Small ruminant neonatal nutrition

Abstract

Loss of preweaned lambs and kids is a significant economic burden on small ruminant enterprises. Nutrition is an impor­tant factor impacting neonatal losses. Four critical nutritional phases can impact neonatal viability: maternal gestational diet adequacy, colostrum feeding, milk feeding and rumen develop­ment, and post-weaning feeding practices. As with any farm animal, consumption of adequate amounts of high-quality co­lostrum is the single most critical event in the life of a small ruminant. In contrast to dairy cattle, no guidelines defining volume and immunoglobulin (Ig) content for sheep and goat co­lostrum to ensure adequate passive transfer are available. Simi­larly, there are no well-defined criteria for determining success or failure of passive transfer in sheep and goats. The second most critical event of the neonatal small ruminant is adequate rumen development to facilitate a smooth transition during the weaning process. This presentation will address these 4 nutri­tional phases with emphasis on colostrum management prac­tices and rumen development as methods to improve neonatal survivability and viability.