Summary
This field trial compared lamb growth performance across two production phases on tropical Brachiaria pasture in Brazil. During suckling, creep feeding (20 g/kg bodyweight) increased average daily gain by 64.85 g and enabled weaning at 64 days versus 77 days for unsupplemented controls. During finishing, lambs receiving 1.6% or 2.4% bodyweight supplementation achieved growth rates equivalent to confined animals, outperforming lower supplementation levels.
Regional applicability
The findings apply to tropical and subtropical grazing systems but have limited direct relevance to United Kingdom lamb production, which typically operates under temperate pastures, different forage species (rye-grass, clover), and distinct climatic conditions. However, the methodology for evaluating supplementation efficacy and the principle of targeted nutritional intervention during critical production phases may inform UK grazing system research.
Key measures
Average daily gain (g/day), age at weaning (days), weaning weight (kg), slaughter weight, feed conversion efficiency across supplementation levels (0%, 0.8%, 1.6%, 2.4% of bodyweight)
Outcomes reported
The study evaluated average daily gain, weaning age, weaning weight, and finishing phase performance of lambs under creep feeding and increasing levels of pasture-based supplementation. Results showed that creep feeding during suckling accelerated growth and weaning, whilst 1.6% bodyweight supplementation during finishing matched confinement performance.
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