QMS: Top lamb weaning tips from Stirlingshire Monitor Farm summer meeting
Visitors at the Stirlingshire Monitor Farm summer meeting discussed the options with Emily Grant, independent sheep, cattle and grazing consultant.
Emily said that weaning was a time when production focus is moving away from ewes lactating towards lambs starting to grow. "It means being able to prioritise high quality pasture to allow lambs to grow on and, if needed, a bit of time for ewes to put condition back on after lactation has finished. Lactation requires additional energy over maintenance, peak lactation (when lambs are around three weeks old) is when the ewe has her highest energy demand; this can almost treble before falling as lactation declines".
She said pasture quality and quantity should be a priority for weaned lambs. "Ewe milk is high in energy at 12-13ME, so if you want lambs to continue to grow well it’s important they have highly digestible pasture. This is fundamental as lambs have a relatively small rumen comparable to their size which develops over weeks three to eight of their life before becoming fully functional".
Consideration of weaning weights is important, she added. “To hit targets, you should ideally be weaning twins at 30kg plus and single lambs at about 35kg plus at about 90 days or thereabouts. Each increase in 1kg lamb wean weight reduces days to slaughter by one week.
"Ideally, ewes should be weaned at BCS 3 which is your target to take into tupping. They can then be on a maintenance diet so you can start to shut down their requirement for high quality grass. In effect, pulling them away from competing with lambs for that pasture".
Being aware of your farm’s mineral status was important, she said. "For instance, cobalt is deficient across quite a lot of Scotland. Even where it is a bit marginal, cobalt levels will vary between the seasons, so some years it may be fine and others it’s not, but be aware of it as it is a production-limiting deficiency".
She added that worms and parasites could be a challenge and potentially impact performance at weaning. "You really want them to keep growing to get them marketed as soon as you can and ideally off pasture".
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