Concentrate costs have increased significantly in recent months and further movement has not been ruled out.

This is presenting a stark proposition for farmers who are also facing record fertiliser prices.

There may be areas where feed costs can be reduced with more precise management in terms of grouping ewes on expected lambing date and litter size and batching ewes and lambs in priority groupings in early lactation.

The recommended level of feeding is not an area that should be tinkered with in late gestation or early lactation as it can limit a ewe’s potential to reach peak milk yield which will have knock on effects on lamb performance.

The pinch point on many farms is the period where ewes are retained indoors after lambing if weather is unsuitable or where ewes and lambs are turned out to a sheltered paddock that has a lower than desired cover of grass.

Recently lambed ewes retained indoors for a significant period of time, suckling twin lambs and offered ad-lib access to moderate quality silage of 68 to 70 DMD will require in the region of 1.2kg to 1.5kg concentrate supplementation daily.

Where ewes are lacking flesh or silage quality is below this level then concentrate supplementation will need to be increased to in the region of 1.5kg to 1.7kg per head.

Single-suckling ewes in good body condition will typically require 0.6kg to 0.8kg concentrates, rising to 1kg or higher for ewes lacking condition.

It is advisable to continue feeding the same concentrate as was fed in the final weeks of pregnancy with the ewe’s protein demand remaining on an upward trajectory.

Where ewes will only be retained indoors for a short period of 24 to 48 hours the level of concentrates offered can remain at the levels offered pre-birth or slightly higher where the feeding level is short.

Supplementing outdoors

If grass swards are above 4cm and there is a plentiful supply then ewes suckling twin or single lambs will technically be able to consume enough grass to meet demand.

However where ewes and lambs are released outdoors after a period of inclement weather and utilisation is poor then there will be merit in offering a low level of supplementary feeding (0.5kg to 0.8kg) for a period to twin suckling ewes to increase dry matter intake.

The same applies if trying to conserve grass supplies.

If grass supplies are scarce (less than 3.5cm) or utilisation is very poor the feeding rates will need to be increased to 0.7kg to 1kg for ewes in good body condition and from 1kg to 1.2kg for ewes lacking condition. This shows the value of having sufficient grass supplies available.