Sheep Nutrition

All Sheep Nutrition Content

Sheep at a freshly cleaned watering station.

Sheep Water Requirements and Quality Testing

Water intake is critical for ensuring flock health, performance and heat stress mitigation. Learn some key considerations for water quality and intake requirements.

A mother sheep cleaning its newborn lamb in a pen.

Colostrum for Lambs

Fact sheet about the importance of colostrum for lambs

Nutritional Considerations for Flocks During Breeding Season

Optimizing flock nutrition throughout the breeding season can help improve conception rates, lambing percentages and ram longevity.

Several red angus cattle feeding at a feed bunk.

Register now for Dec. 6 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations training

November 13, 2023

There will be an environmental training session for operators of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on Dec. 6, 2023, at the Crossroads Convention Center in Huron.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations training to be held March 29

March 06, 2023

South Dakota State University Extension, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are offering an environmental training session for operators of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on March 29 at the Crossroads Convention Center, 100 Fourth St. S.W., in Huron.

Toxic Plants in Dormant Pasture and Hay: Field Pennycress

Toxic plants negatively impact livestock by decreasing reproductive performance (breeding and calving rate), reducing weight gains, and causing animal health issues and death. Assessing and treating animals experiencing toxicity may increase operation costs through either veterinary intervention or death loss.

Small flock of sheep grazing in a pasture.

Multispecies Grazing: Benefits of Sheep Integration on Rangelands

Fact sheet about diversifying your operation to benefit your rangeland.

An ear of corn in a field with visible white mold on the tip of the ear.

Can Livestock Utilize Moldy Grain?

While livestock producers know that moldy grain and forage are not ideal feedstuffs, they also know that stored feed occasionally contains a small amount of visible mold, and that their animals consume it with no obvious adverse effects. The question arises, how much mold is too much for a feed to be unsuitable for animals?

a sprawling green plant with flowering yellow heads

Sweet Clover Poisoning

Hay that contains sweet clover can be an excellent feed as long as the dicoumarol level is known and feeding management is used to prevent poisoning.

Supplementation Considerations for Ewes Grazing Dormant Winter Pastures and Rangelands

A recent collaboration between South Dakota State University and the University of Wyoming addresses the many questions surrounding grazing supplementation for sheep as forages enter dormancy.