Milly Gaines
Sheep are gentle, fluffy, and social mammals. They are also strict herbivores, and their diet consists of grass, legumes, leaves, flowering plants, and forbs. Sheep are ruminants, like cows, and have a complex digestive system that can break down their food. They can survive on pasture grass alone, especially ryegrass and timothy, and graze for 6 to 8 hours a day. Sheep require a lot of food to meet their energy needs, and their diet may include supplements like high-protein pellets, cottonseed meal, salt, and minerals. Lambs have different dietary needs, requiring milk from their mother for the first few weeks of their lives, gradually transitioning to grass and grains.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Diet | Grasses, plants, legumes, forbs, pasture grass, ryegrass, timothy, milk, grains, hay, pellets, silage, sorghum, alfalfa, corn, cottonseed hulls, salt, water |
| Dietary Requirements | High-energy food, clean fresh water, calcium, salt, protein, vitamin A |
| Dietary Avoidance | Woody plants, toxins |
| Dietary Concerns | Poor-quality feed, insufficient feed, restricted access to feed, stress, low calcium, large milk meals, improper bottle-feeding, high milk production by ewe |
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What You'll Learn
Sheep diet consists of grass, legumes, leaves, and flowering plants
Sheep are known for their woolly coats and gentle, sociable nature. These domesticated animals follow a social hierarchy within their flocks, grazing together around farmlands. Sheep are strict herbivores and their diet consists of grass, legumes, leaves, and flowering plants.
Sheep are ruminants, like cows, so they have a complex digestive system that can break down their food. They spend many hours each day grazing and their multi-chambered stomachs require a lot of food to process to create energy. Adult sheep vary in size from about 100 pounds to 350 pounds, and they need to eat about 0.03 pounds of food for every pound they weigh.
Sheep can survive solely on pasture grass, especially ryegrass and timothy, making them self-sufficient during the warmer months. A forage-based diet is best for healthy, mature sheep. Forage can be provided in fresh or dried form and can include grass or legume hay, silage, or pasture. Forage should be clean, free of mold, and moderately mature. Sheep will also eat grains and flowering plants.
Lambs have different dietary needs from their parents. They require milk from their mother or a bottle for the first week or two of their lives. After that, they begin to eat small amounts of grass and grains. By the time a lamb is 4 to 6 weeks old, it will be getting about half of its nutrition from grazing or other sources. They will be fully weaned by the time they are 12 to 14 weeks old.
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Sheep prefer soft plants that are easy to digest
Sheep are known to eat a variety of foods, including grass, legumes, leaves, and flowering plants. They are strict herbivores with a complex digestive system that can break down their food. While they can survive on pasture grass alone, they have a preference for soft plants that are easy to digest.
Sheep are discerning eaters and will actively seek out softer plants that do not require as much chewing or difficulty digesting. They spend a significant amount of time grazing each day, and their high-energy requirements mean they need to consume a large volume of food. As a result, they favour plants that can be consumed quickly and easily.
The preference for soft plants is particularly evident in their avoidance of woody plants. Woody plants require more effort to chew and digest, and sheep will often bypass these in favour of softer alternatives. This preference is not just a matter of taste but also of practicality, as softer plants allow sheep to maximise their energy efficiency.
In addition to their preference for soft plants, sheep also require a diet that is free of potential toxins and substances they cannot digest. It is important for sheep owners to be mindful of the weight of older sheep, as weight loss can be a sign of dental disease, underlying health conditions, or issues with their diet or environment.
The diet of sheep can vary depending on their age. Young lambs have different dietary needs and initially rely exclusively on their mother's milk. After the first week or two, they gradually begin to eat small amounts of grass and grains, eventually transitioning to a fully weaned diet by 12 to 14 weeks of age.
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Lambs require milk and grass/grains
Lambs, or baby sheep, have different dietary needs from their parents. In their first week or two of life, they feed exclusively on milk, typically from their mother. After this, they start to eat small amounts of grass and grains. By the time they are four to six weeks old, they will be getting about half of their nutrition from their mother's milk and the other half from grazing or other sources. They will be fully weaned by the time they are 12 to 14 weeks old in farm settings.
Lambs and adult sheep require access to water to stay healthy and prevent death. They also need to eat about 0.03 pounds of food for every pound they weigh. Lambs can be started safely on self-fed, ground, or pelleted diets containing 60%–70% hay. Within two weeks, the hay can be reduced to 30%–40% when the ration is not pelleted. Other roughages such as cottonseed hulls or silage can be used in a similar manner.
