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Weaning is completed on most lowland sheep farms at this stage, so the focus now turns to maximising performance and maintaining daily liveweight gain at a satisfactory level.
It’s important to have a plan in place to market lambs in a way that works best for the farm.
Often, we don’t think about putting a plan in place until much later in the year when the opportunity to maximise liveweight gain has passed.
Regardless of the plan, it’s vital to maintain lamb performance post-weaning to reduce the number of days required to reach slaughter weight or to have a heavier store lamb to sell in the mart, therefore, enhancing your returns.
Lamb growth rates will inevitably drop after weaning but average daily gains of 175-200g/day should be targeted post-weaning.
Here we explore five key areas to focus on to drive lamb performance post-weaning.
Leafy grass drives performance. Lambs should be offered the best grass on the farm - silage after grass, fields that were topped or new reseeds. Move lambs regularly, graze fields at a grass height of 8–10cm and graze down to 6cm.
Forcing lambs to graze tighter means they are eating more stem and ultimately lamb performance is reduced. Use dry ewes to graze out to 4cm. If lambs are grazing after grass or new reseeds it is okay to graze down to 5cm.
Use faecal egg counts to identify when treatment for stomach worms is required.
Make sure the wormer you are using is still working on your farm by taking another faecal sample after treatment to ensure that a sufficient worm kill has been achieved.
Lame lambs will not perform. Ensure regular footbathing and prompt treatment of any lame lambs.
Trace mineral deficiency can significantly reduce lamb thrive, deficiencies of key trace minerals have been identified on Irish farms. Where lambs are on a grass only diet, test grass for trace minerals.
If necessary, supplement lambs with minerals regularly – cobalt is required at two or three week intervals. Meal fed lambs do not require additional mineral supplementation.
Concentrates play an important role in helping to finish lambs but they should be targeted at finishing groups. Establish a finishing lamb group, the heaviest lambs (> 40kg) are drafted into the group and supplemented with concentrate for a short period of time until drafted. The best response will be achieved by feeding in the region of 300-500g/lamb/day, depending on grass quality.
As lambs are sold from the group, more lambs are added in. Weigh the meal fed group of lambs regularly and continually draft lambs as they reach target liveweights and fat cover.
Nutrias customer Martin Graven, who farms outside Castlebar in Co. Mayo, targets a short period of concentrate feeding to ensure his lambs reach the target slaughter weight at a younger age and achieve a higher kill out.
Nutrias Intensive Lamb has been Martin’s product of choice for nearly 20 years now and his reasons for using the product every year are simple.
“Nutrias Intensive Lamb is a high quality, consistent nut that helps me to achieve target slaughter weights at a young age every year. I also get a very good kill out in my lambs," he said.
“Overall, I have one chance to maximise the returns from my lambs and I know Nutrias Intensive Lamb will always deliver great results. That’s why I’m using Nutrias Intensive Lamb for nearly 20 years now.”
Nutrias Intensive Lamb has been trusted by sheep farmers for years as the perfect supplement for finishing lambs and for pedigree systems. It is an 18% pelleted product containing soya derived protein delivering frame for age.
Combined with a high cereal and digestible fibre content, it promotes rapid growth, improved kill out and a proper finish on lambs.
Nutrias Intensive Lamb also contains an intake booster for quicker adaptation and higher intakes leading to a faster finish and is suitable for feeding to ram lambs.
Aidan Banahan runs a mid-season lambing flock in Co. Roscommon and has been feeding Nutrias Intensive Lamb for the last number of years and says the benefit of the intake booster is clearly evident.
“The lambs take to the feed quickly which means there is no time or performance lost with lambs slow to eat and no meal wasted due to going stale," he said.
Aidan is also very impressed with the performance and growth rate of the lambs on Nutrias Intensive Lamb, adding: “Lambs thrive well, they develop a good frame and are always well fleshed, so I maximise my returns at sale.”
For further information on any of the points discussed above or to find out more about the Nutrias lamb feed range, contact your local Farm Commercial Specialist, ask in your local Homeland Store, or click here.
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