Animal Health & Welfare

Litter size affects maternal behaviour as the ewe needs to spend time caring for each lamb, and the risks of inadequate lamb care or lamb abandonment increases with each increase in litter size.

Ewes that give birth to more than one lamb do increase the amount of time they spend licking the litter overall, compared to a single-bearing ewe.  However, each lamb still receives less maternal care. Thus, lambs may be more likely to be chilled as the birth coat may remain wet for longer.

The birth site becomes particularly important for ewes with more than one lamb as the ewe needs to form a bond with each and this can occur more easily if all the lambs remain with the ewe at the birth site. Ewes that move off the birth site quickly (for example if they are disturbed) are more likely to leave a lamb behind when they have multiple litters.

The interval between twin or triplet litter mates has an important impact on maternal care and licking. The shorter the interval the better the ewe is able to distribute her maternal care between offspring, and the less likely it is that the ewe will need to spend time moving between an active older lamb and an inactive newly born lamb when lamb abandonment and mismothering can occur.