sheep Flashcards

1
Q

domestic sheep are (scientific name)

A

ovis aries
(there are 6 other species of wild sheep_

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

sheep are

A

even toed ungulate ruminants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

ewe

A

female

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

ram

A

intact male

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

wether

A

castrated male

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

lamb

A

younger than 12 months

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

hogget/ mutton

A

once permanent incisors in wear:
hogget (animal) or mutton (meat product)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

polled

A

hornless

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

national number of sheep

A

currently up

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

where are 1/2 of australias sheep

A

in NSW and victoria

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

most farms have (in terms of size)

A

relatively small flocks (~2500 head)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

wool production is declining due to

A
  • fluctuating wool prices
  • competition from other enterprises, including meat
  • drought
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

how much of aus wool is exported

A

98%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

fleece is made up of

A

individual fibres grown by follicles

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what determines the characteristics of wool produced

A

follicle makeup (ex bulb size, follicle number, density)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

nutrition (mostly protein) is a major factor influencing

A

wool growth, it takes about 3 months to be relfected

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

true or false sheep originally evolved to shed fleece

A

true; this has been bred out of them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

wool biology from out to in

A

outer membrane
cuticle
cortex
medulla

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

wool characteristics

A
  • diameter is most important (micron)
  • measures the average diameter in um of wool fibres in.a sales lot
  • increasing demand for lower diameter; aus shifting focus to finer wool
  • constant plane of nutrition needed to minimize deviations in diameter along fibre
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what is a fine wool

A

less than 20 um

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

staple length

A

length of un unshorn lock of wool

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

staple strength

A

force required to break a staple; closely related to diameter variability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

tender wool

A

has weak spots, low staple strength

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

position of break

A

where wool breaks during strength tests
related to diameter variability
breaks in the middle are not ideal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what is heavy contamination of vegetable matter in wool

A

more than 2% weight
lowers value of wool
costly to remove

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

what three things feed into profitability of wool enterprises

A
  • feed (availability and digestibility)
  • stocking rate
  • lambing percent
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

major production driver for wool is

A

stocking rate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

the amount of wool being produced is increasing in australia

A

false; number of sheep going up but wool production going down

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

aus sheep meat industry, whats going up whats going down

A
  • Mutton production; decreasing
  • Lamb production; increasing
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

hock

A

important for handling, middle back of leg

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

loin

A

middle/lower back; important cut of meat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

dry ewe

A

no lamb

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

wet ewe

A

has lamb, lactating, full udder

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

how to sex sheep

A
  • female has pink triangular vulva
  • intact male have large testes that almost look like udder
  • males also have teets
  • females also have horns, so be careful
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

prime lamb aka lamb

A
  • meat from sheep younger than one year
  • preferred over mutton
  • pink to pale red coloured
  • tender, mild flavour
  • grilled, braised or roasted
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

mutton

A
  • meat from sheep 1-3 yo
  • pop in middle east and europe
  • deep red, lots of fat
  • strong flavour, gamey
  • best for slow cooking
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

store

A

sheep in moderate condition, will typically be sold at auction either for future breeding or finishing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

finishing

A

targeted feeding (on pasture or in a feedlots) of sheep tor each desired weight and fat cover

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

general meat lamb lifecycle

A
  • new born lamb
  • 8-14 weeks sucker/ weaner, over 20kg
  • another 4 weeks later store maintenance
  • depending on target system for timing but then finishing to become finished lamb
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

how much of aus sheep meat is exported? what are the biggest markets?

A

73%
china, us and uae

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

live export

A
  • transported by boat
  • 1 million per year, 97% from WA
  • largely to middle east
  • allows for all parts of animal to be used
  • local job creation
  • reduced cost
  • religious requirements
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

meat quality want to assess

A

leanness, muscularity and quality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

how do you judge meat quality

A
  • carcase yield ( fat thickness and distribution vs muscle)
  • muscle development (legs, loin, shoulder, ribs)
  • colour and firmness (meat and fat)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

what 3 things feed into profitability for sheep meat/ lamb meat enterprises

A

output (kg) per joining, stocking rate and growth rate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

major production driver for meat is

A

growth rate
(genetics, lactation of ewes, feed availability/ quality)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

maternal sire

A

rams of this breed are crossed to produced good mothers (for rearing lambs)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

terminal sire

A

rams of this breed are crossed to produce good lamb for eating

terminal= offspring are terminated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

wool breed

A

merino (also used for mutton and lamb)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

maternal sire breeds

A
  • border leicester
  • coopworth
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
50
Q

terminal sire breeds

A
  • poll dorset
  • texel
  • suffolk
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
51
Q

way to classify sheep breeds

A
  • merino
  • british long wool
  • british short wool
  • dual purpose
  • shedding
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
52
Q

merino

A
  • different strains such as spanish, saxon, peppin, south aus, vermont, rambouillet
  • merino are predominant breed in aus (>80%)
  • developed and used extensively for wool, but also used for mutton and lamb
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
53
Q

border leicester

A
  • british long wool
  • coarse wool large frame
  • most popular first cross sires
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
54
Q

romney (marsh)

