Postnatal maternal behaviour expression depends on lambing difficulty in Merino ewes.

Dystocia, a prolonged or non-progressive birth event, is the main contributor to lamb mortality in Australia and across the world. Dystocia can cause neonatal hypoxia, central nervous system (CNS) damage leading to increased risk of starvation, exposure and mismothering, and death. These prolonged birth events can also cause fatigue, injury and death in the ewe.

Using Pen-Side Measurable Blood Parameters to Predict or Identify Dystocic Lambing Events.

Dystocia is the greatest contributor to neonatal lamb mortality in Australia and poses significant welfare and economic concerns worldwide. In this study, we set out to investigate whether pen-side analysis technology could be employed to detect blood parameters predictive of dystocic labour events in sheep. In a pilot trial, we collected and analysed blood samples in pen-side assays for glucose, lactate, pH, pCO, pO, base excess, HCO, TCO, sO, lactate, sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, urea nitrogen, creatinine, haematocrit, haemoglobin and anion gap.