Basic small ruminant nutrition

Abstract

The objective of this presentation is to provide an overview of fundamental nutrient requirements and basic feeding practices for sheep and goats in an effort to improve the practitioner's ability to address related concerns from small ruminant clientele. Many principles of ruminant nutrition as applied to dairy or beef cattle can be extrapolated to sheep and goats, but they should not just be considered "little cows”. Feeding behavior of sheep and goats is classified as intermediate browsers compared to the bulk roughage grazing cow. Feed selection and chewing behavior will alter how feeds are processed in the rumen. Additionally, with their smaller size compared to cattle there will be differences in rate of passage influencing rumen dynamics. Equally, sheep and goats are not equivalent, as feeding sheep are more grazers compared to browsing by goats. Sheep and goats also have some significant nutrient requirement differences, especially related to copper, thus products formulated to meet the needs of both species should be scrutinized. The feeding management focus will be on key nutritional principles addressing the role of forage quality on animal health and performance and need for proper mineral and vitamin supplementation. Having an understanding of basic sheep and goat feeding practices can provide an opportunity to offer additional services to new or ongoing small ruminant clients.