Ear Corn For Ewes?

rdandersom · Apr 7, 2012

Has anybody here ever fed ground ear corn to ewes?I came across some sheep rations in a book that are supposed to have come out of Iowa University in 81 that use ground ear corn and good alfalfa hay or shelled corn and alfalfa.The hay part of the ration is reduced when using ear corn.At first I thought the ear corn rations had to be inferior but I got out my trusty Morrison's Feeds And Feeding and ran a few rough numbers.The mixtures are equal in energy similar for protien but off a bit on minerals.I have a very limited hay supply so I am interested in anything that might stretch it.However,I never heard of anybody feeding ear corn to sheep so I am wary.Any comment would be appreciated

Stan - Florida · Apr 7, 2012

We never ground ear corn for our sheep, but I spent a lot of time as a kid with a corn knife (similar to today's machetes) chopping ear corn into small pieces. I guess it worked OK for them.

How old is your Morrison's? This won't answer your question, but I tried to use my dad's thirty year-old "Feeds and Feeding" (from the 1920's) in the late '50s. Things had changed in that time, and I had a heckuva problem in that course. Maybe part of the problem was that I didn't study hard enough...LOL.

Stan

Anonymous-0 · Apr 7, 2012

Yes, I have year's ago. I would grind ear corn, alfalfa, and oats together. It takes awhile as it needs to be ground fairly fine to get them to eat it all, at least that's what I found. In fact I would grind most of the alfalfa, unless it was really fine 3rd or 4th cutting. Never had a problem feeding the ground ear corn.

LAA · Apr 7, 2012

We used ground ear corn for the whole 50 plus years we ran sheep, I plan on getting back in the sheep business when i retire and will feed it again, always ground alfalfa and or clover hay with it. Ear corn is preferable to ground shell corn because it produces a bulkier ration which make it less likely they will overeat. Sheep are even more susceptible to acidosis than cattle and fine ground grain causes more trouble than coarse ground grain.

rdandersom · Apr 8, 2012

My Morrisons is the 1959 edition.Probably one of the last ones as Frank Morrison died in 58.It is new enough that antibiotics in feed are covered.My Dad had a 47 Morrisons when he started farming and it was in the house all the time I was growing up.I kept my eyes open at swap meets and rural used book stores hoping to get a late edition.There is a name in the front and"63 OAC so I am assuming it was still the textbook at ag schools then.

It still isn"t a bad resource for beef cattle,horses or sheep.I had some 3 month old holstien bull calves on a corn/pellet ration from a reputable feed company that stopped growing many years ago.The feed rep and the vet both said there was no reason why they weren"t growing.I switched them to a baby beef ration from the back of the old Morrisons and got them going again.It turns out thier new medication for coccidia didn"t work but the simple ration was so digestible they grew anyway.

Those old rations aren"t going to quite match todays science but livestock will thrive on them and keep costs down.

Ear Corn For Ewes?

rdandersom

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Stan - Florida

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Anonymous-0

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LAA

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rdandersom

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