#FarmingMethods

[farm-implements]

Ploughing the Way: The Crucial Role of Plough in Agriculture

A plough is an essential tool in agriculture, helping the important process of soil preparation. This device, which may be pushed by humans, animals, or tractors, turns the dirt over, breaking it up into manageable clumps. The plough improves aeration, root penetration, and water infiltration by loosening the soil. It also helps to manage weeds by burying undesired vegetation. 

[sandcreekfarm]

10 Facts About Goat Eyes You Should Surprise

Goat eyes do not resemble the round pupil we often see in humans, neither do they have similarities with the longitudinal pupil of cats or snakes.

Why do goat eyes look so alien with such horizontal rectangular pupils? Find your answer in this fact about goat eyes article.

1. Why do goat eyes look weird?

Scientists have concluded a trend that pupil shape and size in an animal’s eye play an extremely large role in the survival and evolution of species. For that reason, the strange shape of the goat’s eye is a sign of its position in the natural food chain.

Goats are one of the lucky animals to have evolved and adapted to their surroundings by horizontal and rectangular pupils. These weird eyes may look creepy, but this is how goats survive in the wild.

It helps the goats have a better and more discreet vision to defend themselves and adapt to their natural habitat.

2. Why do goats have rectangular pupils? 

Derived from the goat’s position in the food chain – the goat is a highly predatory herbivore – the animal needs to equip itself with a high level of self-defense to keep away from predators and avoid being hunted. The goat’s adaptation to a rectangular pupil is the smartest thing.

How do goats see with these weird-shaped eyes? The goat’s horizontal rectangular pupil is capable of helping this frail creature to do the following:

Goats have a broader field of view, which helps them identify threats from afar in order to respond promptly.

Goats are able to keep their view parallel to the ground while eating – this is important as they can still see horizontally across the horizon to get a good grasp of their surroundings even while bowing their heads.

Goats are able to see many directions at once with their pupils horizontally, and images on the horizontal plane are also clearer due to less light interference from unimportant directions.

Are these possibilities enough to make you jealous? This is how animals that are weaker in the battle for survival adapt to the environment.

Even currently living in a low-threat or dangerous grazing environment, the goat retains the strange shape of the eyes it inherited from its ancestors.

3. Are goats the only animals with rectangular pupils?

No, there are many other prey animals that have rectangular pupils, including sheep, octopuses, and toads.

In the wild, there are two species of animals that are common in the food chain: predators and prey.

Predators often have longitudinal pupils, such as cats or snakes. This characteristic pair of pupils can help predators better estimate the distance between themselves and their prey, thereby ambushing their prey with precision.

Whereas animals with horizontal pupils are usually herbivores – namely, herbivores that prey on other animals. It means goats are not the only animals that possess these rectangular pupils.

Whether they are foragers by day or at night, these vulnerable species keep the rectangular pupil shape to survey their surroundings with great precision, especially in terms of precise depth. This is because these species need time to hide predators in difficult terrain.

4. Can goats see in the dark?

Goats can see in the dark much better than humans. While other animals have vertical or round pupils, goats have horizontal rectangular pupils. This unique shape of pupils enables goats to see a really large surrounding area in the dark, which is nearly 360 degrees.

Moreover, goats’ eyes can control the proportion of light that goes into them. This helps them not only see and navigate in the dark but also prevent the risk of getting blinded by too bright sunlight in the day.

If goats catch a glimpse of a predator in the night, their pupils can show them the directions and routes that can help them avoid obstacles in the way.

Of course, their vision at night is not as good as in the daytime. Their vision is only good enough for them to know the surroundings, move around, identify movements and escape from predators in the dark.

5. Do goats need light at night?

Goats are capable of seeing well at night, therefore, they can manage themselves through the night without any risks of bumping into surrounding objects or getting lost.

You can leave them on their own in their barn at night without any types of the light source, but the barn should be equipped with firm fences so that the goats cannot escape away or get stolen or attacked by predators.

Nevertheless, although goats can see the predators in the dark, they cannot escape that easily. Therefore, having guard dogs may be necessary as some predators can break through the fences and attack the goats. Or ranchers can keep their goats inside a closed stall if the neighborhood has potential predators and the weather is severe.

6. Can goats see colors?

It is commonly believed that goats are color blinded as many people say yes to the question of “are goats color blind?”. Actually, they can actually distinguish a host of various colors.

This is the feature that enhances their recognition of the surroundings, such as the obstacles around them or potential predators that are coming at them, and helps them navigate better in the dark.

