Managing feed and water in 2024
Katherine Davies (DPIRD, WA)
Author correspondence: Katherine.Davies@dpird.wa.gov.au
Proactive planning of feed and water management is important for livestock producers to be prepared for any scenario, such as various breaks to start the 2024 season. Contingency plans can be established to assist in decision making during difficult times. Taking the time to produce a feed and water budget is a good start to ensure you meet your livestock’s requirements in various scenarios. These plans should also be reviewed frequently as seasons change and adjust accordingly. Work with your business advisors to formulate plans that meet your enterprise requirements and cashflow.
Feed budgeting
Grain and hay prices and availability should be considered when planning a feed budget. In completing a plan, consideration of type of feed, such as a full pellet ration or other alternative or novel feeds should be given. Important information to know when supplementary feeding includes dry matter, metabolizable energy, crude protein, and fibre content of feeds. These pieces of information are important to have an accurate and cost-efficient ration. In cases where this information is unknown, testing can be completed by a commercial feed quality testing laboratory. To help determine the cost of supplementation, DPIRD’s Feed Cost Calculator is a useful tool.
Pregnant ewes
Adequate condition is essential for pregnant or joined ewes to produce positive lambing outcomes. This is particularly important for twin bearing ewes. Condition scoring is a practice that can indicate the adequacy of the provided nutrition and help determine the ration. To condition score, select 20 random sheep to get the average of the mob. Ewes should be on average a condition score 3 to have optimum production.
To maintain condition score 3, supplementary feeding may be required. When determining the rates, consider the energy and protein required to maintain condition score. It costs more to gain condition score than to maintain it, so assessing condition score regularly is important to inform your feeding strategies. The Supplementary Feeding Calculator for Pregnant and Lactating Ewes as well as the Annual Feed Budget for Sheep Enterprises can help determine the required feed amounts to meet energy demand.
Using other tools such as pregnancy scanning is important to identify the energy requirements for twin and single bearing ewes. As pregnancy progresses the energy requirement increases. Using a competent pregnancy scanning contractor to identify the numbers of lambs being carried, can help decisions when allocating feed according to energy requirements. To compare pregnancy scanning results to the rest of the WA flock you can use the Pregnancy Scanning Benchmarks tool.
Weaners
Growing sheep are also in need of nutritional supplementation to ensure survival and productivity. Weaner sheep need energy and protein to increase liveweight by 50g/hd/day to achieve a 1.5 kg liveweight gain each month. For a 25 kg Merino weaner, 7 MJ of energy and 12% crude protein is required.
Confinement feeding
Confinement feeding is an option to help feed sheep to optimise growth and delay grazing. Confinement reduces the energy used by animals by decreasing the walking distances to feed and water. Deferred grazing on paddocks allows pastures to keep ground cover, continue to grow post season break, and help pasture production later in spring.
When transitioning to confinement feeding make sure that any supplementary feed is introduced gradually to decrease acidosis risk and scouring. Grain should be introduced over a 2 week period, building up to a full ration, with the addition of good quality hay. In cases of scouring, reduce the grain in the ration until the rumen adjusts, then build up the grain gradually to the required level.
Low in calcium cereals, such as barley, oats, wheat and triticale, will require 1.5% of finely ground limestone to ensure the animals calcium-phosphorus balance is maintained. Drenches are also advised to prevent and repair any muscle damage, selenium and vitamin E should be included. Advice on selenium and vitamin E deficiencies in sheep and cattle is available on DPIRD’s website.
The reintroduction of sheep to pasture after confinement feeding must be managed carefully. The change in diet from grain to fresh pastures can cause health problems, such as pulpy kidney. Ensure vaccination for pulpy kidney is up to date and release sheep from confinement gradually, after they have had their ration for the day and aren’t hungry and continue to feed hay and grain over at least a few days.
Water
Access to quality water is essential for all livestock over dry periods, and the availability of water is a rising issue is some areas. Sheep require fresh water with a salinity level less than 4,000 milligrams of salt per litre to maintain good rumen function.
To help make early decisions to either reduce stock or cart water you can budget water consumption and test the water quality.
Summary
Monitoring stock feed and water consumption, condition scores, liveweight and general performance is important to ensure that all their requirements are being met. If there are any changes, adjust accordingly or review and act on previously established contingency plans.
Information on water and feed budgeting, nutrition management and other key seasonal information is available on DPIRD’s ‘Season 2024’ webpage.