A
  • british long wool
  • coarse wool, large frame
  • excellent mothers, used for prime lamb
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
55
Q

breeds of british long wool

A
  • border leicester
  • romney (marsh)
  • english leicester
  • lincoln
  • cheviot - terminal sire
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
56
Q

poll dorset

A
  • british short wool
  • most popular prime lab (terminal) sires
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
57
Q

suffolk/ white suffolk

A
  • british short wool
  • suffolk have white wool, black faces and feet
  • white suffolk all white; developed for aus conditions, very hardy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
58
Q

british short wool breeds

A
  • poll dorset
  • suffolk/ white suffolk
  • southdown
  • texel
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
59
Q

dual purpose breeds

A
  • corriedale
  • polwarth
  • coopworth
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
60
Q

shedding breeds

A
  • wiltshire; english, less hardy
  • dorper; south african; hardy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
61
Q

self replacing

A
  • One of Most common type of production system
  • Breed doesn’t matter
  • Breeding and ram and a ewe of same breed: Rams purchased in; new genetics into flock
  • Produces a pure-bred lamb → become ewes, rams and wethers
  • Ewes are kept in a self replacing flock; they grow into adults we get wool from but we also breed them, they end up in same position as their mothers
  • May not keep all ewe lambs however, because it’s an opportunity for selection (ex may cull ones w lower quality wool etc)
  • Males are sold (as producers or meat)
  • Some people will keep the males, particularly if they are wethers (castrated) not for breeding, because want to bring in outside genetics, keep them for wool only
  • Sources of income:
    wether/ram sales
    Wool (ewes, rams)
    Meat (from the culls ie the females we don’t want to select for or males too)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
62
Q

first cross

A
  • Start mixing breeds
  • Ewe of any breed mixed with maternal sire ram
  • Produces a first cross lamb ; first cross ewes may be used as prime lambs (meat +/- wool) or used for breeding (goes into second cross)
  • Male lambs end up as prime lamb (meat)
  • Income:
    First cross ewe sales
    Meat (prime lamb, culls)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
63
Q

second cross

A
  • breed a first cross ewe and a terminal sire ram
  • Produces a second cross lamb which are ALL used for prime lamb meat
  • why its called terminal sire ram because offspring are terminated lol they are only used for meat)
  • income
    Wool (first cross ewes)
    Meat (prime lamb, culls)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
64
Q

wether flock sources of income

A

wool or meat from culls

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
65
Q

Australian sheep breeding values (ASBVs)

A

Better breeding values; better genetics; better offspring etc
A lot more informed purchasing of sheep, more evidence based

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
66
Q

new technology

A
  • Smart tags;
    Real time location; resource utilization
    Mating and progeny records
    Alert system (estrus, lambing, predation)
  • Remote monitoring
    Ex walk over weigh, trough camera
    Minimizing labor requirements
    Increasing sheep welfare
  • Farm wifi
    Allows an integrated tech based precision approach to farming
67
Q

4 major health concerns in sheep productions

A

internal parasites
external parasites
infectious disease
foot disease

68
Q

internal parasites notable examples

A
  • barbers pole worm
  • black scour worm
  • small brown stomach worm
  • thin- necked intestinal worm
69
Q

internal parasites symptoms

A

anaemia
bottle jaw (oedema)
scours

70
Q

internal parasites treatment

A

anthelmintic drench

71
Q

internal parasites preventative husbandry

A
  • monitoring worm burden
  • rotational grazing
72
Q

external parasites notable examples

A
  • sheep lice
  • blowflies
73
Q

external parasites symptoms

A
  • itching, wool rubbing
  • dullness/ depression, kicking and tail shaking
  • stain wool and skin lesions
74
Q

external parasites treatment

A
  • insecticide
  • shearing
  • antibiotics/ anti-inflammatories for fly strike
75
Q

external parasites preventative husbandry

A
  • tail docking and mulesing
  • crutching
  • insecticide
76
Q

infectious disease notable examples

A
  • johne’s disease (OJD)
  • clostridial disease (tetanus, blackleg, pulpy kidney)
  • ovine brucellosis
  • foot and mouth disease
77
Q

infectious disease symptoms

A

disease dependent: wasting, dullness, depression, dehydration, infertility, abortion

