3. Nutrient requirements of sheep and lambs

3.1. Read the text and translate it with a help of the dictionary:

Sheep are fond of good roughage and have a high abi­lity to utilize it. For these reasons their rations should consist largely of suitable roughage — plenty of pasturage during the growing season and well-cured hay and other forage in winter. Sufficient well-cured legume hay during the barn-feeding period will not only provide most of the necessary protein but also is insurance that the sheep will receive abundance of calcium and of vitamins, especially vitamins A and D.

Good roughage alone will usually provide ample nutri­ents for breeding ewes in winter up to about a month be­fore lambing.

The additional nutrients are needed on account of the rapid growth of the unborn lamb at that time, and a small amount of grain or other concentrates should be fed. The nutrient requirements of ewes which are nursing lambs are much like those of dairy cows in milk, and they need considerably more protein and a more liberal supply of total digestible nutrients than before lambing.

In order to fatten lambs rapidly so that they will reach the desired degree of fatness before they become too large, it is necessary to feed them a liberal amount of grain or other concentrates in addition to plenty of good roughage.

3.2. Answer the following questions:

1. What are sheep fond of?

2. What should their rations consist of?

3. How should the lambs be fattened rapidly?

4. Are the nutrient requirements of ewes different from those of dairy cows?

5. What will provide ample nutrients for breeding ewes in winter?

6. Why is well-cu­red legume hay valuable during the barn-feeding period?

7. How long does the period of lambing last?

8. When are additional nutrients needed?

2. Translate into Russian:

1. Poor results are secured when lambs are fed straw as the only roughage, but a limited amount of straw may well be used along with legume hay. 2. Clover hay, one of the best roughages for sheep, should be cut early. 3. Excellent sweet clover hay, well-cured and leafy, is equal to alfalfa hay for fattening lambs. 4. Fresh pasture is important for ewes with lambs. 5. Straw is too low in nutrients, especially protein, calcium, and vitamins, and moreover, it is consti­pating. 6. Recent experiments have shown that meat scraps, tankage and fish meal may generally be used satisfactorily as protein supplements in sheep feeding.

3.4. Fill in the blanks with the suitable word from the text:

1. A liberal amount of. . . should be fed in ad­dition to plenty of good roughage. 2. Ewes which are nursing lambs need considerably more … than before lambing. 3. In order to fatten lambs rapidly it is necessary to feed them a liberal amount of … or other concentrates in addition to plenty of good roughage. 4. Well-cu­red legume hay is valuable during the barn-feeding period. 5. Sheep are fond of good ….

3.5. Render the text in English without using a dictionary:

There are many ways to feed lambs. One method is not better than another. There are various pros and cons associated with each feeding program. The appropriate feeding program is usually affected by the geographic location, type of production system, marketing options, and cost and availability of feed. Lambs born in the winter are often creep-fed and finished on high concentrate diets, whereas lambs born later in the season are often placed on pasture with their dams. Some feeding programs utilize both pasture and grain.

For the first several weeks of life, all a lamb needs for nourishment is its mother's milk. Lambs will start to nibble on solid food soon after birth. A ewe's milk production peaks between 3 and 4 weeks of lactation. By the time lambs are 4 to 6 weeks old, they may be obtaining as much as 50 percent of their nutrient intake from sources other than their mother's milk.