Late Gestation Problems in Sheep

Ewes are particularly susceptible to gestational problems during the late gestation stage because over 70 percent of fetus growth occurs during the last four to six weeks of pregnancy. A trouble-free lambing season depends on farmers meeting the ewes' nutritional needs and using techniques in feeding, housing and heath care that prevent disease and encourage successful births.

  1. Nutrition and Toxemia

    • Calcium-deficient ewes will stop eating and fail to thrive.

      All ewes are susceptible to toxemia, which results when the ewe's diet or intake of food does not meet her nutritional needs. For example, when the ewe's rumen is pressed closed by fat or the size and number of feti, the rumen cannot become full with enough food to sustain the ewe and the fetus. Ewes that are protein deficient during this time produce lambs with low birth weights. And selenium deficiency results in white muscle disease, which causes paralysis.

    Sanitary and Ventilation Factors

    • Sanitary conditions and ventilation are necessary for an ewe to have a healthy birth and few gestational problems as well. Ammonia and moisture buildup in lambing barns result in ewes contracting pneumonia, which has a high mortality rate in sheep. Toxoplasmosis is associated with kittens being born in barns on top of hay that is then fed to livestock and gestating ewes. Hay soiled with urine and feces that is fed to ewes can cause spontaneous abortions as well as chlamydiosis, which is highly contagious. Small doorways and improper feeding rooms can result in spontaneous abortions and prolapsed and ruptured bellies.

    Hereditary and Bad Genetics

    • Under ideal conditions, ewes that have a history of successful births are most likely to continue to have successful births under optimal feeding and housing conditions. Ewes that have a history of spontaneous abortions and few successful births under optimal conditions are most likely to continue to have unsuccessful births in addition to putting undesirable breeding traits back into the gene pool. In this case, many farmers suggest culling these ewes from the heard to maintain healthy bloodlines.

    Prevention Methods

    • Hays do not provide all of the nutritional requirements of late gestating sheep. Additional grain feeds and high-quality hays are recommended to prevent toxemia and other late gestational problems in sheep. Prevention techniques such as good culling standards, meeting the nutritional needs of rams and ewes year round and providing optimal housing and feeding conditions are important factors in aiming for a trouble-free lambing season.