Pregnancy Toxaemia in Sheep: Late-Pregnancy Appetite Changes Need Attention
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Pregnancy Toxaemia in Sheep: Late-Pregnancy Appetite Changes Need Attention
**Animal:** Sheep
**Topic:** Pregnancy and metabolic health
**Researched:** 28 October 2026
**Editorial status:** Researched draft; veterinary review pending.
**Suggested URL:** /sheep/sheep-pregnancy-toxaemia
**Meta description:** Recognise a ewe at risk of pregnancy toxaemia and organise urgent assessment, individual feeding and flock prevention before lambing.
A late-pregnant ewe that hangs back at feeding should not be dismissed as simply uncomfortable. Pregnancy toxaemia can begin with reduced appetite and progress to weakness, neurological signs and inability to rise. Multiple-bearing ewes are particularly vulnerable, but apparently suitable body condition does not exclude the disease. [1]
Call before the ewe goes down
Contact the flock veterinarian promptly for appetite reduction, isolation, unusual behaviour or difficulty standing near lambing. Report the expected lambing date, scan results if available, recent intake and other illnesses. Collapse, seizures or inability to rise requires urgent assistance.
Do not force a drench into a weak ewe or begin an injectable glucose treatment copied from another farm. The veterinarian must consider pregnancy toxaemia alongside other problems and assess both the ewe and fetuses. Decisions about delivery are veterinary decisions, not routine feeding adjustments.
Prepare a useful feeding history
Bring the forage analysis, concentrate label and actual daily amounts. Note when the ewe last ate normally and whether transport, weather, lameness or competition interrupted access. A ration can be adequate on paper while an individual ewe cannot obtain it.
Observe the feeding group without driving the affected animal repeatedly to the trough. Identify whether she approaches, starts eating and then leaves, or never approaches. Keep her identification attached to observations and any treatment record.
What food is appropriate?
Late pregnancy increases energy requirements while growing fetuses can limit intake capacity. A professionally balanced ration must account for forage quality, body condition and expected litter size. Simply adding a large grain meal is not a safe correction. [1]
Ask for an individual plan covering suitable forage, concentrates, water and how any change should be introduced. If treatment includes an oral energy product, obtain the exact product and instructions; it does not replace the whole ration or assessment. Ask what to do if the ewe refuses the prescribed feed or cannot swallow normally.
Nursing and review
Arrange accessible feed, water, comfortable bedding and observation according to the veterinarian's directions. If separated for care, discuss how to reduce social stress while preserving safe access. Assign a named person to check intake and response at each shift.
Write down what was consumed rather than recording that food was offered. Note whether the ewe stands unaided and whether new abnormal behaviour occurs. Ask when the veterinarian needs an update and which changes mean immediate attendance. Do not assume a brief improvement resolves the risk to ewe and lambs.
If lambing occurs during treatment, request a separate newborn plan. The lambs' ability to nurse and receive appropriate early nutrition needs attention alongside their mother's recovery.
Prevent the next case
Review body condition and pregnancy groups before the final weeks, not only after a case occurs. Ask whether ewes should be grouped by litter size, condition or feeding access and whether another illness is limiting intake. Keep affected-animal records to identify a recurring management problem.
A flock review should produce concrete responsibilities: who checks trough access, who reports a ewe missing a meal and when the ration is reassessed. Prevention works through a consistent system rather than one emergency bottle on the shelf.
**Can an overweight ewe be affected?** Yes. Do not use body size to rule it out. [1]
**Should I wait for a home ketone result?** Do not let testing delay advice for a sick ewe. Ask the veterinarian how any measurement should be interpreted.
Sources
[1] [Merck Veterinary Manual: Pregnancy Toxemia in Sheep and Goats](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/metabolic-disorders/hepatic-lipidosis/pregnancy-toxemia-in-sheep-and-goats)