Symptoms Of Pregnancy Toxemia In Sheep

Pregnancy toxaemia is a common metabolic disorder of ewes that is caused by the increased energy requirements in the late stage of pregnancy being greater than the energy provided by the diet consumed it occurs in sheep usually carrying multiple foetuses.

Symptoms of pregnancy toxemia in sheep. Symptoms include lethargy and loss of appetite eventually leading to coma and death. Both pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia can be avoided if producers provide adequate ewe nutrition and. Ketosis or pregnancy toxaemia occurs in cattle sheep and goats. Pregnancy toxemia in sheep and goats has also been called ketosis lambing kidding sickness pregnancy disease and twin lamb kid disease.

Pregnancy toxaemia also known as lambing sickness or twin lamb disease is caused by low levels of glucose in the blood which adversely affects brain and nervous system function. Pregnancy toxemia is seen primarily in ewes carrying triplet or twin lambs in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy with the peak incidence in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy. It is caused by abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and volatile fatty acids. Toxemia and more importantly how to prevent it.

Pregnancy toxemia affects ewes and does during late gestation and is characterized by partial anorexia and depression often with neurologic signs progressing to recumbency and death. As pregnancy toxaemia and hypocalcaemia require different treatments it is important to be able to understand recognise and prevent both of these diseases in lambing ewe flocks. This article explains the causes of pregnancy ketosis a k a. It most commonly occurs in ewes bearing twin and sometimes large single lambs during the last month of pregnancy when there is a high demand for glucose from the rapidly growing foetuses.

In summary pregnancy toxemia or ketosis is a metabolic disease found mainly in overly fat ewes and ewes carrying twins or larger numbers of multiples. It is seen more often in animals carrying multiple fetuses. It most often affects ewes does pregnant with twins or triplets and is. Late pregnant cows ewes and does in the last six weeks of pregnancy grazing dry poor quality pasture.

Oregon state university small farms page sheep and goat fetuses add 70 of their final birth weight in the last six to eight weeks of gestation. It occurs wherever sheep are raised but it is primarily a disease of sheep raised in intensive farming systems either grazing or when housed during the winter. Conditions when ketosis is likely to occur. Death occurs in two to 10 days in about 80 percent of the cases.

The symptoms outlined above. It occurs in all parts of the world and is an often fatal disease occurring only during the last month of pregnancy.