Bedford County Cooperative Extension -

Feeding the Market Lamb

Harold W. Harpster
Associate Professor of Animal Science
The Pennsylvania State University

One of the most exciting areas of sheep production today is that of producing market lambs. It’s exciting because we now have the technology to come very close to pork and chicken in the efficiency of production. When coupled with the increasing consumer awareness of lamb as a nutritious, low fat, and easily digested red meat, the future should indeed be bright if we are capable of seizing the opportunity.

From the producer’s side, there seems to be other beneficial changes occurring. There has been noticeably less seasonality in market price the last few years, a situation that will hopefully continue. More support is available from the feed industry where most companies now offer specialized sheep products and employ people knowledgeable in sheep production. Sheep research efforts are still admittedly too small, but active sheep projects exist at nearly all ag universities in the Northeast and exciting results are being generated. Even the sheep themselves have changed with growth potentials of a pound a day well within reach when properly managed.

Of course, all this is not to say that the sheep industry doesn’t have serious problems. While sheep tend to have a gain and efficiency per unit body size similar to cattle, they also: 1) have a higher slaughter cost per unit edible meat; 2) have a market structure that is heavily influenced by age (over a year = mutton); 3) are discounted heavily when over fat; and 4) have a higher proportion of hard to merchandize cuts (ground beef is a lot more popular than ground lamb!). Nonetheless, these problems are not insurmountable and sharp nutritional management and aggressive meats research could alleviate most of them.

Nutritionally Versatile

I’m always amazed at the folks who have raised sheep for years and ask can I feed corn silage or can I feed haylage or can I feed barley to sheep? The answer, of course, is yes, and you can feed corn stalks, and urea, and cannery wastes and almost any other plant or animal product produced on this earth. The reason, of course, is

that the sheep is a ruminant and as such has that fantastic organ the rumen which enables it to utilize a tremendous variety of feedstuffs. We need to be reminded of this from time to time and feed what is most economical given our resources. There is no one best magical ration for all sheep producers and we are fortunate that the animal is much more nutritionally versatile than the pig or chicken. This fact alone will probably keep sheep and other ruminants around for a long time to come.

Optimum Versus Maximum

While it’s already been stated that some types of sheep have the genetic ability to gain a pound a day at feed efficiencies under four pounds, this maximal level is not always the optimum. In most cases we need to feed what we can grow and on many northeast farms, forages are our best alternative. Pasture production of market lambs is certainly possible, but performance rates are

obviously much lower than concentrate-fed lambs. Penn State and West Virginia trials show that over a typical May to September grazing season lambs will gain about one-third of a pound daily on traditional cool-season pasture species. In both trials, very poor gains were obtained in the hot summer months of July and August, but spring-seeded brassica crops or warm-season perennials could help “level-out” animal performance.

Intensive Feeding

Starting lambs on a typical feedlot ration requires careful management, as lambs are susceptible to overeating disease (enterotoxemia). Many different types of adjustment programs will work, depending on the feeds available. Nebraska trials show that whole plant corn silage is a good “starter” feed because it can be offered free-choice, since it’s bulk will keep the lambs from over-consumption of energy. It was blended with the concentrate portion of the ration at 60% of the dry matter for one week followed by 35% the second week and finally dropped to 10% the third week.

The rules for using corn silage for either lambs or brood ewes are: eliminate any molds, chop fine (use a recutter screen), and add sulfur to provide a nitrogen:sulfur ratio of 10:1. Many sheepman are leery of corn silage because of listeriosis, but carefully avoiding moldy silage overcomes the problem.

Virginia trials have compared 70% and 80% TDN complete pellets for starting lambs. They found that lambs will adapt and perform better initially on the lower energy pellet and this is recommended for lambs that will be on feed for four or five weeks. For lambs to be fed longer, however, the higher energy pellet is preferred because lambs will more than compensate for a lower initial performance. Other techniques for starting lambs include hand-feeding concentrates, using a buffer-like sodium bicarb (2%) and feeding a broad spectrum antibiotic.

What about feed processing for lamb rations? Research on pelleting shows that it is most economical when one wants to maximize gains on relatively high levels of roughage. In high grain diets, however, it’s usually not economical and it’s recommended that corn, barley and wheat be fed in whole form. Each producer, however, must evaluate his situation and consider his feeding system including the type of feed handling and storage facilities available.

Fine-Tuning

Let’s quickly run down some important nutritional items for feeding rapidly growing lambs:

	Water – Never forget this important “nutrient.” Lambs require water at about 2.5 X the weight of dry feed intake. Water must be fresh and clean and in winter should be maintained at 45 to 50°F. Nipple waters seem to work well in confinement but sheep in large lots or pastures seem to adapt to them very slowly.

	Protein Level – Many factors affect the absolute protein level required including lamb age and condition, previous nutritional level, time on feed, diet type and protein source. We use a simple formula where % protein = 21 minus 10% of body weight. In other words a 50 lb lamb gets 16% [21-.1(50)], a 70 lb lamb 14% and so on.

I believe these levels work well for intensively fed lambs but are higher than needed for lambs on lower energy diets.

Protein Source – Many trials have now shown that rapidly growing lambs respond to “high bypass” protein sources like brewers and distillers grains. The most dramatic response, however, has been a 10-20% increase in gain from including 2% to 3% fish meal in the total ration. Although fish meal typically costs over $400 per ton, at the low level needed it is highly cost effective.

Feed Additives – Lasalocid (Bovatec) is FDA-approved for sheep rations at 30 mg/ton of complete feed. A summary of trials shows a three-fold benefit: almost complete elimination of coccidiosis; 6% gain improvement; 4% improvement in feed efficiency. If it’s not convenient to put the additive in the total ration, it can be included in the free-choice mineral mix. Buffers have already been mentioned and have their greatest benefit for the first few weeks on feed. Broad-spectrum antibiotics of 25-50 g/ton (as with all additives, follow label directions) are also useful, especially early in the feeding period. Finally, 5% molasses (liquid if dust is a problem) improves palatability.

Minerals – It’s very important to have a Ca:P ratio at a minimum 2:1 to avoid urinary calculi. If problems are encountered, 0.5% ammonium chloride will also help. Trace mineral salt should be added at .25-.50% of the total ration. Watch copper levels, as sheep are very sensitive to copper (10 ppm required but 25 ppm toxic). Northeast soils are selenium deficient and one should add supplemental selenium and vitamin E to sheep rations as protection against while muscle disease and reproductive failures.

Vitamins – Sheep normally require only Vitamin A (1500-2400 IU/day) in the ration. Confined sheep should also receive Vitamin D.

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