Getting a Show Lamb to Eat: Fixing the Finicky Eater

A lamb that stops eating stalls the rest of the program. Change one thing at a time. A new feed, a new top-dress, and a new schedule on the same day make it impossible to see what helped.

Always read and follow the product label directions for use, and consult your veterinarian before using any product.

Water, health, then the ration

Extension guides treat water as the first nutrient. Mississippi State University Extension’s Market Lamb Project Guide: Nutrition says a lamb must always have clean, fresh water, and that dirty, warm, or stale water is a poor offer. Penn State Extension’s Feeding Market Lambs for Show says to scrub water buckets so lambs keep drinking. Those notes, and the protein ranges that go with them, are collected in the show lamb feed guide.

If the lamb looks sick, call a veterinarian before you buy a supplement. This page is not a diagnosis.

Kansas State University’s show lamb guide says to feed morning and evening at the same times. Mississippi State says to feed at the same time each day, to ask what the lamb has been eating, and to change away from that feed slowly. An abrupt swap can upset the rumen. Haul the feed the lamb already eats instead of buying a new bag at the show.

Make the feed easier to eat

• Rolled oats. The ingredient notes, citing Penn State Extension and Michigan State University Extension, call rolled oats the most palatable grain for starting lambs on feed. The directory tags them for finicky eaters. They are a grain in the ration, not a complete feed.
• Kalmbach Moonshine Cherry. Kalmbach describes a soy-oil top-dress at 98% crude fat minimum, with cherry flavor, for all classes of show animals. The published mixing direction is 20 lb per ton of complete feed, which raises the ration’s fat by 1%. A per-head sheep rate is not printed in our notes. Use the label on the container you buy.
• Molasses. The ingredient notes, citing Penn State Extension, describe molasses as a palatability tool when lambs are under stress, including travel and the show, and as part of a wet mash with water. Commercial blends differ. Read the label on the one you buy.

Gut products that name sheep

The rates below are the ones recorded from the product pages. Follow the container in your hand.

• Sullivan’s Appetite Express Probiotic Granules. Retailer listings cited for this product put the figure at 19.5 billion microbials per half-ounce. The recorded directions are a half-ounce per head per day for beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and horses. It is a daily top-dress of live yeast, yeast culture, and digestive enzymes.
• Sure Champ Spark. Sure Champ describes Spark for beef cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs. Our notes record it as an Amaferm pellet for appetite and digestive efficiency, at 2 oz per day under 40 lb and 4 oz per day over 40 lb, top-dressed or mixed into the ration.
• MoorMan’s ShowTec EatMoor. The label names lambs along with other species. The ingredient list includes Amaferm, the same prebiotic named on Spark, plus a direct-fed microbial. The recorded lamb rate is 2–4 oz per head per day. The product notes describe it for appetite and gut support during stress, hauling, and showing.

Spark and EatMoor both list Amaferm, so feeding both duplicates that ingredient. Appetite Express is a yeast and enzyme top-dress, not an Amaferm pellet.

Calories, from products labeled for sheep

• Dyne High Calorie Liquid. PetAg’s livestock label, as recorded in our notes, is built on soybean oil, dried skimmed milk, soy protein isolate, B vitamins, and vitamins A, D, E, and C. It is top-dressed or given directly. Sheep and goat directions are printed by age. The weaned-lamb line is 1/2 oz (1 tablespoon) three times a day. Older sheep have higher lines on the same label. Use the line that matches the animal.
• Purina High Octane Heavy Weight. Purina describes Heavy Weight as a very high-energy supplement, with feeding directions for show lambs and goats as well as show cattle and show pigs. The guaranteed analysis in our notes lists 70% crude fat minimum. The recorded sheep rate is 2–8 oz per day, started at 2 oz and increased slowly. It is a supplement, not the base ration.

At the show

Keep the feed the lamb already eats. If you add a paste, electrolyte, or fill product for the haul, use one whose label names sheep or lambs, or that says all classes of livestock, and follow that label. Practice it at home first, and check it against your show’s rules. Products documented for appetite and show week are in the supplements directory.

Always read and follow the product label directions for use, and consult your veterinarian before using any product.