Sheep Lambing Welfare: Maternal Care and Neonatal Health

The lambing period is critical for both ewe and lamb welfare. Understanding welfare during parturition and the neonatal period improves outcomes for both animals.

Key Facts

Hypothermia is the most common cause of lamb death in the UK, causing 20-30% of neonatal mortality
Lambs can become hypothermic within hours of birth in adverse weather conditions
Adequate colostrum intake within 2 hours is critical for both passive immunity and metabolic warming
Ewes need adequate space and privacy during parturition - overcrowding increases mismothering
Dystocia (difficult labor) requires prompt intervention to prevent prolonged pain and lamb death
Mismothering is more common in primiparous ewes and in overcrowded or high-stress lambing environments
Fostering lambs from triplets to ewes who lost single lambs significantly improves welfare outcomes

Welfare Considerations

Lambing concentrates welfare challenges for both ewes and lambs in a short intense period. Ewes experiencing dystocia suffer significant pain that may last hours without intervention. Neonatal lambs are highly vulnerable to hypothermia, starvation, and predation in the critical first hours. The preventable nature of much neonatal mortality through appropriate monitoring, colostrum management, and environmental protection makes lambing deaths significant welfare failures. Ewes who lose lambs experience the acute distress of maternal loss. Effective lambing management that reduces neonatal mortality simultaneously protects both ewe and lamb welfare.

What You Can Do

Check lambing ewes at least every 2-4 hours during the night during peak lambing period
Assist ewes showing signs of prolonged labor exceeding 30 minutes of active straining without progress
Ensure every lamb receives adequate colostrum within 2 hours of birth through suckling or bottle if necessary
Provide adequate shelter and bedding to protect neonatal lambs from hypothermia in adverse weather
Warm hypothermic lambs using warm water baths or lamb warming boxes before tube feeding colostrum
Reduce pen density during lambing to allow ewes privacy and reduce mismothering risk
Have lamb stomach tubes and colostrum available as essential lambing kit