Goat eyes absorb light with two types of cone cells, which are the color receptors that lie in their retina. One is highly sensitive to blue light, while the other is to green light.

Humans have another type of cone cell which is red-light-sensitive. Thanks to this, humans can tell the difference between red, green, and yellow while color blinded humans and many animals including goats cannot distinguish red and green as they appear similar to yellow.

7. What colors do goats see?

Goats can see many colors including red, orange, yellow, violet, green, and blue. According to an experiment, orange is the color that they can distinguish the best and blue is the one that they are worst at distinguishing.

Experiments on male goats were carried out to determine their ability to see color. Orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple have been tested against different gray shades which are similar to luminance.

The result indicates that goats can distinguish between colors and gray shades. Error rates increase according to the following order: orange, then green, red, then yellow, purple, and finally blue.

8. Do goats have good eyesight?

Are you surprised when we say this fact about goat eyes: goats have extremely good eyesight?

In particular, you should know that goats have a very stable night vision and can recognize enemies in the dark. However, if you are raising goats, you should still take measures to protect your herd when it gets dark.

Some people often worry when they see goat eyes are green – they think goat eye colors affect their eyesight. When the goat’s eyes are green, it’s not because they are sick or infected, it’s just the dominant eye color gene in the goat inherited from the parents.

Goats do not experience deteriorating vision problems because of the color factor of the eyes.

9. How far can a goat see?

As you can see so far, not all eyes are born to be equal. The fact that a goat eyes’ design is a horizontal rectangular shape, these animals possess a better view compared to others.

The goat’s narrow horizontal pupil allows them to have a view beyond all wide-angle cameras: from 320 degrees to 340 degrees around, no need to move around. This may resemble the eyes of horses. However, goats don’t have the blind spot in the front as horses.

When it was dark, the goat’s eyesight could not see as far as day. They can only be seen clearly in the surrounding area. This is enough to allow them to move easily for food or hide in the dark, but not 100% safe because they cannot identify enemies from too far.

For this, the narrow longitudinal eyes of predators appear to be much more effective.

10. Can goat’s eyes replace humans?

For sure, you can transplant any kind of eyes, even from animals, for a blind human. The real question is: can people regain their eyesight after doing that?

Goat’s eyes replace to human? – Source: Buzzfeed.com

Long story short, this will not be of any use. Once the eye is removed from the eyeball, the optic nerve is completely cut off and current technology is not advanced enough to reconnect the goat eye with the human optic nerve.

Not to mention, as mentioned above, goat eyes lack some color receptors and are not as complex as the human eye, which leads to difficulties and complexity in transmitting nerve impulses. exactly.

It is clear that with such a transplant, the blood vessels will be connected stably and the goat’s eye can still exist in the human eyeball. However, you cannot see anything from this side of the eye, and if only for that, a glass eye can do it at a cheaper price.

In your opinion, according to the above facts, can the goat’s eye replace the human eye?

A final verdict

Are you surprised about your lovely goat after reading the facts about goat eyes above? Are you jealous of its special abilities? This is how all things in nature adapt and evolve.

If you found this post helpful, please show us your support!

Source: 10 Facts About Goat Eyes You Should Surprise

source https://sandcreekfarm.net/facts-about-goat-eyes/

[kevinscrima]

Being RICH In Destiny 2: Resource Passive Income Farming In Forges For Legendary Shards, Cores, & More!

[rookeelearning]

There are different types of farming that are practiced around the world. These are a few of them, do you know any more of them? Comment your answer with the type and product. A chance to become a volunteer. Sign up to #THERookee platform and start your own teaching sessions. https://bit.ly/37Uy2iq

[irrfahrer]

