Indoor lamb finishing with silage

[DrDunc]

I've 100 lambs left to finish and have brought them indoors.

They're on adlib pellets and hay. Would there be any advantage of giving them silage instead of hay?

I made baled silage that's 11.8ME and 18.2% protein, but only 21% dry matter. Would it be too wet and acidic for them? Would it mean using too much straw?

Advice would be gratefully received.

 

[Shep1]

I wouldn't bother with the silage. The last 30 of mine are in for the last fortnight on ad lib meal. They have a bale of very good hay in a ring feeder too but they hardly touch it. I prefer it that way anyway as they arent diluting the energy content of the diet.
In your case I reckon the silage might increase growth rates slightly but you will be bedding more often and probably more lameness as well

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Barley straw on the floor

 

[Dkb]

I’m ad-libbing lambs at the moment with hay. It’s helping to keep the bed dryer and the lambs ends cleaner than when I had them on silage.

When on ad lib meal they really don’t need silage

 

[jonny]

They’ll get enough roughage from the straw and will be cleaner too. Major problem here with any dirt on fleece here as lots of lambs are being sent home to be sheared

 

[neilo]

I would think the silage would probably reduce the intake of pellets a bit, but also slow their growth rate. They’ll likely eat as much creep up until finishing, but over a longer period, so costing just as much.
Of course, we might be seeing that magical £100 for hoggets by then, which would make it worthwhile.....perhaps.....

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Of course, we might be seeing that magical £100 for hoggets by then, which would make it worthwhile.....perhaps.....

We are already there

 

[TexelBen]

We are already there

At what weights?

 

[neilo]

At what weights?

I was going to say, only for big buggers that will have been eating as much as horses.​

 

[Northeastfarmer]

At what weights?

Late 40’s to late 50’s

 

[M-J-G]

I've 100 lambs left to finish and have brought them indoors.

They're on adlib pellets and hay. Would there be any advantage of giving them silage instead of hay?

I made baled silage that's 11.8ME and 18.2% protein, but only 21% dry matter. Would it be too wet and acidic for them? Would it mean using too much straw?

Advice would be gratefully received.

If bedding them on straw anyway, you'd probably end up using as much extra straw for bedding on a silage diet as you would if you fed them straw.

I read a study recently where Suckler cows that were fed straw + concentrate were using no more than those that were fed silage.

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Fed our sucklers on that system until this year and straw shortage/ prices, just moved feeders and if had a frosty, or cool spell never bedded, those damp wet spells had to but cows stayed clean unlike those on silage that you struggled ever to keep clean if wet atmosphere