The Fat Ewe Farm and Bed and Breakfast
The Fat Ewe Farm and Moose Hills Inn
Organic Permaculture Farmin' for
the Lazy Ewes
  • The Fat Ewe Farm
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • The Fat Ewe Farm Store
  • Livestock Breeds (click here to see all the breeds)
    • Angora goats
    • Icelandic Sheep
    • Jacob sheep
    • Old English Southdown Babydoll Sheep >
      • Babydoll Sheep on the Fat Ewe Farm
  • Contact Us
    • Photo Gallery (click here for some awesome photos or watch the slideshow) >
      • Video Slide Show
    • Phone Number
    • Map
  • Sale Barn
  • Recipes From the Fat Ewe
    • Old Stuff
  • How Much Meat Do You Get?
  • Ukrainian Easter Eggs
  • Moose Hills Inn

Feeding Sheep, Take Three

10/29/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Most of the sheep are rare breeds, heritage sheep with long wool. There are a few with dense wool, the E'st a Laine Merinos and Southdown Babydolls, but more with long wool like the Karakuls, Icelandics and Cotswolds. Dense wool tends to shed vegetative matter, while long wool attracts and holds debris like burrs and hay. It is almost impossible to keep the hay off the sheep. The first year I made a feeder by tying a livestock panel against the fence, that is a heavy gauge wire panel, 52 inches high and 16 feet long, with gradient spaces from 2 inches at the bottom to 8 inches at the top. The sheep stuck their heads through the panel to eat and that worked for most except the horned sheep. I tried making it more vertical but had to restock it too often. So the hay ruined the fleece that year. Last year I built a feeder out of wood, which improved the falling hay somewhat, except the very tame fat ewes ran to where I was loading the feeder and inadvertently got hay on their backs. The smaller sheep stood under the larger sheep to eat lower and the large sheep pulled the hay out and it fell onto the small sheep. It seemed a no win situation.
I researched how to keep fleece free of vegetative matter and there were many versions of the two feeders I had already tried which did not work for my sheep. Feeding on the ground results in great waste, so that option was out. It seemed sheep coats were the only answer.
I found a type of feeder made from what appeared to be livestock panels that were 4 feet by 52 inches, without the gradient increments of openings. It was latched together around a large round bale which stood upright. I cut two of the long panels with an angle grinder and used twine and a few stainless clips that were around to put it together. The sheep were put in the adjacent pen for the construction and importation of the bale and let in when it was complete. It seems to keep the hay from their backs. The sheep with large horns will still have to work harder to eat, since they cannot stick their heads very far in the openings. I noted that the commercial version of this feeder has four larger openings cut in, so I will try that with the next model for the rams. I do not like using the angle grinder to cut the metal though. What a horrible job with sparks flying everywhere. Gross.
Now the new feeder is on trial. So far so good. There is quite a bit of waste though. I was hoping for none. It seems sheep are bad that way. If this functions well, I will make one for the ewe lambs and one for the goats as well. Then I can spend the time I would normally be forking hay over petting the sheep instead. Fingers are crossed!

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Airstream Land Yacht 1964
    Alpacas
    Alpine Goats
    Ameraucana Chickens
    American Buff Geese
    Ancona Ducks
    Angora Goats
    Angora Goats
    Angora Rabbits.
    Babydoll Southdown Sheep
    Babydoll Southdown Sheep
    Bed And Breakfast
    Berkshire Pigs
    Blue Faced Leicester Sheep
    Blue Swedish Ducks
    Boer Goats
    Border Collie
    Border Collie
    Bronze Turkey Standard
    Bronze Turkey (Standard)
    Canadian Horses
    Canadian Horses
    Cats
    Chickens
    Cotswold Sheep
    Crafts And Hobbies
    Cream Legbar Chickens
    Dorset Sheep
    Ducks
    Embden Geese
    E'st A Laine Merino Sheep
    Farm Life
    Farm Life
    Farm Store
    Finnsheep
    Flemish Giant Rabbit
    Flowers
    French Lop Rabbit
    Galloway Cattles
    Gardening
    Gotland Sheep
    Guinea Fowl
    Herbs
    Holstein Steer
    Icelandic Sheep
    Jacob Sheep
    Japanese Bantam Chickens
    Jersey Cow
    Kahaki Campbell Ducks
    Karakul Sheep
    Kiko Goats
    Kilo Highland Cows
    Light Sussex Chicken
    Livestock Guardian Dogs
    Livestock Guardian Dogs
    Maremma Sheepdogs
    Maremma Sheepdogs
    Meishan Pigs
    Miniature Nigerian Dwarf Goats
    Moose Hills Inn
    Muscovy Ducks
    Norwegian Red Dairy Cow
    Nubian Goats
    Nygora Goat
    Ossabaw Hogs
    Partidge Chantecler Chickens
    Pekin Ducks
    Permaculture
    Pied Guinea Fowl
    Polish/Ameraucana Bantam Cross Chickens
    Polled Dorset Sheep
    Potbelly Pigs
    Pygmy Goats
    Recipes
    Rigit Galloway Cows.
    Romanov Sheep
    Romney Sheep
    Rouen Ducks
    Saddleback Pomeranican Geese
    Saxony Ducks
    Sebastopol Geese
    Sheep And Goats
    Shetland Sheep
    Silver Spangled Hamburg Chicken
    Soap And Hand Made Cosmetics
    Standard Jack Donkey
    Sustainability
    Swiss Blackneck Goats
    The Llamas
    The Llamas
    Toulouse Geese
    Tunis Sheep
    White Chantecler Chickens
    White Danish Geese
    Wool

    Author

    Fluffy writes daily about the experiences on the farm and with the bed and breakfast patrons. 

    Archives

    October 2020
    September 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    view old blog site

    RSS Feed

Contact Us
Home

The Fat Ewe Farm 

All text and photos are the sole property of The Fat Ewe Farm  and may not be used without written permission.