Character Information XXXVI: AgriCorps Organisation

“Working in conjunction with the Republic Agricultural Administration to provide healthy crops to those under-privileged star systems suffering from natural disasters or blight, the AgriCorps also attracted ranking members of the Order who wished to take a more hands on approach to helping the common people of the galaxy. “ The AgriCorps, although too pragmatic of a organisation to really rely on ranks, had three positions a Member could take in while working in it: Adept- the equivalent to a Learner and padawan. They were put in a group of three to ten Adepts to study under a Specialist. To make it easier for People outside of the Organisation a Adept was called a Padawan infront of Jedi who were part of the Main-Order. The first thing a Adept got when joining the AgriCorps were civil-clothes, a fake ID and a Blaster in case they were accompanying their Specialist to worlds outside of the Orders reach where Force-Sensetives were in danger of beeing kidnapped and sold. The IDs were usually given by Agricultural Cooperations who work closely with the AgriCorps. Many Adepts gave away their Lightsabers for the same reason.Often they kept the Kyber. Sometimes Adepts chosed to stay with a certaine Specialist for more than the regular four years and became their assitant in their work and teaching other Adepts while focusing under their guidance on a certaine field of work and research the Specialist had already mastered in. The lenght of three or more years of a Adepts education was in case the Adept was chosen as a Padawan and was taken back into the mainbranch of the Jedi-Order so that the people who became specialists and had spend years learning, teaching and working only seldomly decided to return to the main Order during their life. Specialist-  the equivalent of a Jedi-Knight in the manner of how freely they could act on their own. A Specialist has a official graduation-certificate from one of the Agricultural-Cooperations the AgriCorps works closely together and is given the responsability and freedom to work on missions alone or with other Specialists. A Specialist also was free to take over a Group of Adepts after one or two years they had worked and researched on their own. While the AgriCorps had not many own ships, a Specialist who had worked closely with Agricultural Cooperations often used the from the Cooperation given pay to buy themself a ship. The work of a Specialist included: Recorded Researching of Alien Flora and Fauna in a AgriCorps Facility or on different or even unexplored planets; lending Advice to Agricultural Cooperations, researching to enhance the known farmingmethodes in the galaxy; Researching the framing methodes of Alien-populations on their adventages that could be assimilated to be used on other planets, areas or groups; writing down their research and publishing them to the Agricultural Cooperations for usage; teaching populations and organisations about the different technics of farming to boost livingstandarts and avoid the runningdown of planets into unviable dust-balls; directly lending aid to by natural disasters struck populations; terraforming unviable Planets or restore by disaster struck areas. Some specialist chosed to leave the Jedi-Order and work fully for the AgriCultural Cooperations away from the Order- however it only happned very seldomly. Master- Honourable title given to a Specialist after very long time of Service. The Master has no more rights or tasks than a Specialist and it is a simple Title of respect to show that that person had been serving the AgriCorps for a very, very, very long time and their work and research had helped the Galaxy.

“ The Council of Agricultural Corps Masters was a Jedi Council that oversaw the internal affairs of the Agricultural Corps. Answering to the Council of Reassignment and working closely with the Republic Agricultural Administration, this Council was one of few in the Order to allow members to be anything but a Jedi Master. The ranks of the Council consisted of Jedi Masters and simple Jedi who did not ascend past the rank of Padawan, like Jedi Gal-Stod Slagistrough.“ Whatever rank a person had, as the AgriCorps had a very pragmatic approach to ranks it was not unusual for people to take a place in the council when they were not even a Master as there was a big difference between having a rank and having served long for the Corps. That was also the reason that when a Jedi chosed to join the AgriCorps later in their life, they had to start as a Adept despite their age, expierence and what title they had archieved in the main Jedi Order before.

“At any given point, up to 1,500 students were a part of the AgriCorps, with their ages ranging from 6 to 40 years old, although most were not older than 16. “ When a Jedi joined the AgriCorps, even if they were a Master who decided to join later in their life, they would be first a Adept of  group of three to ten Adepts who would be put under the teachings and guidance of a AgriCorps Specialist to learn not only about the teachings of the Force but specifically to learn how to research on the topics the Corps focused on. While the Corps used the Living Force, most of their actions needed a profound, very pragmatic knowledge about Botany and the usage of machines used for their work that had not been teached in the Temple. For this the AgriCorps worked together with Agricultural Cooperations that not only teached the Adepts in some areas, but also took the Adepts and Specialists to work for them in some cases. The Specialist Ziv learned under had been a Jedi-Master before she joined the AgriCorps and herself had to start as a Adept and rise to be a Specialist despite her already decades of expierence as a Jedi Healer and Master.

For a Adept to become a Specialist the Adept had to publish a Thesis about a researched topic of the AgriCorps Branch they want to focus on in the next years which includes, Geology, Biology, Zoology, Botany etc...

This Thesis had to be approved not only of the Council of Agricultural Corps Masters, but also by the Research Department of one of the Agricultural Cooperations the AgriCorps was working with (For Example the Salliche Agricultural Cooperation), as this Thesis would be added as a official referencebook in the archives of the Cooperation. While some Adepts did published that Thesis very early in their education (As Ziv did), usually the Adept spended three years working under a Speciallist or Master and then after collecting enough expierences and knowledge of the Galaxy, they focused the next one, two or even three years on writing and researching that first Thesis. Publishing this Research would not only give a Adept the rank of a Specialist so they could act more independently but also give them a official certificate from the Agricultural cooperation, so they could work in the chosen area even outside of the AgriCorps. As the AgriCorps often worked far away from the Coreworlds in areas of the Galaxy where it is easy to fall in the Hands of Pirates and Slavetraders who are always very happy to get their hands on Forcesenstives- especially trained Forcesensetives- the certificate was among beeing important for the Farmers work to be recognized, also a tool of disguise for the on their own working AgriCorps-Member. The certificate given to them by the Cooperation had no connection to them beeing members of the Jedi-Order to protect that person in the mentioned situations.

