Webinar for University of Georgia

1. INTENSIVE SHEEP PRODUCTION
CONFINEMENT  DRY LOT  ZERO GRAZING
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu - sheep and goat.com

2. • There are many different ways to
raise, manage, feed, and market
sheep.
• NO ONE WAY IS BEST!
• Each production system,
management practice, and marketing
method has various pros and cons.
• Every producer needs to develop a
system that matches his/her goals,
resources, and markets that provides
the greatest return on investment.

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF
INTENSIVE SHEEP PRODUCTION
• Use of buildings and/or dry lots
to contain sheep and lambs.
• Zero or minimal free grazing
• Automated feeding
• High level of reproduction,
usually prolific breeds and
accelerated lambing.
• Year-round marketing of lambs.

4. WHY RAISE SHEEP INTENSIVELY?
• Under or unused buildings
• Economical feed source
• Equipment for making and
storing feed
• Experience raising a high
producing animal
• Labor available
• Strong market

5. INTENSIVE SHEEP PRODUCTION
ADVANTAGES (PROS)
• Greater control over production
• No worm problems
(coccidia still a risk)
• No predators or cost of predator
control (fences or guardians)
• Minimal weather risk
• Better nutrition: you control what
animals eat
• Greater potential returns
Three P’s: predators, parasites, and profitability

6. INTENSIVE SHEEP PRODUCTION
DISADVANTAGES (CONS)
• Higher overhead
• Greater investment
• Usually higher feed costs
• Animal welfare questions
• Nutrient management issues
• Increased labor requirements
• Greater financial risk than
traditional production systems

7. CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTENSIVE SHEEP
PRODUCTION
• Housing
• Feeding
• Management
• Breeding / genetics
• Nutrient management
• Animal welfare
• Labor
• Technology
• Marketing

8. HOUSING: BIGGEST INVESTMENT
• Will you adapt existing facilities or
build new one(s)?
• Will you use one building or multiple
buildings?
• How will buildings be ventilated?
• How will you manage the production
flow?
• How will you clean out?
• Will you incorporate dry lots or
pasture into the production system.

9. PLANNING DATA
Ram Dry ewe Ewes + lambs Lambs Creep
Building floor
space
20-30 ft2 12-16 ft2 15-20 ft2 8-10 ft2 1.5-2 ft2
Lot space
(dirt)
25-40 ft2 25-40 ft2 30-50 ft2 20-30 ft2
Feeder
Limit fed
12 in. 15-20 in 16-20 9-12 ft2
Feeder
Self fed
6 in 4-6 in 6-8 in 1-2 in 2 in.
Water bowl 10 head 40-50 head 40-50 head
50-75
head
Sheep Housing & Equipment Handbook, Midwest Plan Service

10. FEED: BIGGEST COST
Ewes
• Traditional hay/grain diet
• Baleage + grain
• Silage or haylage + grain
• By-products, co-products
Soy hulls + DDGS
• TMR (total mixed ration)
Lambs
• Whole grain + supplement
• Custom blend
• Pelleted diet
How will you feed?
Limit (hand) or self feeding?
Can you automate feeding?
Don’t forget feed storage.

11. FEED BUDGET (154-LB. EWE, TWINS)
Stage Hay Silage Haylage Grain
Maintenance 3.00 0 0 0
Maintenance 0 6.00 0 0
Maintenance 0 0 6.00 0
Late gestation 3.50 0 0 1.25
Late gestation 0 7.00 0 1.50
Late gestation 0 0 7.00 1.25
Lactation 5.00 0 0 2.00
Lactation 0 10.00 0 2.25
Lactation 0 0 8.00 2.50

12. FEED BUDGET LAMBS
Weight Creep 4:1 FE 5:1 6:1
10-40 40 lbs.
40-70 120 150
40-100 240 300 360
40-120 320 400 480
Feed cost 4:1 FE 5:1 6:1
$100/ton $0.40 $0.50 $0.60
$120/ton $0.48 $0.60 $0.72
$140/ton $0.56 $0.70 $0.84
$160/ton $0.64 $0.80 $0.96

13. ACCELERATED LAMBING SYSTEMS
• Twice a year
generally not practical
• Every 8 months
3 lamb crops in 2 years
• Overlapping 8 month system
lamb every 2-4 months with
different groups
• Cornell STAR®
5 lamb crops in 3 years
• Opportunistic
keep rams in all the time
Not recommended

14. OUT OF SEASON BREEDING
• Natural
Choose right genetics
• Ram effect
• Hormonal manipulation
CIDRs
• Light control
• Selection

15. BREEDING STOCK FOR INTENSIVE
PRODUCTION
Ewes (and rams that sire
replacement females)
• Healthy
Free from foot rot, CL, OPP, etc.
• Structurally sound
• Reproductively sound
• Moderate size and muscling
• Reproductive efficiency
Early puberty, prolific, good
mothering, good milking ability,
breed out-of-season
Terminal sires
• Healthy
• Structurally sound
• Reproductively sound
• Frame size appropriate for market
• Good early growth
• Good muscling (carcass)
• Good lamb survival

16. NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
• More bedding
• More manure
4 lbs/100 lbs. live daily
• Removal
• Storage
• Land for spreading
• Regulations
AFO/CAFO for large farms
(>300 animal units)

17. ANIMAL WELFARE
• Ample space: exceed MPS space requirements
• Deep bedding
• Consider providing environmental enrichment
(e.g. raised areas for lambs)
• Incorporate outside lots into housing
• Exercise, especially for rams
• Don’t dock or castrate lambs, unless necessary
• Low stress handing
• Welfare certification or consumer education:
animals are always protected from parasites,
predators, and inclement weather.

18. MINIMIZING LABOR
• Design system for efficient flow of
animals
• Have easy way to move groups of
animals
• Have easy way to handle animals
• Make clean-out easy
• Automated feeding
• Precision farming: RFID technology

19. APPROPRIATE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
• Forage testing
• Ration balancing
• RFID to manage flock
• Computerized record keeping
e.g. Shearwell (UK).
• Pregnancy testing
• Fetal counting
• Performance tested rams (EBVs)

20. MARKETING
• Who/what is your target market?
• What size (weight) and condition lamb do you plan
to market?
• Can you get a contract to supply lambs to an abattoir
or other market?
• Can you sell carcasses instead of live animals.?
• What are the slaughter options in your area?
• How far are you from a good sale barn?
• Is there opportunity to cooperatively market lambs
with other producers.
• Do you have a market for your cull ewes and rams?

21. LESS INTENSIVE SHEEP PRODUCTION
• Use confinement practices for small
scale, high value production
• Use confinement to manage an annual
lambing flock.
• Use confinement to manage
periparturient ewes (late gestation
through lactation).
– Sell lambs at weaning
– Feed lambs in confinement
• Buy lambs (or goats) to feed

22. THANK YOU
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu
www.sheepandgoat.com
www.sheep101.info
www.wormx.info