BXL
As a sheep farmer, nothing throws a wrench into your operation quite like mastitis. It’s one of the most frustrating and costly diseases in the industry—affecting milk yield, ewe health, lamb growth, and your bottom line. While we’ve long relied on physical observation and milk testing to catch early signs, those methods often come too late. What if you could detect mastitis risk before it becomes visible or clinical?
That’s where ultrasound steps in—and lately, more and more producers across Europe, Australien, and North America are starting to use this technology not just for pregnancy checks, but also for udder health assessment. It’s fast, nicht-invasiv, and surprisingly informative. Let’s break down how ultrasound is helping track mastitis risk in sheep, and why it’s becoming part of a modern farmer’s toolkit.
Why Mastitis in Sheep Is a Big Deal
Mastitis isn’t just a cow problem. It’s a silent threat in sheep flocks, especially in dairy breeds and intensively managed operations. Even in meat-focused flocks, subclinical mastitis can affect milk supply, and that hits lamb growth hard.
The tricky part? Subclinical cases don’t show obvious symptoms. You may not notice until lambs are underweight or ewes start showing udder deformities. At that point, the damage is already done.
Traditional detection methods—like somatic cell counts (SCC), California Mastitis Tests (CMT), and bacterial cultures—are useful, but they’re also time-consuming, expensive, and reactive. By the time results come back, you’ve already lost production.
Enter Ultrasound: A Smarter, Preventative Option
On many progressive farms, ultrasound is already a familiar tool for checking pregnancies. But its utility doesn’t stop there. B-mode ultrasound—especially with high-frequency linear probes—is now being used to scan the udder tissue itself.
So funktioniert's: by placing the probe on the ewe’s udder (usually with a bit of alcohol or gel), you get a real-time image of the internal structure of the mammary gland. A healthy udder shows a consistent, homogeneous pattern. If there are pockets of fluid, fibrotic tissue, or irregular densities, these could point to inflammation or damage long before they’re detectable by hand.
Ultrasound isn’t diagnosing mastitis outright—but it flags ewes at higher risk so you can test or treat them early. That’s a game-changer.
How Farmers Are Using It Practically
Let’s say you’re working through a flock of 200 ewes during lambing season. You suspect some aren’t producing enough milk, but you’re not sure which ones. Using ultrasound, you can:
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Quickly assess the structure of both halves of the udder
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Spot asymmetry or abnormal echogenic patterns
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Flag ewes for milk testing or veterinary follow-up
In practice, the scan takes about 1–2 minutes per ewe. Once you’ve done a few, it becomes second nature. Some farms now include it in pre-breeding checks, just like body condition scoring.
What the Research Is Saying
Veterinary schools and researchers are paying attention too. Ein 2022 study by the University of Murcia in Spain scanned over 500 ewes and found that those with early udder irregularities on ultrasound had a significantly higher chance of developing mastitis later in lactation—even when SCC was normal at the time of the scan.
Similar work in New Zealand, where mastitis control is critical for dairy sheep, showed that farms using ultrasound screening reduced antibiotic use by up to 40%—because they targeted treatment only to at-risk ewes.
Benefits Beyond Just Detection
Using ultrasound for mastitis risk doesn’t just help you catch problems—it also supports better long-term management:
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Culling Decisions: Ewes with chronic udder damage show clear fibrotic patterns. Knowing this early helps prioritize who stays in the flock.
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Zucht-Selektion: By linking ultrasound findings to ewe performance records, you can avoid retaining daughters of chronically affected animals.
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Lamb Growth Monitoring: You can identify poor milk producers early, supplement their lambs, and avoid growth penalties.
What You’ll Need on Your Farm
You don’t need a massive setup to get started. Many handheld, farm-grade ultrasound machines now come with software optimized for soft tissue scanning. Models like the BXL-V10 III oder Easi-Scan are widely used and come with waterproof features, which is a bonus in barn or pasture conditions.
Pro tip: use a 5–7.5 MHz linear probe for the best udder images. Convex probes work too but give a less detailed view of superficial structures.
You’ll also need:
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Ein power source or portable battery (most models run 4–6 hours on battery)
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A bottle of alcohol or gel
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Some patience during your first few sessions
Once you get used to the screen patterns, interpretation becomes intuitive.
The Global Outlook: More Farms, Better Data
In the U.S., veterinary ultrasound in small ruminants is gaining popularity thanks to training programs offered by extension services. In the U.K., DEFRA has funded pilot projects looking at ultrasound-based mastitis prediction in sheep and goats. In Australia and New Zealand, where dairy sheep are more common, some farms have started offering this as part of flock health contracts.
The takeaway? Farmers across different regions, breeds, and production styles are starting to treat ultrasound as a preventative tool—not just a diagnostic one.
Common Ultrasonographic Signs of Udder Issues
Here’s what experienced practitioners look for when scanning udders:
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Hypoechoic zones: May indicate fluid buildup or inflammation
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Hyperechoic bands: Suggest fibrotic or calcified tissue from chronic infection
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Asymmetrical gland size: Often a red flag in subclinical mastitis
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Loss of normal glandular architecture: A sign of severe or chronic damage
Having a vet help interpret early scans is helpful, especially when starting out. Over time, your eye will adjust.
Challenges to Keep in Mind
Ultrasound isn’t perfect. It takes a bit of training, and interpreting images can be subjective without a good reference base. Cost is also a factor—though prices have come down significantly in recent years.
But considering the high cost of mastitis—both in treatment and lost productivity—most farmers find it pays for itself quickly. And with portable ultrasound becoming more affordable, it’s now accessible even to mid-sized and small farms.
Wrapping It Up
Ultrasound is proving to be more than just a pregnancy-check tool. On many sheep farms, it’s quietly becoming one of the best allies in the fight against mastitis. By catching tissue changes early, improving culling decisions, and supporting more precise treatment, this simple technology can prevent a cascade of problems later.
In the end, healthier udders mean stronger lambs, lower vet bills, and more milk where it matters. If you’re already using ultrasound for reproduction, expanding its use for udder health is a logical next step—and one that might just transform your flock management.