78
Q

infectious disease treatment

A
  • drug based treatment
  • supportive care
  • euth
79
Q

infectious disease preventative husbandry

A
  • vaccine
  • biosecurity
80
Q

foot disease notable examples

A
  • foot rot
  • assesses
  • shelly hoof
81
Q

foot disease symptoms

A
  • lameness
  • red and weepy between toes
  • separation of horn from foot
82
Q

foot disease treatment

A
  • footbathing, antibiotics
83
Q

foot disease preventative husbandry

A
  • foot trimming (paring)
  • grazing management in wet conditions
84
Q

routine husbandry in sheep: general

A
  • lamb marking
  • shearing
  • weaning
85
Q

routine husbandry in sheep: health relaed

A
  • jetting/ dipping/ backlining
  • drenching
  • vaccination
  • foot care
86
Q

routine husbandry in sheep: reproduction

A
  • joining/ AI
  • preg scanning
  • wet drying
87
Q

life cycle husbandry procedures is
lamb marking –> weaning –> annual cycle

what does annual cycle consist of

A
  • crutching
  • drenching
  • joining
  • shearing
  • preg scanning
  • vaccination
88
Q

lamb marking procedures

A
  • vaccine
  • ear tagging, ear marking
  • castration
  • tail docking
  • mulesing
89
Q

recommended age for lamb marking

A

2-8 weeks ideal
before 12 weeks preferable

90
Q

vaccines for preg ewes

A

to give lambs passive immunity until lamb marking where lambs are vaccinated

91
Q

lamb marking vaccines

A

5 in 1 or 7 in 1
gudair
scabigard

92
Q

lamb marking ear tagging

A
  • ID tag; RFID for NLIS; mandatory
  • may also do notch on ear
  • tag colours based on year of birth with 8 yr rotation
  • males tag in left ear, females tag in right
93
Q

lamb marking- castration

A
  • ease of management; less aggression and no unwanted mating
  • improvements in meat quality
  • 98% done w rubber ring
  • 2% surgical
  • surgical removal involves cutting into scrotum, and TEARING testes not cutting
94
Q

lamb marking; tail docking

A
  • removal of distal tail
  • reduce risk of flystrike due to build up of feces/ urine scalding
  • rubber ring most
  • hot knife; also used commonly
  • sharp knife 3%
  • left to 3rd palpable joint; should cover anus/ vulva
  • cut should be one clean pass
95
Q

lamb marking; mulesing

A
  • removal of wool bearing skin from tail/ breech
  • reduce risk of flystrike due to build up of feces/ urine
  • common for merinos
  • aim is to remove skin only; facia should remain intact
    -national mulesing accreditation program provides training
96
Q

weaning

A
  • management of growing lambs and allows ewes to recover before rebreeding
  • around 12 weeks old
  • at weaning lambs receive booster vaccine and general health check
  • lambs often provided a ration before weaning (imprint feeding)
97
Q

shearing

A
  • typically shorn one annually or once every 6 months
  • timing depends on sheep condition, season, weather, and wool parameters
  • meat sheep still need shearing
98
Q

crutching

A
  • removal of wool from breech area
  • reduce risk of flystrike due to build up of feces/ urine
  • if annual shearing crutching occurs 6 months behind
  • timed to coincide w high flystrike risk periods
  • may also include removal of wool form face, underside and prepuce
99
Q

jetting, dipping and backlining

A
  • jetting; high pressure application, longer wool
  • dipping; submersion, longer wool
  • backlining; applied along back, immediately after shearing

all topical insecticides for lice and flystrike

100
Q

drenching

A

oral anthelmintic for worm treatment, dose based on weight
drench resistance growing issue; need targeted drenching

101
Q

annual vaccines

A

SQ injection in neck, protection against common diseases like clostridial and cheesy gland
- typically within 4 weeks of lambing for ewes or joining for ramns

102
Q

foot care

A
  • trimming and foot bathing in zinc sulphate
  • treatment and prevention of foot pathologies and infection
  • trimming often not required if sheep on pasture
103
Q

paddock mating; how many rams to ewes

A

1-2% ramns
- joining lasts 5 weeks
- 90-95% of ewes may become preggo

104
Q

when is preg scanning done

A

40-70 days post joining
done by scanning specialist not a vet
only 42% farms do this

105
Q

wet/ drying

A

determining if ewes are rearing a lamb, have lambed and lost or had earlier preg loss, done by assessing udder, typically done at lamb marking
ewes who fail to rear lambs are culled

