Finishing (and growing) maternal lambs (creep feeds )

[andybk]

Just lambing our zwartbles now , i usually creep them on on a 18% pellet from forfarmers with maybe rolled barley at upto 50% further on ,
As a breed the ram lambs have plenty of growth mainly because ewes milk so well , but can be difficult to finish properly when your getting near the end of lactation curve , wondered whether to go for a finishing ration at 14-16% to get them away off the mother better , just curious what others do with maternal ram lambs

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I thought zwartbles were a nightmare to get finished full stop?

 

[Bury the Trash]

Had some at grass on h and d treated whole barley, and they did like crazy, whack it into them but do be beware of the usual corn feeding issues.

 

[andybk]

I thought zwartbles were a nightmare to get finished full stop?

not really they arnt to bad as long as you kill off mothers . females are ok quite easy to finish

 

[Northeastfarmer]

not really they arnt to bad as long as you kill off mothers . females are ok quite easy to finish

I’ve no dealings with them just what a lot of people tell me

 

[andybk]

Had some on h and d treated whole barley, and they did like crazy, whack it into them but beware of the usual corn feeding issues.

yea got access to H+d crimped wheat , just thinking about that before i buy creep

 

[Bury the Trash]

yea got access to H+d crimped wheat , just thinking about that before i buy creep

Just make sure they are old enough and ugly enough to cope with the urea.

 

[andybk]

Just make sure they are old enough and ugly enough to cope with the urea.

ii thought all the urea was inactivated turned into gas , ? palitibility may be biggest hurdle though .

 

[Bury the Trash]

ii thought all the urea was inactivated turned into gas , ? palitibility may be biggest hurdle though .

Yes palatabilty is not quite the same, even as compared to just whole grain,
let alone a conc. that has mols........ and Or fat added in the case of a pellet

And Well the theory says there isnt any urea at all in the h and d treated grain end product .... but is that totally true in practice?

 

[z.man]

We rubber ring anything that isn’t pleasing at birth , the Z’s don’t seem to need the testosterone to boost growth rates they grow well anyway.(castrates are more similar to ewe lambs ) We then give access to a good quality rough mix 18% from about 10 days to a fortnight old until the lambs have a reasonable intake normally about a month old they usually eat around 2.5kg each in this time ,then we normally cheapen the ration to a 16% course mix for a further month rough intake over this period is 10kg per lamb, from this point on we usually mix a third course mix a third lamb finisher nut and a third ewe mix(cereal beet pulp dark grains and molasses) this mix will be 15-16% protein with a fair percentage of starch seems to work ok for us we seldom have problems getting Lambs to 3L’s but I believe zwartbles always kill better than they handle? Hoping to have early January lambs away for Easter trade ?

 

[z.man]

Yes palatabilty is not quite the same, even as compared to just whole grain,
let alone a conc. that has mols........ and Or fat added in the case of a pellet

And Well the theory says there isnt any urea at all in the h and d treated grain end product .... but is that totally true in practice?

Have asked the question about adding protected fats to a finishing diet and was advised to add more starch instead ?

 

[neilo]

ii thought all the urea was inactivated turned into gas , ? palitibility may be biggest hurdle though .

The urea will have been turned into ammonia by the moisture present, and the ammonia treats the grain. I think the only way you will have any chance of urea being present is if there are lumps of H&D in the mix.

I don't think palatability is an issue, once they get used to the idea initially. Mix it with pellets for a while perhaps, if that's what they are used to? Going back to your OP though, the H&D will be a 15-16% CP ration, which is all the protein you need to add finish.

 

[andybk]

The urea will have been turned into ammonia by the moisture present, and the ammonia treats the grain. I think the only way you will have any chance of urea being present is if there are lumps of H&D in the mix.

I don't think palatability is an issue, once they get used to the idea initially. Mix it with pellets for a while perhaps, if that's what they are used to? Going back to your OP though, the H&D will be a 15-16% CP ration, which is all the protein you need to add finish.

thats what i thought , could save on pellets , hence asking question , the broken wheat could make them scour though without sbp at grass
i do have 5 bags of H+D now , was going to do 4 t whole barley when i have room in bins