Ultrasound pregnancy scanning in sheep allows targeted nutritional management of ewes, preventing starvation of multiple-bearing ewes and significantly improving lamb survival and ewe welfare.
Pregnancy scanning represents one of the most welfare-positive routine interventions available to sheep producers. Before scanning became widespread, significant proportions of ewes — particularly those carrying multiple fetuses — entered late pregnancy nutritionally unprepared for the demands of fetal growth. The result was pregnancy toxemia: a metabolic crisis causing profound weakness, neurological signs, recumbency, and death. Surviving ewes and their lambs were compromised. Targeted nutrition made possible by scanning dramatically reduces this suffering. Beyond preventing toxemia, scanning enables better preparation for lambing — farmers can anticipate multiple births that require assistance, ensure colostrum supplies are matched to expected lamb numbers, and provide additional support to ewes identified as carrying vulnerable pregnancies. The welfare benefit-to-cost ratio of scanning is consistently high.