Supplementary feeding is the supply of additional feed (usually grain, hay or silage) to sheep grazing a pasture or stubble that is lacking in energy or protein.
A dry winter and spring means that supplementary feeding may be needed from early in summer through until pasture grows in winter. A good supplementary feeding program will ensure sheep utilise as much dry paddock feed as possible as well as provide sufficient supplementary feed for maintenance or growth.
The department has a comprehensive range of information resources for producers on supplementary feeding and feed budgeting to assist with matching feed supplies with feed demand, and accounting for seasonal risk. Feed budgeting should also be completed as part of a livestock management plan.
In WA, sheep are commonly supplementary fed during late summer, autumn and early winter to:
- reduce grazing pressure on pastures that are near to minimum groundcover levels for erosion control
- improve utilisation of existing dry pasture where dry pasture is nonlimiting
- meet the sheep's energy and protein requirements
- improve production of meat or wool to achieve targets
- reduce the grazing pressure on establishing pastures to ensure that pasture growth rates are optimised in winter.
Supplementary feeding aims to meet the nutritional requirements of different classes of sheep. It is especially important to prevent excessive liveweight loss during the dry pasture phase in weaners and pregnant ewes.
This guide details the energy requirements of ewes and weaners, types of supplementary feeds and feeding rations and methods.
Knowing the value of different feedstuffs is critical when making decisions about livestock nutrition, for survival, maintenance and growth.
Efficient supplementary feeding should aim to supply sheep with a diet that is sufficient in digestible energy and protein.
Ideally, feedstuffs should be tested, but we developed some feed tables to help roughly estimate the amount of grain and fodder required.
During dry times and drought there are a wide range of alternative feedstuffs producers may consider using to maintain stock.
Some of these feeds can have health risks associated with them and should not be used as the sole food source as they often lack sufficient energy and protein.
Key factors to consider when looking at alternative feeds are:
- possible toxicity
- contamination with chemicals or heavy metals
- nutritional value (energy, protein, digestibility, dry matter)
- transition period.
A factsheet on alternative feed sources is available as a guide for considerations when using novel feedstuffs for sheep and cattle.
In dry seasons, it is likely that farmers will need to start supplementary feeding earlier than usual. The higher requirement for supplementary feeds over dry seasons means accurate feed budgeting becomes increasingly important to minimise feed wastage, for weaner survival, and to maintain stock at the right condition score (CS) for joining.
Feed testing can help calculate accurate feed budgets and confirm whether a particular feed source is worth buying.
We have produced a short video that introduces all aspects of feed budgeting.
Read more on the nutritional value of your supplementary feeds
Despite potentially elevated grain prices, strong prices for meat and wool mean that Western Australian sheep farmers can confidently supplementarily feed their underweight ewes in summer/autumn.
Analysis completed in 2019 shows it is a profitable investment to feed all ewes to maintain condition during pregnancy, and to feed low condition score single bearing ewes and low and medium condition score twin bearing ewes to gain condition.
A report on the value of a ewe by John Young of Farming Systems Analysis Service remains relevant in dry seasons.
Read the 'Analysis of the value of a ewe in the WA sheep industry'
When sheep need to be supplementary fed, either in a confined space or in a paddock, there are different ways to ensure that they are receiving the correct quantities of feed and wastage is reduced.
Read about different types of feeding options including trail feeding, lick, racks and self-feeders and supplementary grain feeding rates.
Confinement feeding is a feeding practice, often used during a dry season, that aims to promote animal health and welfare while preserving ground cover and land condition. This is achieved by confining livestock to a small area where they are fed a total ration.
Why should you consider confinement feeding?
The inherent value of confinement feeding can include:
- Better control of stock and easier management of feeding, watering, monitoring and handling. Visual assessment of stock is simplified when they are held in a smaller area and hand-fed a formulated diet.
- Protection of areas vulnerable to erosion. If pasture cover falls below about 50%, wind can blow away soil particles, causing erosion and loss of valuable nutrients and topsoil. It is important to remove stock before these critical ground cover targets have been reached as ground cover will decay naturally.
