This document discusses feeding practices for small ruminants like sheep and goats. It provides information on meeting the nutritional requirements of sheep at different life stages through creep feeding and supplemental feeding. It also discusses feeding practices during pregnancy and lactation. Recommended ration compositions are provided for different physiological stages. Feeding behaviors and dietary preferences of goats are also covered.

1. Dr Muhammad Ashiq Toor
DVM , B s c (Zoology)
Islamia University of Bahawal Pur (IUB)
(2010 – 2015)
+92-344-499-7375
+92-300-364-2402
Feeding practices in small ruminants

2.  During feeding of sheep nutritional requirment
should be met during different physiological
stages like growth , pre - weaning , post
weaning , finishing , pregnancy , lactation and
breeding .

3.  The practice of providing supplemental feed to
nursing lambs in an area is called creep feeding .
 Lambs start creep feeding 10 - 40 days of age .
 Up to 10 - 12 weeks of age suckling lambs should
be supplemented with creep ration . Its
consumption is affected by palatibility , location
and environment of creep area .

4.  In 100 kg of creep mixture adequate quantity of
vitamins and oral anti -biotic ( powder ) should be
added .
 Fish meal and meat meal replace by groundnut
cake , soybean cake and linseed cake .

5.  A ration providing 12-16 % CP and 58-65 % TDN
with 3-4.3 % dry matter consumption meet
requirement for expected average daily gain of
50-150 g .
 When there is availablity of poor quality forage
like mature grasses and straws ,this concentrate
mixture in enhance to 300 - 600 g /head / day for
lamb weight 10 - 30 kg .

6.  When quality fooder like green oat , maize ,
berseem , lucerne and hay available for feeding
,a concentrate mixture ( cereal grain , groundnut
cake , wheat bran , mineral mixture and common
salt in ratio of 27 , 30 , 40 , 2 , 1 ) containing 18 -
20 % CP and 68 - 70 % TDN should be fed at 50 -
150 g /head / day depending on body size .

7.  Last 6 - 7 weeks of pregnant critical for foetal
development since 70 - 80 % gain in foetus mass
achieved during this period .
 Foetus growth and pregnancy requirment are
average apporixmately 0.5 time of maintenance
requirment for single bearing ewes and 1 time for
twins . So , total feed requirment increase to 1.75
times

8.  Ewes in their lambing further compensated for body growth
through 10 % additional nutrient .Inadequate feeding body
reserves depleted and structural components are diverted to
meet increasing demand of foetus growth resulting deficiency
diseases .
 Balance ration containing 10 - 11 % CP and 50 - 55 % TDN
with 3.5 - 4.5 % DMI to be satisfactory.
 Good quality pasture supplementation of about 200 g
concentrate mixture added.
 DM intake increase during 10-15 days of gestation due to
abdomen distension or hormonal channges result in body
weight loss.So, diet containing wheat bran or linseed cake
given.

9.  Sheep have relatively short lactation period.
 Ewe nursing twin lambs produce 20-40 % more milk than
nursing one lamb. Although, milk production responds to
nutrient intake.
 65-83 % ME is converted to milk energy during 12 weeks of
lactation.
 Daily feed requirement is 4-5 % during first half of lactation.
 Ration supplying 11-12 % CP and 55-60 % TDN with minerals
and vitamins..
 First 10 days of lactation legume, hay and concentrate
mixture given.
 For each kg of milk production 5.25 MJ ME and 55 g of
digestible protein 9 g of Ca and 7 g of P provided.

10.  Flushing is a practice of increase intake or dynamic
effect that influence body weight changes during
breeding .
 Its purpose increase ovulation .
 Hepatic steriod enzyme associated with increase
gonodotrophins and ovulation .
 Response of flushing affected by age of ewe , breed
and stage of breeding season .
 Breeding ram should be fed at the rate of 3 - 3.5 %
of body weight ration providing 10 - 11 % CP and
50 - 55 % TDN with minerals and vitamins .

11.  Traditional feeding practice lambs hardly achieved
16 kg at six month and marketed slaughter 9 -12
months with 20 -22 kg weight .
 There are 2 ways for raising sheep .
 Intensive feeding
 Grazing with supplementation

12.  cross breed weaner lambs in 90 days of intensive
feeding had 180 g ADG in lambs.
 intensive feeding of concentrate and roughage
(50:50) ration resulted in 170, 150 and 128 g ADG
in crossbreed.
 Crossbreed fine wools breeds had ADG of 111 to
135 g with 1: 12 feed efficiency ratio.
 60 days weaner had 160 and 151 g ADG with 16
and 12 % feed efficiency.

13.  Free grazing on rangeland limited amount of
concentrate at 1.5-2 % of body would provide 25-
30 kg weight at 6-9 months.
 grazzing with supplementation on established
pasture has potential of still higher production.
 supplementation at 1.5 % of body weight provided
27.3 kg weight in lambbs.


14.  Feeding behaviour of goat is more complex than
other ruminants.
 They frequently to eat as leaves and stem.
 Daily time spent in eating by goats generally
exceed than sheep. They eat round clock.
 During stall feeding refusal is 50 % .

15.  They choose more leaves than stem. Quantity of
ration is high when poor quality.
 Time spent in ruminating shorter than sheep
during day. Goats ruminate more during night.
 Goats vary to choose feed.
 They refuse badly conserved feeds , rapeseed
meal , urea or high level of minerals . These
problems increase in yielder .

16.  Specific design are used to minimize spoiling and
wastage of feed .
 Goats prefer browsing then grazing . They pluck
tender leaves of plants .
 They will accept wide range of feed . But what is
acceptable to one goat is not always accepted to
others .
 Appetite of goat for any given concentrate fed in
quantities 0.45 - 0.91 kg / day .

17.  They distinguish various taste and have higher
tolerance for bitter taste than cattle
 Higher intake of grass are normal when grazing in
improved pasture , while large percentage of
weeds are consumed when browsing over waste
land .

18. Over 80 % of their feed intake consist of leaves
of shrub and bushes when living in bush country .
 Hay , pasture and concentrate supplements are
required for lactation by milking does .Much skilled
is required for formulating adequate ration .

19.  Goats are very selective feeder . They choice
carefully , kind of plant vegetation and parts
ingested of each plant , which varies with season .
 Goats discontinue grazing at minor disturbance
like rain or appearnce of unknown man.
 It is impossible to make better utilization of
pasture by maintaining high animal density to
obtain greater competition between animals

20.  Choice behaviour is disadvantage in intensive
pasture but it is favourable in rangeland .
 Goats move , climb up . down for nutritive plants.
They can stand on hind legs to consume foliage
that unfavourable to sheep.
 Independent of range quality ,goats and other
ruminants prefer vegetative fraction with leaf/stem,
seed/leaf ratio , low fiber and high protein content
.

21.  Preference of goats for herbaceous strata
especially for grasses becomes evident when
grasses are growing .
 After desiccation of annual species goats go to
low bushes.
 Goats do not prefer woody vegetation but they
accept and consume it more easily than sheep .
 Goats adapt better than sheep and cattle in arid
even desert areas