106
Q

why husbandry important

A

welfare, productivity, cost of prevention vs loss

107
Q

basic clinical exam; wool

A
  • discolouration (often green= fleece rot)
  • signs of skin irritation/ weeping
  • signs of weak points in the wool
  • lice
108
Q

basic clinical exam; BCS

A

1-5, acceptable score will depend on context : sex, time of year, conditions

109
Q

basic clinical exam; famacha/ fecal egg count

A

level of anaemia from barbers pole worm infection; under eye
- famacha; 1-5 where 1 is best
fecal egg count to assess worm burden

both are to help strategically drench

110
Q

basic clinical exam; aging

A
  • look at teeth, 1 pair per year
  • 1 pair; 1 …. 4 pairs; 4 full mouth
  • older they get more space in between teeth, missing/ broken teeth
111
Q

basic clinical exam; udder

A

female breeding soundness exam
functional udder crucial for rearing lambs

112
Q

basic clinical exam; male BSE

A

breeding soundness exam, perform 10 weeks before joining

113
Q

basic clinical exam; feet

A

check outer horn, inner soft sole and interdigital space
between toes should be clean, dry and pink
nasty smell or discharge = trouble

114
Q

temp and rainfall drive

A
  • pasture availability/ quality
  • which determines:
  • when conditions are good for pregnancy
  • stocky density and extensively or not
  • also disease/ parasites rely on wet/humid and warm conditions

all of this means:
a calendar of operations will be specific to a sheep producing region

115
Q

why is lamb timing important

A

want to match feed requirements of lambing ewes and pasture availability

116
Q

when assessing health and determining disease risk always consider

A
  • geographical region and environmental conditions
  • time during calendar of operations
  • age, sex, condition, breed of sheep
  • experience of producer
117
Q

worm and flystrike risk highest with

A

high rainfall and higher temps

118
Q

sheep sight

A

excellent peripheral vision (prey species), but poor depth perception

119
Q

sheep sound

A

excellent hearing, can direct ear towards sounds, disturbed by high pitched and loud noises

120
Q

sheep smell

A

v sensitive sense of smell, can distinguish predators, receptive ewes and lambs, can locate water and particular feeds

121
Q

sheep taste

A

less important, can play into feed selection

122
Q

sheep touch

A

most sensitive on the nose and mouth (no long wool)

123
Q

social behaviour

A
  • very strong flocking (herding) behaviour (prey response)
  • flocking instinct is breed dependent; merinos most gregarious
  • too much pressure applied, one sheep will break away and others will follow
  • sheep much more likely to follow others than move into empty space alone
  • agitated if separated from the flock
  • always move, handle and house sheep in groups where possible
  • prefer their own breed
  • vocal communication common
124
Q

aggression

A
  • domestication have favoured docility
  • aggression typically between rams, but ewes can be aggressive if threatened
  • more common during breeding season
125
Q

aggressive behaviours

A
  • snorting
  • hoof stomping
  • ramming (head to head, head to flank)
  • pawing (flank)
126
Q

play behaviours

A
  • common in lambs, sometimes in adults
  • play behaviours
  • climbing
  • trotting
  • head tossing
  • rearing
  • bucking
127
Q

what alert behaviour do they show

A
  • turn, watch and listen, only return to grazing when they determine no threat
  • mostly flight response, but sometimes defensive (ewes with lambs)
128
Q

how often graze

A
  • 8 hours a day at dawn/ dusk/ afternoon, sometimes overnight
  • feeding bouts of 20-90mins up to 9x a day
129
Q

describe they feed selection

A

discriminatory eating

130
Q

when do lambs begin grazing

A

from 2 weeks

131
Q

require ___kg DM per day

A

2-4

132
Q

rumination

A
  • will chew their cud
  • regurgitation of consumed food to chew it further
  • depends on diet, averages about 1/3 if day
  • lag period between end of feeding and start of rumination
133
Q

how often do lambs and adults sleep

A

lambs 8-12 h/day
adults 4 h/day

134
Q

sleeping behaviour

A
  • sleep in short naps
  • middle of day
  • resting at night= camping
  • sternal recumbency
135
Q

ram and ewe mating behaviour

A

ram; courting behaviours (sniffing, licking, pawing), flehman response, mounting

ewe; urination, standing to be mounted

136
Q

birth behaviours

A
  • ewes isolate, seek shelter
  • restless
  • ewe rapidly cleans lamb to remove membranes
  • licking/ olfactory stimuli help bonding
137
Q

in regards to maternal behaviours merino ewes often

A

mismother (9% singles, 15% twins, 24% triplets); head-butting, abandoning lambs

138
Q

need minimum ___ sheep for normal flocking behaviour

A

4-5

139
Q

sheep are good at hiding

A

pain

140
Q

when assessing welfare look for absence of normal behaviours such as

A
  • not eating
  • isolation from flock
  • no flight response
  • physiological responses to pain
  • elevated heart rate
  • high cortisol
141
Q

industry standard

A

typical procedures within an industry, the norm

142
Q

guideline

A

suggestion of how procedures should ideally operate, typically made by experts

A SHOULD

143
Q

standards aka legislation

A

acts, regulations; legal requirement for procedures, punishment for failure to follow, this is the law

