Comparison of enriched barley, wheat, triticale and maize for the fattening of early-weaned lambs.  Alkali-ionophoreenriched barley, wheat, triticale and maize were evaluated as diets for the fattening of early-weaned (ca 10 weeks) SA Mutton Merino lambs kept under feedlot conditions. Commercially available lamb pellets were obtained from two companies and used as control in two separate experiments. The in vitro organic matter digestibilities of the enriched small grains were markedly higher than those of lamb pellets, as expected. In the first experiment, the voluntary intake of enriched small grains was 26-43% lower (P ≤0,05), compared to lamb pellets. In this experiment, the voluntary intake on enriched maize was approximately 21% lower (P ≤0,05), compared to enriched small grains. A similar tendency was observed in the second experiment, but the only significantly (P ≤0,05) lower intake was obtained on enriched maize when compared to lamb pellets. In Experiments 1 and 2, the average daily gain of lambs on enriched maize was respectively 54 and 46% lower (P ≤0,05) than on lamb pellets. The average feed conversion ratio (FCR) of lambs on enriched grains and lamb pellets did not differ, but tended (P = 0,08) to be poorer on enriched maize than on enriched barley and triticale.  The lower voluntary intake and resultant slower growth rates on enriched small grains may be a disadvantage when these are used as fattening rations for lambs under certain circumstances. Seen against the background of grain surpluses in theRepublic ofSouth Africaand in the rest of the world, and the favourable FCR of enriched barley and triticale, these small grains may be used with economic benefit for the intensive fattening of sheep.