Question: Whats the best way to tell if the lamb is starting to get fat? I know some people feel the backbone and the ribs but I just dont know what to feel for. Is there any other signs to watch for other than that. I am not talking about when the are obviously fat, but just starting to get there.
Answer: Tim,
Thank you for your email. Most folks use their hand for determining fat thickness on a lamb. By that I mean if the lambs ribs feel like the back of your hand, it is too fat. If the lambs ribs feel like your knuckles, then it is too thin.
If the lambs ribs feel like the top of your fingers (where a ring would go), then they are about right.
Question: I am feeding Honor Showlamb. I have 3 March big frame suffolk lambs that are gaining well over 1 pound per day. Our fair is in 25 days. They already weigh 120, 124, and 132 lbs. I need to put finish on them and keep them under 150 lbs. I miscalculated how much grain per day they should have and they have been a bit overfed. I have one other lamb that is a January lamb who looks quite finished at 128 lbs. I need this lamb to hold together and stay under that 150. What would you suggest for these differences?
How many pounds of Honor does it take to produce a pound of gain in a lamb?
Thank you for your help. this is our first year using Honor or a specialty feed and it has us a bit confused.
Answer: Michael,
Thank you for your e-mail and for choosing HONOR Showlamb feeds. I suggest taking 3 to 4 days and transition to this diet:
2 lbs per day HONOR Champion Drive
1/2 lbs per day HONOR Showlamb Grower
1/2 lbs per day High Octane Power Fuel (for the lambs that need more finish).
This should slow the lambs rate of gain and keep them looking right.
Question: I am trying to fill out my 4H record book and it is asking which 3 ingredients in each of the feeds (sheep and beef) provide protein. Could you please help me. I have been feeding show chow since I started 4H 4 years ago and my animals always do very well. Thank you!
Answer: Aly,
Thank you for your email and for choosing Show Chow. There are many ingredients in feed that provide protein. Almost all ingredients provide some level of crude protein. Here is a list of a few:
Question: I have 25 days til my show. My lamb is 148 lbs having gained well over a pound per day on Honor show feed. Is there any way to hold this lamb and have him under 150 pounds for show or do I just give up on him and work on my other lamb? Thanks!
Answer: Daniel,
Thank you for your email and for choosing HONOR Showlamb feeds. I suggest transitioning the lamb to a holding type of diet. Take 3 to 4 days and transition the lamb by blending the current feeding regimen and HONOR Champion Drive Topdress so that you are feeding 2 lbs Champion Drive and 1/2 to 1 lbs of HONOR Showlamb Grower DX.
This should help to slow down the rate of gain and keep the lamb looking right. I also suggest an exercise program where the lamb is worked or exercised 3 times per week.
Thank you for your email. That is a big question with a very long answer. However, if you will send us your mailing address we can send you a DVD that will help with that.
Thanks again,
Dr. Kevin Burgoon
HONOR/Show Chow Technical Nutritionist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Question: Our daughter has a market lamb which is currently getting 2 pounds of Honor Lamb Grower twice a day as well as dairy quality alfalfa (large handfull). She is exercising him twice a day for 10 minutes by running him. He is open mouth panting when she is done with his exercise. He is a larger framed lamb who should finish out between 145 to 150 pounds. Our fair is at the end of this month. We are trying to build muscle but wanted to know how to include Topdress in his mix of feed. He is an aggressive eater. We are also feeding on an incline and individually. Thanks for your help.
Answer: Julie,
Thank you for your email and for choosing HONOR Showlamb feeds. You are on the right track with the HONOR Champion Drive Topdress. It is designed to help build a top in lambs (and pigs, goats and cattle).
For lambs feed 1/2 lbs per day (1 full yellow scoop in the bucket). Keep up the exercise as it will help the Champion Drive work.
Thanks again,
Dr. Kevin Burgoon
HONOR/Show Chow Technical Nutritionist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Question: We have been feeding the honor show lamb. I used to feed show chow, but our sheep wouldn’t eat it and did not like it. Each bag was different in consistancy, and the honor has been the same consistancy each time I purchace and bag, and the lambs love it. I am hesitant with the switch because of the problems I had before. Will the show chow keep the honor formula for lambs? I sure hope so because we absolutly love this stuff.
