Winter is when smallholders earn their stripes. Grass stops growing, the weather turns, and your sheep and goats rely entirely on what you put in front of them. Get the feeding right and they sail through to spring; get it wrong and you are dealing with thin ewes, weak kids, and vet bills. The good news is that with a bit of planning and a few key measurements, you can keep rumens happy and costs under control.

Start with forage quality, not guesswork

Before you buy a single bag of concentrate, find out what your forage is actually worth. Hay and haylage vary enormously – two bales from the same field can differ by several megajoules of energy. If you can, send a sample for laboratory analysis. Failing that, use your senses: good hay smells sweet and fresh, snaps when twisted, and shows a mix of leaf and stem. Musty, dusty, or mouldy bales are a false economy, especially for pregnant animals.

Hay typically comes in at 8–10% crude protein and around 8–10 MJ of metabolisable energy (ME) per kg dry matter. Haylage, cut earlier and wrapped, often reaches 12–16% protein and 10–12 MJ ME. That extra quality matters most in late pregnancy and early lactation. Weigh a few bales to get an average – guessing by eye leads to under- or over-feeding.

Hay, haylage or silage: what works best?

Each has its place on a smallholding. Hay is the traditional choice: cheap, easy to store, and ideal for maintenance feeding of dry ewes or wethers. Haylage is higher in energy and protein, but once opened it must be used within a few days, especially in mild weather, or it risks listeriosis. Big bale silage is usually too rich and wet for small flocks unless you have a lot of mouths to feed quickly.

• Hay – best for maintenance, but check for mould and dust.
• Haylage – excellent for late pregnancy and lactation; introduce gradually.
• Straw – only as a filler for dry, non-pregnant animals, and always alongside better forage.
• Root crops – fodder beet or turnips can stretch rations, but chop them for sheep and goats to avoid choking.

A common mistake is buying cheap hay and trying to make up the shortfall with concentrates. It is usually cheaper and healthier to buy better forage in the first place.

When to bring in concentrates

Concentrates are a tool, not a default. Use them when forage alone cannot meet demand: the last six weeks of pregnancy, early lactation, for growing lambs or kids, and for old or thin animals. A typical ewe in late pregnancy carrying twins needs around 12–14 MJ ME per day; good haylage plus a small amount of concentrate will meet that, whereas poor hay will not.

Introduce any concentrate slowly over 7–10 days to avoid acidosis. Start with 100–200g per head per day and build up. Good options include sugar beet pulp (soaked), barley or oats, and a balanced sheep or goat nut. Never feed plain barley alone – it is low in protein and calcium. For goats, remember they need more copper than sheep, so choose a goat-specific mineral or compound feed. Sheep are highly sensitive to copper toxicity, so keep the two species’ feeds strictly separate.

Match rations to body condition and stage of production

Body condition scoring (BCS) is your best free tool. For sheep, aim for a score of 2.5–3.0 at mating, 3.0–3.5 in late pregnancy, and no less than 2.0 at lambing. Goats are similar: 2.5–3.5 depending on breed and frame. Condition score every fortnight through winter – hands on the backbone and ribs tell you more than any weighing session.

• Thin animals – separate and feed extra; they will not compete at the trough.
• Fat animals – reduce concentrate and give lower-quality forage to avoid difficult births.
• Growing stock – need 14–16% protein and constant access to clean forage.
• Older animals – check teeth; worn molars mean they cannot chew hay properly, so offer softer haylage or soaked feed.

Scanning ewes for lamb numbers is worth every penny. Triplets need more than singles, and you can tailor feed to the scanner’s report rather than treating the whole flock the same.

Water, minerals and the daily routine

Never underestimate water. A dry ewe drinks 4–6 litres a day; a milking goat can drink 10 litres or more. Check troughs twice daily in frosty weather – ice is a silent killer of intake. Minerals matter too: offer a balanced sheep or goat mineral, and for goats a copper-containing bucket lick. Selenium and cobalt are often low in UK soils, so choose a supplement that suits your area.

Feeding space is critical. Sheep need 30–45cm per head at the trough; goats need more, as they are naturally competitive. Use multiple feeding points and spread forage along a rack to stop bullying. A simple routine – feed forage first, then concentrates, and always at the same times – keeps rumens stable and stress low.

Avoiding common winter pitfalls

Most winter problems are preventable. Pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb disease) hits thin or fat ewes in late pregnancy when energy demand outstrips supply. Acidosis comes from too much concentrate too quickly. Listeriosis is linked to mouldy haylage, especially when bales are left open. Hypothermia in newborn lambs and kids is often a result of poor maternal nutrition in the run-up to birth.

• Feed little and often rather than one large concentrate meal.
• Discard any mouldy forage – do not try to dilute it.
• Provide shelter from wind and rain; wet coats increase energy needs by up to 30%.
• Keep a close eye on the thinnest and oldest animals – they are your early warning system.

Winter feeding does not have to be complicated, but it does need to be measured. Know your forage, score your stock, and adjust as the season goes on. Your sheep and goats will reward you with strong, healthy offspring and a lot less worry.