Feeding

A Ladoum's ration rests on ad-lib forage: groundnut haulm, bush or cereal straw, plus fresh grass in season. This is the base that keeps the rumen working; it must never run out.

Concentrate makes the difference on growth: wheat or maize bran, groundnut cake, cowpea… fed in two meals a day. A growing youngster typically gets 300–800 g per day depending on age; a maintenance adult less; a late-gestation or lactating ewe more. Every farm fine-tunes to body condition: feed the animal in front of you, not a theoretical table.

Two supplements are indispensable at our latitudes: a permanent salt/mineral lick, and vitamin cures at season changes. Clean water ad lib completes the picture.

Beware the industry's classic trap: show over-feeding. Stuffing an animal with concentrate for shows adds short-term weight but causes acidosis, laminitis and reduced fertility. A great Ladoum's frame is built on two years of balanced rations, not three months of force-feeding.

Ladoum husbandry guides

• Housing & sheepfold — Designing healthy, ventilated, secure housing for very large animals.
• Health & prevention — Prevention before cure: the health calendar of a serious farm.
• Breeding & selection — Choosing matings, managing inbreeding, succeeding at lambing.

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