’s well into autumn (North Island) and that feed growth will have slowed considerably.
• Tighten up the grazing round and feed supplements if the feed budget shows they are needed.
• Check the progress of autumn sown pastures. Give them a light grazing when ready.
  

Animal health

• Check the growth and health of hoggets.
• Only drench stock not thriving if your vet has checked the FEC and advised on the correct product to use.
• Update animal health records for annual review with your vet next month.
  

General

• Keep your daily farm diary up to date.
• Check electric fences, water supply and farm vehicles.
• Check financial budget and cash flows.
• Finalise cashbook.
• Contact accountant/banker to check GST payments.
• Check cash position and bank requirements for payment of creditors.
• Pay accounts monthly.
• If 31 March is your balance date lodge your books with an accountant by 1 May.
  

Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Sheep Farm Husbandry - Practical feeding advice

Practical feeding; sheep feeding needs, pasture feeding: measuring pasture growth, supplementary feeding: feeding different classes & ages of sheep, feeding hoggets & lambs, ewe feeding needs, flushing, pregnancy feeding, weight of uterus and lambs, energy units, stock units

By Dr Clive Dalton

Measuring feed (pasture)

• This is where feeding sheep really starts, as pasture is the main feed you’ll be offering your flock.
  
• You have to be able to look at a paddock and estimate how much feed is growing in it so you can work out how many “grazing days” there are for the flock.
• It’s simply a question of when do you shift the sheep. But it’s not simple.
• Realise that not all of what you see in a “pasture” is going to be nutritious feed.
• If you look at an area of sward you’ll find grasses (some good and some not-so-good), clovers (usually all good), a wide range of weeds, bare ground and dung patches.
  
• The last two do nothing to make money from sheep, and the weeds may even stop grass and clover growing.
• Learn to think in terms of dry matter per hectare (DM/ha) all the time. So when you look at a paddock and you see “what’s on offer” to the stock, it will be in kg of DM/ha.
  
• If you want to know what is growing each day, think of kg of DM per hectare per day (kg DM/ha/day).
  
• So forget about the old acres and visualize hectares all the time and the DM that is there, and what extra you are getting each day, and of course how much of that DM/ha the stock will eat each day, how much they will leave and how much they will waste.
• This is the first part of “feed budgeting” where you see if the feed on the farm expressed in DM will meet the needs of the stock. You can do this in three ways:
  

Method 1 - Cutting and drying

• This is accurate but tedious.
• Make a metal square (as wood breaks easily) with sides measuring 0.5m. Making the sides 1m long is too big to work with.
• The area of this square will be 0.25m. (Remember half x half = a quarter). There are 10,000m² in a hectare so multiply the 0.25m by 40,000 to get the weight of pasture from your 0.25 square metre frame on a hectare.
• Throw this square at random (at least 5-6 times) walking across the paddock and cut the pasture growing inside it with garden shears or old sheep shears. The more samples the better but time will limit what you can do as it’s so time consuming.
• Weigh the wet pasture.
• Mix it up well and take a small sample and weigh it.
• Put this sample of feed into an oven at about 100°C for about an hour, or microwave on defrost for 5 minutes or until it stops losing weight.
  
• Weigh the sample when it is completely dry.
• Then calculate the (Dry weight/Wet weight) x (100/1). This is DM%.
  

Method 2. - Ruler

• Here you use a ruler to measure average pasture height across the paddock.
• It’s not a high-precision method.
• Rulers are produced by commercial companies e.g. fertiliser manufacturers.
• Equations have been worked out relating pasture height with DM/ha for spring, late spring, summer, autumn and winter.
• The ruler shows kg DM/ha.
  

Method 3 - Plate meter

• Go around the farm with a plate meter which are commercially available.
• It works on the simple principle of pressing down on the “pasture mass” and from using equations comparing the pressure with the cut & dry results, you can estimate kg DM/ha. The equations vary for the time of year but all these are in the instructions, or you can get them from a farm consultant or veterinarian.
• If you buy plate meter, pay the extra money for one with a small computer on it to save all the tedious calculations.
• Don’t take their readings as gospel – and never expect two operators in the same paddock to get the same readings. It’s not that precise an estimate.
  

Method 4 - Electronic probe

• Go around the farm with an electronic probe.
• This does the same job as a plate meter but works off electrical impulses produced by the pasture mass.
• Electronic equipment doesn’t like wet weather.
• It’s more sensitive and less robust than a plate meter and it’s also more expensive.
  

Method 5 – Visual assessment

• This is where you walk the paddock and estimate what’s growing by eye.
• The big advantage is that it’s fast and you have no gear to carry around.
• Accuracy depends on your experience – and as you gain more. you can become very accurate, or as accurate as you ever need to be.
• The best way is to learn is from other farmers, preferably at a group discussions when you can see how folk vary in their estimates.
• Have frequent checks with other people, or against the plate meter and probe. Or if you can face the tedium, cut and dry a few samples every now and again.
  

