There was a tremendous turnout of farmers for a recent ‘lambing information’ evening, hosted by Fane Valley at the company’s Ballycastle store in North Co Antrim.
Courtesy of his presentation, Crystalyx Ireland’s David Morgan highlighted the role of high quality forages in the diets offered to ewes in late pregnancy prior to lambing.
He also confirmed the benefits of making Crystalyx Extra High Energy feed licks available to ewes so as to ensure they received the optimal levels of nutrition required in the run-up to lambing.
David further explained; “The feed licks are not a standalone nutrition source for sheep. They must be made available in tandem with forage: either grazed grass or silage. Crystalyx is a low moisture feed block, containing between 2-3% water. The all-important energy source within the product is provided by cane molasses. Crystalyx has been designed as a low intake block: we don’t want biting, gorging or chewing of the product. The recommended feed rate is 40-60g per ewe per day: the blocks have been specifically designed to be licked.”
David also confirmed that the use of Crystalyx feed licks centre on the principle of feeding the rumen: not the animal directly.
“The lick acts as a carrier for the minerals, trace elements and vitamins required by the microbes in the rumen. A small amount of protein is also included in the specification: this is made available as feed grade urea. The end result is the growth in numbers of the rumen microflora, which subsequently act as a pure protein source for the animal when they die and move on to the other parts of the gut.”
He added; “Crystalyx acts to create appetite. The licks work with all forage sources, including straw. Enhanced microbial activity in the rumen will lead to increased levels of fibre breakdown and utilisation within the forages made available to stock.”
High Energy Feed blocks can also be made available to ewes at flushing. A combination of good grass and the nutritional boost provided by Crystalyx will lead to enhanced ovulation rates.
According to David, the blocks can be left with ewes during the entire period of their pregnancy. He further explained: “Ewes should not be allowed to gain too much body condition in these circumstances. This can lead to difficult lambing’s. The 40-60g per day consumption level delivers all the minerals and vitamins that breeding sheep will require. The nutritional impact of the various Crystalyx feed blocks have been independently verified by numerous research trials.”
David concluded:
“Crystalyx Extra High Energy is a lick that can be used all year round to provide supplementation for ewes, rams and lambs. The tubs are high in protein, energy and with a full complement of minerals, trace elements and vitamins. Extra High Energy buckets and forage can be all that’s required to operate a highly effective and profitable sheep rearing system. Loss of condition in ewes while pregnant will jeopardise placental development and reduce body reserves available for milk production. Furthermore, trials conducted at Newcastle University have found that ewes with access to Crystalyx Extra High Energy buckets maintained better condition than ewes on forage alone. In addition, their lambs subsequently had a 5% higher growth rate.”
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