Quoydandy, St Ola, Orkney is home for William Harvey where he and his father Lindsay farm together supported by family who help out when necessary. They run 100 suckler cows and buys in 60-70 stores annually, finishing them off the farm along with the progeny from his flock of 300 ewes.
270 of the ewes are Shetland x Cheviots, purchased from Shetland for their high health status along with 30 Romneys, trialling them for their easy lambing attributes. All ewes go to the Texel as the terminal sire.
William recalls the poor lambing he experienced in 2023 when he found that ewes had poor colostrum and little milk, resulting in more losses than expected, some from pasteurella.
“The ewes looked perfect but their energy and protein levels were dire. Testing for ketosis proved positive for some of the ewes. The lambs were suffering because they didn’t have enough milk.”
The following year, monitoring his ewes in the run up to lambing, William could see signs again. “The ewes get an 18% protein nut, ad lib silage and access to a high energy lick. I could see they were quite lethargic, dull and not all of them were eating.”
Blood testing confirmed that at three-four weeks pre-lambing, there was a lack of good quality protein in their diet. Fraser Moar of J & W Tait reviewed the diet and advised the addition of Ruminant GreenGold.
William was already using it for his suckler cows pre and post-calving and had the product on farm, so on receipt of the report, ewes were supplemented with it. “Since then, we haven’t looked back.”
Originally formulated to replace fishmeal, Ruminant GeenGold contains a unique mix of quality protein sources and omega 3 plus a high concentration of rumen-bypass protein to boost colostrum quality and subsequent animal immunity.
Antibodies cannot pass through the placenta of ruminants meaning colostrum – especially from the mother – is the only way to provide immunity in early life. It really is a race to get colostrum in them.
Typically, colostrum contains twice the fat and four times the protein of milk, hence the high energy and protein requirements around lambing. To support production of quality colostrum, it is essential to have a diet which balances rumen degradable protein with rumen by-pass protein and energy.
William is appreciative of the support from Fraser who is always available on the ‘phone and make a farm call as required.
Continuing the regime with Ruminant GreenGold into this year, William said “It has been the best ever lambing to date. The sheep are in much better fettle, have loads of energy and their bags are full of milk. Lambs have far more life in them and we have tubed far less lambs with their mothers’ colostrum.”
“I’ve also noted that we have had a more uniform crop of lambs this year, getting them off in batches of 70-80, rather than 20-30. We’ve not had so much bother with pneumonia or pasteurella either. The ewes get Heptavac P six weeks pre-lambing so they’re definitely getting all the antibodies through the colostrum.”
Feeding a ration balanced for energy and protein, means the ewes keep condition, provide plenty colostrum for immunity, giving lambs the very best start in life. Getting it right can be the difference between strong lambs that thrive, grow well and achieve their maximum potential and those which suffer from infections and poor growth.
William said “The Ruminant GreenGold definitely made a change and I wouldn’t be without it again.”
Pictured William with Fraser Moar – Harbro/J&W Tait