Farmed Animals

Metabolic Disease and Sheep Welfare

Metabolic diseases including twin lamb disease and hypocalcaemia cause significant welfare harm in sheep around lambing time.

Key Facts

Twin lamb disease affects ewes carrying multiple fetuses in late pregnancy
Hypocalcaemia causes weakness, recumbency, and muscle tremors in periparturient ewes
Hypomagnesaemia causes sudden death or convulsions in lactating ewes
Metabolic disease is closely linked to nutrition and body condition management
Early recognition and treatment significantly improves survival and welfare outcomes

Welfare Considerations

Metabolic diseases in ewes cause acute welfare harm through pain, weakness, and distress. Many cases are preventable through good nutritional management and body condition scoring throughout pregnancy. Training stockpersons to recognise early clinical signs and providing rapid treatment access are essential for minimising the welfare impact of these common conditions.

What You Can Do

Support welfare standards that include periparturient nutrition guidelines
Advocate for body condition scoring as a routine welfare tool in sheep flocks
Raise awareness about metabolic disease recognition and treatment
Support farmer training in sheep nutrition and metabolic disease prevention
Encourage routine collaboration between sheep farmers and veterinary nutritionists