Body condition scoring (BCS) in sheep provides a practical welfare management tool that guides nutrition across the production cycle and prevents welfare-compromising malnutrition.
Sheep body condition scoring is a deceptively simple tool with significant welfare implications. Ewes that enter pregnancy in poor condition and decline further during late pregnancy face welfare harms at multiple levels: pregnancy toxaemia (a potentially fatal metabolic crisis), poor colostrum production (threatening lamb welfare), reduced milk yield, and general debilitation. Lambs born to underconditioned ewes are more likely to be weak, unable to suckle, and hypothermic - a cascade of welfare harms from a single failure in ewe nutritional management. Regular BCS monitoring at key production stages (pre-tupping, mid-pregnancy, pre-lambing) enables targeted nutrition for groups of ewes at different risk levels, preventing these welfare cascades. The investment in BCS monitoring pays welfare dividends in better ewe health, reduced lamb mortality, and more productive flocks.