Farm Animal Welfare

Sheep Pregnancy Scanning Welfare

Pregnancy scanning identifies multiple-bearing ewes for targeted management. This single intervention has major welfare and production benefits.

Key Facts

Ultrasound scanning from day 40 of pregnancy identifies singles, twins, and triplets
Targeted feeding of multiple-bearing ewes prevents pregnancy toxaemia
Scanning also identifies barren ewes for culling before unnecessary feeding
A skilled scanner can scan 200-300 ewes per hour at low cost per ewe
Scanning uptake has increased significantly in UK sheep farming over the past decade

Welfare Considerations

Pregnancy scanning that identifies twin and triplet-bearing ewes enables nutritional management that prevents pregnancy toxaemia - a painful and often fatal metabolic disease. Without scanning, high-producing ewes are managed identically to single-bearing ewes and may not receive adequate energy supplementation. Scanning is one of the most welfare-beneficial management tools available to sheep farmers.

What You Can Do

Implement pregnancy scanning in all breeding flocks
Use scan results to separate and target feed multiple-bearing ewes
Cull barren ewes identified at scanning rather than carrying them unnecessarily
Work with a sheep vet on nutrition programs based on scanning results