Lamb welfare in the first weeks of life is shaped by mothering quality, colostrum access, and the challenges of early weaning. Neonatal mortality is high in commercial systems and represents a significant welfare burden.
Neonatal lamb welfare represents one of farming's most significant preventable welfare problems. The first hours and days of life are critical: lambs that fail to receive adequate colostrum from attentive mothers within hours of birth face life-threatening immune deficiency and starvation. Mismothering — ewes failing to bond with their lambs — is particularly common in first-time mothers, in large multiple births, and in intensive housed systems where ewes cannot separate from the flock to establish maternal bonds. Skilled stockperson management during the lambing period — ensuring bonding, colostrum intake, and shelter — has an enormous effect on welfare outcomes. Systems that provide adequate space, shelter, and supervision during lambing produce dramatically lower neonatal mortality than poorly managed intensive systems.