Metabolic Disease in Sheep

Written by Andrew Cribb - Director/Veterinarian, East Coast Farm Vets

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Through late autumn and early winter we tend to see an increase in the amount

of “down ewes.” Invariably, here we are talking about metabolic disease in sheep.

There are three main types of disease:

• Pregnancy Toxaemia (Sleepy Sickness)

• Hypocalcaemia (Milk Fever)

• Hypomagnesaemia (Grass Staggers)

All of these diseases are caused, primarily, by a lack of nutrition in multiple bearing older ewes. The following are factors associated with metabolic disease:

•  A falling plane of nutrition in the last two months of pregnancy. This can be a very real problem where high soil moisture has led to poor utilisation of grass and frosts drop soil temperature and pasture growth.

• Any sudden restriction in feed, for example, scanning, shearing, pre-lamb treatments. These management events need to occur but give thought to planning that these are done as early as possible.

• A lack of shelter in poor weather conditions can prevent sheep from grazing. It also increases their feed requirements.

• Other diseases can prevent sheep from eating. For example, footrot, abscesses, dental problems, parasites, pinkeye etc.

• In intensive rotational grazing systems, some ewes can’t compete for feed and starve.

• Older ewes are more at risk than 2-ths.

• Multiples bearing ewes are more susceptible than singles.

The treatment of these diseases is reliant on a quick diagnosis – what this means is having metabolic treatment in the front of the bike and treating as you see it. Waiting till you go to town to pick some treatment will be too late!

Most treatments will revolve around giving approximately 100ml of some metabolic preparation (Calpromag/Glucaphos) to the affected ewes under the skin. Another option is oral dosing with 60-120ml of equal parts propylene glycol (Ketol and various other brands) and water, which is a straight energy source for the ewe. Getting them up and going is the key to success. In some situations it may be possible to bring the ewe’s home and treat them there.

Milk Fever

• Down or very wobbly before lambing - usually after stress e.g. fresh paddock, cold snap, crutching/drenching

Sleepy Sickness

• Pre-lamb ewe carrying multiples, sleepy, dopey and mostly down - usually after stress and/or not being able to eat for some time

Grass Staggers

• Around lambing time (before and after), ewe has not enough magnesium in system

We encourage you to seriously think about this and have treatment on the front of your bike (and another on your farm), because treatment is cheap and the return on investment is massive!!

This article was published in the Gisborne Herald on 31/05/25.