While also older Adepts already focused on their research for their first Thesis who had already worked for years in the Corps  could be called in to join the Council of Agricultural Corps Masters, it were usually Specialist and Masters who worked in the Council.

To rise to the Title of Master the Specialist has to teach and lead on a Group of Adepts for at least three years until they have all finished their Thesis to become Specialists (which often needed a lot longer than three years), and also the Specialist has to had at least three mission in their field of Study where they had acted on their own without the guidance of one of the Specialists they had learned under. That time was also used to overwork their first thesis to widen the study or research, or write and publish other thesis in other topics. Missions for example included giving aid to a population hit by a natural disaster, organise the rebuilding of camps and a proper food-supply that will last. As those missions also in some areas included the watching over the process of terraforming Planets, it was very usual for decades to pass between someone becoming a specialist and than archieving the rank of a Master if they ever even would become a Master. However since ranks were not especially important in the Agricorps shown in that the Council accepts everyone in their middle, becoming a Master was usually only a act of officially honouring the AgriCorps Member for very long service.

A Note: Ziv had at the end of the Clone Wars finished her Thesis with the thematic of “the Usage of Kelari Lilies as a Healingherbs in sickbays and their effect on different conditions”. It was a rather specific Thesis as most of the Researchs had been done with Clones so technically it was “the Usage of Kelari Lillies as a Healingherb in sickbays and their effect on different conditions that could befall specifically Jango Fett”. So a few months after the Clone Wars the girl would have become a Specialist, which she had very much awaited. The Thesis can still be found in the archives of the Salliche Agricultural Cooperation from which Ziv has been given her graduation certificate that she still uses as a reference to find work as a  Botanist and Botanic- Teacher at the Outer Rim.

[almatfarms]

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. . . did you know, soil sterilization is a farming technique that sterilizes soil by heat/steam in open fields or greenhouses. Pests of plant cultures such as weeds, bacteria, fungi and viruses are killed through induced hot steam which causes vital cellular proteins to unfold . . . the death of these micro organisms due to sterilization helps to release certain nutrient to the plant such as nitrate which increases plant growth . . . this further helps control disease outbreaks in the soil . . . #agriculture . . #farming #farmingmethods . . #soil . . #soilhealth . . #soilscience . . #almatfarmslive (at Abuja, Nigeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBfQ160F3ki/?igshid=1rorrq61e27ib

[less4]

Is organic really better ?

“Organic” seems to come across as a trend, selling food at more expensive prices, but is it justifiable? 

There are 3 arguments that pro-organic people tend to use :

less pesticides (or organic “natural” pesticides)

more vitamins and nutrients (and non-GMO)

better for the environment and the planet. 

Yet, some studies show that : organic (or natural) instead of synthetic pesticides can be just as harmful, there are only slightly more nutrients in organic rather than conventional, and organic farming takes up more space (less productive). And it tends to be more expensive.  So why do people still go for organic? It’s a moral, an ideal : do something good for yourself, your health, your child...Yet the question extends to production and consumption habits of society as a whole : our habits and our relations.   The richer can eat organic (class distinction). GMO foods are poisonous – or are they a way to feed everybody because they help more productive farming? – or should we learn to consume less (struggle of interest between GMO and organic markets, with studies used in favor of both). Even the organic markets are competing ; organic labels in Europe will have different standards than those in the USA, and different labels encompass different aspects of “organically grown”, with more or less leniency on the methods or pesticides, or amount of pesticides that were used. 

Suggestion : don’t go for “organic”. Go for an “organic label” that you know  and trust. Ask for more transparency !  Go local! Talk to the farmer, ask what he used.  Go seasonal (because it is better for the environment, though you might end up with 1 to 3 available vegetables in winter... so maybe not). Find a balance of consumption that uses the good aspects of conventional and organic farming. 

FYI, walking around local markets can do wonders.  Vegetables for a meal : 2CHF at a local market. Bulk, no packaging. 

Le “bio” est-il meilleur ?

