Should You Pregnancy Scan Your Ewes?

Pregnancy testing in ewes is performed via trans-abdominal ultrasound. The ideal time for this procedure is from 45 days of gestation (7 weeks after rams out). Scanning for empty / pregnant or for multiple pregnancy can be performed and a report and interpretation of results should be provided. Pregnancy testing can also be used as one part of an investigation of poor reproduction performance in a flock.

The decision to pregnancy scan ewes, either for empty/pregnant or multiples, is an important one. The economic benefit of pregnancy scanning is greater in situations where there are more dry ewes in the mob, where there are more twin-bearing ewes in the mob, and in poor seasons where a feed shortage and/or high feeding costs have been predicted. 

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