Lambs and adult sheep are ruminants, like cows, so they have complex digestive systems that can break down food. However, they are susceptible to lactic acidosis, which is caused by large, abrupt increases in dietary sugar and starches. This can be fatal even with intensive care. Lambs are also susceptible to Clostridium perfringens type C infection, caused by the ingestion of large milk meals.
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Sheep need lots of food to process into energy
Sheep are strict herbivores with a complex digestive system that allows them to break down their food. They spend a lot of time grazing each day, and their diet consists of a variety of different foods, including grass, legumes, leaves, flowering plants, and forbs. They can even survive solely on pasture grass, like ryegrass and timothy, during the warmer months.
Sheep have high feeding requirements, and their multi-chambered stomachs need a lot of food to process to produce energy. They need to eat about 0.03 pounds of food for every pound they weigh, and they weigh anywhere from 100 to 350 pounds as adults. This means they need to consume a lot of forage, which can be provided in the form of fresh or dried forages. Forage is the best food for sheep as it is high in the protein they need for energy.
The amount and type of food a sheep eats can change depending on the productive process, and sheep have different dietary needs at different life stages. For example, lambs require milk from their mother or a milk replacement for the first week or two of their lives. After that, they gradually transition to solid food, eating small amounts of grass and grains. By the time a lamb is 4 to 6 weeks old, it will be getting half of its nutrition from milk and half from grazing or other sources. They will be fully weaned by 12 to 14 weeks.
Supplementation is also important for sheep, especially older sheep that may have dental issues or underlying health conditions. Supplements usually consist of high-protein pellets or cottonseed meal and salt, medium-protein pellets, low-protein pellets or corn, alfalfa hay, and minerals. Proper supplementation can increase the lamb crop by 10%–15% and wool production by about 1 lb (400–500 g) per ewe.
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Forage-based diets are best for mature sheep
Sheep are strict herbivores and their diet consists of a variety of plants, legumes, leaves, and flowering plants. They are known to graze for many hours each day, and their multi-chambered stomachs require a lot of food to process to make energy.
For healthy, mature sheep, a forage-based diet is considered the best. Forages can be provided in fresh or dried form and can include hay, grass, legumes, and forbs. The type of forage offered depends on what is available in the region and what the sheep prefer. Sheep tend to prefer small, soft, leafy plants and will eat shrub-like plants or shorter forbs before grazing on taller grasses. They will also eat the leaves and anything soft before consuming the stems or grasses. Therefore, it is beneficial to have a variety of plant species in the pasture.
Forages are a good source of fiber, which is important for rumen function, and protein, with a minimum of 7% crude protein being necessary for normal rumen function and bacterial growth. Most forages provide enough protein to meet the maintenance recommendation of 7-8% for mature sheep. In addition, forages provide essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and iron, which are all necessary for the overall health of sheep.
While mature sheep that are neither pregnant nor lactating typically do not require supplementation with grains, pellets, or concentrates, those with certain health challenges, such as cancer or dental disease, may need supplemental food sources. In such cases, it is important to consult with a veterinarian to determine the appropriate diet and supplementation.
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Frequently asked questions
Sheep are strict herbivores and eat grass, legumes, leaves, flowering plants, and forbs. They can survive solely on pasture grass, especially ryegrass and timothy.
Baby sheep, or lambs, require milk from their mother for the first week or two of their lives. After that, they start eating small amounts of grass and grains. By the time a lamb is 4 to 6 weeks old, it will be getting about half of its nutrition from grazing or other sources. They will be fully weaned by the time they are 12 to 14 weeks old.
Forage can be provided in fresh or dried form and includes hay (grass or legume), silage, or pasture/range. A forage-based diet is best for healthy, mature sanctuary sheep.
Diseases related to nutrition are some of the most common and preventable in sheep. These include pregnancy toxemia, a condition in late-gestation ewes caused by a negative energy balance, and hypocalcemia, which is caused by a diet too low in calcium. Lactic acidosis is another condition caused by large, abrupt increases in dietary sugar and starches.
Supplements for sheep usually consist of high-protein pellets or cottonseed meal and salt, medium-protein pellets, low-protein pellets or corn, alfalfa hay, and minerals.
