Ideas from the lifestyle shepherd

Our mature ewes normally lose condition supporting their lambs and then regain condition slowly over the summer weaning, boosted by a flush through mating. Their weight gain is held back by our usually hot, dry summers here in Canterbury. Like a lot of places, a damp New Year was unexpectedly followed by regular downfalls that left normally dry paddocks lush and green. It wasn’t until I started to turn the ewes over for a hoof trim en route to the tup that I realised they had the constitution of baby pygmy hippos and would probably not benefit from flushing with NRM Sheep Nuts over mating. Supplementary feeding gives the option to support stock when the quality or quantity of the forage on offer fails to support the weight gain or fertility required. At least with bagged feed you have the option not to purchase any when not required, whereas conserved forage (hay or baleage) normally has to be stockpiled when harvested or risk paying higher prices if supplies tighten. Our non-Texel ewes and lambs had access to Summit Multi Mineral Salt Blocks over the summer – the extra salt being helpful when stock are hot. Before tupping they were upgraded to a SealesWinslow Sheep Mineral block to help boost some trace minerals that can be important for fertility even when stock are otherwise in good condition.

The higher intakes of molasses blocks needs to be considered when reviewing what livestock might consume per day (see table above). Farmlands has a good range of blocks for sheep, so that customers can supplement according to their budget and how well they want to safeguard the health and fertility of their flock. I think it can be a false economy to let minerals hold back the performance of a flock. Just like reducing one’s own weight can be challenging, managing these overweight ewes over winter won’t be easy. Our goal will be to manage pasture supply better over the winter so that our mature ewes lose some condition in the second trimester (roughly 50 to 100 days of pregnancy). Fat ewes are more prone to metabolic disorders (pregnancy toxaemia or twin lamb disease) at lambing and single bearing ewes can have more lambing difficulties if over fat but with such a small flock scanning is not feasible. It will be important not to underfeed ewes close to and through lambing, so we can’t limit intake too much during this period.

Typical nutrient intakes based on typical block consumption rates

Feeding ewes to support milk production or even rearing surplus lambs on the bottle is likely to be more financially rewarding now, given the buoyant red meat markets. As lambs in the womb limit the ewe’s rumen capacity and dry matter intake in late gestation, more concentrated nutrition can help meet needs. Depending how the winter goes we might still favour feeding some nuts at lambing time, simply as a management tool to show that all stock are mobile and have good appetites. For those that want to rely on blocks but want to deliver a little bit more than a molasses mineral block will, the Crystalyx Extra High Energy Block offer a bit more energy from sugar, fat and protein in a typical dose and the added benefit of vitamins that can be lacking in the spring. They can help to reduce the incidence of sleepy sickness in ewes at lambing time, because they lack the rate limitation of sodium. Low copper causes swayback (enzootic ataxia) in lambs at birth which seems quite unusual in New Zealand. If you have had lambs with swayback, copper supplementation of ewes during pregnancy should be considered but is unlikely to be recommended for some breeds like Texels which are efficient at absorbing copper and are more susceptible to toxicity. Clostridial vaccination of ewes just prior to lambing maximises antibody levels in colostrum – the more antibodies lambs receive, the higher their chances of survival if faced with clostridial disease challenge.

Therefore, vaccinating ewes two weeks prior to lambing is ideal, with a 5 in 1 vaccine like MULTINE® to provide protection for the lambs for up to 12 weeks. For any ewe not previously vaccinated, they require two vaccinations (sensitiser and booster) 4-6 weeks apart just prior to lambing, and then an ongoing annual pre-lamb booster vaccination. Later, creep feeding offers the potential to direct high quality nutrition directly to the lambs especially as milk production wanes and support growth early just in case next summer turns out a bit drier than the last. Every year throws up new challenges so don’t be afraid to reach out for advice.