Lick Supplementations to survive the winter

The main feed component for cattle and sheep is roughage.  Without roughage it is very difficult for cattle and sheep to survive a drought or the winter.  When the amount of roughage therefore starts to decline or is completely consumed by animals, one must start to look at ways to increase the quality of the roughage, extent the usage thereof or to replace it with something else.  This article will look at the use of licks to get animals through the winter.  

 

The goal of any lick supplementation is to supply those nutrients that cannot be supplied by the natural grazing to fulfil the animals requirements. It is however very important for producers to understand that a lick is not a feed and that is can under no circumstances be used to replace roughage.  If there is no roughage available, licks – especially licks containing urea – cannot be fed to animals.  

 

When there is a little grazing available, licks can be used to supply the necessary nutrients to get animals through the winter in as good a condition as possible.  

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Protein licks (maintenance licks)

It is well known that the quality of winter grazing as well as drought stricken grazing is low and that it is especially the lack of  protein in the grass which is the problem.  If ruminants graze on this low protein grass, there is not enough protein for the microbes in the rumen to grow and multiply which result in a decrease in digestibility of the consumed grass.  The grass moves slower through the rumen and intake starts to decline. A lower intake means that animals are consuming less nutrients and start to lose weight.

 

Urea containing licks is given to increase the digestibility of the dry grazing and so stimulating the intake of the dry grass.  Urea consists of 46 % nitrogen (that is 287 % equivalent protein) and is broken down in the rumen to ammonia, the product which is used by rumen microbes to produce microbial protein and to grow and multiply.  The more microbes there is in the rumen, the better and quicker the digestibility of the grass.  Grass moves faster through the rumen and the intake of grass as well as the nutrient intake, increases.  Microbial protein makes up about 60 to 80 % of the total protein reaching the small intestine and is the main source of protein for grazing ruminants.

 

If the amount of grass starts to decline or if no grass is left, the intake of licks will increase.  A high intake of maintenance licks will also mean a high urea intake which can lead to urea poisoning. 

 

It is therefore very important that there is always enough grass available for cattle and sheep when they are fed urea containing maintenance licks.  The following maintenance licks can be mixed for cattle and sheep:  

 

When grazing starts to decline, production licks rather than maintenance licks can be used to extend the usage of available grazing and keep animals in an acceptable condition.  When roughage become expensive to buy, it is sometimes more economical to give production licks, especially for growing and lactating animals.  

 

Production licks contain lower levels of urea as well as natural proteins in the form of oilcakes and energy in the form of grains.  Production licks for dry grazing will help to limit weight loss.  Remember that a production lick, just as a maintenance lick, is not a feed and there must be some grass available for the animals to graze when a production lick is given.  

 

Although production licks are expensive and intake is much higher than that of a maintenance lick, it can be used to extend the usage of the available grass, so less expensive roughage needs to be bought in. The following production licks can be mixed:  

 

When there is very little roughage left for grazing animals, producers may consider the treatment of poor quality roughage like stubble or poor quality grass with urea and a molasses product to improve its quality. Mix 15 kg Feed Grade Urea , 25 kg Kalori 3000 and 0.75 kg Feed Grade Sulfur (optional) with 200 liters of lukewarm water and pour over 1 ton of roughage. This treated roughage can be fed daily, or as available quantity allows, to animals. No Urea containing licks should be given together with Urea treated roughage.

With the limited amount of grazing to producers' disposal this year, licks can be used to get animals through the winter. Producers must however ensure that sufficient roughage is available to the animals at all times, especially when urea containing lick are given to animals.

 

Contact a  Yara Animal Nutrition South Africa nutritionist at 082 322 0333 for further information and recommendations..