RumenWorks Nutrition
Sheep Grain Assist Pellet with Probiotic
The RumenWorks Nutrition Sheep Grain Assist Pellet with Probiotic has been designed to help minimise the risk of grain poisoning when feeding cereal grain to sheep.
Feeding any cereal grain to sheep will cause an increase in the production of lactic acid within the rumen. This lactic acid is the cause of “grain poisoning”. The production of lactic acid at best, has a negative impact on the animal’s efficiency, and at worst will cause death.
Reducing the impact that this lactic acid has on the animal will improve the production outcome. The RumenWorks Nutrition Sheep Grain Assist Pellet with Probiotic has been designed to help manage the risks that lactic acid poses.
- High quality buffering agent reduces grain poisoning
- Decreases production of lactic acid
- Reduces the risk of Coccidiosis in weaners
- Balanced high-quality minerals
- Increased weight gains
- Improved feed conversion rates
- Available with or without Bovatec™
- Contains probiotics to help buffering and improve feed conversion rates
Reach out to livestock nutritionist Ross Gibson on 0447 971 836 for more information about our range of products.
Product Details:
One of the best ways to minimize the risk of lactic acid is to neutralise it after it has been produced. This neutralizing effect is known as buffering. Many naturally occurring compounds can be used to “buffer” this acid.
The RumenWorks Grain Assist Pellet with Probiotic contains a complex of several compounds which all have different buffering characteristics. This complex of compounds allows for a broader spectrum of buffering.
The RumenWorks Nutrition Sheep Grain Assist Pellet with Probiotic also contains Bovatec™ (Lasalocid Sodium), which is a compound that is classed as a rumen modifier. Bovatec™ improves performance by enhancing the activity of the beneficial rumen microflora. This modification of ruminal microflora activity decreases the production of lactic acid.
The Lasalocid sodium also provides a level of protection against Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a disease that commonly presents itself during the weaning process. The RumenWorks Nutrition Sheep Grain Assist Pellet with Probiotic is suitable to feed to weaners to reduce the risk of Coccidiosis.
Nutritional Information:
| Macro Nutrients | |
| Sacchromedes Crevasiae | 3288 mg/kg |
| Chlorine | 8.99% |
| Potassium | 8.00% |
| Crude Protein | 7.80% |
| ME Mj/kg | 6.73% |
| Calcium | 5.95% |
Consumption Rate and Directions:
The pellet is designed to be included into cereal grain diets at a rate of 2.5% or 1 x 25 kg bag per tonne. Product is to be fed in cereal grain diets up to a maximum intake of 600g/hd/day of finished feed.
Induction requires a week long process where sheep are slowly introduced to higher grain diets; to reduce the stress and weight loss of the animal in the first week from acidosis). Consequently, over the last 8 years, RumenWorks Nutrition has formulated many successful induction programs for both systems. However, how we induct the lambs to feed will depend entirely on the history of the sheep. For instance, if they have been imprinted to feed troughs, (i.e. ewe and lamb have had access to lick troughs prior to weaning) getting lambs inducted onto grain diets will be much easier than if they have not seen feeders before. Moreover, buying in-store lambs is difficult because you often don’t know their feeding history—one advantage of feeding your own lambs.
Before commencing sheep grain feeding, you must ensure enough feeders are in the paddock. Plus, ensure that they are distributed around the paddock for easy access; close to water initially is ideal. As a guide, we allow 40-50mm per lamb and 50-100mm of trough space per adult sheep. Allow an extra 20mm for sheep with full wool.
The use of self-feeders in the paddock is the most common form of grain-assisting lambs. Self-feeders remove the need to feed daily, creating a labour-efficient process. Furthermore, another advantage of self-feeders is they are more suited to finishing stock to a marketable weight – sheep can maximise feed intake.
Finally, to ensure quicker uptake, put lambs into a smaller paddock to be easily observed for the first week of feeding. In particular, watch for shy feeders; we want to see more than 90 per cent of lambs on feeders as quickly as possible.
