Keeping farm animals around is so much fun.
While it does involve a bit of hard work, the reward is fantastic.
We all love to spoil our sheep and other farm animals with a special treat.
It helps to know what is okay for them to eat and what isn’t.
Let’s dive into our list of 18 awesome treats to give your sheep.
Oats
Oats make great sheep treats.
They are all natural and perfect for a snack for a livestock animal.
Oats are a great treat for sheep because of their high protein and high nutritional content.
Feel free to give oats by themselves or make some delicious sheep treats out of them.
Soybeans
Soybeans are one of the best treats for sheep.
They are high in protein and highly palatable.
Many farmers alternate between soybean supplemental feed and corn feed for their sheep to keep them healthy.
Alfalfa Cubes
Alfalfa cubes make excellent sheep treats.
Give sparingly as high amounts of alfalfa can cause milk fever in ewes with too much calcium in their diets.
As part of a balanced diet, alfalfa feed cubes make excellent sheep treats for their calcium, fiber, and protein.
They are helpful for ewes close to lambing in moderation.
Bananas
Sheep love bananas!
Give an individual sheep a whole banana.
They enjoy both the fruit and banana peel.
The fruit is very nutrient dense so be careful not to overdo it.
One or two bananas every once in a while makes a great fresh food snack.
Fruit is generally very high in sugar and should only be given to our sheep once in a while to prevent any adverse health issues from overindulgence.
Strawberries
Strawberries are a fantastic natural food snack for humans and sheep alike.
However, they are one of the more sugary foods, so they should be given once in a blue moon.
They have many vitamins, but the high sugar content is not ideal for the stomachs of ruminant animals like sheep.
Carrots
Carrots make excellent sheep treats. It’s best to cut raw carrots to prevent choking hazards.
A baby carrot is a good size for our ruminant animal friends.
Cooked carrots or mashed carrots are easy to add to the daily feed per day to boost vitamins.
Cooked carrots are also a great treat on their own.
Dandelions
Dandelion is a great immune-boosting herb, which is great because sheep love to eat them out at pasture.
This helps farmers with weeding as sheep love the sweet taste of these flowers, and the herd gets a nutritious pasture treat.
The immune boosting is great for preventing illness affecting your sheep and resulting in a sick animal.
Beets
Beets are great for making homemade sheep treats.
Beet pulp is fantastic for building great conditions in sheep.
The pulp tends to dry out, and the dry form may cause digestive upsets.
To prevent this, make tasty homemade sheep treats they’ll love by adding water to the pulp, which is much better for their digestive systems.
Apples
Apples are a great nutrient-rich fruit for sheep.
They contain many essential nutrients and help balance healthy sheep’s pH.
Feeding a few apple slices to sheep in moderation can help their digestion.
This is great if you frequently encounter bloat in sheep in your herd.
Grapes
Grapes have a very high average nutrient content compared to other foods.
The essential nutrients and vitamins in these tasty treats are great for sheep.
Be careful not to feed too many as it may cause copper toxicity.
The additional copper in grapes may be too much for most adult sheep.
However, if you have a vet-diagnosed copper deficiency in your sheep, grapes are a great way to supplement.
Bamboo
Many sheep love bamboo leaves.
If it grows on your property, it serves as a nutritious pasture treat for your herd.
Bamboo is usually very invasive so having your herd keep it tame is an added benefit to the additional fiber and protein in the plant.
Comfrey
Comfrey is a tasty herb for sheep.
They love the taste, and the nutritional benefits are great as well.
Both the fresh and dried herbs are a great snack for your herd. It is a very nutritious treat.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin seeds provide protein and fiber for sheep.
They love the taste too.
Walking around with some pumpkin seeds in your pocket is sure to have your herd following you around for some special treats.
Flowers
Sheep love flowers so much.
It often becomes a problem for farmers who don’t properly protect their gardens.
They will seek out tasty blooms like black-eyed Susans, violets, daisies, begonias, and camellias.
These edible flowers are great for sheep and help provide vital nutrients.
Squash
Giving your sheep squash is a great way to provide extra vitamins and nutrients.
Add squash like zucchini, acorn, or butternut to their commercial feeds or as an additional feed if your herd predominantly grazes.
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds are a great occasional treat for sheep.
Like all grains, sunflower seeds should be given sparingly.
It is always best for the majority of a sheep’s diet to come from hay or pasture.
If you want to treat your sheep to something special, give them a handful of sunflower seeds every once in a while.
They love the taste.
Garlic
Garlic does cause sheep bloat in high doses, but it also provides some amazing medicinal properties.
Many farmers give garlic to their sheep and other ruminants to treat worms, a common problem for these animals.
Sheep will eat the whole garlic plant, but it should be used more to treat worms than as a daily treat.
Corn Husks
Corn husks and corn cobs are not the most nutrient-dense of food items to give your sheep as a treat, but they are tasty.
Your sheep will enjoy chowing down on corn husks or cobs.
If you grow corn or buy it in the husk from the local market, save the husks to give to your sheep as a special treat.
