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We put this in our latest eNews but thought it also worth posting here:

Feeding & Managing Sheep in Dry Times

Summer and autumn are critical for sheep because both the amount and quality of dry feed deteriorates over time. Pasture quantity can naturally decline over summer and autumn by up to 50 per cent. Digestibility is an indicator of how much energy the feed contains. A digestibility value of 75 per cent in early October can drop to 55 per cent by early January. Below 55 per cent digestibility sheep are usually unable to consume enough pasture to maintain their weight.

The aim of supplementary feeding is to hand feed as little as possible to achieve the required production from the sheep. To achieve this, the sheep need to utilise as much dry feed as possible – i.e. what you hand feed needs to compliment the existing dry feed and not substitute for it. The level of supplementary feeding needed will depend on the class of sheep, their current condition and what is available in the paddock.

Find out more in this great little bulletin ‘Feeding & Managing Sheep in Dry Times‘ produced in 2006 by the then Department of Agriculture for WA & SA – still relevant 13 years on. For the latest go also to the DPIRD website: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/feeding-nutrition/supplementary-feeding-and-feed-budgeting-sheep

feeding-and-managing-sheep-in-dry-times.pdf 1 MB PDF - Click to view

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