Ou n’est-il qu’un argument pour vendre les aliments plus cher?  Les 3 grands arguments utilisés pour justifier le bio : 

moins de pesticides (ou pesticides/méthodes biologiques = “naturelles”)

plus de nutriments

mieux pour la planète

Cependant, certaines études démontrent que les pesticides naturels ne sont pas meilleurs, que les aliments bio ne contiennent pas forcément plus de nutriments et que le bio nécessite une plus grande surface de production (car est moins productif). Et le bio est plus cher.  Pourquoi faire l’effort d’acheter bio? Question de morale, d’éthique : c’est bon pour soi, pour les enfants, pour la planète... Un certain effet placebo... 

Car la question est plus large et prend en compte des éléments de production et consommation au niveau de la société : nos habitudes de vie, nos relations entre humains.  les riches mangent bio (distinction de classe). Les aliments OGM (organisme génétiquement modifié) sont toxiques – ou la toxicité n’est-elle qu’une pub pour nous en détourner? – les OGM pourraient nourrir tout le monde – ou devrait-on apprendre à moins consommer? (car les études sur les aliments servent les intérêts des marchés du Bio et des marchés de l’OGM ou du “conventionnel”. Des marchés à intérêts opposés). 

Même au sein du marché “bio”, les labels organiques ont différents standards. Entre l’Europe et les Etats-unis, même intra-Europe, les labels sont accordés selon différents standards dans : le type de pesticides utilisés, la concentration du pesticide, la méthode de l’agriculture. 

Alors que faire? Trouver un label qui nous convient et que l’on croit? Demander plus de transparence? Aller local, parler à l’agriculteur pour savoir comment il s’y prend. Cela permet aussi d’être plus saisonnier (ce qui est mieux pour l’environnement, mais réduit drastiquement les options, surtout en hiver. 

Par ailleurs, légumes pour le repas : 2 CHF, à un marché local. Sans emballage. ça vaut la peine de sortir faire un tour. 

[sandcreekfarm]

What Is A Group Of Geese Called? (Answered In Detail)

Do you know that vocabulary related to geese, a common type of bird, can be perplexing? This is because there are way too many names for this animal, especially collective nouns that describe a group of geese. Hence, it makes many people wonder: “What is a group of geese called”? 

No need to worry. In this informative article, you’ll get to know more about this species as well as which words you should use to call them. So, without further ado, let’s get straight into this!

Overview Of Geese

Geese is the plural form of “goose.” The goose varies significantly in the colors of its feathers. They can be grey, black, or white.

They belong to the waterfowl group, which consists of roughly 180 different species. Geese, together with swans and ducks, are the most commonly seen species of this group.

This can be explained by the fact that they are intentionally raised for human consumption or live in water bodies in the proximity of humans’ residential areas. Such environments provide them with an abundance of food to feed on, which ensures their survival.

What Is A Group Of Geese Called?

The most common name for a flock of geese is “gaggle,” which refers to the excessive noises these species tend to make. But the terms for flying geese are “skein,” “team,” “wedge,” or “plump,” the last of which refers to those flying close to one another.

Different Names For A Group Of Geese

The most common name

As mentioned above, the most popular name for a flock of geese is “gaggle.” However, such a name is not chosen randomly. The word “gaggle” also refers to a noisy, disruptive, and chaotic group of people, be they children, teenagers, or travelers.

This is undoubtedly not a coincidence. The word “gaggle” is deliberately used for geese since this species often makes loud and disturbing noises.

Unfortunately, this puts many people under the impression that geese are irritating and aggressive creatures. For this reason, at one point, some people used to hunt Canadian geese to get rid of them, which drove this species to the brink of extinction.

However, the fact that geese are agitating is just a misconception. Mature geese often hiss to defend and safeguard their young from any potential danger. They are just as protective of their offspring as human parents are protective of their children.

In addition to “gaggle,” a group of geese has no shortage of names. Those descriptive names are chosen based on location and activities that a flock of geese is engaging in. Understanding the nuances and subtleties in those different names can help you remember these words longer.

Other names for a group of geese

While “gaggle” is a generic term that can be appropriately used in almost any situation, it most commonly refers to geese that are feeding on land.

But geese are not constantly moving on the ground. Instead, they are migratory birds, meaning they often have to fly from one region to another to avoid a freezing, unbearably cold winter.

Such a migrating group of geese goes by different names, including “team,” “skein,” or “wedge.” The word “team” is already self-explanatory. Meanwhile, the most intriguing word, in our opinion, is “skein.”

