An assessment of a method of manual pregnancy diagnosis in the ewe

The recto-abdominal palpation method of ovine pregnancy diagnosis described by Hulet (1972) was carried out on 167 ewes in three flocks. The results showed a virtual 100 per cent accuracy of diagnosis between pregnancy and non-pregnancy and approximately 70 per cent overall accuracy in differentiating single from multiple pregnancies. At least 34 ewes aborted and five died. It was concluded that the method as carried out was neither safe nor accurate enough to justify any savings consequent upon more efficient food usage.