ANFS251 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Gut Flora, Colostrum, Feedlot
28 Feb 2018
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Department
Course
Professor
Newborn lamb
Born with nonfunctional rumen
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Growth and development for the first weeks largely depends on milk
consumption
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Antibodies in colostrum are lam's protection - they have no immune
system yet (develops at about 3 weeks of age)
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Colostrum milk is a must for every newborn lamb
Has a laxative effect that appears to be essential to proper digestive
functions
§
Cow colostrum can be used if no ewe colostrum is available
§
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Artificial rearing of lambs
Raising lambs on milk replacers is usually time consuming and expensive
In some situations there is no alternative, but feeding with a hand
held bottle is not a viable alternative
§
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Creep feed advantages
Getting lambs to market sooner
1)
Ensures the lamb is a functional ruminant
2)
Increases weight gains, especially in twins and triplets
3)
Lambs use supplement feed more efficiently
4)
Lambs can often be marketed when prices are higher
5)
Reduce total maintenance feed requirements
6)
Lowers risk of death, sickness, or injury
7)
Moving lambs to dry-lot at an early age enables producers to carry more
ewes on available pasture
8)
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Creep area
Located in an area where sheep spend most of their time
Readily accessible to lambs and inaccessible to ewes
§
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Should be well bedded and feeders should be kept clean
Water should be provided in the creep area or as close as possible
§
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Growing and finishing lambs
Under excellent forage conditions, lambs may reach slaughter
weight/condition while nursing
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The majority of lambs produced in the US are not at slaughter weight or
grade when weaned
Majority are sold to commercial feedlots or farmer feeders
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Finished on high-concentrate rations
§
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Most feeder lambs are available in the fall of the year, when they are
marketed from western and southwestern ranges
Usually about 5-6 months of age and weigh 60-90 lbs
§
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Finishing lambs in dry-lot
Lamb performance, both rate of gain and feed efficiency, tends to
improve as the ratio of concentrate to roughage increases
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Rations are built depending on what the producers can purchase, and at
what cost
Combo of grain and forage
§
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Enterotoxemia type D
Most common nutritionally related problem
Stress and sudden ration changes precipitate this syndrome
§
Caused by sudden proliferation of a normal gut bacteria and this
rapid rate of growth due to change in diet or stress results in the
bacteria producing a toxin that can be extremely fatal to young
lambs
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Lambs to be weaned early should be vaccinated prior to weaning
§
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Replacement ewes
Production economics dominated by overhead costs of maintaining the
ewe
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If ewes are to be successfully bred to lamb at 12-14 months of age,
nutrition is critical
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Two management prions with regard to breeding replacement ewes:
Breed ewe lambs to lamb at 1 year of age
Typical□
Must weigh approximately 65% of their mature body weight
at the start of the breeding season in order to ensure a high
rate of them reach conception
□
1)
Breed ewes as yearlings to lamb first as 2 year olds2)
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Breeding ewe lambs
Maintain ewe lambs separately from the mature ewe flock if possible
If fed together, mature ewes are often overfed, and ewe lambs
underfed
§
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Following lambing, feed the young ewes the same rations as mature
ewes, provided they were in good body condition at lambing
Give them additional feed if they are in poor condition
§
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Breeding yearling ewes
Under range conditions, producers generally will not attempt to breed
ewe lambs
Ewes have the opportunity to go through a green feed season
before breeding
§
Nutritional needs of ewe lambs can fairly easily be met except when
grazing on mature or weathered grasses during the winter
§
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Notes on feeding range ewes
Goal of a range sheep producer:
Maximize use of range forage, minimize use of harvested feed
§
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Ewe's nutrient intake during the grazing season is extremely variable
Optimum production often below genetic potential
§
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Supplemental feeding desirable only when performance from grazing
alone is not adequate
Many decisions depend on weather and moisture conditions
§
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Energy, protein, phosphorous, and vitamin A may be limiting for grazing
sheep
Energy supplements are cost effective
§
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Nutrition and wool
An increase in energy intake, except at very low levels of protein content
in the diet, usually has a direct positive effect on wool growth
Research suggests an increase in digestible dry-matter intake will
increase wool production
§
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Critical protein levels appear to be near 80% of the recommended
requirement
Or a diet containing 7-8% crude protein for a ewe in maintenance
§
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Physiological state of the animal has a significant effect on wool growth
Reproductive cycle in females can reduce wool growth significantly
§
Lactating ewe wool growth is reduced by up to 30%
§
Not only effects immediate wool production, but can also influence
lifetime wool production of her lambs
§
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Amount of wool produced is determined by the number, size, and type of
wool follicles
Primary wool follicles are usually fully developed by the 19th week
of gestation
§
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Sum it up!
Lambs can be creep fed to reach market weight at an earlier age
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Most lambs in the US are finished in feedlot or dry-lot arrangements
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Replacement ewes should be nutritionally managed separate from main
ewe flock
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Nutrition has an effect on wool growth and wool quality
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Sheep 2
Friday, May 12, 2017
2:08 PM
Document Summary
Growth and development for the first weeks largely depends on milk consumption. Antibodies in colostrum are lam"s protection - they have no immune system yet (develops at about 3 weeks of age) Colostrum milk is a must for every newborn lamb. Has a laxative effect that appears to be essential to proper digestive functions. Cow colostrum can be used if no ewe colostrum is available. Raising lambs on milk replacers is usually time consuming and expensive. In some situations there is no alternative, but feeding with a hand held bottle is not a viable alternative. Increases weight gains, especially in twins and triplets. Lambs can often be marketed when prices are higher. Moving lambs to dry-lot at an early age enables producers to carry more ewes on available pasture. Located in an area where sheep spend most of their time. Readily accessible to lambs and inaccessible to ewes. Should be well bedded and feeders should be kept clean.
