Maintaining body condition in pregnant ewes is the most important job between now and lambing time, according to Teagasc.

Body condition, or the amount of flesh that ewes have, is an important factor in determining the ewe’s ability to rear lambs in the coming year.

In early lactation, ewes - if they are to milk to their full potential - need to have sufficient body reserve which they can mobilise.

Farmers often allow ewes to lose a little weight in mid-pregnancy, around 5% of body weight.

There is scientific justification for this, provided that the ewe is in good body condition starting out and that the weight loss does not go too far.

In practice, however, often the already thin ewes get much thinner during mid-pregnancy with negative implications for those ewes in early lactation.

At this stage, most sheep flocks have completed mating, and ewes are now entering the mid-pregnancy period of the annual cycle.

Weight loss post-mating

Data collected from farmers participating in the Teagasc BETTER Farm Sheep Programme shows that, on balance, the body condition of ewes at mating time is the best it will be between that point and lambing.

In most situations, the percentage of thin ewes (ewes with BCS < 3.0) will increase as ewes progress through their pregnancy.

The aim of sheep farmers should be to reduce the amount of weight loss in ewes post-mating.

Thin ewes, in particular, should be separated out post-mating for preferential treatment to ensure that they do not deteriorate further.

According to Teagasc, research clearly shows that ewes that are in good condition are better mothers, spend more time licking their newborn lambs, have higher quality and quantity of colostrum and produce more milk and therefore rear heavier lambs.

In difficult springs (like 2023 and 2024), flocks with a large percentage of thin ewes at mating time had much higher levels of lamb mortality the following year, Teagasc said.

Feed

The biggest factor influencing BCS is nutrition.

Often when grazing out fields/paddocks ewes will be forced to graze too tight or too long when the forage has disappeared.

It is important that once the forage runs out that sheep are given supplementary feeding in the form of either forage or concentrate immediately so as to avoid them burning up body reserves.

Remember that this time of year we get much colder and wetter weather, which requires ewes to use up more of their energy to keep warm.

Flock health

Internal parasites such as liver fluke and external parasites such as sheep scab and lice should be controlled where they exist to prevent them impacting on ewe performance.

Lameness is also a significant and continual problem on many sheep farms.

Any condition that causes ewes to be lame will reduce performance and increase body condition loss.

So, plan for improved lamb performance next year by monitoring and maintaining ewe body condition this year.

The prize for reducing/eliminating body condition loss on those thinner ewes will be more lambs and faster growing lambs in 2026.