Ewes are female sheep which are usually kept for the purpose of breeding or reproduction. While gestating, ewes undergo a number of physiological changes upon conception and the state of their health and nutrition largely determine their successful lambing.
Good nutrition is essential for a healthy flock and ewes’ nutritional requirements vary significantly in correlation with different stages of production.
Proper nutrition at this stage helps in maintaining and growing the unborn lamb(s), developing the udder and milk production, producing good quality colostrum, and also to avoid metabolic disorders among other things.
Generally, careful monitoring and management of the pregnant ewe during the five months (150 days) of foetal development help to avert certain birth difficulties, ensure proper lactation, as well as influence lamb survival.
Most importantly, deliberate care of the animal during the last six weeks of pregnancy is of paramount importance because the majority of the foetal growth occurs within this period
Energy and protein requirements increase rapidly partly because 70 per cent of a lamb’s birth weight is gained (Low birth weight means high mortality rate). Also, the udder grows in preparation for lactation. Therefore, feeding ewes correctly at this stage will ensure good levels of colostrum.
Colostrum is a nutrient-rich fluid produced immediately after parturition which is loaded with immune, growth, and tissue repair factors that help build immunity in baby animals.
Note: Overfeeding of ewes at this stage can also lead to oversized lambs and difficult births, therefore, it is best to feed for maintenance and growth of the lamb in utero, based on live weight and litter size.
Breeders should note that ewes need to be fit at lambing time, and lean ewes should be given preferential feeding.
Daily supply of minerals and vitamins should also be maintained to ensure proper body functioning, a good supply of vitamin E during pregnancy as well increases lamb vigour.
Research studies have shown that feeding barley only helps to fatten the ewe and not the birth weight of the lambs. Feeding good quality silage with mineral deficiency supplementation will also supply much of the nutrients required by the dam at this time.
Providing sufficient energy in the diet is also critical to ensuring good milk production to feed the lambs after parturition.
Ewes underfed in late pregnancy produce lambs with low reserves of brown fat used specifically for protection against hypothermia.
Hypothermia, one of the major causes of lamb mortality within the first seven days of life occurs when the lamb’s body temperature drops below 390C and the body’s capacity to generate heat cannot compensate for the loss of body heat.
The dam has to provide all the energy, protein, and minerals for the fast-growing lamb and will only be overwhelmed without adequate quality feed. Cereals, on one hand, are a good source of energy but high levels of it, particularly wheat, can cause acidosis so the inclusion of a digestible fibre source is encouraged and also aid palatability.
Feeding pattern
According to an animal expert, a month before parturition, feeding should be at 200g/day/ewe while double of this be fed every three days until the animal reaches about 1.5kg. Ewes with twins can be fed as high as 2kg per day.
In late pregnancy, ewes can eat 2.5 to 3 per cent of their body mass a day which can reach up to 3 to 4 per cent of body mass/day during early lactation.
However, when practising group feeding, lucerne hay should be included because some of the animals will refuse the ration.
Lucerne hay is commonly included as a supplement in the pregnant ewe’s diet because it has more protein than grass hay.
The feed should be more digestible and concentrated, protein lick and other supplements can be also be introduced to better benefit the animal
A protein lick is made up of about 50 per cent maize meal, 18 per cent lucerne meal, 12 per cent cottonseed oil cake meal, 19 per cent salt, and one per cent feed lime. Urea causes problems in pregnant and lactating ewes therefore it should not be added to the feed.
In conclusion, it should be noted that while enhanced feeding (flushing) prior mating improves lambing percentage, animal breeders are oblivious of the fact that the responsiveness of the ovary of such animal to that feeding may depend on the nutrition the ewe received as an embryo.
Against this backdrop, it should be noted that improper feeding regime especially pre-parturition has a lifetime effect on the animal.
（May 17, 2021, From “AgroNigeria”)
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Post time: May-17-2021