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