During prolonged dry periods, it is important to ensure producers have access to a range of information, tools, and resources to enable them to make informed management decisions. Confinement feeding is a temporary, proactive management strategy that has increasingly been incorporated into on-farm drought management programs.
Start with:
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Ultimately the design of confinement pens should look to:
Key points to consider when designing your pen include:
Designs for confinement pens included in the guide are:
Confinement pens require infrastructure to ensure that they operate efficiently and safely. Confinement pens do not need to be elaborate – they just need to be functional!
Essential infrastructure for confinement pens include:
When confinement feeding, it is critical that the animal’s requirements are met including:
Daily dry matter or ‘as fed’ intakes and requirements will depend on animal liveweight, age, feed quality and the animals physiological state (for example dry, pregnant, lactating).
Actual intakes will also be affected by factors such as water quality, mineral deficiencies, feed-trough allocations, environmental issues (temperature, wind, rain, humidity), feed palatability, health issues and social standing/stress.
Cereal grains (eg. wheat, triticale, barley, sorghum, corn and oats) will be the primary feed used within most confinement feeding systems. Cereal grains are a concentrated source of energy, with much of that energy stored as starch. They provide protein, vitamins, minerals and some fibre.
Pulses (e.g. lupins, peas, beans) as well as processed meals (e.g. canola, cottonseed, soybean) are used primarily to improve protein levels within a ration. Pulses are higher in protein than cereal grains but on an energy basis they are usually more expensive than cereals.
Key considerations for grains include:
Pellets can be an effective and convenient addition, or in some cases, alternative to grain-based rations.
Key considerations for feeding pellets include:
By-product stock feeds include any plant material not produced primarily for livestock consumption and includes grain by-products, cottonseed, oilseed meals, tallow or molasses.
Common alternate and by-product stock feeds include:
Important note: Feeding restricted animal material is illegal under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015. This feed ban is in place to minimise the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) occurring in Australia.
Sheep and cattle are ruminants. This means that they have one stomach with four compartments consisting of the:
The rumen is adapted for the digestion of fibre which reduces the rate of gut flow, stimulates cud chewing/rumen contractions, and cleans rumen walls.
A primary driver of effective fibre in stock diets is particle size, target 25 mm for sheep and 25-50 mm for cattle.
Sheep and cattle are known to need at least 17 different minerals to maintain good health and production.
Macro minerals are needed in reasonably large amounts and form a significant proportion of the body. These include:
Micro minerals or trace elements include:
These minerals generally help with, or increase, the rate of chemical reactions within the animal’s body. Many are components of enzymes (a substance which acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction).
Mineral levels and bioavailability are not constant within any feed type. It is therefore difficult to clearly define recommendations for supplementation and the percentage of a mineral that is absorbed or metabolised can vary with the animals’ age, physiological state, the minerals chemical form and interactions of other minerals in the feed.
Vitamins are needed for normal function, growth, and maintenance of body tissues, and to regulate and support chemical reactions in the body. Ruminants are capable of manufacturing most vitamins and vitamins can be categorised as being either fat or water-soluble.
Cereal grain-based rations generally require additional calcium and sodium, most often supplied by the inclusion of ground limestone and salt. There are several other additives that can be incorporated into a ration to improve performance or efficiency.
As most additives or premixes are included in rations in small amounts, it is extremely important they are evenly mixed throughout the ration.
Sheep are more tolerant of climatic extremes than other farm animals. Their thermoneutral zone ranges between 12-32 °C while cattle range between 15-25 °C.
An animal’s ability to withstand heat or cold within a confinement system will vary depending on:
Water is the single most essential element of confinement feeding. It is critical in terms of meeting all necessary animal care and welfare targets as well as meeting the physiological needs of stock (such as digestion, blood circulation, temperature control and production).
A confinement system needs a reliable supply of good quality water capable of meeting daily stock and operational needs.
Through the correct design, construction and management of confinement feeding areas the five freedoms and provisions of animal welfare can be ensured.
It is important that producers are aware of potential issues and clinical signs.
Animals should be checked and monitored regularly, ideally on at least a daily basis, to ensure no health issues are developing in the confinement area.
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