Lamb and Kid Care: The Importance of a Creep to Maximize Early Gains
It’s that time of year…lambing and kidding time! And, it also happens to be the season of snow, slush and bone-chilling temperatures. A little bit of extra care and attention will help get those babies off to a good, fast start. You usually don’t see sheep and goat nutrition discussed in the same article, as sheep and goats are about as different as night and day in their care, nutrition, and management. However, when it comes to baby care and management, they are quite similar.
Newborn Lamb and Baby Goat Care
Mamas may need some help in getting their newborns dry and on their feet after birth. You can assist with a cotton towel to help dry them. Rub them somewhat briskly back and forth - giving special attention to their legs, tails and ears. Frostbite can set in quickly, especially in those exposed areas. Keep all babies in the litter close together, so everyone gets the same amount of attention from their mother.
The Importance of Colostrum for Lambs and Goat Kids
Babies need colostrum as soon after birth as possible to give them needed antibodies and passive immunity from their dams. The ability to absorb those antibodies rapidly declines during the first 24-48 hours after birth, so early colostrum intake is critical. Mother Nature usually takes care of business, but you may need to guide a newborn to their first meal, or even help it latch onto the teat. Don’t be fooled into thinking “all is good” if you see the baby with his head buried into mama’s flank and smacking his lips; sometimes they get so excited, they start making noises before they even have the teat in their mouth!
What does processing look like for lambs and kids after birth?
Most producers will process their babies in the first couple of days after birth. Situations are different, but most processes will include weighing each baby, dipping navels, ear tagging, tail docking (for lambs), disbudding goat kids (usually done around 7-10 days of age) and administering baby supplementation/vaccinations, such as Bo-SE, Clostridium perfringens Type C&T, and tetanus.
The Benefits of Creep Feeding for Lambs and Goat Kids
As soon as the oldest baby in your growing flock or herd is a week old, a creep should be set up. A creep is an area set up within the main pen that allows the young lambs and kids to enter and gain access to a nutrient-dense, highly fortified feed. Creep feeding is a benefit to these situations:
Winter Lambing or Kidding
Generally, this time period is from December through February. Creep feeding allows these babies to gain weight and grow to their maximum genetic potential. Both purebred and commercial producers benefit from this system, as market-ready animals are produced when the market prices are the highest (typically April and May and into the first part of June).
Early Weaning
Lambs or kids that are weaned before they are 90 days old. These youngsters handle the stress of weaning much better than their counterparts that have not been offered a creep. They are already exposed to a concentrate diet and do not experience the weight loss commonly seen at weaning in babies that have not had access to a creep.
Multiple Births
Twin and triplet-born lambs and kids greatly benefit from creep feeding. Their mothers typically produce more milk than their counterparts that have a single to nurse; however, they do not produce 2 or 3 times more. As a result, these “extra” babies will begin nibbling the available creep feed looking to fill the void left from lesser milk availability.
Creep feeding lambs or kids that are on a pasture-based program or are born in late spring is not as clear-cut. Factors to be considered include time of birth, rate of gains desired and marketing timeline, and quality and quantity of available pasture. This discussion will be held for another date.
Best Practices for Managing Lamb and Baby Goat Feeding
Creep Placement
Locate the creep in an area of the pen where lambs and kids frequently congregate. Place in convenient locations that are dry, well-lit, and protected from drafts. Do not place near the doorway where you enter, as your presence will startle the babies in the creep, and they will exit as fast as they can. Ideally, you want the babies to spend as much time as possible in the creep, eating the high-quality feed there.
Optimal Size for a Lamb and Kid Creep
The creep should be as large as possible. Aim for a minimum size of 8’ x 8’ (even if you only have 10 mamas and their babies). You will find that if the creep is conveniently located and large, the babies will go in to rest and “get away from the adults” as well as eat. They can still see and hear their mamas but enjoy “hanging out” with their 4-legged buddies. Sadly, many of the commercially made creep feeders are so small that nothing can happen in the creep except eating. Even then, the babies have to take turns getting to the feed.
Creep Openings
The openings for the creep should be wide enough for the lambs or kids to enter, but small enough to keep out mamas. Usually, a 4-6-inch-wide opening is a good starting point. Note that these openings may have to be widened as they grow. It is also a benefit if you can have openings on multiple sides of the creep area. Each side should have a minimum of 2-3 openings.
Feeder Options
Feeders inside the creep may either be trough feeders or small self-feeders. At first, babies will just nibble at the feed, so keep it fresh and a manageable amount. Before long, you will be amazed at how much they eat. The key is that there must be feed in the creep 24/7. That is the purpose of the creep – being able to access feed whenever they are hungry. You may notice at first that when the mamas are fed their grain, the babies will line up with them to eat. But, as soon as that is gone, they will enter the creep and continue eating the feed there. Before long, you will find they often prefer their own feed in the creep and do not even try to eat with their mothers.
Water and Hay
Place a small bucket of water in the creep. They do not drink a lot, but they will go to water if it is available. There are mixed thoughts on the feeding of hay in the creep. This author recommends that you do not offer hay in the creep. Hay fills up little stomachs, so there is not as much room for the solid nutrient-dense nutrition they need – and gains are not maximized. There is no doubt that they like good, leafy hay (after all, they are ruminant animals and their genetics dictate that their primary dietary source is a high-fiber diet). But, they can get all of the fiber they need by eating hay with their mothers.
Discover Baby Goat and Lamb Creep Feeds from Kalmbach
Kalmbach Feeds has several excellent options for creep feeds for both lambs and kids. For lambs, we offer Start Right Lamb Creep and 18% Lamb Creep Pels. Our Formula of Champions lineup includes Cherry Krave, 18 Starter-Grower Pellet, and Power Take-Off. All five of these feeds are 18% crude protein and medicated with Bovatec or Deccox to aid in coccidiosis prevention. Power Take-Off is a textured feed while the other 3 are mini-pellets.
The Kalmbach Feeds creep feed lineup for goat kids is just as diverse. Start Right Kid and Formula of Champions Game Plan 18% Starter Developer and GTO Turbo are palatable, highly-fortified 18% crude protein options. All are medicated with either Deccox or Monensin for an aid in coccidiosis prevention. GTO Turbo is textured and the other two are mini-pellets.
Kalmbach Feeds provides the nutrition that will maximize the genetic potential of your lambs and kids. Try some today.
