Sheep

Sheep Boost

Rated by our customers

Sheep Boost is a highly concentrated supplement that provides essential nutrients for improved fertility and performance in sheep, rams, and lambs. Sheep Boost contains fully protected MACC chelates, which are highly bioavailable, ensuring maximum nutrient absorption. These chelated minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and trace elements are all essential for the health and growth of your flock.

AVAILABLE SIZES :

1 Ltr

2.5 Ltr

5 Ltr

Direction

Product Information

  • Sheep Boost is a specially formulated supplement containing a unique combination of vitamins and minerals. It is specifically designed to meet the essential nutritional needs of pregnant ewes, pre-lambing, and lambs during their early growth phase. The supplement contains high fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, water-soluble vitamin B1, and trace elements such as zinc, iodine, selenium, cobalt, and manganese.
  • Sheep Boost is specially formulated to help ensure that all sheep are in optimal health. Ensuring optimal health & body condition score before lambing can aid in ram and ewe fertility and endurance and reduce lamb mortality rates. By providing the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, the sheep are better prepared to handle the demands of lambing season.
  • Trust Sheep Boost delivers exceptional nutrition to your flock. Our unique formula ensures their health, thriving, and vitality, paving the way for increased fertility and a thriving new generation of lambs.
  • With Sheep Boost, you can ensure your lambs are given the best start in life. Our supplement contains beneficial elements from fish oils and other sources, promoting healthy, rapid growth. As a result, witness your lambs reach their market potential faster.
  • Trust in our innovative formulation that ensures maximum nutrient absorption. With Sheep Boost, your flock will benefit from every nutrient, leading to a healthier and more robust flock. This carrier system effectively breaks down the nutrients into more readily available forms for digestion and absorption. As a result, these nutrients are beneficial during periods of high nutrient demand. In addition, the enhanced absorption of nutrients can help to support various physiological functions in the sheep, such as muscle growth, immune function, and reproduction.
  • Experience the convenience of our Easy Fill technology. Sheep Boost is designed to minimise waste and maximise effectiveness, making your feeding routine as efficient as possible.

Technical Information

Managing the nutritional needs of sheep is essential to their health, growth, and productivity. The vitamins and trace minerals that support various physiological functions can significantly enhance the overall performance of a flock.

 

Vitamins such as A, D, E, and B-group vitamins play distinct roles in sheep health and productivity. Vitamin A is critical for vision, growth, immune function, and reproduction, impacting the general health of sheep significantly (McDowell, 2000). Vitamin D supports calcium absorption, bone development, and overall skeletal health and plays a pivotal role in immune function (NRC, 2007). Vitamin E is an antioxidant, protecting cells from oxidative damage, especially during stressful periods (Pavlata et al., 2007). It’s also been found to boost reproductive performance in ewes (Pavlata et al., 2007). B-group vitamins, which include B1, B2, B6, and B12, are crucial for energy production and the formation of red blood cells. These vitamins can improve overall metabolic health and energy balance, particularly during periods of high energy demand, such as lactation or recovery from illness (NRC, 2007).

 

Trace minerals such as Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Iodine, and Selenium are also crucial to sheep’s health. Iron is necessary for red blood cell formation, and its deficiency can lead to anaemia and associated health complications (Suttle, 2010). Zinc is involved in numerous metabolic reactions, supporting the immune system and growth; deficiency can lead to poor growth, weight loss, and impaired wound healing (McDowell, 2010). Manganese is critical for enzyme function and reproduction, with its deficiency linked to poor reproductive performance in ewes (Suttle, 2010). Iodine is required for thyroid hormone production, which regulates metabolism, and its deficiency can lead to goitre and other metabolic disorders (NRC, 2007). Selenium acts as an antioxidant, supporting immune function, and its deficiency can lead to white muscle disease, a condition affecting skeletal and heart muscles in lambs (Suttle, 2010).

 

The sheep’s body condition score (BCS) is directly influenced by nutritional intake. Therefore, BCS, a hands-on method used to determine an animal’s condition by assessing the amount of muscle and fat over the backbone and ribs, can be adversely affected by poor nutrition, impacting fertility, lamb survival, and overall productivity (Russel et al., 1969).

 

Moreover, good nutrition is paramount to the quality of colostrum produced by ewes. Colostrum is the first milk produced after lambing, rich in nutrients and antibodies, crucial for lamb survival and early development (Russel et al., 1969). Therefore, colostrum quality is directly related to the ewe’s diet, especially during late gestation. A well-balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals can significantly improve colostrum quality, enhancing lamb survival and growth (Gånheim et al., 2005).

 

These essential vitamins and trace minerals can lead to better health outcomes, including improved growth rates in lambs, higher fertility rates in ewes and rams, better pregnancy outcomes, increased milk production during lactation, and improved immune function. It also results in a lower incidence of diseases, better overall herd health, improved BCS, and high-quality colostrum.

 

The perinatal period is a vulnerable time for sheep and lambs due to potential vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Inadequate maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation can have severe consequences for the health and performance of the offspring. Colostrum, vital for providing lambs with the nutrients they need to thrive, can be deficient in several essential vitamins and minerals, notably Vitamin E, which can negatively affect the health and productivity of the animals (Calderon-Mendoza et al., 2018; Kelly et al., 2013). Therefore, ensuring adequate levels of these crucial nutrients is paramount.