Method 6- Rapid yield mapping

• This unit built on skis is fitted behind an ATV (quad bike) and travels at 15km/hour taking readings hundreds of times a second using a swath width of 12 m. This produces around 100,000 readings per hectare.
• It’s big advantage is speed and the large number of readings it can take to iron out variation across the pasture when only a few readings are taken.
  

Warning

• Realise that using these methods to estimate pasture growth, (other than by the tedious method 1) will show great variation, so use your eyes to constantly check what is going on. You’ll soon see if you got things wrong, such as when you calculated the paddock should last the sheep 3 days and they eat it out in one!
• When you walk the farm to estimate pasture- walk the whole farm! Don’t walk (or ride) into the gateway and base your estimate on a quick circuit. Walk the paddock on a diagonal and if there are any areas that you know have different soils or not as well drained, go and estimate them separately to add into the total.
  

Conclusion

• Most sheep farmers are going to end up using eye assessment (which is mainly pasture length) to estimate feed cover so this would be the best skill to aim for.

Practical exercise

Question: How many grazing days will there be in a 5 ha paddock for 1500 ewes?
Here’s what you do:

1. Work everything out on per hectare basis.
2. Assess what the pasture cover is – assume it’s 4cm long and 1400kg DM/ha.
3. Decide what the residual will be after the sheep come out of the paddock – assume 800kg DM/ha.
4. So the sheep will eat 1400-800 = 600kg DM/ha.
5. On the 5 ha paddock the total feed is 5 x 600 = 3000 kg DM.
6. So 3000 kg DM for 1500 ewes will last 3000/1500 = 2 grazing days.
7. If you know that pasture is going to grow significantly during the two days, then you can add that in to the calculation.
   

Knowing how pasture grows on your farm

• Knowing how much feed your farm will grow is the key to profit. When you start off you won’t have any idea so ask a consultant or local farmer who has been monitoring feed for a while and use their figures. Or they may have district averages as shown in Table below.
• Once you have been monitoring your own farm for a while, this information will be the most reliable.
• The grass growth pattern will show a high peak in the spring, then a drop off till mid summer with a bit of an autumn flush before the winter period of slow and low, and even no growth.

Key points from the table

• Soil fertility has a massive impact on pasture growth and so does rainfall.
• There can be enormous seasonal variation around these averages.
  

How much feed do sheep need?
Using pasture length information.
The table below shows some information as a general guide to feeding sheep at different production levels and ages.



Key points from the table

• Note these are minimum values so always aim to exceed them in practice.
• When pastures are short and don’t exceed 5 cm in length they would generally be green, leafy and hence have high protein and energy. The challenge is to keep them like this all the time.
• The exception would be in summer when it gets dry and there was a lot of dead litter on the surface that rots away quickly with the first autumn rains.
• The ewe in late pregnancy and when suckling lambs needs the very best of pasture to meet her daily DM needs.
• Growing lambs need good pasture to allow good growth and development. The figures in the table should be minimum levels.
• The same applies to hoggets – they need to be kept growing on good feed levels.
  

Feeding levels for different weights of ewes
The feed needed for maintenance is based on live weight and this is shown in table below along with what happens when feed quality varies.


Key points from the table

• Poor quality pasture has 25%+ dead material.
• Average quality pasture is green leafy.
• Good quality pasture is legume dominant.
• For extra 50g/day gain (feed = 10 ME) add 30% to maintenance.
• For extra 100g/day gain (feed = 10ME) add 100% to maintenance.
• So a good round figure to remember is that a ewe need to eat 1.0 – 1.3 kg of DM/head/day of good to average quality feed to maintain herself.
• This can also be defined as holding her at a condition score of between 2.5 – 3.5. This should be your management aim during the summer period after her lambs are weaned.
  

Feeding for flushing and joining

• Flushing is the ancient practice of feeding ewes on a “rising plane of nutrition” 2-3 weeks before the ram goes out, and a couple of weeks during joining to encourage better ovulation rates.
  
• What is a rising plane? Research shows that gains of 0.5 -1.0 kg/head/week can be useful targets, but it depends so much on the actual weight the ewes are at to start with.
• Good target (minimal) weights for ewes are:
• Pre-mating 53kg and Condition Score of 3-4.
• Mating – 57kg for 2-tooths and 60kg for mixed-age ewes.
• Ram removal – 55kg.
• Ewes can gain 0.5-1.0 kg liveweight during the first few weeks of joining if good green leafy feed is available. Ideally they should be going into 5-6cm of pasture (2200kg DM/ha) and leaving 3cm pasture (1500kg DM/ha).
• This is not often possible on hill country, especially in dry autumns when 2-3cm-long feed would be more likely to be available.
  

