HERFS/AUTUMN BONUS TYDSKRIF 2026

Manual management: Daily chores to increase profitability Daily management is where the profit of a feedlot is made or lost. Simple chores like checking water and feed, walking through the pens to spot sick or slow-eating lambs, and cleaning troughs will lead to better growth and fewer losses. Consistency in feeding times, keeping accurate records, and training staff to handle sheep calmly also make a big difference. In the sections that follow, we’ll look at these daily routines in more detail and show how they can turn a well-built feedlot into a profitable one. Bunk scoring Bunk scoring is one of the most valuable daily habits in a feedlot. Every morning, the manager rates the feed leftovers in the troughs on a simple 0–4 scale, which tells you exactly how much feed the sheep ate overnight. The goal is to fine-tune feeding so there’s just a small trace of feed left by the next feeding. Too much leftover means money wasted and feed heating up in the troughs, while too little or an empty trough for hours means sheep are being underfed, and the risk of acidosis goes up when the next feed arrives. By scoring bunks consistently, managers can quickly adjust the next day’s ration to match intake, reducing waste, and improving animal performance. Good infrastructure makes bunk scoring much easier and more reliable. Clear, uniform troughs help staff see exactly how much feed remains. A well-designed system makes it simple to read bunks quickly and accurately across the whole feedlot. The result of bunk scoring is tighter feed control, less waste, and a more stable rumen environment for the sheep. Over time, this translates directly into better feed efficiency, healthier animals, and higher profitability. Apart from the initial cost, automatic feeding systems are great. However, remember to take into account the changing of rations and clearing of old feed. The system (Figure 3) has a running conveyor belt which can clear all fines every day and feed different rations to different pens. The Auger system is restricted to feeding each pen the same ration and amount of feed, and it must be cleaned out by hand. The feedlot (Figure 5) has a good feed bunk design, manual feeding by feed car or hand can be done, allowing finer adjustments per pen, lower startup cost and more consistency. The roof could be lower as weather persists through the sides, and the feed bunks could be open- ended to assist in the removal of fines. Figure 2: Conventional feedlots Figure 3 and 4: Automatic feeding systems Figure 5: A good feed bunk design Herfs/Autumn 2026 BONUS www.agribonus.co.za 140