 

Particular combinations and formulations of vitamins and minerals have been found to offer a range of benefits, including heightened immune protection, increased antibody production, and better gut protection. Studies have shown that supplementing with vitamins A, E, Zinc, Selenium, and Iodine can improve colostrum quality, resulting in fewer complications during lambing, healthier ewes, and fewer stillbirths (Calderon-Mendoza et al., 2018). Moreover, such a supplement can promote healthier lambs and better thriving and weight gain (Suttle, 2010).

 

The nutritional demands on ewes increase further when they carry multiple lambs, such as twins or triplets. Poor weather conditions, hillside pastures, low-quality grazing and forage, hoof problems and lameness, and stress from moving to new grazing can all contribute to inadequate nutritional intake (Dawson et al., 2006; Dunshea et al., 2015; Kaler & Green, 2008). Proper supplementation can help to control subclinical mineral deficiencies and promote a higher immunity status, leading to healthier and more robust animals with increased freedom from disease.

 

A blend of iodine, cobalt, zinc, selenium, and vitamins A, D, and E is also essential for improved reproduction and fertility, fetal size, and expulsion of the placenta. Such a supplement can contribute to healthier blood, bones, and organ supply, promoting bone and organ health, while manganese and cobalt help with blood health. Moreover, combining zinc and vitamin A can promote healthier skin, feet, and fleece. A unique combination and formulation of vitamins and minerals can significantly improve the health and productivity of a flock. Ensuring adequate levels of essential nutrients is crucial for the overall well-being and performance of the flock.

 

Additional Information

Citations :

  • Calderon-Mendoza, D., Franco-Jimenez, D., Juarez-Reyes, A., Pinos-Rodriguez, J.M., & Torres-Hernandez, G. (2018). Supplementation of vitamins and trace minerals on immunoglobulins and colostrum characteristics in ewes. Small Ruminant Research, 169, 63-66.
  • Dawson, L.E.R., Kilpatrick, D.J., & McAllister, M.M. (2006). Trace mineral and vitamin nutrition in lambs. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice, 22(1), 159-167.
  • Dunshea, F.R., Bell, A.W., & Trigg, T.E. (2015). Nutritional management of twin-bearing ewes and their lambs for optimal production. Animal, 9(1), 107-116.
  • Gånheim, C., Alenius, S., Persson Waller, K. (2005). “Acute phase proteins as indicators of calf herd health.” The Veterinary Journal, 169(2), 352-360.
  • Kaler, J., & Green, L.E. (2008). Recognition of lameness and decisions to catch for inspection among sheep farmers and specialists in G.B. BMC Veterinary Research, 4(1), 41.
  • Kelly, P.M., O’Riordan, E.G., & O’Callaghan, D.J. (2013). Effects of dietary supplementation with vitamin E and selenium on ewes and lambs’ vitamin E and selenium status. Animal, 7(4), 658-664.
  • Kenyon, P.R., & Blair, H.T. (2014). Multiple-bearing ewes–A review. Livestock Science, 160, 78-93.
  • National Research Council (NRC). (2007). Nutrient Requirements of Small Ruminants: Sheep, Goats, Cervids, and New World Camelids. National Academies Press.
  • Pavlata, L., Pechová, A., Illek, J. (2007). “Blood and tissue selenium determination by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrophotometry.” Acta Veterinaria Brno, 76(2), 339-344.
  • Russel, A. J. F., Doney, J. M., Gunn, R. G. (1969). “Subjective assessment of body fat in live sheep.” The Journal of Agricultural Science, 72(3), 451-454.
  • Suttle, N. (2010). Mineral Nutrition of Livestock. CABI.
  • Suttle, N.F. (2010). Mineral nutrition of livestock (4th ed.). CABI.
  • Symonds, M.E., Bryant, M.J., & Clarke, L. (2004). Intrauterine programming of the fetal sheep hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The Journal of Physiology, 554(1), 243-255.
  • Wall, E.H., & Bush, L.J. (2013). Effects of maternal nutrition on conceptus growth and offspring performance: Implications for beef cattle production. Journal of Animal Science, 91(2), 849-861.

Product Spotlight

Contact your Regional
Account Manager

Eoin Ryan

Managing Director

Andrew McInerney

Technical Director

Jack Ryan

Director

Jim Murphy

Key Account Manager - East

Kevin Hartigan

Key Account Manager - West

Ensuring the highest quality is of vital importance to us all

Quality tested and approved

Our products have been approved according to Department of Agriculture standards in UK and Ireland, as well as EU regulations.

Join our mailing list to receive articles, advice and tips from our expert team.

By clicking the Button you confirming that you’re agree with our following Terms and Conditions

Get in touch with us

With trading offices in Ireland and the United Kingdom, we offer great customer service from our local and highly experienced teams

Enquire to become a distributor

With trading offices in Ireland and the United Kingdom, we offer great customer service from our local and highly experienced teams

Trade enquiries

With trading offices in Ireland and the United Kingdom, we offer great customer service from our local and highly experienced teams