For any of you who don’t know, “skein” takes on another meaning, which is a wound ball of yarn that is loosely knotted. This word is, interestingly, used for flocks of geese. This is a testament to how close-knit geese’s communities are.

Such highly supportive groups of geese often fly very close to their companions and form a shape bearing a remarkable resemblance to the letter “V.” This formation enables them to effectively withstand strong wind and fly for extended periods without exhausting their energy. When they do so, they are often referred to as “plump.”

You will like: Where Do Geese Sleep?

Notable Characteristics Of Geese

From time immemorial, the waterfowl family has always thrived in aquatic environments. However, the vast majority of modern species have adapted to live at the water surface. Due to their natural living habitat, almost all of them have evolved to be web-footed. In other words, the toes of their feet are joined by the skin.

Geese are medium-sized in comparison to other species in the waterfowl category. For example, swans, their distant relatives, are bigger than them, whereas ducks, a closely related member of the waterfowl family, are smaller than geese.

What Is An Individual Goose Called?

Goose is an umbrella term that refers to either a male or female bird. However, naturalists often distinguish them using two names: “goose” and “gander.” The former refers to a female creature, and the latter means a male one.

However, such distinction is usually not needed. This can be explained by the fact that male and female geese do not often pair with each other. They only do so in the nesting season, which lasts a short period.

This is quite surprising given that geese fall into the monogamous group, which means animals that live in pairs all year round.

Paired geese are, without a doubt, more powerful and dominant. What’s more, they graze on grass more frequently. These two factors lead to more offspring, which are called “goslings.”

Read more: What Do Geese Eat & What Can’t?

Conclusion

We hope our in-depth article has helped you to navigate your way around the question “What is a group of geese called?”  Additionally, you’re now probably able to understand some other bizarre names of geese and why those flocks are called that way.

Besides geese, there is a wide range of birds whose collective nouns for their groups are pretty peculiar. Which species do you want us to write about in the next article? Please comment below.

Lastly, if you find our content helpful, don’t forget to like and share this article on Facebook or Twitter. Your support will be greatly appreciated!

Source: What Is A Group Of Geese Called? (Answered In Detail)

source https://sandcreekfarm.net/what-is-a-group-of-geese-called/

[sandcreekfarm]

What Do Sheep Eat? Sheep Food List & Treats

Sheep are ruminants like cattle. They have a four-chambered stomach that lets them consume roughage like grass. But what do sheep eat aside from grass? Let’s learn about the most common types of sheep food and treats.

What Do Sheep Eat?

Providing your sheep with a sufficient amount of essential nutrients is the key to raising a thriving flock. Let’s learn about some favorite foods of sheep and the reason behind them.

1. Pasture

Sheep can eat many kinds of pasture plants like grass, forbs, and legumes. However, they choose forbs as their most favorite type of plant. Forbs are plants with broad leaves, and they are a nutritious choice of food for sheep.

Since sheep spend more than 8 hours outside grazing, you should provide them with high-quality green pasture. You can choose the following mixture:

Bunch Grasses (Italian ryegrass, timothy, Perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, orchard grass)

Legumes (birdsfoot trefoil, alsike clover, Kura clover, alfalfa, red clover, white clover)

Sod-Forming Grasses (reed canary grass, smooth bromegrass, Kentucky bluegrass)

To get the best forage for your sheep, you need to prepare a fertile layer of soil, great forage, and adequate rainfall. These factors will depend heavily on where your farm is and the regional weather condition.

2. Hay

Hay is also a cost-efficient source of food for sheep. It is dried, easy to store, and convenient to use in odd climates or when the green feed is insufficient or unavailable for feeding sheep.

There is a wide variety of hay. Hay can be made from small dry pieces of grass, legumes, or herbaceous plants. While legumes contain 50 to 75% more protein and 3 times more minerals than the two remaining ones, there are little or no differences in nutrient contents among these three types of hay.

Since sheep are picky animals, they don’t like rotten, coarse, or too old hays. While lambs love legumes, adult sheep prefer grass hay.

But how much do sheep eat a day for hay?

Adult males should consume 2.2 pounds of hay per day. Ewes should eat 1.5 to 2 pounds per day, and this number can boost up to 5 pounds when milking.

In winter, a sheep should eat 5 small hay bales (which equals 4.5 pounds of hay).

3. Silage or Haylage

Haylage (or silage) is another common type of food for sheep on

commercial farms, especially inhouse adult sheep. It is a mixture of forage or grain crops to enhance sheep’s health, pasture utilization, or surplus food for sheep when there aren’t enough other feeds on farms.

