Maintain Condition With High Energy Sheep Buckets Pre-Lambing

Having breeding ewes in the right body condition all year round is vital for reproductive health and performance. Pre-lambing ewes in optimal condition are far more likely to lamb and rear better than their suboptimal counterparts. They are more likely to produce an abundance of high quality colostrum – crucial in reducing young lamb losses. Under-conditioned (thin) ewes are more likely to have a weak lamb and produce less milk. Over-conditioned (fat) ewes are more likely to have difficulty lambing. 

 

To get ewes in the right body condition, we first need to know what condition they’re in. With this known, we can make any necessary dietary tweaks in good time to reduce the risk of costly repercussions.

 

Body condition scoring should be carried out on four occasions throughout the productive year – weaning, tupping, scanning/mid-pregnancy, and late pregnancy/lambing. Many farmers will coincide it with handling ewes for other tasks like foot-bathing or vaccinating, for example.

 

In an ideal world, ewes start pregnancy in optimal condition, and maintain that condition through pregnancy. Any body condition changes pre-lambing needs to be approached with caution. Increasing feed rates in thin ewes pre-lambing can create oversized lambs, for example. After lambing comes with less risk, and thin lambs should be supplemented to ensure milk production. 

 

Luke Morgan, Caltech Crystalyx Account Manager explains the role of high energy sheep buckets in achieving and maintaining body condition.

 

“The core challenge facing ewes this time of year is making best use of fresh grass, hay and silage dry matter intakes,” Luke explains. “This is key to maintaining condition and meet the growing nutritional requirements of the growing lamb(s). Loss of condition while pregnant will jeopardise placental development and reduce body reserves available for milk production”.

 

“Crystalyx Extra High Energy sheep buckets represent a highly palatable and concentrated form of energy, high quality protein, minerals, trace elements and vitamins. Offering the high energy sheep buckets to ewes now will also have a very beneficial impact on the quality of the ewes’ milk post lambing”, continues Luke. 

 

“The buckets act as a stimulus to the microbe populations in the rumen. In turn this speeds up the digestion process, thereby allowing ewes to increase their daily consumption levels of fresh grass. And this, of course, determines overall dry matter intakes.”

 

Supplement your ewes, rams and lambs as required with the Crystalyx Extra High Energy feed block.