Feeding for pregnancy and lambing

• Good feeding in the first half of pregnancy is vital for good placental growth, and if this is neglected, it cannot be put right by good feeding in the second half of pregnancy.
• This means a good pasture cover for lambing is around 1200–1300kg DM/ha but for really high production 1400–1500kg DM/ha should be the target.
• The other target is a minimum of Condition Score 3 for lambing.
• It’s a good aim to feed ewes 3 weeks before lambing on the same feeding level as they will get as soon as they have lambed.
• The table below shows how feeding levels needed at different stages of pregnancy.

Key points from the table

• Clearly the ewe’s feeding needs go up rapidly as the ewe approaches full term.
• These values assume the ewe’s single lamb is 4kg birth weight, and the twins would be around double this.
• For triplets add an extra 75% to the twin values.
  

Weight of uterus and lambs during pregnancy
The scales only tell you the total weight of a ewe which includes what’s inside her, so as the lamb/lambs get heavier, the ewe could be getting very skinny and losing weight rapidly. This is where condition scoring is a good guide to her state of health. The table shows some general figures used to account for the uterus full of lambs and fluids called the “gravid” uterus.


Feeding growing sheep (lambs)

• Young growing sheep are the ones that really need plenty of high quality feed that includes all the important nutrients.
• Lamb growth in the first 4-6 weeks after birth is based mainly on the ewe’s milk supply, but after that lambs start to build up their intake from pasture.
• Ideal pasture should be short, leafy and high in protein and energy.
  

How fast can lambs grow?

• From birth to weaning lambs can grow at very variable rates, mainly related to the ewe’s milk supply and the competition among litter mates for it.
• Singles can average from 200-300g/day, twins from 200-250g/day and triplets around 170g/day. Consider 150g/day as a minimum growth rate target.
• Some phenomenal gains well above these levels have been recorded such as 500-600g/day when everything is right, but these are exceptional and were for super-fed ewes with very high milk production.
• As a general guide, each extra 100kg DM/ha of pasture cover will produce about 11g/head/day of lamb live weight.
• If lambs are growing fast, they are converting their feed efficiently.
• Because of the varying growth rates from birth to weaning, weaning weights can vary enormously too e.g. 21-46kg.
• A good average weaning weight target is 28kg with a target for all lambs to exceed 25kg, but many hill country lambs don’t get near this and are around 13-15kg, so they have a long struggle ahead of them.
• Aim for ewe lambs to be 29kg in November, 35kg by March, and 40kg by May (South Island dates would be one month later).
• Growth rates after weaning through the summer average around 125g/day, but after the autumn flush and into winter, lambs should average 150g/day.
  

Feed needs for growing lambs
The table below shows the different needs of lambs that grow at different rates.



Key points from the table

• Fast-growing lambs are more efficient converters of pasture into meat.
• They reach target weights faster and eat less getting there.
  

The table below makes a similar point showing the daily energy (ME) requirements of lambs (male and female) at different weights growing at different rates.


Key points from the table

• Once lambs start to pile on the weight, their energy needs really go up fast.
• Use the ready reckoner if you want to convert these ME values to DM.
  

Feeding growing sheep (hoggets)

• Hoggets are the future flock ewes, and again need special treatment.
  
• If they are mated, then they need an even higher feeding level.
  
• The table below shows some ME feed requirements for hoggets.

Feeding lactating ewes

• A lactating ewe, especially one suckling multiple lambs, is pouring out energy, which she may struggle to take in through her diet.
  
• In the early stages of lactation, like the dairy cow she’s in “negative nutritional balance” which can affect her health unless she is given extra concentrate feed which is not a common practice in New Zealand.
• The table below shows the high levels of energy (ME) needed during lactation for ewes of different weights.

The table below is the same information if you want it expressed as Dry Matter.


Key points from the tables

• Ewes suckling twins need more feed than those suckling singles, right up to week 9 of lactation. Peak lactation is around week 4.
• As ewes increase in weight, they need more feed too.
• Losing weight has important implications – it needs to be avoided wherever possible.
• Each kg of ewe weight gained will need an extra 65 ME units.
• Being realistic, you would never be able to feed ewes on pasture, and even with grain supplements to gain weight during lactation. The aim is to avoid massive losses. It all goes back to having ewes in top order at mating and coming up to lambing so they can stand the negative-balance time with minimal impact.
• A good ewe is one that can lose weight during lactation because she is milking well and using her body reserves to good effect. Such a ewe has the capacity to regain weight quickly later.
  

How to provide these feeding levels?

• For lambing most farmers provide at least 1200kg DM/ha for ewes with singles, and 1500kg DM/ha for ewes with multiples.
• Ewes with twins eat about 25% more than ewes with singles in a 100 day lactation.
• During lactation, pasture covers should not drop below 1200kg DM/ha as quality also drops, and the ewes have to work too hard to get enough to eat.
• Any paddock that gets beyond 1800 kg DM/ha is too long for sheep and should be fed to cattle or taken out of the rotation for silage or hay.
  

