Sheep spend a third of their life ruminating and may chew up to 40,000 times each day, according to New South Wales Department of Primary Industries feedlotting specialist Geoff Duddy.

Mr Duddy said that is why sheep need 10-30 per cent of effective fibre in their daily feedlot ration to help form a rumen mat, clean rumen walls, stimulate chewing and release digestive juices.

Speaking at a recent Leading Sheep feedlot day at Rosebank Research Station near Longreach, Mr Duddy said 85 per cent of all sheep meat produced in Australia comes from a merino base although straight merino lambs make up only 20 per cent of total lamb supply.

Leading Sheep is an initiative of Australian Wool Innovation Limited in partnership with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and supported by AgForce which targets the adoption of new technologies and practices to increase the productivity and profitability of the Queensland sheep and wool industry.

Mr Duddy advised producers to keep it simple when setting up a feedlot, with the most important issue being to maintain water quality by elevating troughs and positioning them as far away from the food source as possible.

He said the feedlot area should be less than 20 acres, and be positioned to take account of slope and soil types, water quality and supply, distance to yards and feed storage, shelter and shade.

"There is no perfect feedlot design but the key factors are minimising water contamination and reducing social stress of the animals so "shy lambs" can still thrive," Mr Duddy said.

Sheep consume 4-6 litres of water per day so maintaining clean water was of paramount importance.

Although providing shade is preferred, wool is such a good insulator therefore sheep do not necessarily need shade to regulate their body temperature. About 70 per cent of their body heat is lost through their nose.

Sheep become bored in feedlots and equivalent trials (on goats) indicate they thrive, are happier and less stressed when given stumps or tyres to play on and with.

"Gatton research comparing enriched versus normal feedlot environments produced an 83 per cent increase in average daily weight gain, a 36 per cent decrease in non-feeders and a 33 per cent decrease in aggressive behaviour when goats are given something to do," Mr Duddy said.

Producers wondering if feedlotting is an option were told that it is generally pretty "iffy", and the cost of bringing in feed and the distance from market outlets were additional constraints.

In terms of grain feeds, Mr Duddy advised not to feed cracked or processed grains because this can add to the grain poisoning risk.

Grain poisoning risks are very high with wheat and triticale, and decrease with corn, sorghum and barley, while the safest feeds are those lower in starch including oats, cottonseed, lupins, peas and beans.

Protein is important for muscle development, appetite and wool production, and inadequate protein leads to reduced gut bacteria which means digestion slows down and intake stops.

However the animal’s requirement for protein decreases with its weight because of the established muscle development.

Pre-training lambs while they are still with the ewes to introduce them to new and novel feeds is recommended.

In calculating the viability of feedlotting, Mr Duddy said it was a matter of adding up input costs and identifying a breakeven price before proceeding.

If a store animal ‘costs’ $45, add on drench and vaccination costs for sheep going into the feedlot, add up feed costs during the introductory and heavy-grain phases, allow for 2 per cent loss through deaths, calculate interest forgone on the money, and this produces a breakeven price of about $66.32.

"You need to know your costs, and understand the markets that you hope to sell into following the two months on feed," Mr Duddy said.

He said there were potential opportunities for central western Queensland producers to meet demand during the winter months.

Many producers at the Leading Sheep feedlot day already had some experience with feedlotting, largely due to recent or ongoing drought conditions.

Mary and Peter McLellan, of "Smithfield" at Ilfracombe, started feeding weaner lambs because of the drought and have been doing so for four years with very few losses.

They use hay and pelletised feed for convenience, and found out by trail and error that they sheep do better in little mobs. The McLellans are in the process of switching to Dohne rams to create a meat merino that adds weight, and value, to the carcass.

Ninian Stewart-Moore, of "Dunluce" at Hughenden, feeds weaners a total mixed ration of sorghum, molasses and hay, to make them go forward. He too is switching to Dohne blood because they provide future opportunities to grow wool sheep and have meat value too.

At Dunluce, Mr Stewart-Moore has beaten the wild dog problem by using Maremma guard dogs to watch over the sheep.

For more information on the Leading Sheep project, contact Geoff Knights on 07 4620 8121