Silage analysis and sheep feed

[beltextexel]

D Value - 70%.

Just got our silage analysis back and wondered what anyone thought i should be feeding to our in lamb texel x ewes. Due 20th March. On turnip fields but no turnips left to eat so they are getting this haylage at the moment.

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Looks as if that's been made well. Im no expert but I wouldn't be feeding anything extra for five weeks but perhaps im lucky with where I am?!! Good protein level should get away with buying a lowel level protein cake which should be a bonus

 

[cowboysupper]

View attachment 265874
D Value - 70%.

Just got our silage analysis back and wondered what anyone thought i should be feeding to our in lamb texel x ewes. Due 20th March. On turnip fields but no turnips left to eat so they are getting this haylage at the moment.

We got our haylage analysis back today from AFBI as well. We start lambing in 5 weeks.

Our analysis would be relatively close to yours (a bit higher on protein at 12.3 but slightly lower on D value at 69 ) and is recommending no feed until the last 2 weeks for twins. From 2 weeks in 0.31kg/day for twins. No feed for singles required (although we'll probably leave a high protein bucket in for a bit before lambing as I fear the risk of giving them nothing at all).

Triplets the analysis is recommending 0.12kg/day from 4 weeks back to 2, then 0.51kg/day from 2 weeks back to lambing.

We've followed the analysis fairly closely for the last couple of years and have had nice even size lambs and good supplies of milk. Touch wood this is no different this year!

Will have a yarn with a couple of advisers before we order some feed next week.

 

[neilo]

Looks as if that's been made well. Im no expert but I wouldn't be feeding anything extra for five weeks but perhaps im lucky with where I am?!! Good protein level should get away with buying a lowel level protein cake which should be a bonus

I was going to say the only thing that lets it down is the low protein level.

Are the ewes OK for trace elements, etc? If they are, I'd hold off the cake until a couple of weeks off, then feed as high a protein cake as I could get, but at a fairly low level (1lb/day?), just to get colostrum built up and to accustom the rumen to concs before you bring them in.
If low in TE's, I'd perhaps be inclined to trickle a bit in earlier as a carrier for mins.

Decent stuff, well made, by the looks of it (apart from the protein). Make the most of it.

 

[beltextexel]

I was going to say the only thing that lets it down is the low protein level.

Are the ewes OK for trace elements, etc? If they are, I'd hold off the cake until a couple of weeks off, then feed as high a protein cake as I could get, but at a fairly low level (1lb/day?), just to get colostrum built up and to accustom the rumen to concs before you bring them in.
If low in TE's, I'd perhaps be inclined to trickle a bit in earlier as a carrier for mins.

Decent stuff, well made, by the looks of it (apart from the protein). Make the most of it.

Sent a separate sample off to test for trace elements but havnt got results yet. I agree protein is too low. The grass never got any fert, would this make the protein low?

 

[neilo]

Sent a separate sample off to test for trace elements but havnt got results yet. I agree protein is too low. The grass never got any fert, would this make the protein low?

I was told that at a grassland meeting the other night, yes. However, my sample was 16%CP (but only 10 ME) from young aftermath grass that had hardly any fert on.

Sorry, I meant had the flock/farm any TE problems, rather than those bales. Belt & braces testing the silage for that too.

 

[polk_farmer]

This may sound a bit amateur, but when does grass growth start in Yorkshire? Spring lambing we get good enough grass (unless a terrible cold spring) to keep doubles without hard feed, but is this not the case up along? Not a dig, just curious

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Land here on whole tests fine, really try to look after soil and grasses, not that it helps if you are highly deficient in something. Yet calves used to be horrendous to get to suckle, would rather starve than take a teat, cows blood tests were fine. Issue sorted with licks 3 months prior to calving with high copper and selenium levels, never had a problem with lambs suckling or swayback with no supplements. Any ideas for reason? No great knowledge with trace elements

 

[Purli R]

This may sound a bit amateur, but when does grass growth start in Yorkshire? Spring lambing we get good enough grass (unless a terrible cold spring) to keep doubles without hard feed, but is this not the case up along? Not a dig, just curious

When does grass start growing in Yorkshire?!
Well this part of yorkshire on the hill top, it starts in late june, stops in early july, and has pi55ed off on holiday by september!

With what some people put on here, it makes me think some farmers really do not know that they are born.

Seriously though, in a decent time grass will be green in April, but thats about it, and theres no goodness in it until mid? may.
Sheep wintering at home are on ad lib baled silage now, with a little hard feed, to keep condition as much as anything else. They will eat more given feed in 2 days than the ones we send away to sunny Lincolnshire eat all winter, and the Lincs sheep come back like fat pigs. plenty of condition to milk off.

 

[Spartacus]

This may sound a bit amateur, but when does grass growth start in Yorkshire? Spring lambing we get good enough grass (unless a terrible cold spring) to keep doubles without hard feed, but is this not the case up along? Not a dig, just curious

Assuming it's similar to us in Lancashire and we'll do well to have any grass growing before April.

 

[neilo]

Land here on whole tests fine, really try to look after soil and grasses, not that it helps if you are highly deficient in something. Yet calves used to be horrendous to get to suckle, would rather starve than take a teat, cows blood tests were fine. Issue sorted with licks 3 months prior to calving with high copper and selenium levels, never had a problem with lambs suckling or swayback with no supplements. Any ideas for reason? No great knowledge with trace elements

Could be any number of things locking up selenium & copper and making them unavailable, even though tests show them as being there in adequate quantities.

As an example, all our forage/blood/soil tests show adequate copper levels, at the same time as sheep are dieting of copper deficiency. It turns out that high molybdenum is locking up the copper making it unavailable. The remedy is to supplement copper with a steady trickle, whether that's as mins, blocks, drenches or boluses.

IIRC, high aluminium can lock up selenium, but whether other mins do too?

Have you noticed high molybdenum levels in forage or soil tests?

(Taking the thread off on a tangent now though)

 

[Lovegoodstock]

Could be any number of things locking up selenium & copper and making them unavailable, even though tests show them as being there in adequate quantities.

As an example, all our forage/blood/soil tests show adequate copper levels, at the same time as sheep are dieting of copper deficiency. It turns out that high molybdenum is locking up the copper making it unavailable. The remedy is to supplement copper with a steady trickle, whether that's as mins, blocks, drenches or boluses.

IIRC, high aluminium can lock up selenium, but whether other mins do too?

Have you noticed high molybdenum levels in forage or soil tests?

(Taking the thread off on a tangent now though)

Apologies re thread my fault.Will have to look with molybdenum levels as to be honest wouldn't have a clue. Seems you are right as remember being told our copper levels in land were too high which was blocking the intake so almost had to oversupply to counteract if that makes sense. Just surprised the difference between cattle and sheep, guess very absorption rates. Calves never go starey coated like copper deficient cattle go though, yet the suckling issue was definitely apparent. Oh also high levels of iodine to those cattle licks

 

[Blod]

Lethargy in newborn calves would make me suspicious of Iodine deficiency.

 

[Purli R]

Over the years we've had a perennial problem with Iodine deficiency. Text books state symptoms as slow calvings, lethargic calves, retained cleasnsings, enlarged thyroids etc etc.
The only symptom we ever got was a dead calf. Sent away to VI centre and would always come back as normal, but i don't think they could find their arse with both hands.
If the calves have always had good coats on them I would be less inclined to suspect Iodine deficiency.