Creep feed

[Bigiron59]

I realize that Kevin. But observation ,over many years ,has lead me to believe that creep,/starter  with 5 percent fat or more  leads to more problems than it solves. Most people do not read, so continue on the same feed program ,long after 45 days. So now  high fat content is detrimental to rumen function, and leads to other problems.
Many will disagree.Seen lots of lambs  , with lots of digestive problems, get rid of the fat, and they will straighten out.
I should likely say veg fat. I expect most high quality feeds use some animal fats or some other than just soy and corn.

[KJShowLambs]

I Have fed the Honors exp dx for 2 years in a row and I loved it. The cons: cost too much and sometimes the feed had alot of powder. Pros less feed more bloom they love the feed easy for them to eat due to the small pellets. This year i am going to stick to a sweet feed and add calf manna to it to add more protien.

[EmsoffLambs]

I would NOT feed Calf Manna. Too much copper. In fact, it says right on the label not to feed it to sheep. Plus you aren't going to have enough fat to get bloom on your lambs.

[Don Drewry]

What we call bloom on lambs is fat. The more energy in the ration the more fat the lamb will put on. Adding protein to a feed won't get them fatter, it will make sure their muscles grow to their natural state.  Fat works as it is very dense so you get a lot of energy for the amount they eat.  IMO you'd be better off adding soybean oil to the sweat feed to get it to be 5-7% total fat than adding MR, (Calf or lamb).  Sheep milk is frequently over 7% fat so I wouldn't be concerned feeding that percent fat in a creep ration.

[Kgb]

Long story short, is that there is no problem with a creep feed with 5% crude fat if it is properly formulated.  If fed ad libitum (self fed) to older nursing lambs (10 weeks plus) that really begin to eat large amounts, you can see soft stools.

At that time if you do not want to wean the lambs, then my suggestion is to hand feed in the creep feeder twice per day.  A 75 lbs plus lamb does not need to be self fed.  Just my opinion.

Again, EXP is safe.  As well as our Showlamb Creep Pellet DX (20% protein creep) ... it has contains 5% crude fat for several years.

[EmsoffLambs]

Last year we used the Lamb Slam High Performance as a creep feed. It's 6.7% fat. I was worried that this might be too high, but the lambs thrived on it. It was highly palatable and predictably, they were nice and bloomy. Many are now using this feed all the way through to market. We fed one lamb all the way through and were pretty happy with is performance. Stayed on feed, grew well but didn't get too fat. I was happy with it.

[Honey Tree]

Curious about the Calf Manna.  Back in the 70's (I'm dating myself) we mixed our own feed.  We used Sweet COB, dried beans or peas and Calf Manna.  Never lost anyone to copper nor had we heard about either in high school or junior college ag.  Did they change the formula somewhere along the way?

[EmsoffLambs]

I don't know if their formulation changed, but here is the label. Note no sheep are listed. On the sack though it says to not feed to sheep. https://www.mannapro.com/products/cattle/cattle

[Honey Tree]

A couple of years ago I was about to purchase a bag of Calf Manna and I saw that the label said to not feed to sheep.  When I purchased it decades ago the label gave instructions on how much to feed to sheep.  I would assume that back then it didn't contain copper.  I wonder why the change.

[Hansen]

I fed the 15%DX a few years ago to try it.  Unfortunately I did not have very good results and ended up feeding roughly 3/4 ton to the ewes.  At the time,  I was not alone in having a problem getting lambs to eat any considerable amount of the feed.  After a few weeks of trying and finally leaving a few differnt rations out, we made the decision to switch.  I have two problems with the feed - Number 1, it's pelleted.  Numerous research articles suggest that young ruminant animals fed texturized feeds consume more, wean with higher ADG and also gain more per pound of feed than those that were fed pelleted feeds.  Number 2, I feel like the fat level in the feed is too high.  Along with BI I have seen sheep fed higher fat rations that have a harder time converting, etc.

[meyersshowlambs]

Josh,  I have fed the Honor 20% creep before and the lambs ate it like crazy. I felt they did well on it too. At 5% fat it's only a little lower than the EXP which is 5.5%. The extra fat noticeably bloomed my lambs vs. the ShowRite Lamb Power which is 4%. I was more concerned with the lower protein in the EXP at 15%. I think that is the same as the Smooth start you use. I was interested in that too but never heard back from you. I didn't realize that the Smooth start is texturized. I like the mini pellet that a lot use these days. Lambs seem to consume it well and there is no sorting. I have started my lambs this year on the EXP. I have 2 week old lambs eating it with the older lambs. It smells and looks just like their 20% creep. So far I am impressed.

[Bosephus]

So if people aren't feeding the correct protein and energy to milking ewes what is the proper percentages to feed them

[Hansen]

I would venture to say that 60% or more of the producers in Texas are using a texturized feed nowadays. The biggest problem that we run into with textured is as the flies pick up it atracts them  and that can create some problems if coccidia and other pathogens are not in check.  I will admit - the 15%DX  smelled really good - I just had terrible luck getting them to eat it. 

The most important thing with any feed, not just creep, is freshness and consistency,  and that your lambs eat it. Passed that I would venture to say that among the top feeds from Caliafornia to New York most sheep are going to do pretty well on them. 

On the lower protein as many had mentioned earlier - I think as genetically powerful as most of these things are these days - they can get plenty of go out of a 15%. 

[Bosephus]

So if people aren't feeding the correct protein and energy to milking ewes what is the proper percentages to feed them