[Jacob-list] grass vs. grain

[Linda]

Katrina,

Some great points!
I'm a big advocate of whole grain over pellets.  I like to see what I'm feeding. I 
don't eat unidentifiable foodstuffs and prefer not to feed it!  I feed whole corn, 
whole oats, soybean meal, wheat bran & molasses for the heavily pregnant ewes.  I've 
looked a little into whole wheat, but the jury is out on that.

Good nutrition means nutrition that meets requirements.  High protein can be bad 
nutrition.  I think each management situation needs to analysed individually.  It's 
so interesting to read how many different ways of sheep husbandry are practiced by 
Jacob breeders. This is an adaptable breed and they seem to flourish in all sorts of 
conditions when managed by responsible shepherds.

When your sheep are relying on grain/hay, your best doers will be your most 
aggressive ewes.  I have often had to rely on grain/hay most of the year and had to 
really think about this.  By selecting for the best doers, I was actually selecting 
for the ones that were the pushiest at the feed trough.  

Linda

On Tue, 20 Nov 2001 17:10:46 -0500, dave & katrina wrote:
>I love this topic and have some questions  of my own...thanks for
>bringing it up, Betty, it has been on my mind. 
>I was told by other sheep raisers that  sheep in general were not
>fed grain until there was a grain surplus during the  war...
>ruminants were given grain as a way to get rid of it.  Later it just
>became the thing to do.  I have heard speakers at conferences (via
>other  breeders) talking about the bacteria in the rumen and how it
>adjusts to the  animals intake...if the animal has built up the
>bacteria needed to process  grain, it has a difficult time utilizing
>grass.  I have also been told that  if you do feed grain, whole
>grains keep the rumen much healthier than pelleted  or highly
>processed grains.  Compacted, highly processed grains can cause
>health problems.  By the way,as a personal pet peeve, I have a
>little bit  of a problem with the term 'better nutrition' meaning
>higher protein... To me  that is like telling humans that the more
>hamburgers they eat, the better their  diet is.  Just causes more
>misunderstandings of sheep diet in my mind. I  think there might be
>reasons to feed grain, but think the reason of better  nutrition
>should be used cautiously. 
>
>Our sheep are entirely on pasture with  hay/alfafa in the winter and
>we have been very pleased.  We have not had  any difficult births so
>far, they just seem to pop them out, and everyone seems  to maintain
>condition and health. (In the commercial flock we worked with
>before, prolapses lessened dramatically when we lessened their
>protein  intake.) Some lambs grow faster than others, but most have
>taken their  first year. Some of the rams here  were rolling in fat 
>this spring in our efforts to keep the pastures down.   I think a
>big advantage of a pasture-based program is that everyone has a
>fair chance at the best food out there.  I hate watching big fat
>ewes eat  all the goodies that the smaller ones need, while ewes
>farther down on the totem  pole hang back and get skinny. Around 
>here that is the way it goes  even with alfafa, so we spread it out
>as much as possible. Less fights on  pasture too.
>
>As far as grass-fed lamb, many people  would prefer to buy grass-fed
>for the health benefits.  It supposedly is  high in omega 3 fatty
>acids which are said to be helpful in balancing  weight, cholestrol
>and mood. Here is a site you might want to explore:
>http://www.eatwild.com We  were not a big meat eaters, but were
>pleasantly surprised by the taste and  texture of our meat.  Most
>people who we have shared it with have had very  positive reactions. 
>I am not sure how it compares with grain-fed  jacob meat.  I think
>there might be some differences, but not sure.  I  think it would be
>interesting to hear from people who have experienced  both.
>
>Anyway, from my experience as far as  health and management, I am
>convinced in grass-fed. My only question up to this  point is about
>fleece. Since most grain is higher in protein, it makes  sense that
>it would affect hair and horn growth.  Most of our fleeces  here
>have been long and pretty, and I can't see that the grass diet has
>influenced them negatively.   But I have noticed this year that a
>few ewes'  fleeces felted at the tips (I guess that is what it is
>called)...any one have  info on what causes that? Kind of balled up
>at the ends.   I also  had one or two shed down the back along the
>spine. By the way, I have  noticed that the first thing that grows
>in is a harsher hairier wool in  those areas...kind of like a
>protection and then later it disappears and it  seems like those
>areas catch up with the rest of the fleece.  How do they  do that? 
>Most of these sheep have not been here terribly long and it  is
>difficult to tell if this is an individual trait or if it was caused
>by  diet.  The pastures were not as good here this summer with the
>drought...that is for sure!  We now have more pasture to work with
>and I  have started to add kelp and garlic to the mineral mix ...I
>wonder if that  changes the wool characteristics also.
>
>Any thoughts to add to my ponderings? I  would love to hear more
>about other peoples experiences...including why they  grain.  Would
>be interesting to hear for me to hear.
>Katrina Oberholtzer Lefever,
>Chicory Lane Farm,  Hanover,PA
>
>