Optimal levels of protein and energy for rapidly growing lambs are 16% protein and 12MJ ME/kg DM of energy. This level of nutrition is common when grazing actively growing winter pastures, like Ryegrass and Phalaris, during the cooler months. However, the nutritional value of winter-dominant pasture declines as it goes to head and matures. So, to keep lambs moving forwards at a good rate, you might have to think about grazing summer crops or lot feeding.
Key points
- The nutritional value of winter grasses declines as it matures
- Supplementation of lush lucerne with grain can significantly boost live weight gain
- Feeding a palatable hay (cereal hay) on lucerne can help reduce the risk of ‘Red-gut’.
Grazing Lucerne
A bit more moisture in the soil from a summer storm or two would be enough to see lucerne kick into action and really freshen up. It would be perfect timing for almost perfect summer feed. The high level of protein in lucerne makes it ideal for growing lambs, especially during summer when adequate protein sources are limited. However, lucerne, especially mature lucerne, is low in energy at around 10MJ ME/kg DM.
Furthermore, with a crude protein level of around 28%, lucerne can be too rich in protein. In this case, the animal expends energy in excreting excess protein which can put further downward pressure on energy availability for growth.
The energy shortfall and high protein can be balanced by offering grain (barley) at around 400g/hd/day, and when paired with StockMins-Lamb Finisher, producers have reported live weight gain in lambs at around 350g to 400g/hd/day.
A form of roughage (hay or straw) should also be provided free access when grazing lucerne to stimulate cud chewing, promot
e optimal rumen function and reduce the risk of ‘Red-gut’. Contrary to the belief that feeding roughage on lucerne reduces production, it in fact can increase production as it slows passage rate and enables the animal to extract more nutrients from the feed.
Boost Liveweight Gain with StockMins-Lamb Finisher
During summer, StockMins-Lamb Finisher is the ideal green feed supplement in grain-assisted grazing situations. A balanced combination of essential minerals, vitamins, trace elements and Bovatec® assists with the development of rapidly growing lambs. Additionally, StockMins-Lamb Finisher contains long, mid and short acting acid buffers to support mid-level grain supplementation.
StockMins-Lamb Finisher is built with Bovatec® to boost live weight gain and feed conversion efficiency in sheep. In fact, numerous studies have shown Bovatec to generate up to 14% extra growth in livestock grazing green feed.1
References
- Zoetis Data on File. ®Bovatec is a registered trademark of Zoetis.
