Sheep Industry News December 2021

Sheep Nutrition CLAY ELLIOTT, PH.D. Purina Animal Nutrition

Take Control of Your Lamb Crop Numbers With Better Nutrition During Gestation

P regnancy loss in sheep can be caused by a variety of reasons – infection, disease, genetics, environmental conditions and stress, to name a few. Some of these factors are outside of your control. However, one factor you can control is nutrition. Proper nutrition during gestation can go a long way in help ing to maintain healthy pregnancies. If ewes receive the proper amounts of mineral, especially vitamin E and selenium, it can head off a cascade of issues, which could ultimately result in pregnancy loss. Fat and protein in the diet are also crucial during gestation. A high-fat supplement helps maintain body condition in ewes and provides the nutrients and energy needed to support the ewe and the growing lambs. Help reduce the risk of pregnancy loss and deliver more lambs this spring with these nutrition tips: NEVER TOO LATE TO START FEEDING MINERAL If you aren’t already feeding a mineral to your spring-lambing flocks, it’s not too late to start. Ewes need the most support enter ing the third trimester. Seventy-five percent of all fetal growth happens during this time, putting a nutritional strain on the ewe. One of the most critical nutrients is calcium. A high-calcium mineral might help reduce the risk of hypocalcemia, which can occur in the third trimester when the lamb’s bones are growing rapidly. Without enough calcium to support bone growth and the ewe’s own needs, she can become ketotic, resulting in poten tial pregnancy loss and – in extreme cases – ewe death. The benefits of feeding supplemental calcium also carry over to lambing. Calcium plays a role in cervical dilation and smooth muscle contractions – both critical to a successful birth. Calcium deficiencies could cause complications during lambing or weak lambs that don’t want to get up and nurse. You could spend an entire gestation feeding the ewe and growing lamb, just to lose it at lambing because of a lack of calcium. Calcium supplementa tion is a simple insurance policy and a smart investment. GOLD STANDARD NUTRITION PROGRAM Feeding a free-choice mineral year-round helps ensure ewes are continually receiving the nutrition they need. It also avoids playing catch-up during critical times like gestation.

Mark your calendar now for next breeding season. At a minimum, start mineral 60 days before breeding and continue feeding throughout gestation. Feeding a high-fat block supple ment during this same timeframe might also help maintain ewe body condition. When choosing a mineral, a true difference-maker is bioavail ability, or the ability for the ewe to absorb the minerals. Look for a mineral with at least 70 to 80 percent bioavailability to ensure you get the most bang for your buck. Supplemental mineral and energy during gestation can go a long way to help maintain healthy pregnancies. SAFEGUARD YOUR INVESTMENT Percent lamb crop directly correlates to the profitability of your business. The average pregnancy loss rate is 2 percent. Any thing more could cut into your profit margin and should raise red flags that your nutrition program might be lacking. Maintaining healthy pregnancies throughout gestation helps deliver a return on investment from breeding season, avoids wasting dollars feeding open ewes and boosts percent lamb crop. This is especially important in a year where you could see lower lambing rates or a smaller number of twins and triplets due to drought conditions like we saw earlier this year. If nutrition is firing on all cylinders, ewes should be well taken care of and can reward you with an optimized lamb crop. You might also have higher numbers of healthy lambs that get up and take colostrum. From there, the risk of mortality drops. Take control of your lamb crop numbers by working with your lo cal nutritionist. Visit PurinaMills.com/sheep-feed to learn more. Clay Elliott, Ph.D., is a small ruminant technical specialist with Purina Animal Nutrition. Contact him at CElliott@landolakes.com.

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