- Allowing pastures to recover and establish after the break.
- Reducing seed set of introduced weeds in purchased feed.
Before moving stock into confinement, ensure you have the necessary resources to fully manage them over a realistic timeframe before they can be returned to pastures. This includes considering cash flow, grain and roughage and water supply.
Is confinement feeding considered to be a feedlot?
Feeding stock for production, such as finishing prime lambs in a feedlot, is not covered and specialist advice should be sought if you wish to set up a permanent feedlot. Feedlots must meet local government planning requirements and may also require approval from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. For advice on setting up a feedlot, email our Agribusiness Development team at agribusiness@dpird.wa.gov.au.
How do I set up a confinement feeding area?
There are 5 critical areas to consider when planning confinement feeding:
1. Site selection
- Avoid public roads or property boundaries.
- Ensure access to infrastructure such as yards, silos and water sources.
- Consider a location close to a farmhouse to reduce labour, but far enough away so that it does not place an emotional toll on residents. Locate convenient to yards, silos and water sources.
- Pick a soil type that is stable and will compact to reduce dust loads, like clay or clay loam.
- A slope of 3 or 4% is recommended to assist with run-off; but to avoid erosion. Confinement areas should be across the slope to avoid pen-to-pen drainage.
- Avoid sites close to watercourses and water storage infrastructure to protect against nutrient run-off.
- No more than 20% of the site should contain remnant vegetation. Existing shelter belts or vegetation can be utilised for shade. Trees within the confinement area will likely need to be protected from ringbarking.
2. Size
- 5 m² /head is recommended for dry adult sheep.
- Mobs of 200 to 500 head are recommended.
3. Water
- A key limitation of confinement feeding is ensuring an adequate supply of good quality stock water.
- Calculate the amount of water available and the total water requirements of the stock to determine how many can be held in confinement and for how long. Dry sheep require an average of 4 litres/head/day; but this can increase to 10 litres/head/day in very hot weather.
- Avoid locating dams inside the confinement area, as they can become boggy,
- Flow rate is critical to ensure rapid replacement of water levels. Sheep will naturally take turns drinking so trough space is less important than flow rate.
4. Feed
- Stock fed in confinement need to have 100% of their diet supplied in a full ration, including energy, protein, mineral and roughage requirements.
- The amount fed should be at least the minimum requirements of the type of stock being fed. New feeds, especially grains, should be introduced gradually with plenty of roughage to avoid acidosis.
- Regular weighing and condition scoring is needed to maintain target condition, and poor performers should be removed and treated separately.
- Feed troughs should be used to minimise wastage and to reduce the incidence of animal health complications that are associated with grazing from the ground. Industry suggests 15 to 20 m of double-sided trough per 100 sheep.
5. Animal health
- Keep an eye out for signs of acidosis, shy feeders, flystrike and pink eye.
- Regularly clean feed and water troughs to reduce the incidence of disease.
- Ensure the diet meets the nutritional requirements of the stock. This will make them more robust and resilient to disease.
- The reintroduction of sheep to pasture after confinement feeding must be managed carefully. The change in diet from grain to fresh pastures can cause health problems, such as pulpy kidney. Ensure vaccination for pulpy kidney is up-to-date and release sheep from confinement gradually, after they have had their ration for the day and aren’t hungry and continue to feed hay and grain over at least a few days.
Detailed information about establishing and using confinement feeding as part of a whole of farm livestock, pasture and erosion management program is available.
Read more on confined paddock feeding and feedlotting of sheep
We have designed tools, calculators and resources to help producers manage their ewe flock more effectively and make better management decisions about feed budgeting and grazing.
Some of the useful tools are calculators for grazing, annual feed budgeting, supplementary feeding and feed cost, a sheep condition score app and information on Pastures from space and feed budget tables.
Lifetimewool have produced dry and drought feed tables including pasture decline tables for mixed temperate pastures and Mediterranean annual pastures and break of season tables designed for annual pastures in the development phase: