Michael,
That is interesting, and it does make sense, the way you state it. I
hope my ewes have that "svelt" look from here on out, because I feel
like I can tell their true body condition if they do not have a "fat
(gassy)" look, as you indicate. Thanks for your help!
Mary
At 11:14 AM 4/5/2013, you wrote:
I find with my blackbellies and my pigmy goats, the fatness of the belly is
directly associated with the dryness of the food. Wet, green young grass =
a skinnier look. Dry hay only = a very fat (gassy?) belly. To that end, I
harvest dry hay at the end of the summer that I give them during the wet
months. And in the dry months, they get cut green grass from the yard. But,
the overpowering trend is to conform to the rule I mentioned above.
-Michael, Perino Ranch Blackbellies.
On Thu, Apr 4, 2013 at 2:21 PM, Mary Swindell <mswin...@siu.edu> wrote:
> Someone asked me if they should be worried that their November lambs have
> fat bellies. These lambs are healthy otherwise, and are not carrying a
> worm load, coccidiosis, or any other known problem.
>
> I had a similar experience this fall and winter with my adult ewes which
> had fat bellies. They were not pregnant at the time, just fat in the
> tummy. My vet (who deals with cattle as well as sheep), as well as a
> couple of friends who raise cattle, said my ewes looked like they had "hay
> belly". They said that in cattle, this condition results from the animals
> being fed a poor quality forage. They said it is not serious, it is that
> they fill up on the poor quality bulk trying to get enough nutrition when
> better forage is not available.
>
> Usually, my ewes spend the entire summer and fall eating grass in the
> pasture. But due to the extreme drought this past summer, they had to eat
> hay (big round bales of grass hay) all summer and fall. In other words,
> they never came off hay the entire year. They all seem fine now. They
> were bred in October and they lambed in March, with no apparent problems.
>
> But my friend has lambs who are exhibiting the same signs of "hay belly".
> They were born in November, and would have been weaned in about February.
> So they've spent their first two months of post-weaning growth eating
> grass hay, rather than spring pasture, as most spring-born lambs would eat.
>
> I got to thinking: We hair sheep breeders probably have more evidence of
> the difference between fall-born lambs and spring-born lambs, than breeders
> of wooly breeds because our sheep can breed and lamb year-round. So we
> would be better able to compare the growth of young fall lambs (fed mostly
> on hay after weaning), to the growth of young spring lambs (fed mostly on
> grass after weaning) than most breeders of wool sheep.
>
> Which brings me to my question: Have any of you who raise both
> spring-born lambs and fall born lambs noticed any difference in the growth
> patterns of your fall lambs, such as a fat belly? Do you think this might
> be what the cattle people call "hay belly", and might be due to being
> weaned onto dry hay forage rather than grass pasture? What is your opinion
> of this -- are there long term effects of this condition, and have you
> observed that these fall fat-bellied lambs grow out of the condition?
>
> Your thoughts on this matter are really appreciated!
>
> Sincerely,
> Mary Swindell
>
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