StockMins-EweLamLac HE Trial
An independent lambing supplement trial was conducted where the performance of single bearing ewes and their lambs, offered a traditional supplement of Causmag®, Lime and Salt (CLS) from late-pregnancy to early-lactation, was compared to single bearing ewes and their lambs offered StockMins-EweLamLac HE (ELL-HE) over the same period.
Key Points:
- Supplementing with StockMins-EweLamLac HE boosted production by 30%
- StockMins-EweLamLac HE saw a 3.3% increase in the number of lambs weaned
- Lambs were an average of 25% or 6.1 kg heavier at weaning
- Ewes were an average of 4.8 kg heavier at weaning
- Based on this trial, supplementing with StockMins-EweLamLac HE resulted a increase in returns of $21 per ewe*
Independent trial conducted by Anthony Shepherd, Sheepmatters, Cootamundra, 2016
- Class of livestock: Pregnant single bearing Merino ewes
- Number of livestock: Control flock (CLS) 228 ewes. Trial flock (ELL) 197 ewes
- Feed on offer: Lucerne and ryegrass mix, ELL = 702kg DM/ha, CLS = 750kg DM/ha
- Supplementation period: 98 days (4 weeks pre-lambing, 6 week lambing period, 4 weeks postlambing)
- Feeding method: Free-access in clean tubs (20L drums cut in half). 1 tub per 50 ewes
- Data collection: Average live weights of all lambs and ewes were compared at scanning (ewes only), lamb marking and weaning. Lamb mortality data was recorded on a daily basis.
Results
3.3% More Lambs Weaned
The flock offered CLS recorded a total of 18 lamb mortalities(7.89%), with a weaning percentage of 92.1%. In the flock offered ELL-HE, a total of 9 lamb mortalities (4.57%) were recorded resulting in a weaning percentage of 95.4%.
Average 6.1kg Heavier Lambs at Weaning
Lambs were weaned 35 days after marking. At weaning, lambs from the flock offered CLS averaged 24.1kg/hd. The lambs from the flock offered ELL-HE averaged 30.2kg/ha at weaning, a recorded increase of 6.1kg/hd or 25.3%.
Average 4.8kg Heavier Ewes at Weaning
During the lambing period, ewes supplemented with ELL-HE had an average of 702kg DM/ha available for grazing, while CLS ewes had 750kg DM/ha. Despite lower feed accessibility, ewes supplemented with CLS lost an average of 11.2kg (20%) body weight from scanning to weaning, while ewes supplemented with ELL-HE lost an average of 7.1kg (12.5%) body weight over the same period.
What do these results mean?
Giving single bearing ewes access to StockMins-EweLamLac HE significantly improves lambing performance against all key performance indicators (KPI’s):
- Improved weaning percentage
- Higher weaning weights
- Greater weight retention in ewes
When combining a 3.3% higher weaning percentage and 25% higher average weight of lambs at weaning, supplementing with StockMins-EweLamLac HE improved production by 30% per ewe or 661kg per 100 ewes. This accounted for $21.50 higher returns per ewe when supplemented with StockMins-EweLamLac HE compared to Causmag, Lime & Salt.
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