Answer: Lori,
Thank you for your e-mail and for your report on HONOR Showlamb feeds. The answer to your question is yes. When the new brand is launched in Idaho this coming Fall, the lamb formulas will be the HONOR Showlamb formulas.
By the way, the new brand is called HONOR Show Chow and should be available sometime in November 2008.
Thanks again,
Dr. Kevin Burgoon
HONOR/Show Chow Technical Nutritionist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Question: I have two market lambs that I am raising for the beginning of August. Both are on the Show Lamb Grower. I have been asking people around me for advice to put some muscle/meat on my lean lambs and to trim up their underside. Both lambs are getting a total of 4 lbs of grain a day and I have been told that hay will only hold them back. I have also been told that the Honor brand top dress will fill them out and put muscle on them but I am on a budget and paying 30 dollars on something I have not heard or tried on my lambs makes me a little nervous to try. Should I splurge on the top dress or keep feeding them the grower and no hay to finish out by the beginning of August?
Answer: Whitney,
Thank you for your email and for choosing HONOR Showlamb feeds.
We recommend feeding a double handful of loose high quality alfalfa hay per day per lamb to keep their rumen functioning properly.
The HONOR Champion Drive is designed to feed along with the HONOR Showlamb Grower DX. It is intended to feed at the rate (1 yellow scoop per day….divided into two equal feedings..morning and night).
So, when you calculate the cost per day ($30/25 lbs per bucket X per day) of $0.60 it is not as expensive as it seems.
The Champion Drive will do a nice job at putting more muscle and shape in the lambs top. This takes about 30 to 45 days to accomplish, so we suggest to begin feeding Champion Drive at least 30 days prior to show.
I will let you make the decision to feed the topdress or not.
Thanks again,
Dr. Kevin Burgoon
HONOR/Show Chow Technical Nutritionist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Question: I have read the other postings on your website and see that you talk a lot about the Grower DX and the Grower DX pellet and that you recommend those a lot . My question is when/why would it be appropriate to switch to the Grower 15% DX? Can you please explain the difference? Is this a more appropriate feed to use when holding or slowing down a lamb? Thanks very much!
Answer: Lisa,
Thank you for your email. Actually, the HONOR Showlamb Grower 15% DX feed is not available in Ohio as yet. We hope to have it available this coming Fall in the new HONOR Show Chow brand. The lambs products in the new brand will be the HONOR Showlamb formulas.
The 15% is formulated to contain extra energy for lambs that are being heavily exercised to keep them in flesh. It is also useful for lambs that need more energy to fuel faster growth. And yes you are correct when holding or slowing lambs. It is designed to keep body condition on lambs during these scenarios.
Thanks again,
Dr. Kevin Burgoon
HONOR/Show Chow Technical Nutritionist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Question: Okay I have two questions. I have successfully raised lambs for five years and I have never run into these two problems. My lamb is rapidly gaining weight and I am feeding Honor Grower which is 18%. She is very muscular but now as time passes (with county fair the last week of July) she is beginning to get a belly. She is exercised daily and is only given a handful of hay every once in a while. I was wondering what the solution to my problem may be! Also, whenever I brace my lamb and push her back she braces but as soon as she braces she jumps no matter what. I have never had this issue before and was wondering if there were any good tips to make her quit jumping. Thanks a ton for any help!
Answer: Randie,
Thank you for your email and for choosing HONOR Showlamb feeds. I am wondering if the lamb has access to grass or pasture. That could account for the belly.
At only a double handful of alfalfa hay per day, you should not have a problem with excessive middle. You mentioned a handful of hay once in awhile. Again, this should not cause the belly.
The HONOR Showlamb Grower does not contain ingredients that would cause this problems either, so I am at a loss at the cause. It could conceivably be genetic.
As for the jumping, I would keep working with the lamb daily, and keep bracing and allowing the lamb to jump, while you side step (keep ahold of the lamb by the head/neck) and place the lamb back down on the ground. I would do this as many times as it takes for the lamb to grow tired of jumping.
My thought is that any attempt to have help in keeping the lamb from jumping (another person pushing the lamb back down) will cause the lamb to leap even more.
Hope this helps. Thanks again,
Dr. Kevin Burgoon
HONOR/Show Chow Technical Nutritionist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
