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Feed Supplement For Sheep: Mineral Licks and Lamb Colostrum

Fill the gaps the ration leaves. Rock salt licks the flock helps itself to, plus colostrum for the first few hours of a lamb's life.

Feed Supplement For Sheep: Minerals and a Good Start

Hay and concentrate cover the basics, but not every gap. Mineral levels swing with the soil and the cut, and a newborn lamb needs something within a few hours that no sack of feed provides. For that we stock rock salt licks and colostrum supplement, which are exactly the two things most often missing in the shed.

Mineral lick on self service

At a lick the animals set the amount themselves. They go over when they are short of salt and leave it alone once the need is met. That is more reliable than any hand dosing and costs you no work. We stock pressed rock salt in a pack of four at 2 kilos each for several groups or fields, a single 1.75 kilo block with a hanging cord that goes up in the shed or on the fence, and a 2.5 kilo block of rock salt. Hang the block so it stays dry, because rain washes it out. One point is decisive with sheep: do not use copper bearing licks meant for cattle or horses. Sheep store copper in the liver and react badly to it, up to the point of poisoning.

The first hours in a lamb's life

A lamb is born with no defences of its own. It gets those only from the colostrum, and only in the first hours, because after that the gut no longer takes up the antibodies. If everything runs normally the lamb sucks by itself. With triplets, a weak lamb or a ewe with too little milk there is no time to wait and see. Then colostrum supplement helps, mixed up and given by bottle or stomach tube. Keep a stock to hand before lambing starts. Ordering when the ewe is already down is too late.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a horse lick for sheep?
Only if it is free of copper. Licks for cattle and horses often contain copper, and that builds up dangerously in sheep.

How long does a lick last?
That depends on animal numbers and the weather. Hung dry and sheltered, a 2 kilo block lasts a small group several weeks.

When does colostrum have to be given?
As early as possible, ideally in the first hours after birth. After that the gut takes up the antibodies far less well.

Mineral Cover and a Good Start for Lambs

Two gaps turn up in almost every shed. The first is the mineral cover, because how much salt sits in the forage swings with the soil and the cut. At a rock salt lick the animals help themselves and take exactly what they need. You can choose between the pressed pack of four at 2 kilos each for several groups, the 1.75 kilo block with a hanging cord for shed and fence, and the 2.5 kilo block. One thing matters here: for sheep use only copper free blocks, because copper builds up in the liver. The second gap is the first few hours of life. A lamb takes up antibodies through the gut only shortly after birth. If the ewe's own colostrum is not enough, colostrum supplement steps in. Lay in your stock before lambing starts, not in the middle of it.