Dairy Sheep Nutrition

Dairy Sheep Nutrition Webinar Series

About the Presenter

Barbie Casey, M.S., founder of Small Ruminant Consulting LLC,  grew up on a small farm in SW Ohio, where she fell in love with agriculture at a young age and has raised sheep with her family for the past 31 years. Barbie received a B.S. in Animal Science from Wilmington College and a M.S. in Ruminant Nutrition from Michigan State University. In 2022, she combined her passion, education, and 12 years of animal nutrition experience to consult as a Small Ruminant Nutritionist through her own business.  Barbie works with sheep and goat farms of all types throughout the U.S. to help them combine management and nutrition in order to maximize their productivity.  She has focused on dairy sheep operations for the last 5 years and applied advanced nutrition concepts to help the most productive flocks progress. Her passion is helping to troubleshoot issues and watching each farm reach their full potential. Barbie lives on her family farm, where they raise and show Southdown sheep. You can contact Barbie by email at 513-205-7992 or by email at smallruminantconsulting@gmail.com

Dairy Sheep Nutrition Links

Dairy Sheep Nutrition, by G Pulina and R Bencini.  Good nutrition is a critical factor in optimising dairy production from sheep. This book is a translation of a popular Italian text, originally published in 2001 and includes updated information, and new material on temperate regions. It contains chapters on all aspects of dairy sheep nutrition and feeding, such as milk production, feed intake, nutrition and reproduction, nutrition and milk quality, and grazing and stocking rate management.

Principles of sheep dairying in North America, By Yves Berger and Gerardo Cajan and others.  Includes chapter on dairy sheep nutrition.  Gerardo Caja is a leading ruminant nutritionist from Spain.

Guide to Raising Dairy Sheep, A six page pdf by Yves Berger of the Spooner Dairy Sheep Research Station at the University of Wisconsin

Raising Dairy Ewe Replacements, Growing out dairy ewe lambs is not like growing out meat replacements. Grow them too slow and they won’t lamb out at 13-14 months and won’t milk well in their first year. Grow them too fast and you can see leg deformities, fatty udders, or giant frame sizes that don’t give much milk for the feed they consume. Dr Andrea Mongini, of Ewetopia Dairy and M&M Veterinary Practice in California, will give us some guidance on raising dairy replacements from weaning through first parturition. (Available to DSANA members only)

Nutrition for Lactation of Dairy Sheep , By Houcine Selmi, Amani Bahri and Hamadi Rouissi. From Lactation in Farm Animals- Biology, Physiological Basis, Nutritional Requirements, and Modelization. A review of lactation physiology and the nutritional requirements of Sicilo-Sarde ewes in Tunisia.

Raising Replacement Ewes for Dairy Sheep Production, By Jacob Hadfield and Allen Young. A factsheet from Utah State University (2019).

Nutrition during Lactation, By T.T. Treacher and Gerardo Caja. From Sheep Nutrition (2002). A thorough review of dairy sheep nutrition, physiology and management.

Effects of different supplement amounts on dry matter intake, milk production and milk composition of high-producing Lacaune dairy ewes, Hassoun et al. (2021). New research from France’s dairy sheep research center ( INRAE La Fage) on feeding high-production Lacaune ewes.

Residual Feed Intake in Dairy Ewes: An Evidence of Intraflock Variability, by Eliel González-García, João Paulo Dos Santos, and Philippe Hassoun (2020). Another study carried out at INRAE La Fage looking at feed efficiency in Lacaune ewes.