Farm Animal Welfare

Sheep Selenium and White Muscle Disease

Selenium deficiency causes white muscle disease in lambs and adult sheep, with supplementation preventing this entirely preventable cause of suffering and mortality.

Key Facts

White muscle disease causes cardiac and skeletal muscle degeneration in deficient lambs
Affected lambs show weakness, inability to stand, and respiratory distress
UK soils in many areas are selenium-deficient making supplementation necessary
Injectable selenium selenium supplementation of ewes pre-lambing provides passive immunity
Selenium is toxic in excess requiring careful dosing based on soil and forage analysis

Welfare Considerations

White muscle disease causes severe muscle degeneration and death from cardiac failure in deficient lambs. Prevention through appropriate supplementation is simple and cost-effective, making clinical selenium deficiency an entirely preventable cause of neonatal lamb suffering.

What You Can Do

Test forage selenium content in known deficient areas before supplementing
Supplement ewes with selenium pre-lambing to protect neonatal lambs
Use injectable selenium rather than oral dosing where accurate dosing is important