The WA woolgrower’s guide to containment feeding

Containment feeding is fast becoming an essential tool for WA woolgrowers, helping protect pastures, finish lambs, maintain ewe condition and bridging the feed gap through summer and autumn. With more hot, dry months and less feed available in the paddocks, plus longer feed gaps until the break of the season, many woolgrowers are already using containment areas to help manage weaners and keep stock healthy while safeguarding soil and future pastures and crops.

If setting up a containment area for your sheep feels overwhelming, you’re not alone—but the benefits for WA woolgrowers are substantial. Here’s a practical guide covering what matters most, plus insights from Esperance woolgrower Simon Fowler on how containment feeding works on his large-scale wool operation. 

Why containment feeding?

More than just a drought strategy, containment feeding helps woolgrowers:

• Protect soil and groundcover - especially when pastures hit <50% cover. This helps  conserve organic matter in the paddocks to speed up pasture recovery and improve crop establishment  
• Bridge the summer–autumn feed gap - particularly as modern headers leave little grain behind in the paddocks and during seasons where there is a long wait until the break in the season 
• Defer grazing at the break - so pastures can establish properly
• Maintain or lift condition - in ewes and hoggets before joining or early on in pregnancy to improve reproductive performance
• Finishing lambs - or managing weaners before selling
• Strengthen drought preparedness - and farm resilience

The payoff from having an established containment feeding area? Better stock monitoring, health and condition, lower fuel, labour and feed costs, plus preserved soil and pasture—big wins for both sheep performance and overall farm management success.

Key factors to consider when setting up a containment area

There are five main factors to consider. 

1. Location and site selection

Choosing the right site is essential in WA conditions. Make sure you consider the following when setting up your containment area:

• Close to infrastructure - Choose a site that is near yards, silos, or water for easy daily management and monitoring
• All-weather and easy access - choose a site that is accessible all year round, so feeding is possible and easy in all conditions
• Make sure your site is situated on well-drained soils with a slope of around 2 to 4% to avoid bogging. Avoid heavy clays that bog up and sandy soils that become dusty
• Choose a site that has a low risk of nutrient run-off. Ideally, 50m+ from creeks and 100m+ from streams or rivers and away from dams to avoid runoff issues
• Provide shade and wind protection where possible. If using trees inside pens, protect them from ringbarking

The goal with your containment set-up is a simple, functional site that balances practicality, sheep comfort and welfare while protecting your soil and waterways.

2. Pen size and stocking density

Pen design directly affects welfare and management efficiency. Key factors to consider are:

• For dry ewes, aim for 5 m² per head — so a mob of 500 requires around 2,500 m² or a quarter of a hectare
• For pregnant ewes, allow more — 5 to 10 m² per head
• Mob size max 500, or 200–300 for younger sheep, is preferable
• Use multiple pens to separate classes or ages and to spell pens when needed
• It is recommended that containment areas should not be used for lambing

Design your containment layout based on your flock numbers and the recommended stocking densities to ensure adequate space and trough access.

3. Water supply and delivery

Water quality and supply are critical in containment areas. 

• Sheep need 4–6 L/day, up to 10 L in hot weather
• Use water troughs rather than dams and clean them regularly
• Try to provide shade to troughs where possible, and position them away from feed areas, ideally at the rear or lower end of the pen to reduce contamination
• Provide at least 30 cm + 1.5 cm/head of trough space for mobs up to 500 head
• Make sure you check that the system has a sufficient flow rate to handle peak water demand

Constant access to high-quality water is essential for optimal sheep health and performance in containment.

4. Feeding system and feed budgeting

Before designing your pens, decide how you’ll deliver feed.

• For daily or restricted feeding, provide 30–40 cm of single-sided trough space per sheep
• Less trough space is required for self-feeders. Allow 4 to 5 cm per lamb and 5 to 10 cm per adult
• Include 10–15% roughage to maintain rumen function and avoid acidosis. It is recommended that you get expert advice on your ration to support your planning and the success of your containment setup
• Complete a feed budget before starting containment feeding with a 5–10% buffer. This buffer accounts for weather-related intake spikes and waste. Feed budgets not only ensure feed supply continuity, but also help track costs and refine feeding strategies season to season
• Test the quality of your feed to ensure that you have an accurate understanding of how much you need to feed out for different stock classes

The Bottom Line: Done right, a solid containment feeding system is a real win-win for the business: it keeps the condition on your sheep instead of them walking it off in a bare paddock, while slashing your fuel and labour costs by making the daily feed run a much faster, simpler job.

Feeding sheep in containment. Source: Simon Fowler, Chilwell Farms

5. Regulatory and animal health

Before setting up and using your containment area, ensure both your paperwork and your livestock are protected. Sheep containment increases the risk of disease spread, so a "prevention is better than cure" approach is essential.

