Lamb efficiency – a bucket of worms or a bucket of bait?
Nick LindenDept of Primary Industries, Rutherglen,
Victoria
Outline• 1) Background and methods
• 2) On-farm factors– Growth path (pre-weaning restriction)– Weaning weight and age at finishing
• 3) Can we improve efficiency - benefits/risks?
Acknowledgements
• Dr Alex Ball – MLA• Tom Bull - Lambpro• Dr Daniel Brown – AGBU• Dr Graham Gardner – Murdoch Uni/Sheep
CRC
Lamb or lederhosen, profit is still profit…
Profit = kg’s sold x (Unit price – Cost Of Prod.)
C.O.P driven by business efficiency Inputs
Outputs
Variation in feed conversion
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0
kg's intake
kg's
gai
n
My starting point
Measuring feed intakeTemp and humidity every 15 mins
Impact of a pre-weaning restriction
Birth to weaning Backgrounding
Finishing
16
36.5
29.213.2
Impact of a pre weaning restriction
Birth to weaning Backgrounding
Finishing
16
36.5
29.2
47
40
13.2
Impact of a pre weaning restriction
Birth to weaning Backgrounding
Finishing
13.2
36.5
29.2
47
40
55, FCR 7.4
49, FCR 7.8
16
Pre-weaning restriction – older lambs
Birth to weaning Backgrounding
Finishing
48
42
53, FCR 16
47, FCR 17.2
Weaning weight v’s age at finishingLight
(24-27kg)Medium(28-31kg)
Heavy(32-35kg)
21 weeks
29 weeks
38 weeks
Wt gain - three weaning wt and ages
0.15
0.17
0.19
0.21
0.23
0.25
0.27
0.29
0.31
Light Medium Heavy
Dai
ly w
t ga
in (k
g)
21 weeks 29 weeks 38 weeks
Feed intake - three weaning wt and ages
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
Light Medium Heavy
Dai
ly fe
ed in
ake
(kg)
21 weeks 29 weeks 38 weeks
FCR - three weaning wt and ages
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
7.5
8
Light Medium Heavy
Feed
Con
vers
ion
Rati
o (x
:1)
21 weeks 29 weeks 38 weeks
FCR – sex at 3 ages
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
7.5
8
21 weeks 29 weeks 38 weeks
Feed
Con
vers
ion
Rati
o (x
:1)
Ewes Wethers
What does it mean for industry• Most efficient lambs put on 1kg live weight for every 3 kg of feed consumed.
– Cost to finish $6.39
• Least efficient lambs eat 15+kg of feed, for every 1kg of live weight gain.– Cost to finish in the order of $30.00 (in feed costs alone)
• Variation between sire groups for FCR ranged from 5.17 to 8.81, average for all lambs, 7.09:1
ITS WORTH DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!!
How can we capture benefits?
• Correlations of 0.8 and 0.4 – genomic breeding values v’s milk yield and v’s feed efficiency traits.
• We know what pigs and poultry have achieved.
• If feeding lambs at home, there are tools.
Industry implications• Restricted growth through to weaning does not compromise the efficiency of lambs
when it comes time to finish them. – Lambs that are light at weaning can still be finished in a cost effective manner,
HOWEVER if carrying lambs over, beware of lambs that were already heavy.
• Lambs that are light at weaning do have a bigger ‘window’ for finishing – still efficient at older ages.
• Inefficiency driven by two things – poor weight gains and they still consume a heap of feed (lambs that are heavy at weaning, but hung onto too long!)
• Feeding lambs at the ‘right’ stage of maturity appears to be critical to profitable outcomes – don’t try and turn them into something they shouldn’t be!
We love our lamb!
Pre-weaning restrictionL
ive
wei
ght
Age
Pre-weaning
Grow-out
Finishing
200
600
400
• some compensation during backgrounding • similar feedlot growth performance• calves don’t catch up in weight• no adverse effect on composition
220
- 70kg
- 40kg
- 35kg
30 mths
Low birth weightL
ive
wei
ght
Age
Pre-weaning
Grow-out
Finishing
200
600
400
• slower growth to weaning• no compensation during backgrounding • reduced feedlot performance• calves don’t catch up in weight• no adverse effect on composition
- 25kg
- 40kg
- 55kg
- 10kgBirth
30 mths