Adequate pain management during difficult lambing and common surgical procedures improves ewe welfare and reproductive outcomes.
Ewes experiencing dystocia suffer acute pain from prolonged labor that is often exacerbated by farmer intervention without pain relief. Caesarean sections performed in field conditions without appropriate analgesia cause significant suffering. Ewes treated with NSAIDs after difficult births show better maternal behavior, reduced stress, and improved milk production, demonstrating that analgesia benefits both welfare and production.