Sheep supplement is one of the mostly-used sheep feed items in developed countries. However, unfortunately, industrial and intensive sheep farming have been neglected so far. Such negligence leads to economic profit decrease as well as environmental degradation including excessive grazing on pastures which in turn results in irretrievable damage to the pastures and environmental damages such as flood, soil erosion, etc.
In sheep farming industry, finishing and intensive feeding is necessary for feeder lamb raising while selecting reproductive breeds is vital for prolific sheep raising. Therefore, it is crucial to consider and use solutions that improve cattle fertility rate and at the same time increase the efficiency of natural resources especially the pastures.
Improvement of lamb fertility and survival
In order to raise prolific sheep, two important issues must be considered the first of which is improvement of fertility or in other words the number of yeaning per ewe. The second issue is survival, health, and performance of lambs. By noting these issues in two different periods of prolific ewe farming, the efficiency of sheep flock is optimized.
The first phase is the ewe’s pre-breeding period. Ovulation rate and thus the number of lambs per litter can be increased in this period if there is a proper feed planning known as “flushing”. In this phase, using appropriate feeding solutions for the sheep improves their energy level and weight.
The second phase is the last weeks of pregnancy which is a critical nutritional period especially for ewes with more than one lamb. Ewes in their late gestation are susceptible to metabolic changes. If there is a metabolic disorder due to glucose availability, the ewes and lambs may encounter problems both in prepartum and postpartum periods.
Using appropriate feeding solutions in order to improve metabolic parameters in ewes, helps improvement of cattle health and survival of newborn lambs which promises a healthy flock with high economic efficiency and performance. Based on the flock conditions, various feeding and management solutions can be used to prevent the anomalies related to prolificacy of ewes.
Proper Flock Management
Since many ewes are incapable of producing enough and high quality colostrum, in most flocks prolificacy results in loss rather than profit. Therefore, proper feed management in late gestation period not only reduces potential damages, but also improves flock efficiency and the health of ewes and newborn lambs. Moreover, due to the inadequacy of pastures and lands for extensive sheep farming, national general policies are trending centralized sheep raising which requires research and development of management and feeding solutions in this area.
Damdare Bartar Sheep Feed Supplement
Considering the cattle’s need to minerals and vitamins, feeding with both concentrate and (sheep) supplements specially formulated for each period, reduces cattle’s stress, increases resistance against internal and external parasites, and improves feed efficiency.
Concentrate and supplements for prepartum period improve the quality of colostrum, help parturition of healthy lambs with desirable birth weight, and increase lamb survival.
Furthermore, fulfilling feeder lambs’ need to minerals and vitamins leads to enhancement of average daily feed conversion ratio and improvement of carcass quality.
Concentrate and supplements for flushing period by improving Body Condition Score in pre-breeding period, increase ovulation and thus number of yeaning per ewe.
| Ingredient | Unit | Prolific milk sheep | Feeder lamb | Prepartum |
| A | IU | 135,000 | 135,000 | 150,000 |
| D3 | IU | 12,500 | 8,500 | 11,500 |
| E | IU | 13,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 |
| Monensin | mg | 1,700 | 1,700 | 1,700 |
| Ca | gr | 120 | 100 | 120 |
| P | gr | 100 | 80 | 100 |
| Na | gr | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Mg | gr | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Mn | mg | 1,350 | 1,350 | 1,350 |
| Zn | mg | 2,000 | 1,850 | 1,700 |
| Cu | mg | 270 | 270 | 200 |
| Co | mg | 3 | 15 | 8 |
| Se | mg | 5 | 15 | 10 |
| I | mg | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Chrome | mg | – | 15 | 20 |
| S | mg | 40 | 70 | 200 |
| Daily intake | gr | 30 | 30 | 30 |
For more information and consultation in this regard, you may contact Damdare Bartar Company.