Manawatu beef and sheep farmers, Vaughan and Caro Shannon made the change to Sprayfo in 2018, following a particularly harrowing season where they lost several lambs to bloat. They have since added Launchpad18 colostrum powder and are seeing great results.
The Shannons run a pure Coopworth flock and are currently in their first season on a smaller block. Alongside 200 replacement hoggets and 20 rams, they’ve mated 700 mixed age ewes and ended up with 15.5% more lambs this year, including 5 sets of quads.
Vaughan and Caro hand rear all triplets and quads, noting that they pick up as many as 14 lambs some days.
Every orphan lamb gets Launchpad18 colostrum powder first up, which Caro and Vaughan both describe as ‘liquid gold’ and life changing for them.
“Before we introduced Launchpad18, we were using a competitor product” explains Caro. “We were adding colostrum powder to milk, tagging our animals in a colour system to tell which animals had been fed what. It was really hard work, very time consuming and complicated! We could only rear about 60 lambs.”
AgriVantage North Island Business Manager Jaco Neven explained to Caro that there was a much easier way…
“We learned that one feed of Launchpad18 was all the lambs needed” Caro continues. “We also discovered that it worked out to be much cheaper than what we had ended up paying the year before.”
“Since introducing Launchpad18, we haven’t lost a single orphan lamb” adds Vaughan. “I put it down to the animals being healthier from the start. A good feed of colostrum and their immunity is so much stronger. Even the very flat lambs are up and bellowing within a couple of hours of getting their colostrum feed.”
The Shannon’s carry a bottle of Launchpad18 on them during lambing season. “We will often feed Launchpad18 to second twins out in the paddock. Within an hour or two they are fighting fit” says Vaughan.
Sprayfo Primo lamb is their milk replacer of choice.
Caro’s initial impression was that the product was ‘okay’. “No bloat, that was the biggest change we noticed in switching to Sprayfo. Unfortunately, we weren’t well enough prepared for the change to whey, we didn’t have enough hay or pellets for the lambs to feed on because we hadn’t realised it was necessary.
“The following year, with plenty of good quality feed on hand, we noticed a massive improvement in growth rates. We were also able to drop milk feeds down to three times a day quite early.
“With the change to Sprayfo, our lamb death rates have dropped dramatically. We’ve only lost 2 lambs to bloat in four years.”
The Shannons feed the lambs manually so having a milk replacer that mixes easily is ideal.
Ease of use is a big factor for Caro and Vaughan, who run the farm on their own.
16 year old Amelia is the family 'lamb whisperer' and passionate about the animals' well being
“It is so important for us to have products that are easy and work well. We are always refining our system” continues Caro.
“Being on a restricted feeding system, we love how easy Sprayfo millk replacer is to mix. The previous product was so lumpy. Sprayfo is mixed in 5 minutes flat.
“Good support is also important to us. Jaco is fantastic at responding to phone calls, text messages or emails. And he gives simple, straightforward explanations. We know he’s not just about selling a product, he’s very interested in what we are doing, and even willing to lend a hand when he comes on farm. We really appreciate that.”
The Shannons note that 2022 has been their best season ever. At the end of September, they had 136 lambs in the shed, with 10 ewes still to lamb.
Based on their experience with AgriVantage, Vaughan and Caro are big advocates “We know that when a product or service is rubbish, people tell everyone. We want people to know that these products work!”
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Products used on Glenara Farms
Sprayfo Primo Lamb
