Why the last weeks change the feeding maths
Most of a lamb's birth weight is put on in the final third of pregnancy, at exactly the stage when the growing lambs take up room the ewe's rumen used to occupy. She needs more from every mouthful while physically able to hold less bulk, and she needs it steadily — a ewe who dips into her own body reserves too fast in late pregnancy is at risk of pregnancy toxaemia, one of the most dangerous conditions of the lambing season. That squeeze is why late-pregnancy feeding is planned, not improvised, and why the question is always answered in terms of the ewe's condition and how many lambs she carries.
Building the ration in general terms
Good-quality hay or haylage stays the foundation, offered freely so the rumen keeps working between feeds. On top of that base, a suitable ewe concentrate is introduced gradually — starting well before the final weeks, in small amounts, and built up in steps so the rumen adapts — and it is fed little and often, split into at least two feeds a day rather than one large one, because a single big grain meal courts digestive upset and acidosis. Sudden changes of feed type are avoided for the same reason. Clean water, a sheep-formulated mineral, and dry lying matter alongside the ration itself. Exact amounts belong to your flock's situation — breed, forage quality, litter size and condition — and are best set with a vet or sheep nutrition adviser who has seen your forage and your ewes.
Condition scoring beats guesswork
Hands-on condition scoring — feeling the fat and muscle cover over the loin — is the flock keeper's steering wheel in late pregnancy, because fleece hides both the ewe who is slipping thin and the one quietly getting overfat, and both extremes lamb badly. Ewes are best grouped and fed by need: singles, twins, triplets where scanning has told you, and thin ewes pulled into a better-fed group early rather than rescued late. A ewe whose condition falls despite increased feed is not a feeding problem to solve harder — she is a vet case, because illness, teeth or parasites may be behind it.
The warning signs that mean the vet, today
A late-pregnancy ewe who goes off her feed, stands apart from the flock, looks dull or wobbly, grinds her teeth or goes down and cannot rise is an emergency case, not a wait-until-morning one: pregnancy toxaemia moves fast and early treatment is the difference that matters. Breath with a sweet, pear-drop smell in an off-feed ewe is another classic flag. Call the vet first and describe what you are seeing rather than drenching or treating on guesswork. Having each ewe's scanning result, condition scores and current ration recorded in her KinsLe Pet Passport means that call — and any visit that follows — starts from her real history instead of a memory of the flock in general.