Pregnant Sheep in a Farm Environment Did Not Develop Anaemia

Anaemia refers to a low red blood cell count and is common during pregnancy in women. Anaemia has been reported in sheep undergoing surgery during pregnancy for biomedical research projects. The incidence and severity of anaemia during pregnancy in sheep is unknown. Three groups of sheep were established: non-pregnant; pregnant with a single lamb; and pregnant with twin lambs. The stage of pregnancy was known as the sheep were mated on a known date and pregnancy was confirmed 50 days later by ultrasound examination. During pregnancy, blood samples were collected to measure red cells in the blood and protein levels. Samples were also collected to ensure that the sheep did not have any risk factors for anaemia, such as nutritional deficiency and internal parasites. Anaemia did not occur in any sheep during the study. Anaemia did not develop during pregnancy and red cell counts and protein levels were similar between each group. All the sheep lambed as expected, except for one that was expecting twins delivered a single lamb