Sheep Management

  • Provide plenty of fresh, clean water at all times.
  • Divide the suggested daily feeding rate into 2 or 3 feedings per day.
  • Market lambs should consume about 2-4% of their body weight in dry feed.
  • Never feed any feedstuffs that are moldy, musty or suspect in any way.
  • Gains on market lambs can range from 0.3 to over 1.0 pound per day.  Usually 0.6 pound is considered good.
  • Flush ewes and rams 10-14 days before breeding.  Flushing is done by increasing the energy level of the diet 10 to 15 percent. Hubbard Life Sheep Feed added to or increased in the diet will accomplish a good flush. 
  • Changes in the diet should be made gradually by mixing 10% of the new feed in with the old every day until the diet has been replaced totally by the new feed.  If the new mix is not eaten well don’t increase the next day staying at the new level until it being eaten well before continuing.  Being patient will help prevent digestive disturbances.
  • Hand feeding:  provide a minimum of 1 linear foot of feeder space per head when hand-feeding roughage or concentrate.
  • Docking and castrating lambs.  If inexperienced in this area contact your veterinarian or an experienced producer to learn how to do this properly and at the right age.
  • Shearing sheep is an art and best practiced by professionals.  The breeding flock should be shorn once a year before going to summer pasture.  Lambs do better in the feed yard if shorn after weaning.  Crotching, removing of wool from around the teats and rear end of ewes, should be done about 3 weeks prior to the start of lambing.