Cooper Newcomb’s Guide to Feeding your Show Lamb
By: Cooper Newcomb, Multi-species Support Specialist
March 2024
Starting at four weeks old and post-weaning, mix or transition to solely offering NewCo Lamb Feed. Providing NewCo Lamb Feed will help your animal show more shape and bloom and can also lead to major differences in muscle development.
Supplements
The first supplement that is typically added to the feed is Muscle in Motion. This is the highest-fat pellet that we offer. It adds dimension and bloom and is great for sale babies. Add 4 oz. per feeding. Another tip for those sale babies would be to add a ½ oz. of Dyne per gallon of water. This will encourage lambs to drink more and will add bloom for lambs that need to put on more fat.
The next supplement that we move to when we find that conditioning has been achieved with Muscle in Motion is Star Shine. Along with adding belly and touch, more than anything, Star Shine provides a jump in fiber with less fat to allow lambs to continue to grow without pudding out, or maturing too quickly. Star Shine is an excellent product to improve the quality of lambs. This is the product I use as much as any alongside NewCo Lamb. We feed this red pellet at a rate of 4–8 oz. a day as needed or with another supplement. This is a great product to use on those early-maturing lambs that wean fat or need to be weaned from a high-fat creep. In those instances, we often skip providing Muscle in Motion and jump straight to offering Star Shine — sell babies included.
Next is our ultimate fat burner, Sculpt. This is another pellet that we recommend feeding at 4–8 oz. a day. At times, we feed 4 oz. of Sculpt with Star Shine. Sculpt does not include quite as much fiber or calories as Star Shine, so feeding them together can help burn a little feed and keep animals fresh over their loin. Sculpt is designed to burn fat and harden muscle and does not burn muscle, unlike so many other products with similar feed tags. I do, however, lower the amount of NewCo offered when trying to burn fat on my projects.
Another pellet we feed is Stretch. Stretch will expand up to three times its own density when it sets in the gut. This is a fiber pellet that is great for lowering that rear rib and flank. Holding is another great reason to feed Stretch, as it includes virtually zero fat, so you won’t be contradicting your feeding program. When you’re attempting to decrease feed-burning fat but are missing that underline quality, including Stretch at a rate of 4–12 oz. is a good option. I also utilize this product at shows to get my projects filled up.
One of my favorite products designed primarily for lambs is Rite Tyme. This product is designed to be provided at a low feeding rate over a period of time. I personally like to start offering it when we begin exercising, or around 90 to 100 days out from our end point. You will notice a difference after around two weeks of feeding Rite Tyme. One of the benefits offered by Rite Tyme is its ability to improve several handling qualities, like tightening hides, hardening muscle, and adding shape and dimension behind the shoulder. It’s also awesome for those thicker-hided, soft-muscled lambs. Rite Tyme can be fed at a rate of 1–2 oz. per day.
Swell is a product for sheep and goats that everyone can appreciate. This is the best product on the market for keeping lambs fresh and full without tying them up. The only time I don’t use Swell is if I have a project that carries way too much center belly or tends to bloat. I mix 3 oz. of Swell in a gallon of water and drench with that at a rate of approximately 30–45 oz. every 4 to 6 hours.
Where does Rite Factor fit in to all of this? If I have a project that is not responding to the program, Rite Factor seems to be a great catalyst in any direction. When offered at 3 oz. per day, it will help build muscle or, even better, help animals that are not blooming the way you think they should to utilize the fat in the diet.
The newest supplement in our lineup is Rite Flex. This product is great for those that have spine or structural issues. I’ve even noticed a difference when Rite Flex is used in animals with bad feet. Trials with Rite Flex have been mind-blowing for all species. We have found that feeding 2 oz. a day for the first week works well, after which we lower that dose to 1 oz. per day.
I hope these solutions work well for you. Please let us know if you have any questions about the products described here.