Perinatal lamb mortality is a major welfare concern in sheep production. Targeted interventions during the critical first hours of life dramatically reduce deaths and suffering.
Neonatal lamb welfare requires intensive monitoring during lambing. The first 24 hours determine survival: lambs unable to suckle adequate colostrum, those that become separated from their dam, or those born in cold wet conditions without shelter face rapidly deteriorating welfare. The suffering of a hypothermic lamb — progressive weakness, shivering, inability to respond — is genuine and welfare-relevant. The interventions that prevent this suffering are low-cost and highly effective: adequate shelter, monitoring for colostrum intake, supplementary bottle feeding or tube feeding where suckling fails, and prompt warming of hypothermic lambs. Investment in lambing supervision and stockperson training in neonatal resuscitation is directly proportional to welfare improvement.