Small Ruminant Nutrition

Sheep and goats are short-day, _______ ______ breeders who serve as milk and meat production

Seasonal, polyestrous

Estrous cycles in sheep are _____ days long with a ______ day gestation period

17, 147

Estrous cycles in goats are _____ days long with a _____ day gestation period

21, 150

Goats will commonly give birth to (singletons/twins)

Twins

What is the largest production cost for the sheep industry?

Production, maintenance

When should you breed sheep?

September-October

What is the average water consumption for sheep?

0.7-2.2 gallons/day

Water consumption in small ruminants will increase during ______ periods as well as DMI, _____ and mineral consumption

Lactation, protein

Energy deficiencies in sheep/goats will manifest as decreased ____, ____ and ____

Growth, fertility, wool

What age of sheep will require cereal grains?

Finishing

Goats are unable to digest the ___ ____ of plants as well as cattle, so they prefer to graze on ______ or _____

Cell wall, trees, shrubs

Green pastures are high enough in _____ that goats should receive adequate intake

Protein

Goats are able to detoxify _____ and benefit from the high levels of protein and ___ _____ in leaves

Tannins, cell solubles

What is the recommended BCS of goats at the end of pregnancy?

5-6

Goats should never be a BCS of ___-__

1-3

Goats with a BCS greater than 7 at the end of pregnancy are susceptible to what 2 complications?

Pregnancy toxemia, dystocia

What is the purpose of BCS scoring in sheep?

Evaluate nutritional status and strategy

Ewes should have a BCS of __-__ out of 5

2-4

BCS variation is common in _____ ewes

Mature

What should the BCS of sheep be at tupping (breeding)?

2.5-.5

What should the BCS of sheep be at weaning?

2-2.5

Ewes at mid-pregnancy to lambing should maintain a BCS of __-__

2-3

Ewes BCS will influence weaned lambs _______ quality

Carcass

Feeding high protein and energy dense concentrates to ewes before breeding, known as _______, will increase the _____ rate due to excess energy

Flushing, ovulation

Ewes should be at optimal BCS by October in order to maximize ovulation rates so at their pregnancy check, veterinarians can evaluate _______ for pregnancy

IFN-tau

When during gestation is lamb fetal growth highest?

Last 2 months

Nutrition to pregnant ewes from breeding until day 105 should be?

Normal feed intake

Ewes in days 105-142 days of gestation should have the number of ______ evaluated to determine energy needs supplementation

Offspring

At time of parturition, ewes should be feed ______ forage and _____

Quality, grain

154lb ewe will eat ____ of feed per day of late gestation diet

4.5lbs

Ewes with 130-180% lamb crop will require a diet of _____%TDN and ______%CP

65, 11.3

Quality management of ewes will reflect in ______ crop of weaned lambs

Uniform

Major growth of lambs will occur during the last ___ weeks before birth, with twins being smaller at birth than singletons

6

Name 2 predisposing factors of ewes with pregnancy toxemia

Multiple fetuses, late gestation (wintertime)

What will occur during pregnancy toxemia?

Lipolysis without glucose as fatty acids are transformed to ketones

Feeding of twins or triplets will require __-__x the maintenance rate with grain or co-product mixtures containing additional energy and protein

2-3

Milk production will peak at __-___ weeks in goats, producing ___-___ lbs milk per day as long as mineral and energy supplements are available

3-4, 3-6

Commercial mineral blocks for small ruminants should have a calcium:phosphorous ratio of?

1.5:1

Mature sheep require all ____-soluble vitamins

Fat

What fat-soluble vitamins should be contained in forage & feed supplies?

A, K, E, D

What fat-soluble vitamin may be deficient in dormant forage?

Vitamin A

Ewes milk production will peak at __ weeks with ___% of milk produced in the first 8 weeks

4, 74

When should lambs be weaned?

60 days

What is the index of efficiency in sheep?

Number of lambs weaned per 100 ewes mated

Lambs should produce __lb gain for every _____lbs of feed consumed

1, 3-4

Lamb rations should provide ____% CP

15-16

Meat goats should gain ___-___lb/day

.1-.8

Meat goat production is achieved by optimizing the use of high-quality _____ and _____ with strategic use of expensive concentrate feeds

Forage, browse

Discontinue ewe grain consumption after lambs are _____ weeks and eating creep feed

6

Pregnancy checks should be performed to segregate _____ ewes

Barren