Unlike hay, haylage is drier and often harvested and compressed at earlier stages. It can be used as a replacement or a supplement for hay. Occasionally, a sheep should be fed 0.5 to 0.6 pounds of haylage per day.

4. Grain

Sheep caretakers can choose grain as a daily type of feed for sheep. Grain is made from natural ingredients like barley, oats, wheat, maize/corn, sorghum, and other essential nutrients to keep sheep healthy.

You can use grain for pregnant ewes, ewes nursing two or more lambs, rams. Besides, grain is also suitable for lambs because it generates a genetic factor that helps lambs reach their ideal growth rate.

A moderate amount of grain is good, but too much of it can cause digestion problems for sheep. You should also increase their feeding amount gradually.

For a well-balanced daily diet, you should add cottonseed and soybean meal and 1-2% limestone as a calcium supplement to grain.

5. Different green plants

Sheep love spending all day outdoors, and they can eat various types of plants. Therefore, you should ensure to provide them with nutritious plants.

According to researchers, forages growing in temperature climate are more nutritious than those in tropical ones. Yet, as long as they are served at a vegetative state, any type of forage is equally good.

Not all plants are safe for sheep. You should be aware of feeding them some poisonous plants like cape wood, ragwort, bracken, or some toxic weeds like foxglove, oleander, rhododendrons.

6. Vegetables

What vegetable can sheep eat? Below are some of their favorite kinds of green:

Cabbage leaves

Bean plant

Kale plants

Banana peels

Corn cobs

Cauliflower

Broccoli leaves

7. By-products

Since sheep are ruminant animals, they can be fed with by-products from food processing or crop production. Some are soybean hulls, corn gluten feed, peanut hulls, whole cottonseed, and wheat middlings. You can also feed them apples, onion, pumpkins, or any leftover/cull foods.

Wasted grains like corn – a by-product of ethanol, or leftover grains from the beer brewing industry, are another inexpensive food source for sheep and other livestock.

These by-products are often fed in dry form. However, since they contain a high level of phosphorus and sulfur, you should provide your sheep and lambs with a limited amount of them.

8. Minerals & Supplements

Apart from food, minerals are also essential for the healthy development of sheep. These supplements provide essential sheep micronutrients, like calcium, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorous, sulfur, potassium, Vitamins A, D, E, and some trace minerals like cobalt, copper, iron, iodine, iron, selenium, molybdenum, and zinc.

Minerals can be fed in the form of loose minerals or mineral blocks. Black oil sunflower seeds are another excellent source of vitamin E and other trace minerals to improve their wool quality and overall physical health.

Lacking these vitamins and minerals in an extended period can lead to serious health problems, like paralysis, stiffness, neurological issues, lameness, and White Muscle disease.

Below are further notices on some specific minerals/vitamins:

Vitamin E & selenium: Among those minerals, Vitamin E and selenium are the two most common types sheep often lack in their daily diet. You should ask for a blood test from your veterinarian to know whether your sheep are experiencing these deficiencies.

Calcium/phosphorus: you should feed sheep calcium and phosphorus with a 2:1 ratio to prevent urinary calculi.

What Do Sheep Eat In The Winter?

In harsh weather conditions, like during a drought or winter, sheep can be fed with stored food and supplements like hay, haylage, silage, grains, by-products like corn or barley, etc.

Sheep are more flexible than their fragile appearance. They can quickly adapt to the local weather conditions and be ready to eat whatever is available that you give them.

Sheep are ruminants and can digest roughage. They need to eat often to keep themselves warm. Therefore, you should always have plenty of stored food to use all year long.

Hay is dried grass and also the most recommended stored food for sheep in winter. On the other hand, silage (or haylage) is a fermented forage, so it must be kept in a silo or air-proof container. Otherwise, it can be moldy and cause listeriosis in sheep.

Fresh pasture and plants (or green chops) are fed to sheep in small cuts in the USA. However, this green food requires some labor effort, which is available in developing countries.

You can also reuse by-products like soybean hulls, cottonseed, peanut hulls, and gluten feed to feed sheep on long snowy days. Some fruit leftovers like apples or pumpkins are also great alternatives to pasture.

What Do Sheep Eat For Treats?

Treats can keep sheep happy or motivated. Yet, they should only consume a moderate amount of treats to prevent fatal health problems like enterotoxaemia, bloat, and urinary calculi.

