Pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb disease) causes serious suffering and death in ewes carrying multiple lambs - targeted nutrition in late pregnancy prevents most cases.
Pregnancy toxaemia is preventable in almost all cases through adequate nutrition in the final 6-8 weeks of pregnancy. Ewes carrying twins and triplets have dramatically higher energy requirements that standard flock management often fails to meet. Scanning to identify litter size, then grouping and supplementing accordingly, is the single most impactful welfare intervention available to sheep farmers. The suffering caused by advanced pregnancy toxaemia - including liver damage, neurological signs, and death - is entirely avoidable.