Sheep Housing and Bedding Welfare During Indoor Lambing in the UK

Indoor lambing systems provide shelter and enable intensive supervision but create welfare challenges around stocking density, bedding quality, disease pressure, and respiratory health.

Key Facts

The majority of UK lowland sheep flocks use indoor lambing to improve lamb survival rates
Recommended stocking densities are 1.2-1.5 m2 per ewe during late pregnancy and lambing
Deep-litter straw bedding must be managed to prevent ammonia accumulation and pathogen build-up
Neonatal lamb diseases including watery mouth (E. coli), joint ill, and hypothermia are common in housed systems

Welfare Considerations

Overcrowded indoor lambing systems create conditions for rapid disease transmission including enzootic pneumonia, orf, and neonatal enteric disease. Inadequate bedding depth causes ewes to give birth on cold hard floors, contributing to lamb hypothermia and injury. Poor ventilation causes respiratory disease in lambs and ewes — ammonia levels above 25 ppm impair respiratory health significantly. Ewes in high-density pens have limited ability to establish mother-lamb bonds away from interference by other animals. Good stockmanship and pen design can mitigate most of these risks.

What You Can Do

Maintain deep, clean bedding throughout the lambing period and muck out regularly
Ensure ventilation without draughts at lamb level using Yorkshire boarding or adjustable ridge vents
Provide individual lambing pens for ewe-lamb bonding for the first 24 hours
Attend lambing and neonatal care training courses through AHDB or agricultural colleges