Register      Login
Animal Production Science Animal Production Science Society
Food, fibre and pharmaceuticals from animals
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AN > EA05320
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(7)

Effects of dietary fibre and feeding frequency on wool biting and aggressive behaviours in housed Merino sheep

S. Vasseur A B , D. R. Paull A , S. J. Atkinson A , I. G. Colditz A and A. D. Fisher A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Livestock Industries, FD McMaster Laboratory Chiswick, Locked Bag 1, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

B INA P-G, Institut National Agronomique de Paris-Grignon, 16 rue Claude Bernard, 75 231 Paris Cédex 05, France.

C Corresponding author. Email: andrew.fisher@csiro.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46(7) 777-782 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA05320
Submitted: 17 November 2005  Accepted: 2 April 2006   Published: 8 June 2006

Abstract

Wool biting is a behaviour that can develop in housed sheep, in which sheep start to bite and eat the wool of others. The aim of this study was to determine whether (i) supplementing the diet of housed sheep with fibre and (ii) increasing feeding frequency would help to reduce wool biting, aggressive behaviours and wool damage. In a 2 × 2 factorial experiment, 40 Merino wethers were either fed with lucerne-based pellets only, or with pellets supplemented with barley straw. They received their pellets either on a low feeding frequency basis (once a day Monday to Friday mornings, double ration on Friday afternoon, nothing Saturdays and Sundays), or on a high feeding frequency basis (twice a day, every day). The sheep were housed in 4 treatment pens, each with 10 animals. Wool biting and aggressive behaviours were recorded through direct observation and the sheep were scored for wool damage twice a week during the 15-week study. The provision of fibre had a significant effect on reducing wool biting (P<0.001) and wool damage score (P<0.001). There was no consistent effect of feeding frequency on wool biting or wool damage, and no fibre × feeding frequency interactions. Whereas wool biting in general increased with time during the study (P<0.001), levels of aggressive behaviour showed no consistent time trend, and there were no effects of fibre or feeding frequency treatments. It is concluded that wool biting is largely a redirected behaviour in concentrate-fed housed sheep deprived of adequate levels of activity or oral stimulus, and that the provision of roughage will reduce the development of wool biting and improve animal welfare in housed experimental sheep.


Acknowledgments

We thank Christine Leger, Troy Kalinowski, Peter Bradley, Eliane Duflou, Jim Lea, Mandy Choice, Kerri Tyrrell and Sandra Eady for their assistance in the conduct of the study, as well as Laurie Piper and Brad Hine for their help in statistical analyses.


References


Arnold GW , Dudzinski ML (1978) ‘Ethology of free-ranging domestic animals.’(Elsevier: Amsterdam)

Barber J, Brooks PH, Carpenter JL (1991) The effect of four levels of food on the water intake and water to food ratio of growing pigs. Animal Production 52, 602– . open url image1

Bergeron R, Bolduc J, Ramonet Y, Meunier-Salaun MC, Robert S (2000) Feeding motivation and stereotypies in pregnant sows fed increasing levels of fibre and/or food. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 70, 27–40.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Campion DP, Leek BF (1996) Mechanical stimulation of rumination in sheep by the intraruminal addition of inert fibre particles. Animal Science 62, 71–77. open url image1

Cooper JJ, Mcall N, Johnson S, Davidson HPB (2005) The short-term effects of increasing meal frequency on stereotypic behaviour of stabled horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 90, 351–364.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dudzinski ML, Arnold GW (1979) Factors influencing the grazing behaviour of sheep in a Mediterranean climate. Applied Animal Ethology 5, 125–144.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lofgreen GP, Meyer JH, Hull JL (1957) Behavior patterns of sheep and cattle being fed pasture or soilage. Journal of Animal Science 16, 773–780. open url image1

Lynch JJ , Hinch GN , Adams DB (1992) ‘The Behaviour of Sheep: Biological Principles and Implications for Production.’ (CAB International: Wallingford)

Odberg FO (1978) Abnormal behaviours: stereotypies. In ‘Proceedings of the First World Congress on Ethology Applied to Zootechnics’. (Ed. J Garsi) p. 475. (Industrias Graficas: Espana)

Payne R , Murray D , Harding S , Baird D , Soutar D , Lane P (2003) ‘GenStat® for WindowsTM (7th Edition) Introduction.’ (Lawes Agricultural Trust: Rothamsted, UK)

Sambraus HH (1985) Mouth-based anomalous syndromes. In ‘Ethology of farm animals’. (Ed. AF Fraser) pp. 391–422. (Elsevier: Amsterdam).

Whittaker X, Spoolder HAM, Edwards SA, Lawrence AB, Corning S (1998) The influence of dietary fibre and the provision of straw on the development of stereotypic behaviour in food restricted pregnant sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 61, 89–102.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Yurtman IY, Savas T, Karaagac F, Coskuntuna L (2002) Effects of daily protein intake levels on the oral stereotypic behaviours in energy restricted lambs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 77, 77–88. open url image1