Nutrition of the ewe in early lactation

The effect of restricting food intake during early lactation on the milk yield of ewes suckling twin lambs was measured. Ewes were hand‐fed lucerne chaff and barley (50∶50) indoors for 4 weeks after parturition and then turned out to pasture. Restricted nutrition for 1 week after parturition delayed peak milk yield several days but did not affect lamb growth rates compared to control ewes fed ad libitum . Restricted nutrition for 4 weeks significantly reduced milk yield and lamb growth rates. These recovered when ewes were fully fed at pasture. A second trial was conducted to measure the milk yield of ewes suckling twins when grazing pasture ad libitum . The milk yield of these ewes and the growth rate of their lambs were considerably higher during the first 4 weeks after parturition than those animals fed ad libitum indoors in the first trial. The differences became less apparent after 4 weeks.