Neonatal hypothermia is a leading cause of lamb mortality. Prevention through supervision and intervention protects welfare at the most vulnerable stage of life.
Lambs dying from hypothermia experience a progressive deterioration - shivering, weakness, recumbency, and eventually coma - that represents significant suffering even in its relatively brief duration. Systematic prevention through appropriate shelter provision, close supervision during cold weather lambing, and rapid identification and treatment of cold lambs prevents this suffering. Every hypothermic lamb is a welfare failure that supervision and appropriate management could prevent.