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Canadian dehydrated or suncured alfalfa
pellets and cubes can form the basis of cost effective, performance
giving diets for all classes of sheep and goats. Those same attributes
of Canadian processed alfalfa that are in demand in high producing
dairy cow diets also help meet the needs for dairy goats and for meat
production in lamb and kid goat diets. The chosen forage for sheep and
goats, wherever available, has been alfalfa and now with processing,
alfalfa pellets and cubes offer the same availability to a highly
consistent nutrient content forage in a readily consumable form on a
year-round basis. Specifically, these Canadian processed alfalfa
products offer:
• high nutrient content;
• high quality forage source;
• high buffering capability;
• reduction of heat stress;
• high feed intakes;
• minimal waste in feeding;
• economical forage alternative;
• convenient feed form.
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Alfalfa Pellets and Cubes for Sheep
Growing-finishing lambs
There are many feeding regimes being practised, from
providing early weaning, creep diets followed by growing and finishing
diets in drylot to later weaning, pasture and then finishing as
yearlings. Whatever the management and feed resources that fit your
farm, alfalfa pellets can be used to advantage, particularly where
performance is essential. The following briefly summarizes their use.
Creep diets for early weaned lambs
Creep diets are of high quality and of high digestibility;
designed to aid in rumen development. They are offered at 7 to 10 days
of age and fed through weaning until a grower diet is fed. Dehy alfalfa
pellets are included at levels of 5 to 20% of the creep diet with the
remainder being cereal grains, protein supplement, minerals and
vitamins.
Grower-Finisher lamb diets
These diets are formulated to provide maximum growth and
finishing with just the right carcass size and quality. Alfalfa
pellets, both suncured and dehy, have been used extensively in
grower-finisher diets to provide this optimal growth. Levels of alfalfa
pellets from 25 to 40% of diet dry matter are not uncommon. The diet
described in table 1 has been used successfully in the University of Saskatchewan flock for
growing and finishing lambs and gives an example of alfalfa product
use. The performance obtained with ewe lambs is given, but performance
with ram lambs on similar diets have approached 480 grams of gain per
day.
Maintaining Ewe and Ram Diets
Alfalfa pellets can be used to augment forage quality in
ewe and ram diets. Alfalfa pellets combine well with low quality
forages to not only increase nutrient intake but provide additional
beta carotene for Vitamin A needs which are so important in gestation.
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Ingredient Composition:
Alfalfa pellets
Barley grain
Canola meal
Limestone
Salt + premix
Tallow
Molasses
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% as fed
30.0
49.0
11.0
4.0
3.0
1.0
2.0
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Nutrient Composition:
Protein
TDN
Calcium
Phosphorus
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% as fed
17.0
4.0
2.1
0.36
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Performance:
Average daily gain, grams
Feed/Gain, grams/gram
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349
5.4
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Table 1 : Composition of grower-finisher lamb diet used
at the University of Saskatchewan and
performance of ewe lambs on this diet (18 kg start weight; 7 week
feeding period)
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Alfalfa Pellets and Cubes for Goats
Lactating does
The feeding of dairy goats is not unlike that of dairy
cattle requiring high quality forage. It is generally recommended that
the forage for lactating does contain at least 50% legumes such as
alfalfa for adequate forage quality.
The nutritional demands of does is difficult to meet in
early lactation (first 2 months), with the feed needing to be high in
nutrient content and consumed at maximal levels. During this period the
level of alfalfa supplementation to improve overall forage quality
should be higher, 60 or 70% of forage, while later in lactation this
level can be reduced to 35 to 40% of the forage. The amount of forage
in lactating doe diets varies from 40 to 55% of the total daily feed
intake.
Dehy alfalfa pellets are a superior forage source for
lactating does. Dehy alfalfa pellets can be used at levels of up to 50%
of the total forage fed. Longer fiber forage sources such as alfalfa
cubes can be used at higher levels and should be sliced into wafers to
promote consumption. Thus, as an example, a lactating doe weighing 60
kg and producing 4 kg/day of milk being fed 550 grams of grass hay
could be fed 550 grams of dehy alfalfa pellets daily. In addition, the
doe would receive some 2.0 kg of concentrate.
Meat Goat Diets
Canadian alfalfa pellets and cubes can be used to good
advantage in growing kid diets and for maintaining breeding stock.
Fibre length is less of a concern in growing kid diets with alfalfa
pellets being able to meet the forage needs in confinement diets and to
supplement forage quality in less intensive feeding programs. The kid
goat, however, does require a certain amount of fibre in the diet and a
diet which is lower in rapidly degraded starch to avoid digestive
upsets. Alfalfa pellets being high in nutrient content as a forage
source, are a natural feed in kid goat diets. Similar to growing lambs,
alfalfa pellets can be used at levels up to 20% of the starter diets,
and from 25 to 50% of grower finisher diets. The addition of a high
quality forage such as dehy alfalfa pellets not only ensures
performance but can be used to manipulate dietary energy to produce the
most desirable carcass - lean and flavourful.
Canadian processed alfalfa products, because of their high
quality, can be used to improve forage quality in sheep and goat diets.
Their high nutrient content and natural ability to be consumed in large
amounts promote high performance, whether for milk or meat production.
Because of these factors where best use of home grown feed is maximized
and high performance is required, they are cost effective. Canadian
alfalfa products are suited for your livestock.
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prepared by:
Vern J. Racz
Feed Resource Centre
Department of Animal and Poultry Science
University of Saskatchewan
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