Pregnancy toxaemia is a preventable but frequently fatal metabolic condition in ewes carrying multiple lambs, causing significant suffering that good management can eliminate.
Pregnancy toxaemia causes progressive suffering that is entirely preventable with appropriate management. Affected ewes experience weakness, neurological symptoms, and eventual recumbency before death - a deterioration that can span days. The preventable nature of this suffering makes each case a management failure. Regular body condition scoring throughout pregnancy allows identification of ewes losing condition, enabling early nutritional intervention. Scanning - now standard practice in most UK systems - identifies ewes carrying multiple fetuses who face the highest risk. The welfare imperative is clear: invest in prevention through accurate nutritional management rather than treating crisis cases that represent avoidable suffering.