What are the reasons for a decline in feed intake in meat sheep?
Meat sheep are very common in China, whether raised free-range in rural areas or in large-scale operations. Compared with wool sheep and dairy sheep, meat sheep are in great demand in China. When raising meat sheep, the body condition of the sheep directly affects the profitability of the operation. And the body condition of meat sheep is directly linked to their feed intake. So what causes a decline in feed intake in meat sheep? Below, the editor will give you a brief introduction. Let's take a look together!
1. Poor palatability
In many cases, a decline in feed intake in meat sheep generally shows up in winter. This is mainly because green feed resources are very scarce in winter, so winter feed consists mainly of hay and grain straw. This kind of feed has very poor palatability, and the feed intake of meat sheep in winter will decline as a result. Therefore, we should mainly keep the feed diversified, improve the palatability of the feed, and also maintain a balanced nutritional content in the feed.
2. Moldy feed
When feeding, we must not only pay attention to the nutritional ratio of the feed, but feed quality is also something we cannot ignore. If moldy feed is accidentally fed, then the feed intake of meat sheep will naturally drop significantly. And if meat sheep eat too much moldy feed, it is very likely to cause poisoning in the sheep. Therefore, before feeding we must carefully inspect the feed, and must never feed moldy or spoiled feed. If the degree of mold is slight, then an appropriate amount of mold remover can be added and the feed mixed with some high-quality feed before feeding.
3. Too little exercise
When raising meat sheep, we must ensure that the sheep get a certain amount of exercise. If meat sheep get too little exercise, then the digestive function of their stomach and intestines will be affected, leading to a decline in feed intake. Especially in confined housing, many people neglect the issue of letting meat sheep exercise. Therefore, when building sheep housing, we should pay attention to setting up an exercise yard to ensure the sheep have enough space to move around, and for confined sheep they should be grazed regularly.
4. Too much concentrate
In essence, sheep are still a kind of herbivorous animal. And many farmers, in order to increase the fattening speed of meat sheep, will blindly feed too much concentrate. And if meat sheep eat too much concentrate for a long time, then it will place a great burden on their stomach and intestines, so their feed intake will also decline as a result. Therefore, we must pay attention to controlling the feeding ratio of concentrate. The proportion of concentrate in the total feed should generally be kept at about 40%, and even during the intensive fattening period it can only be raised to about 60%.
The above is a brief introduction to the reasons for a decline in feed intake in meat sheep. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!