Diverse Forage Grass Varieties Suitable for Raising Sheep: Choose the Right Grass Species and Raising Sheep Becomes Easier

Forage grasses suitable for raising sheep generally refer to all kinds of forage grass that have stable yields, good palatability and relatively balanced nutrition, and can meet the growth and reproduction needs of sheep. Sheep are ruminants, and their daily diet mainly consists of green forage grass and hay. The quality of the forage grass directly affects the sheep's weight gain, reproductive performance and the quality of meat and milk, so choosing good forage grass is a fundamental part of raising sheep.

Common forage grasses suitable for raising sheep are broadly divided into two major categories: legumes and grasses. Legume forages such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa), white clover (Trifolium repens) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) have relatively high protein content and good palatability, and are suitable for supplementing the nutrition of ewes and lambs; grass forages such as perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), Sudan grass (Sorghum sudanense), Mexican corn grass (Zea mexicana), king grass (Pennisetum sinese), and napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) grow quickly and produce large amounts of grass, and are convenient for green feeding, silage or making hay.

When choosing varieties, local climate, soil conditions and feeding methods should be considered comprehensively. Cool regions are suitable for planting ryegrass, alfalfa and oat grass, while warm and humid regions are more suitable for heat-loving varieties such as napier grass and king grass; in production, legumes and grasses are often planted together or fed together, which can both balance nutrition and improve the utilization efficiency of the pasture.

There are several points to pay attention to in daily feeding. Feeding too much fresh legume forage can easily cause bloat in the rumen of sheep, so it is better to mix it with grass forage or properly dry it before feeding; forage grass with dew or rainwater that has not dried should not be fed directly in large amounts. In addition, forage grass should be harvested at the right time. If it is too old, the fiber is coarse and hard and the nutrition declines; if it is too tender, the moisture content is relatively high. Generally, harvesting around the heading or early flowering stage gives better quality.