What to feed my mixed herd?

[Drk_wlf]

I have a mixed herd 2 4mth old Shetland Sheep a Ewe and Ram, 1 1yr old hair sheep Ewe, 1 1yr old pygmy buck, and a 4mth old alpine buck. I have been feeding them All Stock feed once a day about 2 scoops so about 4- 5 quarts (the scoop is 3 quarts but I don't fill it) then they have high quality hay free fed. I also put a Goat/Sheep vitamin mineral block in with them but they eat it to fast so next time I plan on just getting the stuff to add to their food so I can control their intake. Within the next month the boys will be seperated from the girls, but that will still leave me with 2 sheep together and then 1 sheep with 2 goats. I plan on getting at least one alpine doe so even the femals will be mixed. Is what I am feeding them ok? I am kind of new at this. My hair sheep Flower (who was VERY skinny) has fattened up, but I am now conserned with her gaining to much weight. I was giving them 2 full scoops plus a little extra so about 7 quarts but have sence reduced the amount of All Stock feed they get to the above mentioned 4-5 quarts.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

There's about a bazillion different ways to feed, so it's going to be hard to give you a "right" answer.

IMO, that's a LOT of feed for that amount of animals. You want the majority of their diet to be forage based (so pasture or hay) and you only want to supplement with grain. Too much grain is bad for their rumen and can cause them to get fat, and can cause your bucks to get urinary calculi.

Hair sheep are generally easy keepers, so your ewe might not even need any grain at all. You might find the same thing with your shetland ewe.

If I were going to feed them, I'd feed only 1/4-1/2 lb of grain per animal per day and see if that works. It's hard to guess how much you're feeding now, but 2 full scoops of grain is several pounds I'm sure.

I also probably wouldn't give the bucks much grain...at all. I'd instead feed just a good quality hay.

About the mineral...it's really important to get a good quality sheep mineral, and a good quality goat mineral. Goats require more copper than sheep, so if you're feeding a combo mineral the goats aren't getting enough. I'd get the loose mineral so you can feed it individually. That means you'll have to separate the goats and sheep at least during feeding time in order to offer the right mineral.

Does that help at all?

 

[jodief100]

Too much copper will kill a sheep and goats require it. Getting the correct mineral for each animal is essential. I second Aggieterpkatie that they need to be separated during feeding to ensure they each get what they need.

The bucks dont need grain at all, unless they are breeding. A doe will only need a little, unless she is pregnant or lactating. How much depends on the breed and I do not know much about milk goats. Someone else can help you out there.

 

[Drk_wlf]

That is a HUGE help! I was really stressing over everyone getting what they need! It shouldnt be to bad to separate everyone during feeding right now. The Pygmy already gets separated out because he won't let anyone else eat! We have to take a trip to tractor supply today so I will look into foods for them. I saw that they have DuMOR Sheep Formula and DuMOR Goat Formula. Would I need to give them the minerals and vitamins if I bought them those instead? The feed bags say they it is a complete formula for all ages. Thank you so much, I have been reading up on owning sheep and goats, but the books I have say very little about raising them together.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I raise my sheep and goats together, Drk. I just separate out my doe to feed her seperately (she gets a dairy feed). I also offer mineral to just the goats, and then just the sheep. They can do well together, it just takes a little more management. The buck normally gets a little sheep feed when he's in there with the sheep.

I would still offer the mineral though, even if the bag says it's a complete feed.

 

[jodief100]

I saw that they have DuMOR Sheep Formula and DuMOR Goat Formula. Would I need to give them the minerals and vitamins if I bought them those instead? The feed bags say they it is a complete formula for all ages. Thank you so much, I have been reading up on owning sheep and goats, but the books I have say very little about raising them together.

Still feed them mineral. The feed isn't *quite* complete. I prefer Noble Goat. Is the DuMOR a pelleted feed or does it have individual grains? If it is not pelleted, I would not feed it to the bucks. If they can pick and choose which part to eat they can throw off the Phosphorus-Calcium balance and be suceptable to UC.

 

[Drk_wlf]

If it is not pelleted, I would not feed it to the bucks. If they can pick and choose which part to eat they can throw off the Phosphorus-Calcium balance and be suceptable to UC.

It is a pelleted food so that won't be an issue.

 

[Aped]

I keep my ewe with my does. Initially I was feeding separately then I bought some sheep and goat feed which basically turned out to be sweet feed. I don 't like that stuff because it's like goat candy so I switched back to feeding separately. I just take my ewe out of the shelter and lock the goats in while they all eat. The ewe eats outside. It takes about a minute for them to all finish so I can just stand there then let them all back together.

I feed my goats noble goat mixed with oats and boss. The sheep gets the same but with dumor sheep feed as the base. The get a 1/2 cup each am/pm and both get general livestock minerals mixed directly in their feed. The goats get copper bolused so I don't have to worry about who should be getting copper and who shouldn't be during feeding time.