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AWEX EMI 1142 -2
Micron 17 1693 -15
Micron 18 1526 -2
Micron 19 1405 -7
Micron 20 1339 -11
Micron 21 1331 -1
Micron 22 1308 +9
Micron 23 1277n +6
Micron 25 698 -7
Micron 26 555 -
Micron 28 390 -7
Micron 30 350 -5
Micron 32 305 -5
MCar 689 +18

Nutrition

Understanding the nutritional needs of your sheep is essential to ensure your rams perform, your ewes join and recover in optimal condition, your lambs survive, your weaners thrive, and your wool cut is of high quality and quantity. Use the wide range of tools and resources available to help optimise nutrition across your flock.

​Resources 

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Feedbase Options

Choosing the right pasture mix for the enterprise and location is essential, particularly in a more variable climate.

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Ewe Nutrition

Ewe nutrition is crucial to successful lambing. Knowing what and when to feed ewes is fundamental to ewe and lamb health and survival.

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Water

Healthy water systems are crucial to the Australian environment, sustaining many different plant and animal communities, agricultural enterprises and rural communities.

 

Click anywhere in the boxes below to expand and access the resources. 

Making More From Sheep - Module 8: Turn pasture into product

In this Making More From Sheep module, your business objectives will guide your tactics and strategies for matching feed supply to animal demand, managing any consequences and exploring opportunities when feed supply does not match enterprise demand.

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Managing Sheep in Droughtlots

A best practice guide that highlights the purpose, benefits and experiences of woolgrowers managing sheep in confined areas during drought.

Download PDF

Releasing Sheep from Containment Feeding

Managing the transition from containment feeding to pasture must be done carefully to minimise the risk of any animal health issues, particularly for pregnant ewes, as well as ensuring that wool quality is not affected.

Download PDF

 

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Why, when and how to supplement for success

In a recent AWI Extension NSW webinar, livestock nutritionist and producer Nicole Logg from NSW provided woolgrowers with advice on the effective use of supplements to improve sheep productivity.

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Transitioning from Containment to Pasture

Containment feeding can be a useful strategy during dry times. However, once sufficient rainfall has been received to initiate pasture growth, managing the transition from containment areas to pasture must be done carefully

​Tools 

Feed Budgeting
Feed budgeting in the dry period is inherently difficult due to the variability of the quality of dry feed and the value of the subsequent portion that the sheep choose to eat. The decline rate and pasture height differences between different pasture systems also affect the amount of energy sheep can gain from dry pasture. There are, however, some 'rules of thumb' that can be used as a guide fo...

Feed budgeting in the dry period is inherently difficult due to the variability of the quality of dry feed and the value of the subsequent portion that the sheep choose to eat. The decline rate and pasture height differences between different pasture systems also affect the amount of energy sheep can gain from dry pasture. There are, however, some 'rules of thumb' that can be used as a guide for supplementary feeding in the dry period.

The general steps for feed budgeting at any time of the year are;

  1. What they can eat - What they require = surplus or deficit of energy
  2. If they aren't getting enough energy then how much to feed to meet the requirement.

It is important to remember too, that the energy requirements of sheep vary with the feed they are eating, the amount of grazing they are doing to find the feed and their current status of nutrition and whether they are dry, pregnant or lactating.

Access Lifetimewool Feed Budget Tables.

Download Winning with Weaners Feed Budget Tables

Feed On Offer Library
The Feed On Offer (FOO) library allows users to estimate FOO and nutritive value of grazed pastures. Animal performance is determined by the quality and quantity of pasture available and when known, better decisions can be made on allocation of stock to paddocks or supplementary feeding.   Visit Website

The Feed On Offer (FOO) library allows users to estimate FOO and nutritive value of grazed pastures. Animal performance is determined by the quality and quantity of pasture available and when known, better decisions can be made on allocation of stock to paddocks or supplementary feeding.

 

Visit Website

 

Video Resources

AWI Extension NSW Webinar - Winter Sheep Nutrition

 

AWI Extension NSW Webinar - Supplements for Success

 

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Sheep health and welfare
Flies, lice, worms and diseases are a major cost for woolgrowers. Resources, tools and workshops are available to help manage these risks by implementing best practice management to improve the health and welfare of your sheep. Read more
Reproduction
Reproduction is key to a sustainable flock. There are many practical management tools and guidelines to implement best practice management and optimise reproduction rates. Effective management of joining, lambing and weaning will influence sheep wellbeing and productivity. Read more