Improving Growth on Excess Protein Pasture - Sheep

Improving Growth on Excess Protein Pasture – Sheep

Supplementing grains to livestock grazing pastures high in protein manages the excess ammonia in the rumen and prevents energy wastage leading to lower production.

Compare managing excess pasture protein with supplementary feeding to providing no additional supplement.

Sheep Per Feeder(Required)

When there is high quality and fast growing pastures, the maximum number of sheep per feeder is 250.

Period of Feeding (days)(Required)

Growing out weaned sheep for 60 days post weaning on high quality pastures can be common.

Average Feed Consumption (g/head/day)(Required)

150g / day is a common ration to manage the excess protein.

Cost of Feed per Tonne ($)(Required)

Enter the cost of your feed ration.

Investment in a Feeder ($)(Required)

Current pricing on feeders can be found on our Product Directory.

Lifespan of the Products (years)(Required)

Please enter a number from 1 to 30.

How long the product is expected to last. Maximum input is 30.

Filling and Labour Cost ($/tonne)(Required)

Costs include moving feeders, training stock, filling feeders and organising feed purchase.

Additional Daily Liveweight Gain (g)(Required)

Case studies show it is common for sheep to convert 2kg of feed into 1kg of liveweight gain from supplement.

Liveweight Value ($/kg)(Required)

Enter the value you expect to receive for your stock.

Total Amount of Feed Consumed (kg)

Total Cost of Feed Consumed ($)

Depreciation Cost ($/year)

Straight line depreciation over two-thirds the lifespan of the product with a $0 residual. Assumes the feeder is only used for this period each year.

Total Filling Cost ($/year)

Total Additional Weight Gain (kg)

Additional Income ($)

Total additional income (all the sheep on the feeder).

Additional Profit ($)

Additional profit gained through this feeding period.

Payback Period (months)

Number of months for the additional profit to exceed the investment in the product.

Email Address(Required)

Enter your email address to have a copy of these results sent to you.

Managing High-Protein Pastures to Boost Growth Rates

Many pastures are very high in protein during their elongation phase, which is when they are often used to grow and finish young stock. Weaned lambs typically require 14–16% protein in their diet, while pastures can contain 25–35%.

Excess protein must be processed by the lamb’s rumen and excreted via urine, a phenomenon known as “the protein cost.” It’s estimated that each extra 1% of protein excreted costs 0.15 MJ of energy.

Supplementing high-quality pasture with starch helps manage excess protein in the rumen, allowing stock to grow faster and increasing kilograms produced per unit of grass. Research shows that supplementing high-performing pastures with 100 g/day of wheat can increase live weight gain by more than 50 g/day.

Our information sheet provides a brief overview and explains:

How pasture composition can limit production.
The latest science on correcting pasture-related issues.
How to quantify potential gains from complementary feeding.

Additional Considerations Improving Growth on Excess Protein Pasture – Sheep

Farming operations are complex, and the following factors are not included in this calculator:

Multi-purpose feeder use: Feeders can be used for other purposes throughout the year, lowering depreciation costs and increasing return on investment.
Improved pasture utilisation: Supplementing pasture can slow feed passage and improve utilisation, producing more from the same amount of grass.
Enhanced growth and reproduction: Higher growth rates during this period lead to higher weights at joining and improved ewe lamb conception rates.

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