Both goat kids and lambs show feeding behaviours typical of the pre-ruminant animal. The former exhibit a special ability for maintaining their energy balance, modifying the efficiency of utilisation of energy intake and the energy retention partition into protein and fat, according to the existing environmental conditions. The limiting effect that abomasal size can have on intake can be counterbalanced by the dry matter content of the milk replacer. For the post-weaning period, data from many studies have shown greater solid feed intake and better feed to gain ratio from growing lambs than from kids of similar age. Similarly, the consumption of silage made of a variety of by-products (poultry litter, olive cake, citrus pulp) was greater in ewe lambs than goat kids. Cereal grain processing (grindling, rolling or grinding followed by pelleting) is of no value in lambs, whereas grinding followed by pelleting improved feed to gain ratio in kids. There has been superiority of goats compared to sheep in dealing with feedstuffs rich in tannin and of poor quality. The efficiency of utilisation of ME for maintenance is similar in the pre-and post-weaning period, but the energy requirements for weight gain are higher in the post- than in the pre-weaning period. Kids require greater dietary CP concentration than lambs of the same age. The presence of fish or meat meals together with soybean meal in the concentrate mixture enhances body weight gain and feed to gain ratio in kids but not in lambs.