Pregnancy scanning of ewes — ultrasound examination to determine litter size — is one of the most impactful welfare interventions in sheep farming, enabling targeted nutritional management of twins and triplets to prevent metabolic disease and lambing difficulty.
Ewes with undetected twin or triplet pregnancies that receive single-ewe nutrition develop pregnancy toxaemia — a metabolic crisis causing neurological signs, recumbency, and death. The welfare cost is profound: affected ewes experience progressive neurological deterioration and prolonged suffering before death or euthanasia. Their lambs, deprived of nutrition, may be born weak or dead. Pregnancy scanning eliminates this preventable welfare problem by enabling appropriate nutritional management from early identification. Ewes carrying triplets managed for intensive rearing require particular nutrition and preparation for prolific lambing. The welfare benefit of routine scanning across UK sheep flocks would be enormous if adoption rates increased from current levels.