You should cut or chop treats into small pieces so that sheep can easily chew them. Safe foods that you can feed them as treats include:

Alfalfa cubes (only for female sheep)

Apples

Lettuce

Watermelon

Bananas

Carrots

Grapes

Pumpkin

Pears

Oats

Sunflower seeds

Squash

Food For Baby & Older Sheep

For baby sheep

Mother milk is the essential food for a lamb in its first weeks of life.

Colostrum, or the first mother milk in the first 25 hours after delivery, provides nutrients and antibodies to help lambs get a great start while preventing them from diseases. Therefore, you should make sure that your lambs can get at least 10% of their body weight of colostrum.

When lambs are 4 to 6 weeks old, they will switch to solid food like hay, grain, and grass. This food will take up around 50% of their daily nutrient intake than their mother’s milk.

For old sheep

As sheep get older, they might have dental issues, like weak teeth or breaking teeth). Thus, tall or tough pasture grass or hay might be challenging for them.

Providing foods that are easy for chewing

You should frequently check your senior sheep’s health to ensure they enjoy their food and get enough daily nutrient and energy intake. You can offer them hay pellets & beef pulps with high moisture or pulp & chopped hays that don’t require too much effort for chewing.

Remove uncomfortable teeth

Besides, you should ask your vegetarian to check and remove teeth that are no longer useful or comfortable for sheep.

For your safety, never place your hand near a sheep’s molars. Old sheep have powerful jaws, and those sharp molars can cause permanent injuries for you.

Providing enough minerals & supplements

Due to their weak chewing and digestion ability, sheep can lack essential micronutrients. Thus, you should maintain a sufficient daily mineral and supplement intake for them.

You can ask your veterinarian for some safe vitamin supplements for your livestock, depending on their needs. Additionally, you should check if they are suffering from anemia, leading to fatal health problems.

Pay attention to their weight

Another problem in the eating behavior of older sheep is that they are easily obese if they are still fed the same diet with a lower activity level.

You can switch to a diet with higher protein to help them maintain a healthy weight. Besides, you should monitor their weight to ensure that the new diet is adequate.

What Can Sheep Not Eat?

You should not feed sheep with the following types of food:

Animal products in any forms.

Avocado: all parts of avocado, from fruit, leaves, bark, stems, and seeds, contain persin, which is fatal to sheep.

Brassica plants, like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, turnips, and kale, are harmful to sheep. For example, turnips are known to cause thyroid production.

Celery: roots and seeds of celery contain furocoumarins, which leads to photosensitization.

Citrus: because a large amount or a frequent feed of citrus fruits like lemon, lime, or orange can cause gastric distress.

Chocolate: this sweet treat contain theobromine, a toxin for some mammals like sheep

Vegetables in nightshade: for example, green, immature fruits/leaves, roots/vines/any nightshade vegetable like eggplant, pepper, tomatoes, or tomatillo.

Onions: because they can cause allergy in sheep.

Parsley: furocoumarins in parsley leaves can cause photosensitization.

Raw potatoes: their skin and “eyes” contain glycoalkaloids and solanine toxins. Their leaves and vines are also harmful.

Rhubarb: while the leaves contain the highest amount of oxalic acid, you should better avoid feeding all parts of this plant to sheep.

Un-pitted stone fruits: pits contain toxins, and they can stay in sheep’ intestines.

FAQs

1. Why do sheep eat wool?

When sheep eat wool, they might lack some trace elements like copper, iron, and zinc.

2. Why do sheep eat their placenta?

Mother sheep eat their placenta shortly as soon as it is expelled after the delivery of the last baby lamb. This behavior is an instinct of the mother sheep. She tries to protect her offspring from predators by hiding the evidence of lambing.

3. Why do sheep eat dirt?

Sheep eat dirt or lick urine or even chew some weird objects like rocks, wood, and metal because they lack salt in their daily diet.

4. Can sheep eat meat?

Sheep can’t eat meat because they are herbivorous.

5. Can sheep eat bread?

Sheep can eat a limited amount of bread as this type of food is high in fats. If fed with too much bread, sheep can be in trouble.

6. What do wild sheep eat?

Sheep in the wild often eat grasses and some low-growing plants. Besides, they also love chewing bluegrasses, wheatgrass, sedges, and fescues.

Conclusion

After knowing what sheep eat and the nutrient contents behind their favorite food, we understand that sheep are herbivorous, and their daily intake mainly contains grass and plants.

Besides those green foods, sheep can consume many other foods and treats. If you are a shepherd, the above information will help you keep your herd well-balanced and happy all year long.

Source: What Do Sheep Eat? Sheep Food List & Treats

source https://sandcreekfarm.net/what-do-sheep-eat-sheep-food-list-treats/