Nutritional management of the pregnant ewe and lamb survival

Abstract

Lamb survival is a key limitation to reproductive efficiency in Australian sheep flocks and little improvement seems to have occurred in the past 25 years. This review shows that in Australia losses of single and twin lambs in excess of 10% and 20%, respectively, are still common. There are a wide variety of causes of lamb loss but starvation, exposure and birth trauma are predominant; predation and disease are sporadically of significance. This review demonstrates that most lamb losses are associated with ewe nutrition and that improved ewe nutritional management is a key factor in reducing lamb losses in Australia. That little progress has been made in improving lamb survival over the past 25 years invokes the question of why clear messages on ewe pregnancy nutrition have not been adopted.