Having built up a flock of 2,700 sheep from scratch, farming prolific ewes on a lot of poor pasture doesn’t seem to be a problem for Alan Collett. Feeding ewes pre lambing to maintaining condition has kept any hurdles to growth down. Crystalyx Extra High Energy continues to play a key part throughout winter.
Alan Collett from Banbury in Northamptonshire established his own farm 30 years ago aged just 21. Raised on a tenanted mixed farm, Alan always knew that sheep farming would be his lifelong career.
Straight after leaving college, Alan started his farming career working at a nearby sheep farm. Alan was quick to take on his own farm and start up his own flock, taking on bits of ground as they become available to gradually build up numbers.
Along with his wife, Jemima, who has been on the farm full time for 20 years, and two daughters, Zoe and Hannah, who both enjoy part time roles on the farm, Alan now farms 2,700 North of England Mules across 1,880 acres.
Feeding Ewes Pre Lambing
Lambing from February through to April, the team take no chances maintaining ewe condition throughout winter months to sustain their prolific ewes. “We’re on a lot of old pasture parkland, it’s not the best of grass, so we know we’ve got to look after them well to get the yields and get the lambs going.”
“February lambers always tend to lamb about 185% – 190%. March lambers around that 200%, give or take. The ewe lambs, we only want them to have a single, they scan around 150%, explains Alan. “We farm around 1,000 acres of grass on various agreements and graze about 200 acres of grass on beef farms along with 120 acres stubble turnips and 500 acres of greenings in the winter.”
Feeding ewes pre lambing with Crystalyx has been a mainstay since John Seabrook from StowAg got the farm onto it some years back. “All ewes start on Crystalyx from the middle-to-end of November, depending on the weather conditions and the amount of grass. We just put some in the bike trailer, take them round, and put them out as needed.”
“The trebles stay on it all the way through to lambing along with sheep feed nuts. The doubles are fed it until they’re given nuts around 4 weeks before lambing. The singles just have Crystalyx all the way through until lambing.” Additionally, all sheep are bolused with Tracesure at tupping, and are wormed at housing or when they go on the cover crops.
Crystalyx a solid nutritional mainstay
“The 900 ewe lambs all have access to Crystalyx from when they come down to us, to a month after lambing. They actually hardly touch is when they first come down if there’s plenty of goodness in the grass, but will take it when they start to need it. We buy the best from the early breeding sales; they’ve all been fed well, so it’s a case of maintaining them”.
The team toyed with a different feed bucket, but quickly reverted back to Crystalyx. “We’ve always used Crystalyx. We feel it’s a really good tool for keeping sheep in condition over the winter. It maintains them well. We did try a different bucket, but we just felt they ate them too quick compared to Crystalyx”, explains Alan. “It definitely helps with twin lamb; we don’t really get a lot of it. Crystalyx just gives that extra bit of energy to keep them going when they think they need it.”
Feeding Ewes Pre Lambing Made Easy And Effective
The low moisture status of all Crystalyx feed licks is achieved through a unique and highly controlled manufacturing process. During production, the feed block goes through a slow cooking process to reduce moisture levels down to 2-3%. This concentrated formulation:
- Enhances nutrient density
- Minimises the risk of overconsumption by preventing biting behaviour, and
- Ensures product stability under harsh weather conditions.
The palatability coupled with the hard crystalline structure encourages little and often licking. This, by design, promotes consistent rumen stimulation over time. This controlled consumption also extends the lifespan of each block. This ultimately makes Crystalyx one of the cheapest products to feed per head per day.
Independent research has reported Crystalyx intakes ranging from 33.0g to 50.2g per head per day. In comparison, some other feed blocks on the market have reported intakes as high as 150g to 200g to deliver great animal performance results.
Shop with StowAg for Crystalyx Extra High Energy
