ANIMAL MANAGEMENT
Switch means no lambs lost to abomasal bloat Lynley Wyeth rears 350-500 orphan lambs annually. She and her husband Matt own Spring Valley Enterprises in north-west Masterton. They run 15,000 stock units, 80 percent sheep and 20 percent Angus breeding cattle.
“Switching to Sprayfo solved our
supplemented with Biopect, an all-
abomasal bloat issues straight away,”
natural anti-scour prebiotic, for
she says. “I haven’t lost a single lamb
days 2, 3 and 4.
to bloat since we started using it.
The prebiotic encourages and maintains
The orphan lambs are a mix of triplets,
than before.” The lambs gain 200-220g/
quads, quins, any that are mismothered
day on average pre-weaning.
or have lost their mothers and those
Transitioning the lambs onto a pellet
affected by severe weather.
became so much easier too, Lynley
In her first few years of rearing lambs,
says. Being whey-based, Sprayfo
where the animals have on-demand
Lynley had consistent trouble with
Primo Lamb is quickly digested and
access to milk through automatic
abomasal bloat. ‘Yoghurtising’ milk was
helps to enhance rumen development
feeders. Until 2 years ago, the lambs
sometimes successful but not always.
because the animals seek out
were fed with adapted calf feeders.
Another challenge was weaning lambs
concentrates sooner.
Lynley says Sprayfo has worked well
from milk onto concentrates.
The orphan lambs initially come into
with manual and automatic systems.
Searching for a solution to the bloat
nursery pens where they are closely
“This milk replacer is easy to mix
issue, in 2013 Lynley came across
monitored (3-4 times daily). Most are
manually and any equipment used
AgriVantage’s Sprayfo Primo Lamb
fed Launchpad18 colostrum on arrival,
is easy to clean,” she says. “It goes
Milk Replacer.
followed by Sprayfo Primo Lamb
through the automatic feeders easily
There was also a considerable drop in nutritional scours cases, and weight gain was more consistent and higher
good gut health and gives young animals a boost after periods of risk, such as stress from a new environment, change in diet or adverse weather. Once Lynley is happy that a lamb is thriving, it is moved into the rearing shed
too. There’s no blocking of tubes; even if a tube doesn’t get sucked, the milk doesn’t solidify in the tube.” Lynley says support from the AgriVantage team has been invaluable. “AgriVantage had huge input into our shed set-up and continue to feed us good information, tips and tricks. I remember when we introduced the automatic feeder and the lambs were chewing the teats off. Their advice was to try recessed teats – it changed my life!” For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store. | Lynley Wyeth tends to orphaned 2-day-old lambs in a nursery pen.
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Article supplied by AgriVantage
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THE FARMLANDER | 51
