An experiment was carried out in 1994 to examine energy and nitrogen utilization of lambs offered two contrasting grass-based diets. The two forages, which were from the same parent herbage, were grass silage and grass which was conserved by freezing. They were offered as sole diets or supplemented with either 250 or 500 g concentrates per kg total dry matter intake (DMI) to give a total of six experimental treatments. Seventy-two Dutch Texel × Greyface (Border Leicester × Blackface) lambs, consisting of 36 males which were initially 36 (S.D. 4·9) kg liveweight and 36 females which were initially 34 (S.D. 2·5) kg liveweight were used. Ensiling significantly increased apparent digestibility of dry matter, energy and nitrogen (P<0·001), but had no significant effect on methane energy loss as a proportion of gross energy intake, metabolizable energy intake (MEI), heat production, energy retained, efficiency of utilization of energy for growth (kg) or nitrogen retention. Supplementation of forage with concentrates resulted in a curvilinear decrease in heat production expressed as a proportion of MEI (P<0·05) and a linear increase in energy retention, expressed as an absolute value or as a proportion of MEI (P<0·05). Supplementation of forage tended to increase kg when calculated using Agricultural Research Council estimates of maintenance energy requirements, but had no significant effect when alternative estimates of maintenance were used. It is concluded that ensiling had no effect on efficiency of utilization of energy or nitrogen as measured by indirect calorimetry.