Mineral deficiencies including copper, cobalt, and iodine cause significant welfare problems in sheep, with strategic supplementation preventing suffering and production losses.
Mineral deficiencies cause significant welfare harm that is often insidious - animals decline gradually rather than showing dramatic acute illness. Swayback in lambs, caused by copper deficiency during pregnancy, causes severe neurological impairment ranging from mild incoordination to complete paralysis. Affected lambs suffer from mobility limitation and are vulnerable to hypothermia and predation. Cobalt deficiency causes progressive wasting and anemia. These conditions are entirely preventable with appropriate mineral management, making deficiency-related welfare harms particularly unacceptable. Regular blood testing and strategic supplementation based on local soil and forage mineral content is the most effective prevention approach.