Advances in Sheep Welfare

Drewe Ferguson, Caroline Lee, Andrew Fisher

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780081007181
• eBook ISBN: 9780081007273
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Animal Husbandry
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Advances in Sheep Welfare examines the recent advances made in sheep welfare assessment, handling and management, providing state-of-the-art coverage of the welfare needs of one of the world's most widely farmed animals.The book begins with an introduction to sheep welfare in Part One, with chapters covering biology and natural behavior, sheep production systems, and consumer and societal expectations for sheep products. Part Two goes on to highlight new advances in sheep welfare assessment, before Part Three outlines a wide range of solutions to sheep welfare challenges. The final section looks ahead to the future, considering what sheep welfare will look like in 2030 and beyond.This book is an essential part of the wider ranging series Advances in Farm Animal Welfare, with coverage of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.With its expert editors and international team of contributors, Advances in Sheep Welfare is a key reference tool for welfare research scientists and students, veterinarians involved in welfare assessment, and indeed anyone with a professional interest in the welfare of sheep.- Brings together top researchers in the field to provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the understanding of sheep welfare and management- Presents part of a wider series, Advances in Agricultural Animal Welfare, which provides comprehensive coverage of animal welfare of the world's major farmed animals- Highlights current advances and looks ahead to how sheep welfare management will develop in the next ten to fifteen years

Part One

Introduction to Sheep Welfare

Chapter 1: Understanding the natural behaviour of sheep

Chapter 2: Overview of sheep production systems

Chapter 3: Consumer and societal expectations for sheep products

1

Understanding the natural behaviour of sheep

Geoffrey N. Hinch University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

Abstract

The domesticated sheep (Ovis aries) has a diversity of genotypes that are adapted to a wide variety of environments ranging from the tropics to the extreme seasonality of the high latitudes and from deserts to high rainfall areas. This diversity of genotypes (with over 2000 breeds) means that the species is highly adaptable to environmental/climate extremes and to some degree this adaptability is also expressed in variation in the expression of natural behaviours. However, there are a suite of behaviours that have been comprehensively described both for domestic and wild/feral breeds that represent the key behaviours of this species.

There are several books on the behaviour and ethology of animals that include sections or chapters on domestic sheep behaviour. These reviews outline the key behaviours in detail and in some cases discuss the underlying biological controls. It is not the intention in this chapter to re-examine these behaviours in detail, but rather to capture an overall impression of the unique behavioural characteristics of the species, a knowledge of which is essential in the consideration of the welfare of individual sheep.

Keywords

genotypes

ethology

sheep behaviour

biological controls

follower

gregarious species

The domesticated sheep (Ovis aries) has a diversity of genotypes that are adapted to a wide variety of environments ranging from the tropics to the extreme seasonality of the high latitudes and from deserts to high rainfall areas. This diversity of genotypes (with over 2000 breeds) means that the species is highly adaptable to environmental/climate extremes, and to some degree this adaptability is also expressed in variation in the expression of natural behaviours. However, there are a suite of behaviours that have been comprehensively described both for domestic and wild/feral breeds (Grubb and Jewell, 1974; Lynch et al., 1992) that represent the key behaviours of this species.

There are several books on the behaviour and ethology of animals that include sections or chapters on domestic sheep behaviour (Arnold and Dudzinski, 1978; Fraser, 1985; Hafez, 1975; Lynch et al., 1992). These reviews outline the key behaviours in detail and in some cases discuss the underlying biological controls. It is not the intention in this chapter to re-examine these behaviours in detail, but rather to capture an overall impression of the unique behavioural characteristics of the species, a knowledge of which is essential in the consideration of the welfare of individual sheep.

The species has been described as a fearful, gregarious/flocking ruminant and as such organisation and daily expression of behaviours are relatively predictable even though there are a range of adaptations required in different environments. These characteristics are closely aligned with a grazing/ranging species whose natural behaviours are aligned with the need to cover large areas to gather food and whose social organisation facilitates avoidance of predation through formation of large groups. Interestingly, these behaviours are linked with behaviours that facilitate not only movement but also the establishment of close links between mother and precocial offspring.

The main wild Ovis species are found in mountainous and high plain regions of the world, and it is thought that domestication of the mouflon (Ovis musimon) occurred more than 7000 years ago. If we speculate on why this species was domesticated, there are a number of possibilities, including:

• The diversity of products produced (wool, meat and milk).

• The biological adaptability (capable of adapting to extremes of heat and cold, and to fibrous diets and exhibiting large variation in disease resistance) to move to new environments with nomadic herders.

• Behavioural characteristics that facilitate ease of husbandry and management (highly selective herbivores, gregarious, follower behaviours, precocial young, promiscuous mating patterns with dominant male and a body size and low agility that facilitate ease of husbandry).

It could be considered that the fearful nature of the species would have hindered the domestication process with large flight distances making individual identification and care difficult. However, it is likely that some...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part One: Introduction to Sheep Welfare
• Part Two: New Advances in Sheep Welfare Assessment
• Part Three: Current and Future Solutions to Sheep Welfare Challenges
• Part Four: Sheep Welfare Beyond 2020
• Index