Improvements in growth and wool production of winter-grazed merino weaners when offered a protein-rich supplement

Extract

Protein-rich supplements often enhance production of ruminants grazing native pastures during the winter on the northern tablelands of New South Wales. However, graziers report that animals offered supplements often do not consume them; there is also experimental evidence, obtained using tritiated supplements, that intake of supplements by individuals within a flock may exhibit wide variation. The objectives of this study were first, to evaluate a commercial protein-rich supplement when given to winter-grazed weaners, by determining the effect of supplementation on liveweight gain, wool production and fibre diameter, and second, to estimate the changes in patterns of intake of supplement by individual animals over time during a 12 week supplementation period.