As ewes pass day 100 in pregnancy, Jason Leslie, PGG Wrightson Technical Expert – Animal Production, says foetal development increases rapidly and rumen space becomes restricted. This is particularly true in pregnancies with multiple foetuses.
This makes it difficult for the ewe to physically eat enough to provide herself with the energy and protein requirements needed in the last six weeks of pregnancy. To help combat the restriction in rumen space, Jason recommends looking for a nutritional supplement to provide the additional energy and protein needed so the ewe does not have to call on her body reserves too much.
When considering supplementary feeds, commence feeding in the last six weeks of pregnancy and continue through to the end of the first month of lactation. This helps to maximise lamb vitality and improve lamb liveweight gain while reducing metabolic disease in the ewe and enhancing her colostrum and milk production.
Two options for supplementary feeding pregnant ewes are sheep blocks or nuts. Both provide the right amount of additional energy, protein and minerals needed by the ewe. If you are in a situation where your ewes have a lower body condition score, or the farm is short on feed, try Crystalyx Extra High Energy mineral block or NRM’s Sheep Nuts.
Crystalyx Extra High Energy is a dehydrated molasses block that conveniently delivers energy, essential minerals, trace elements and vitamins. As Jason explains, choosing a dehydrated block is a good option. Along with molasses being an energy source, other feed sources containing protein and minerals are combined in the block through the manufacturing process. This, therefore, offers a more balanced supplement than a straight molasses block and is ideal for ewes needing to support the rapid development of the growing foetus.
Jason says the benefits of supplementing with Crystalyx Extra High Energy are little or no risk of acidosis and a block prevents ewes from gorging as can happen with grains or nuts.
Allocate one block to between 50 to 70 sheep in a paddock. Jason recommends placing the block away from water troughs as it means once sheep have finished at the block, they will go to the trough to drink, allowing other ewes to have a turn.
NRM’s Sheep Nuts are an ideal supplementary feed when pasture growth or quality is low. The nuts offer pregnant ewes high levels of digestible energy and metabolisable energy (ME). The molasses content increases palatability while the nuts contain essential minerals and trace elements including Vitamins A, D and E and zinc, selenium, iodine, cobalt, and manganese.
Jason says choosing a feed in pellet form aids utilisation and helps reduce wastage. He notes too, that the nuts are a dense feed so introduce them slowly, building up over 14 days.
Formulated specifically for ewes carrying triplets, NRM’s Sheep Triplet Nuts contain highly digestible ingredients suitable for feeding when rumen space is limited. The more digestible a feed is, the more a ewe can eat and maintain a good body condition score ahead of lambing and lactation. Sheep Triplet Nuts include digestible energy, ME, carbohydrates, vegetable oils, essential vitamins, minerals, and trace elements - cobalt, iodine, copper, manganese, zinc, and selenium. That is everything needed to support lamb survivability and ewe milk production.
To view our range of nutritional sheep supplements and lamb rearing supplies, visit store.pggwrightson.co.nz.