A MUST

144
Q

___ in 10 producers have NOT read the welfare standards/ guidelines; which means

A

4

vets must know it

145
Q

some concerns around lamb marking

A
  • invasive
  • risk of infection and flystrike of open wounds
  • short tail docking can lead to rectal prolapse and vulval cancer
  • risk of disrupting maternal bond by separating ewes and lambs
  • mulesing remains a highly political; likely to be driven out by consumers+ textile industry
146
Q

pain relief requirements

A
  • not required for lambs under 6 months except in Vic
  • guidelines duggest pain relief where practical and cost effective
  • pain relief is required if over 6 months in all states
147
Q

pain relief products

A
  • tri solfen, does not require prescription; post op spray; local anaesthetic+ antiseptic
  • numOcaine; injected local anaesthetic
  • meloxicam; pre op injected or oral NSAID
148
Q

main reason why producers do not use pain relief

A

They don’t use pain relief because they don’t think they need to or they have never thought about it

149
Q

in terms of pain relief important part of vets role is education of the client on things like

A
  • The level of pain caused by procedures
  • How pain can negatively impact production outcomes
  • What pain relief is available and suitable
150
Q

currently what percent of merino producers still muse

A

48%

150
Q

age limits for mulesing

A

not less than 24 hours or over 12 months old

151
Q

alternatives for mulesing

A
  • Skin removal clips (closed technique)
    selecting/ culling sheep based on breech cover, skin wrinkle, worm resistance and previous strike
  • Strategic use of chemicals, crutching and worm control
  • Been trying to phase it out for 13 years
152
Q

currently what percent of producers tail dock

A

95%

153
Q

currently what percent of producers castrate males

A

98%

154
Q

long distance transport concerns

A
  • food and water restriction
  • limited free movement
  • ammonia build up
  • high temps
  • stress
155
Q

for road transport strict requirements on

A
  • time off water/ minimum spell
  • loading density (based on weight)
  • vehicle design to ensure airflow
  • animals being fit to load
156
Q

for live transport; new legislation since 2021 rules say

A
  • no export during north hemisphere summer
  • vessels must have appropriate ventilation and automated watering systems
  • reduced notifiable mortality to 1% (from 2%)
  • daily heat stress scoring
157
Q

live transport strategies

A
  • feed high fibre feed before transport to keep them full
  • segregating different classes of sheep
  • sheep should have shortest hair length possible
  • BCS should be 2-4
  • feedlot prep to introduce sheep to rations
158
Q

drought concerns

A
  • reduce food and water availability leading to
  • starvation
  • physical trauma
  • ingestion of sand, dirt and poisonous plants
  • increased disease spread and severity
  • gut issues when feeding supplemental feed
159
Q

strategies for minimizing poor welfare in drought

A
  • reduce stocking numbers by destocking, agistment or euth
  • minimize handling and travel for food and water
  • provide supplementary feed, but introduce slowly
  • eliminate competitors
  • control worms, lice and flystrike; sheep in poor condition much more susceptible
  • keep vaccinations up to date
  • provide adequate, bog- proof water points
  • monitor stock more regularly, intervene and euthanize animals as appropriate to avoid suffering
160
Q

slaughter concerns

A
  • sickness and injury following travel
  • hunger/ thirst during lairage
  • stress due to mixing w diff animals, rough handling, unfamiliar environment
  • distress associated w seeing/ hearing/ smelling fear, pain and euth of other animals
  • pain and suffering during euth
161
Q

ethical concerns about killing animals for consumption are separate to

A

welfare concerns

162
Q

slaughter: strategies for humane slaughter

A
  • animals monitored and treated or humanely euthanized if sick or injured
  • avoid lairage if possible, otherwise provide water (always) and food if over 24 hours
  • avoid mixing unfamiliar animals, minimize time to slaughter
  • good facility design
  • low stock handling
  • sheep made unconscious by electrical stunning or captive bolt prior to bleed out
163
Q

legislation is all

A

state based and standards are not always laws