The rearing of sheep in Kenya is mainly for wool and meat production. Therefore for sheep to grow faster and heavier, they should be given balanced and healthy diet feeds to make them fat and have desired weight. In this article, it gives how you will make sheep fatten in Kenya.
To fatten sheep in Kenya, a farmer should provide sheep with quality feed containing all the necessary nutrients required for rapid growth. The following is how to fatten sheep in Kenya:
1. Providing sheep with a balanced diet of hay and grain that contains all the necessary nutrients.
2. Provide plenty of clean water to the sheep daily when feeding.
3. Use high-quality forage as legume, grass and alfalfa feed.
4. Ensuring that sheep fed on natural pasture or high-quality hay to provide vitamins to sheep.
5. Give sheep essential minerals like salt.
How to Fatten Sheep in Kenya
The fattening of sheep is the rapid growth of sheep to gain weight. To fatten them, a farmer should give them crude protein and roughage. For roughages, it should be provided starter feed containing 28% Lucerne against 24% grass hay and grower and finisher.
Also, grass hay is ideal for fattening sheep; it contains grass by-products and minerals like calcium and phosphorus.
How Much Does a Sheep Eat Per Day in Kgs
The amount of feed a sheep eats in a day varies with age. Therefore, a sheep should eat 2.5 kg of dry matter per 100 kg of live weight each day, especially for sheep kept for mutton and milk.
Sheep require five categories of nutrients on a daily basis. These are: energy, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water.
Barely Maize
The best grain to feed sheep is barely maize because it is rich in energy and is commonly available and used since it is easier to handle and has less bulk to store.
Feeding Requirements of Sheep in a Day
1. From Birth to 3 Months
The feeding requirements of a sheep start from birth to maturity. For instance, in a period from birth to three months, the lambs should be fed on colostrum once they are born for up to three days. After 3 days, they should feed on their mother’s milk 2 to 3 times a day and feed on concentrate mixture at the age of one month.
2. 3-12 Months Old Sheep
Sheep aged between 3 to 12 months should graze on pasture for about 8 hours and supplement with 120g of concentrate mixture containing 18% of the protein in a day.
3. Pregnant Sheep
Pregnant sheep of about 4 months old should be fed on quality pasture for 4 to 5 hours a day and provided with 5 kg of green fodder per day. In the last month of pregnancy, the sheep should be fed a concentrated mixture of about 250–350 g a day and given available green fodder of 7 kg per day.
4. Adult Sheep
For adult sheep, if they are poor at grazing, they should be fed on a concentrated mixture of about 150 to 200 g per day.
4 Types of Lamb Fattening Pellets
Lamb fattening pellets are a type of feed used to fatten lambs. This feed contains all the necessary proteins, energy, minerals, and vitamins required for lambs. The following are examples of lamb fattening pellets:
1. Furney lamb Fattener pellets 16%.
2. Voermol sheep fattening pellets.
3. Riverina lamb feedlot pellets.
4. Kettridges lamb fattening pellets.
How to Prepare Sheep Feed Mix
To reduce the cost of feed, you can prepare a sheep feed mix. For instance, silage feed is made up of 40%soya, 30% rape, 15% maize distiller and 15% ground maize, which are mixed.
Also, for creep feed, you can combine 40% of maize, 30% ground nut cake, 10% wheat bran, 13% rice bran, 5% molasses, 2% mineral mixture, and 1% salt that is suitable for lambs.