• Compliance - make sure you check with your local government or relevant department to see if approval is needed before setting up your facility. Permanent feedlots or large-scale operations may need an environmental permit, while short-term or seasonal containment areas usually do not
• Induction and health checks - Vaccinate for diseases before entry and gradually introduce grain over 10–14 days to avoid grain poisoning
• Ongoing monitoring - for signs of acidosis, salmonella, worms and pulpy kidney

By dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s on induction and regulations early, you’re protecting your flock and your business—ensuring your ewes come out for lambing or lambs are finished in top-tier condition without any nasty surprises along the way.

A WA case study: Chilwell Farms, Esperance

For Simon Fowler, who manages 30,000 Merino ewes at Chilwell Farms near Esperance, containment feeding has transitioned from a drought strategy to a core management pillar. The shift was driven by the reality of modern cropping; efficient headers leave minimal grain in stubbles, creating an earlier feed gap. Furthermore, containment is essential for protecting fragile soils at Chilwell Farms following deep ripping and clay spreading, while allowing pastures like ryegrass and serradella to establish without grazing pressure.

Design and infrastructure

Simon emphasises that a successful containment system must be built for efficiency and animal welfare. Key design principles include:

• Strategic siting - Pens should be located on well-drained ground near existing infrastructure—silos, silage pits and yards—to minimise travel and labour
• Feeding efficiency - Simon utilises 100m x 150m pens that hold 700–800 ewes each with ~100 m of trough space. Simon employs an "outside-the-fence" feeding model, which allows staff to deliver rations in a straight line without entering pens, significantly reducing labour requirements
• Water quality - Clean, daily-maintained water troughs are prioritised over dams to ensure high water intake and flock health

“I’d much rather see them sitting around happy than walking all day in the heat looking for something to eat.” - Simon Fowler, Chilwell Farms.

Cost-effective production

A central philosophy at Chilwell Farms is to "use the synergies" already present in the business. By utilising existing machinery and feeding a ration of pit silage and second-grade grain, Simon keeps input costs low. He maintains that a system doesn’t need to be high-tech; woolgrowers can start with simple yard extensions or holding paddocks and scale up from there.

“It’s a win-win for everyone because the farm's in better condition, and the stock are in better condition.”  - Simon Fowler, Chilwell Farms.

Productivity and management

The benefits extend beyond soil health to significant production gains, including increased wool cuts, improved staple strength and higher pregnancy scanning rates. By containing ewes for eight weeks pre-lambing, they enter paddocks in peak condition, leading to superior milk production. Simon’s final advice is twofold: consult a nutritionist to balance rations for pregnant ewes and employ staff who genuinely enjoy animal husbandry, as daily observation remains a critical tool for success.

"Through that feeding for a good eight weeks before lambing, ewes are going into lambing in better condition... So you end up with a better lamb size, better body condition on the ewe, better milking ewe." - Simon Fowler, Chilwell Farms.

Simon’s experience is straightforward: containment feeding doesn’t have to be expensive if you use what you already have and build slowly over time. 

Key takeaways for WA woolgrowers

When managed correctly, containment feeding delivers a massive lift to the bottom line:

• Premium wool - Higher fleece weights and superior staple strength
• Reproductive success - Higher scanning percentages and ewes in peak condition for lambing
• Market flexibility - The control to finish your own lambs, manage weaners or put weight on your ewes regardless of the season
• Additional gains - Improves paddock ground cover and protects and improves soils for better crop and pasture establishment

"We're certainly cutting more wool per head. We're also getting better staple strength. We're certainly getting better conception rates in our ewes." -  Simon Fowler, Chilwell Farms.

Simon’s advice for those starting with containment:

1. Keep it simple - start with an existing holding paddock
2. Use what you have - machinery, grain, homegrown silage, existing fences or panels
3. Invest in good staff - who care about your sheep health and enjoy the work
4. Get nutrition advice - especially for pregnant ewes

Bridging the summer-autumn feed gap doesn't have to be a headache. By starting with a basic containment setup and a professionally balanced ration, you’ll be well on your way to a more resilient, efficient and profitable sheep enterprise.

For more information and to check out the resources used throughout this article, visit the following:

• Managing breeding ewes in containment areas: A guide for producers - MLA
• Confined paddock feeding and feedlotting of sheep factsheet  - DPIRD
• Releasing sheep from containment feeding article - AWI
• Key Considerations for setting up containment feeding areas article  - AWI
• Considerations for containment feeding AWI Extension webinar - Leading Sheep

Georgia Pugh, AWI Extension WA