Examining the options with store lambs
With the large number of store lambs currently on farms, farmers are considering finishing lambs, selling as stores, or buying store lambs for finishing. Eamonn Dempsey, Drystock Advisor in Tralee, looks at the options available to farmers.
The target is to finish store lambs from grazed grass, however many producers are not able to achieve this and will need to supplement their lambs with concentrate feeding. Every sheep farm is different so the option for dealing with store lambs will vary. For lowland sheep farmers it is best to divide lambs into three weight brackets less than 30 kg, 30 to 38kg and over 38 kg. You can then see the proportion of lambs in each of these categories and identify what grass is available to you. It would be ideal if you have an out farm or rented land that can be grazed without affecting available grass for the breeding flock.
The number of lambs you have in the under 30 kg category have a poor market value at present so ideally if you could keep these lambs on a grass or forage diet till after Christmas, lamb weight and market value will increase. The lambs in the 30 to 38 kg category should receive a reasonable store lamb price, depending on grass availability or cash flow you can decide to either finish or sell. Lambs in the finishing group over 38 kg can be fed 0.5 to 0.75 kg of meal per day and draft as they become fit.
When considering your options remember not to compromise next year’s lamb crop by eating grass needed for breeding ewes. If concentrate feeding avoid too much starch or finely ground ingredients, coarse ingredients is better but attracts more crows and lambs tend to sort and leave unpalatable ingredients. The ration should be cereal based with a high percentage of either maize, barley, oats or wheat.
Growing lambs (less than 35kg) have an additional requirement for protein and should receive a diet containing 14% crude protein. Lambs that are well grown and in the finishing phase will not benefit from dietary crude protein levels above 12%. If finishing male lambs include ammonium chloride to prevent urinary calculi at an inclusion rate of 0.5% or 5 kg per tonne.
Pasturella pneumonia is an issue for store lambs so focus on prevention, ideally purchase lambs that are vaccinated against Pasturella Pneumonia or vaccinate lambs on arrival for clostridial diseases and Pasturella and give a second vaccine 4 to 6 weeks later. If orf is not already present on your farm and you do not expect it is present on the bought in lambs, do not vaccinate as you will be introducing the problem. Discuss with your VET suitable treatment options for stomach worms and liverfluke. If there is a high risk of liver fluke on your farm, select a product that treats the stage of the life cycle that poses the greatest risk e.g. immature or mature fluke. Purchased lambs generally don’t have a high faecal egg count but can become infected quickly when moved onto another sheep farm, it is advised to dose on arrival and a month later based on results of a faecal egg count.
For the treatment of lameness, footbath lambs in copper sulphate solution 10%, and inspect lambs for signs of CODD. To prevent the introduction of scab, plunge dip or treat with an injectable macrocyclic lactone and isolate from the main flock. The use of pour on or plunge dipping will also prevent other external parasites such as lice, ticks and blowfly.
Target to keep mortality below 2% for flocks being managed outdoors, for indoor flocks target a mortality rate of less than 4%. To support your decision to either finish lambs or sell as stores login to the Teagasc website and complete the store lamb finishing calculator.