Slow Gainer, Suggestions?

[Honey Tree]

Our club started with several very lightweight lambs and we had concerns about making the minimum weight of 100 lbs.  Of course it would have been nice to have started with bigger lambs but we are where we are.

Weigh in is in 8 days.  The smallest lambs have put on an amazing 8-10 lbs per week and weigh 104-114 today.  We have one straggler that is just not putting on the weight.  He weighs 94, the same as he did 4 days ago.  He looks healthy and they said he is consuming 3 lbs per day of Lamb Slam.  His buddy is 114 lbs.  His condition is very good and he is one of the nicest lambs in our group.

We have had extremely hot weather (100+) and it looks like it will continue for the next couple of weeks.

I got the family to move the lambs into full shade about 10 days ago and the lamb was shorn 2 1/2 weeks ago. 

Its frustrating because the boy has put in a lot of time and he is doing a great job showing his animal.  This is his first market show and I know he would be so disappointed if his lamb didn't reach the 100 threshold. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Don Drewry]

Will the lamb eat any more than the 3 lbs being fed?  Feed the lamb and remove the feed pan after 15 minutes.  They eat the most if trough fed 2 or 3 times a day and don't have feed in front of them all the time.

What is the protein level of the feed being fed?  Drop it to 15% if not there.  Lamb will put some more fat on at that %.

You can get vitamin B crumbles at most horse stores.  This increases appetite, top dress an ounce on the feed.

Are the lambs being run?  If so stop, other than about 50 yards to increase the appetite.

Keep fans on lambs to maximize comfort.

What are the rules for weigh in?  These vary but take advantage of as many of these as the show lets you.
- weigh with blanket
- buy they heaviest halter.  My son made the minimum weight at Askarben because he weighed in with a halter that weighed a pound
- if they can be wet when weighed, have the lamb wet
- don't clip the lamb until after weighed again
- give the lamb a little salt and it might drink more water just before weighing
- Feed the lamb just before it is weighed

[Bigiron59]

Bluelyte in water. Begin to wet feed. Stop feeding all but 20 stems of hay a day. Most show feed has enough fiber in it to feed no hay for extended periods of time.
 6 lbs in 8 days   Not a lot of time and if you knock him off feed your done

[Honey Tree]

Lamb Slam is 17.4% protein and 3.7% fat. 

Our fair is very tight at weigh-in.  No clothing, no halters, slick shorn from the knee up and hock up, no wet sheep, no drenching.  I took the recipe for OG's Egg Drench to them today and they said they'd start him on it right away.  Temperature is supposed to drop into the upper 90's.  They walk the lambs for about 15 minutes daily, no running. 

Three pounds of feed in the morning and again in the evening is the most they can get the two lambs to consume.  They also get a fistful of alfalfa each. 

I'll let them know about the vitamin B crumbles.  I haven't heard of Bluelyte, but I'll check into it as well.

Let me know if you think of anything else.  I'll let you know what happens.  Many, many thanks!

[Don Drewry]

I prefer supplementing with "complete" supplements instead of grain, but at 17%+ protein and not much time, I'd replace 2 cups of the show feed with 2 cups of whole corn.   They could also see if the lambs will eat with vegetable oil mixed in.  Start at a tablespoon, increase  until 1/4 per feeding for the 2.  If they don't eat, throw the feed out and give the "normal" feed. 


We once fed a dairy steer a quart of soybean oil a feeding and went from him looking like a feeder calf first week of July to winning a purple at the state fair a little under 2 months later.

[Honey Tree]

Thanks Don!  We'll make some adjustments and say our prayers!  Weigh-in is Sunday.  I'll post his weight when I come up for air!

[Picket Fence]

It's going to take a good piece of luck to make your minimum weight, but most luck comes from hard work and following a good plan.
The 3 things that will help a lamb be heavier is water retention, full belly, and don't burn off any more energy than you have to. Already some great tips here, and I'll add some ideas to hopefully get this guy and his showman into the lightweight class.
I would not exercise him beyond showmanship practice. Extra running for muscle tone will also burn off fat, and you need all you can get right now.
I would not wash or rinse him for 24 hours prior to weigh in, since a cold shower will usually make any animal pee, and that can drop his weight enough to slip back under your minimum.
Electrolytes will help keep his muscles hyrdated, adding water weight. If you can find some Propylene Glycol, add about 8 CC's to the electrolyte. This is an energy source, and gives their throat a feeling of "I need a drink to wash this down". Don't expect him to just run over and guzzle water, he will get it when he needs it. Another thing to add to the electrolytes is Creatine, a muscle building substance found in the bloodstream. Walmart pharmacy usually has it in some form, in the Protein shake area. 1 tablespoon, mixed in with 30 CC's of electrolytes/8 CC's Propylene Glycol, 3 times a day.
Speaking of water, do everything you can to bring your own from home, and use the same bucket that he drinks from at home. If water tastes different, he might refuse to drink, which is not good.
Lastly, keep him full. Stay on your regular feeding schedule, but an hour before weigh in time, give him anything that he wants. Alfalfa is a great filler, and might give you just enough push to get over the limit. Straight corn is good too, but mix it with his regular feed, as too much by itself can upset his rumen.

[Honey Tree]

Thank you for the great advice!  I went over today to weigh him but the pen was locked and there wasn't a flat enough area for me to set the scale down. 

I had them start him on OG's Egg Drench and he slurps 10 oz 2x per day out of his feeder.  They put him on the hang scale and said he weighed over 100 lbs now.  I want to get him on my scale so I can really see if he has picked up that much weight.  The lambs out of my ram started out really slow.  I was worried about several of them but in the last three weeks most of them have put on an amazing 8-10lbs per week.  It's possible the egg drench jump started him.

The suggestion about not washing him is really good, something that I never would have thought of.  Unfortunately he has to washed and clipped tomorrow.  All lambs have to slick shorn prior to haul in (Sunday) and only touch up clipping is allowed, battery clippers only.

I really hope the hang scale is accurate and the anticipation of weighing him tomorrow afternoon is like waiting to see what's wrapped up under the Christmas Tree.  Of course I don't know how close the fair scale is to mine.

Do you drench with the electrolytes or just put it in the water?  How do we give the propylene glycol and will any of this test?  No drenching is allowed at our fair.

[Honey Tree]

I can't sing the praises of OG's Egg Drench loud enough.  I put the lamb on my scale today and it said he weighted 110.  He crossed the fair scale at 109!  He looks like a completely different lamb since he's been on the drench.

Thanks to you for all of of the other advice!

[EmsoffLambs]

Great news! Good luck at the fair with him and let us know how he does!

[Gtown]

Glad it worked out!

[Honey Tree]

He was sixth in his class, right in the middle.  Not a class winner but he was in the auction.  The lamb likes to stretch way out but drops his back.  I had forgotten to remind his showman to not stretch him out too far. 

The family wanted to know why we only feed twice per day rather than having feed in front of the lamb constantly like they do with dairy cows.  I didn't have a good answer other than it was just how it was done.  Does anyone no why?

[EmsoffLambs]

Lambs actually tend to eat more when they are allowed to get a little hungry. Also, they eat fresh feed better than feed that has been sitting in the heat and flies for 12 hours. And the final reason is that you can more easily monitor how much they are eating.