Withholding Periods:
- Nil
Vista Cell Patented Probiotic:
Vista Cell marketed exclusively by RumenWorks Nutrition Pty Ltd in Australia is a unique patented Strain of Sacchromedes Crevasiae. This is the only sheep grain assist product on the market to include a Probiotic which brings you the benefits of improved daily weight gain and improved feed conversion
rates through more efficient rumen function.
Trialled, tested and validated:
Click here to view our Sheep Grain Assist Pellet trials and results.
What our clients are saying
We have been using RumenWorks products for two years and have been impressed with the improvement in our calves when we wean and the health and high reproductive health of our cows. Ross Gibson has been so helpful with his advice and support of our enterprise, which has endured many varied weather anomalies during this time. We cannot thank him enough and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.
This is the best lamb marking we have ever had with 178% marked. We had fewer ewes to pull, and we had even fewer poddy lambs to raise. We attribute this great result to constant use of RumenWorks Green Feed Lick, RumenWorks Pre Joining Lick and RumenWorks Pre Lambing Lick. We also believe the constant supply of a small amount of grain with RumenWorks Sheep Grain Assist Pellet in feeders and rough hay has been worthwhile. All this goes to help us get the best out of our good pastures.
Making nutrition a priority at an early stage and focusing on high quality genetics, means our cattle are thriving, despite poor seasonal conditions over the past five years. The key to achieving that quick growth is nutrition, and by using an automatic feed mixer, along with recommendations from livestock nutritionist Ross Gibson. Using a ration of rolled wheat or barley, soybean meal and hay, along with a RumenWorks supplement in a long trough has allowed us to finish cattle despite the drought. The higher level of nutrition begins at weaning. We yard wean for at least a fortnight onto grain and the rumen lick, which gets their rumen working, and those cows rumen will be fully developed to set them up for the rest of their lives, so they should be able to adapt a lot quicker to changing conditions.
We run 200 Autumn calving Angus cows with the on-set of cold and frost. The feed stifles in the Upper Murray so we are always pushed with grass tetany. With the use of RumenWorks Green Feed Lick we minimised the losses and found that the cows would milk better in the conditions and the calves did not have a set-back during the colder months.
There is no doubt our lambs benefit with extra weight gains using RumenWorks Bloat Feed Lick. We find using the RumenWorks product helps us get our lambs to market that couple of weeks quicker, which can make a big difference at the end of the lamb season.
We put RumenWorks Pre-Lambing Joining Lick out 6 weeks prior to lambing and leave out for 3 weeks into lambing. We have a big improvement in reduced birthing losses and pregnancy toxemia in the ewes, and increased lamb survival. This is a product I would not be without.
We have been using RumenWorks’ sheep products for 5 years now, including Green Feed Lick, Grain Assist Pellet and Performance Plus Pellet. The technical input and support provided by Ross and his team is highly valuable. The Grain Assist pellet has become a permanent inclusion into our program. We use it in combination with oats and barley to imprint feeding in lambs leading into weaning and then to set up gut health for life in lambs in the immediate post-weaning period. As a result of implementing this weaning program, the growth rates and overall animal health of our weaners has improved considerably. Amelie Poll Dorsets strongly recommends Rumenworks Animal Nutrition, with their range of products and technical service.
Our Autumn drop lambs that go to the domestic market have a target weight of 50-52kgs, then the winter drop lambs go to export with a target weight of 65-70kgs. Once you understand how the gut works and how important micronutrients are it makes a big difference to how you feed your lambs. Having the mineral component of the diet correct using RumenWorks Green Feed Lick or Sheep Grain Assist Pellets can mean the difference of a conversion of 5 to 1 verses 8 to 1. What we really like about the RumenWorks Green Feed Lick is that it is quite incredible how the animal will decide if it’s required or not. You can go for a month and the usage of the lick can be minimal then you have a change of weather or paddock conditions and they just go for it because they actually need it.
Investing in the feed mixer and nutrition advice has paid off in increased weight gains, as well as business resilience. With Ross’s help we feel confident for the future, because another drought is bound to happen. Heifers are also on a RumenWorks lick to help get them up to breeding weight, about 310kg, and they have access to a RumenWorks lick at calving. We believe that helps them recover from calving and get back into calf down the track. We’re constantly changing the ration with Ross Gibson’s recommendations, to keep the cows in good condition.
