The lambing period is a critical welfare window for ewes and neonates, with hypothermia, starvation, and dystocia causing significant preventable mortality and suffering.
The lambing period concentrates welfare challenges into an intense period of days and weeks. Newborn lambs are extremely vulnerable to hypothermia — they have little body fat and must generate heat while wet and often in cold conditions. A lamb that does not receive colostrum within hours faces immunological failure. Twins and triplets are at higher risk as ewes may preferentially bond with the firstborn. Dystocia causes prolonged labor pain for ewes and can result in stillbirths or oxygen-deprived lambs with neurological damage. Attentive shepherding — frequent checks throughout the night, prompt intervention for births requiring assistance, immediate colostrum provision to weak lambs — is the most important welfare intervention during this period.