A question we hear all the time: what's Sawtooth Core's number-one competitor? The honest answer, from our verified product data, is that there isn't a clean one. The two names people usually throw out — Purina High Octane Ultra Full Supplement and Depth Charge — aren't actually trying to do Core's job. They're situational fill products; Core is a daily foundation topdress. Treating them as head-to-head rivals is how a lamb ends up over-supplemented in the wrong lane and short-changed in the right one.
Core's job: the daily foundation
Sawtooth Core is the layer the rest of the ration sits on. It's a sheep-safe daily topdress (formerly sold as Cornerstone) built around probiotics, enzymes, and prebiotics to keep the gut settled and the appetite strong, plus a hair-and-hide complex — biotin, vitamin E, ZinPro zinc and manganese — and ammonium chloride for wether urinary health. The label rate is simple: sheep under 90 lb get a half scoop per feeding, over 90 lb a full scoop.
A foundation product earns its keep through boring consistency. It holds appetite when the feed changes or the work picks up, and it helps keep the trace-mineral bases covered every single day — not just the week you happen to remember. It complements rather than replaces a sheep-specific free-choice loose mineral.
Ultra Full and Depth Charge's job: situational fill
Both of these are high-fiber fill products — show-side belly and middle management, not daily nutrition. Ultra Full runs 27.5% max fiber with 12% min protein and 4% min fat at a lamb label rate of 0.25–1.0 lb per day; it's the more concentrated option. Depth Charge is a roughage-based fill at 25% max fiber, 9% min protein, and 1.5% min fat, fed at 1–3 lb per day for lambs.
Their job is physical and temporary: add fill, shape the middle, deepen the flank so a lamb carries a fuller, natural look. What they can't do matters just as much — a fill product doesn't build muscle, doesn't replace balanced daily feed, and won't rescue a lamb that's behind on condition. It manages how the middle looks and carries. That's the whole job description.
Different jobs, despite what the supplement shelf would like you to believe.
Choose by the job, not by the shelf
So the real question isn't "which product wins" — it's "what does my lamb need right now?" If the answer is staying on feed, a steady gut, covered minerals, and hair — which is every lamb, every day — that's foundation work. If the lamb is structurally where you want him but goes hollow and needs more middle and flank heading into a show, that's fill work, layered on top of the foundation rather than swapped in for it.
Between the two fill products, let the label and the lamb decide: per the label minimums, Ultra Full guarantees over two-and-a-half times the fat (4% vs. 1.5% min) at a lower daily volume, while Depth Charge builds fill from roughage at a higher feeding volume. Pick the one that fits how your lamb eats and how much fill you're actually after.
| Sawtooth Core | Ultra Full | Depth Charge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Daily foundation: gut, appetite, hair/hide, minerals | Situational fill and belly shape | Situational fill and belly shape |
| Lamb label rate | ½ scoop per feeding under 90 lb; 1 scoop over 90 lb | 0.25–1.0 lb/day | 1–3 lb/day |
| Key specs | Probiotics, enzymes, ammonium chloride for wethers | 27.5% max fiber · 12% min protein · 4% min fat | 25% max fiber · 9% min protein · 1.5% min fat |
Let the labels set the pace
Both fill labels say the same thing in different words: start at half the minimum rate and step up gradually so the rumen can adjust — Ultra Full's label says to increase every 5 to 7 days. Dumping a full fill ration on a lamb cold is how you get one that's loose and off feed the week you can least afford it.
And remember that any label rate is a range, not a dare. The actual amount depends on your lamb's weight and the package in your hand — read the label every time.
- There is no true #1 Core competitor — Ultra Full and Depth Charge do a different job.
- Core is the daily foundation: gut, appetite, hair, minerals, and wether urinary support, every day.
- Ultra Full and Depth Charge are situational fill tools — layer them on top of the base, never instead of it.
- Start any fill product at half the minimum label rate, step up gradually, and follow the label for your lamb's weight.
