COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • DECEMBER 2019


Fine-tune feeding for healthier lambs Nutrition should match production stage to avoid costs, improve profits


by BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER


ABBOTSFORD – Feeding sheep can be 70% of the cost of raising them, ruminant nutritionist Dale Engstrom told sheep producers attending the BC Sheep Federation conference in Abbotsford, October 5-6. “We want cost-effective, efficient


production, a safe food product and minimal health problems,” he says. Engstrom started with a flock of sheep


in Dawson Creek but now lives in Alberta where he’s a nutrition consultant for the sheep industry in Western Canada. His clients lambed more than 35,000 ewes in 2019.


Engstrom emphasizes the importance of balancing nutritional needs with stage of production. He recommends body condition scoring as a hands-on tool, noting it affects fertility, prolificacy, colostrum, lamb weight and lactation. “It is hard to tell the condition of a sheep when it is in full-fleece. You have to feel them,” he explains. “The loin, spine and transverse process – check a sample as they run through the chute. Body condition directly affects the production of your sheep.” He also recommends Steve Mason and Basil


Bactawar’s Nutrition Guide for BC Sheep Producers (2004) as a good resource. “Environment and nutrition have an impact on health; it is like a three-legged stool – environment, nutrition and health programs,” he says. Engstrom broke down the critical periods


producers need to pay attention to. These include breeding, late gestation and lactation. He says


body condition score. Protein is important at this time. “Feed ewes like little dairy cows,” says


Engstrom. For lambs, a creep is more than a place


to eat. “Creep feeding pays off,” says Engstrom.


“The creep should be attractive to the lambs, a safe, bright, comfortable place with enough room. It is a management tool.” For full-feeding a high energy, balanced


creep diet Engstrom recommends free- choice feeding with a supplement of a coccidiostat and weaning at six to 10 weeks.


FILE PHOTO


they’re critical because they are the times when meeting the animals’ nutritional requirements is difficult, not meeting them is costly and meeting them highly profitable. Flushing with a rising plane of nutrition for two to


three weeks before the ram is turned in with the ewes repays the effort in the form of more twins. Late gestation is the most critical because those


six weeks will see 75% of fetal growth, development of the udder and a reduction in rumen capacity. High-quality feed is needed during this period. Lactation is the second most critical period and


gives real payback. The goal is to maximize milk production, avoid disease and maintain a reasonable


“Remove the ewes and get them out of earshot at that time,” says Engstrom. “At eight weeks, milk production is only 50% and is even less after 12 weeks.” Market lambs and replacement ewe lambs can stay together from weaning until they are approximately 70 pounds in weight. At this point, market lambs are raised to rapid growth and finishing, and


ewe lambs are fed to grow at half the market lamb’s rate. The goal is to have ewe lambs weigh 115 pounds at seven or eight months. Ewe lambs can be bred at this weight and age, with the goal of lambing at 12 to 14 months old. Engstrom recommends ensuring that there is enough bunk space so that all sheep can eat at one time and look for signs of overeating. Grain-based diets should be supplemented with Bovatec or Rumensin. “Feeding greater than 70% dry matter as grain will


result in rapid growth, tender, mild flavour and an early market at four or five months, “ says Engstrom.


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PLATINUM


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