Food - What do you suggest?

[20kidsonhill]

Lol, no I will be exercising him as I run along with him, haha! That's a good idea though!
I was a little confused, the lamb will be 2 weeks off the milk.
I will check TSC if they that show lamb grower, if not, I'll ask them to special order the lamb grower.
So it won't be a good idea to let him graze on the alfalfa that is growing in our yard? We bought a lunge line, and a special post for it so we can move him around to graze.
The farmer said the Orschelns feed would be fine, we're in Nebraska, they don't offer us much .

The farmer may very well be familiar with what is going on in your area.
It may help to ask other people, who are involved in showing what they are using, get an idea of what is normal for your area, we have 200 lambs in our county fair, and competition is tough to say the least. 12% feed would not do it for us.

besides the show lamb feed we also top dress the last month with higher protein top dress feed, we add things like eggs, ensure vanila protein drinks to the feed to keep packing on the protein and lots of work outs, like a body builder, work out and then eat, work out and then eat. Don't run them hard right after you feed them, and don't feed them if they are still panting, give them time to calm down so they don't choke on their food.

grass and hay are your enemies, seriously, you don't want their rumen to get all big, it gives them the wrong shape. You want them to have smooth flat sides, Almost where they look thin and lean, but when you touch their loins and leg muscles they feel firm and filled in. We give a couple handfuls a day of just grass hay, just enough to keep some long stems in their rumens, when I say a couple handfuls, I mean a slab(flake) of hay should last 4 or so days per lamb. so a 45lb bales should last near a month if it has 8 flakes of hay in it.

If they start showing signs of loose stools, then go up on the hay for a couple days,


Other thoughts:

find out what and when the farmer wormed the lambs and if he can sell you a couple doses to use. this will be cheaper than buying an entire bottle of wormer, unless you already have some.

Find out if the farmer had vaccinated with CD &T and what your fair policy is on this. Ours reguires it and also give a 3rd booster shot during our weigh-in.


If the lamb starts scouring(very loose stools) do not ignor treat right away, get advice from other farmers. They will loose weight very very quickly.

 

[farmchick]

Days 1-3
1 Cup Grain in Morning
Hay

Days 4-6
1 Cup Grain in Morning
1 Cup Grain at Night
Hay

Days 7-9
1 1/2 Cups Grain in Morning
1 1/2 Cups Grain at Night
Hay

Days 10-13
2 Cups Grain in Morning
2 cups Grain at Night
Hay

Days 14-17
2 1/2 Cups Grain in Morning
2 1/2 Cups Grain at Night
Hay

Etc..

Is this right? Should I give him as much hay as he wants, or limit it?
Anything else I should adjust?

 

[farmchick]

What is a flake?
I was planning on giving him a fold of hay, from smaller rectangle bales, ya know?
Would that be about right, or too much?
Thanks for all this help, by the way!

 

[20kidsonhill]

A section that easily come of of a small rectangular bale is what we call a flake, I am sure this is what you call a fold.

I think an entire fold would be too much.

We only do a quarter of a fold a day per lamb, but you could start out with a half and then cut back closer to the show, making sure your lamb doesn't have a pot bellied or rounded belly look from the hay.

Keep an eye on the lambs poop, make sure it stays regular looking as you go up on grain if it starts to look loose, slow down a little on the grain or give a little more hay. And cosider worms, as a possible problem.

Safeguard wormer is a good all-around wormer that is safe to give, Just remember to check the with-drawal date if you lamb is going to slaughter after the show.

 

[farmchick]

Okay, sounds good

 

[farmchick]

On the special feed for the lamb, would either of these work? This is all I can find!

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...t-feed/dumor-reg-sheep-formula-50-lb--2525103

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...goat-deccoquinate-dq-medicated-50-lb--2201042

 

[20kidsonhill]

On the special feed for the lamb, would either of these work? This is all I can find!

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...t-feed/dumor-reg-sheep-formula-50-lb--2525103

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...goat-deccoquinate-dq-medicated-50-lb--2201042

the one for sheep and goats has ammonia chloride in it for Urinary calculi(stones in the urinary tract), if you have males this may be what you want, if you have females I would go with the other one. I wish this one had a little higher protein in it. You could top dress with an egg in the feed to bump up the protein level. We have add vanilla ensure in the past, this really works, but it can get expensive.

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_4-HLivestock_2005-01.pdf

Here are some supplement recipees to use before and during showing.
http://www.nvrsheep.com/make_your_own_show_supplies_and_drench

 

[farmchick]

So would adding just one egg be enough? Like scrambled eggs? Or just cracking the raw egg on the food? And can I do this as soon as I get him (tommorrow ) And are there any treats I can give him, too?

 

[farmchick]

Not to hassle you with questions, but what are the other target amounts for the other nutrients, like Phosphourous, Calcium, Carbs, Fats, Salt, etc. I'm trying to find the perfect feed, or improve the one we have. And is a salt block okay to give the lamb?

 

[20kidsonhill]

So would adding just one egg be enough? Like scrambled eggs? Or just cracking the raw egg on the food? And can I do this as soon as I get him (tommorrow ) And are there any treats I can give him, too?

I wouldn't get too carried away with alot of changes in his feed at first, You want to get him settled in and just get him on the main feed, and then make changes in a couple weeks, You would want him on full-feed and all the supplements for atleast 30 days before the show.

put the egg on the feed raw. You can try cooking it, but he might not eat it. He still might not eat it, even raw, you may have to stir it in and coat the grain with it.