Responses to molasses-urea blocks of grazing sheep and sheep in yards

Abstract

A total of 11 88 sheep in seven flocks on five farms were offered molasses-urea blocks under grazing conditions. After 3 weeks, 50% of the sheep had licked the blocks but there was wide variability between flocks in the proportion of sheep that licked and their average intakes. Sheep that did not lick the blocks while grazing were confined in yards and offered the blocks plus 350 g hay/sheep day-1. After 3 weeks, 81% of the sheep had licked the blocks. A second confinement period of from 2 to 4 weeks was imposed upon those sheep that had still not licked, and this resulted in 88% of them licking. The remaining seven sheep consumed the block only after being penned individually. It is concluded that special management procedures may be required to encourage grazing sheep to lick molasses-urea blocks.