ME to DM conversion
At the risk of more confusion, for those who prefer to think of a sheep’s requirements in DM/head/day in preference to ME intake/head/day, here’s a ready reckoner to tell you how much DM the sheep will have to eat, if you know how much ME it needs/day, and the ME concentration of the feed it is offered.


Key points from the table

• You may have to look at this table for some time before you can follow it with ease!
• The figures in the main cells are all in DM/head/day.
• Decide what the ME/head/day needs are, then select the feed density level and read off the DM/head/day.
• So if a sheep needs 12 ME units/day and you offer poor hay at 8 ME units/kg of DM, the total DM the sheep will have to eat is 1.5kg DM/head/day.
  

General points on supplementary feeding

• Sheep have to learn to eat supplements and the best way to teach them is to feed it to them as lambs with their mothers before weaning. This assumes their mothers have learned to eat it too.
• Hay for sheep must be of good quality – i.e. green and leafy. When fed long stalky hay sheep only eat parts of it and waste the rest.
• Silage again must be good quality for sheep (over 18% Crude Protein) if you want them to clean it up.
• Don’t overfeed sheep with silage or hay as they are very selective and will waste much of it.
• Brassica crops such as rape or kale have high ME values but low DM, so they are very bulky feeds. It may take some time before sheep start to eat crops like rape and kale. These are good feeds for mid pregnancy.
• Green turnips and swedes are similarly ideal mid-pregnancy feed. Sheep like turnips, eating the tops first before chewing into the bowls, but despite their good ME values these root crops are low in DM so are very bulky feeds.
• Hoggets that are changing their teeth may have problems eating the bowls of root crops.
• Grain is high energy and can be fed throughout a ewe’s entire pregnancy if it can be justified on cost. The cost of DM in grain is often four times that of silage and six times good pasture.
• The important rule is that when you change the diets of sheep (or any ruminant), you should do it slowly over a period of at least 4-5 days to allow the rumen micro-organisms time to readjust to the new diet.
• The table below shows the feed value of different feeds suitable for sheep.

Are you lost?
Don’t be surprised if you feel this is all too complicated! Don’t panic and just use the tables for reference. As stated at the start of the chapter – it’s all about knowing when to open the gate to let the sheep into the next paddock and making sure they’ll benefit from the move! If they rarely do this – consider the next question.

Have you got too many stock?
This question can keep nagging at you and it’s like asking how long is a piece of string? If you are constantly running out of feed, even in the spring flush, then the chances are very high that you have too many stock.

You are “overstocked” or have too high a “stocking rate”. These are all farming terms to describe the situation that needs fixing before you run into major feed and animal welfare problems. So it’s a good idea to see what your stocking rate is, and to do this you can use the old (if not ancient) system of Stock Units (SUs).


Stock Units

• The idea behind Stock Units is to compare all the stock on the farm on a similar basis so that you can get some overall measure of the feed requirements.
  
• The theory is sound enough, but it’s an old system and is of little if any value on today’s farms. But it’s still used for beef and sheep farms by vendors and land agents, where the farm is described as carrying or wintering a given number of stock units. Farm workers and managers’ jobs are also described using stock units.
• A SU is also called a Ewe Equivalent (EE) as the base used is one 55kg breeding ewe rearing a single lamb needing approximately 520-550kg DM from good quality pasture which includes what the lamb will eat up to weaning at 3½ months.
• You may also see the term LSU or Livestock Units used.
• A farm’s carrying capacity or stocking rate (SR) is expressed as the number of SUs carried on 1 July so it’s the number of stock that will be wintered.
• If you can farm your stock through the winter, then the rest of the year should be no problem.
  

Here’s a table of Stock Units. Remember these very general values have great limitations and can only be a very crude guide.


So where do you go from here?
Often you don’t get very far and the exercise seems a bit academic! When you ask someone who is supposed to know the answer – they invariably start off by saying - “Well it all depends!”

Here’s the drill. Once you have converted all stock on the farm into SUs, and then divided by the number of hectares, then you’ll know your SU/ha. But how do you know if it’s too high or too low, or what’s the ideal for your farm? This is when you should talk to local farmers, neighbours or farm consultants – but don’t be surprised if they are scared to commit themselves. If you hear of a farm successfully running 12 SU/ha then it must be a good farm as this is at the high end.

In practice, go back and analyse what happened in the dead of winter. If you were in deep trouble then reduce your overall stocking rate. Don’t judge your stocking rate in the spring flush! Smart operators know what live weight of stock they carry per hectare and this makes a lot more sense if you can work it out. Live weight per hectare will be a lot more help when you do a feed budget.

Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.