Lambs and kids have similar nutritional requirements

But as Joanna Palmer, nutritionist at the Smallholder Range explains, amongst the similarities there are a number of important differences that should be taken into consideration when rearing these young ruminants.

-  Joanna Palmer

For the first few weeks after birth, their mothers' milk (or a suitable milk replacement for those being hand-reared) is the most important source of nutrition for all lambs and kids. Vital colostrum in the first few hours of life will provide essential antibodies to help ensure newborns get off to the very best start. You should always have access to some emergency colostrum, check with your vet for advice.

Whilst ewes will usually rear their lambs outdoors on good grazing during the spring and summer months, goat kids are more likely to be hand-reared on smallholdings where milk is used for the household. Kids will need to spend more time housed as they do not have the same waterproof properties in their coats as sheep and can very quickly become wet and chilled in inclement weather. Without continual access to grazing, kids will require more supplementary feeding than lambs both in terms of forage and bucket feed.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT FEEDS

Sheep and goat breeds best suited for small scale farming and to be kept as pets or for non-commercial purposes tend to be small framed animals that can very quickly become overweight on commercial feeds. All Smallholder Range feeds are designed specifically for our native and traditional smallholder breeds and as such, are higher in fibre and lower in protein and energy than commercial diets to promote a natural growth rate, with the emphasis placed firmly on longevity of the animal and quality and flavour of the meat and milk they produce.