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11/07/06
Trial work at Harper Adams University College suggests supplementing
intensive lamb finisher diets with a new, natural plant-derived
feed additive could be worth as much as £3 per lamb.
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Lambs reared indoors on a concentrate diet supplemented with 30mg/kg
of Sangrovit – an additive produced from plants of the Papaveraceae,
which can boost protein availability – converted feed into
liveweight gain more cost-effectively and produced more valuable
carcasses.
“The college allocated 120 Charollais x (Suffolk x North
of England Mule) lambs from its early lambing flock to the trial
and, based on group-feeding data, the Sangrovit-fed group benefited
from 5% lower feed costs, giving an average saving of £2.50
per lamb. Lambs in the groups fed the supplemented diet also produced
higher value carcasses, achieving a typical premium of around 50p/lamb,” reports
Dr Alan Reeve from C&H Nutrition.
“We noticed that the lambs fed the supplement were calmer
and easier to control during the first two to three weeks of the
trial,” comments trial co-ordinator Dr Sandra Pattinson from
Harper Adams University College.
Unlike many natural supplements, Sangrovit has a well-proven mode
of action. “Sangrovit contains a standardised concentration
of natural alkaloid compounds, which are known to have beneficial
effects when fed to animals,” Dr Reeve points out.
“It improves the feed utilisation, performance and carcass
quality of ruminants by a number of mechanisms. It protects essential
amino acids from breakdown to toxic amines in the gut, improving
protein availability and utilisation. We also know it has an appetite
and digestive stimulating effect, due to the stimulation of the
hormone serotonin in the intestine.”
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