Sheep Behaviour Flashcards
Offspring behaviour
“Follower”
Precocial offspring
What type of breeders are sheep
Seasonal
- separate male subgroups at certain times of years
Sheep social grazing beh
Group with about 4 or 5 other sheep when grazing
Maintain visual link (sheep throw their head to check position of others)
Psychological stress induced by isolation can be reduced by…
Providing a mirror
Sheep vision characteristics
Pano = 330-360 (prey species)
Bino = 25-50 (poor depth perception)
Large pupils, built in wide angle lens enhances peripheral vision
Vertical vision sacrificed (looking up)
Sheep hearing characteristics
Sensitive to high pitches
Stress hormones released in response to sudden loud noises = nervous, difficult to handle
Amplify and pinpoint sounds with ears
Sheep smell characteristics
More highly developed than humans
Identifications (ewes + lambs)
During mating = flehmen response to detect ewes in estrus
Detect water, identify differences btw pastures and feeds
Ex of sheep using smell with regards to feed
Prefer to avoid grazing near where other sheep have defecated
Select fresh feed > spoiled
Sheep taste characteristics
Can differentiate between feedstuffs
Sweet and sour plants > bitter plants (rejected)
Sheep touch characteristics
Lambs seek body contact with dams and ewes respond to this touch (e.g. milk let down in response to nuzzling)
Dominance in sheep
Grazing flock = no signs
Small domestic flocks, sheep compete for small amounts of food by pushing/shoving. Competitive feeding situations = linear hierarchy
Dominance fights occur more within…
single sex, single aged groups than in mixed sex/age groups or families
Social groups in sheep
Stable
Not randomly dispersed
Strong bond can form between two animals = dependence
Shaped by anti-predator and foraging strategies
Examples of different breeds having different flock structures
Merinos are a tightly knit flock, rarely form subgroups
Southdowns form few subgroups
Dorsets always form many subgroups
Sheltering behaviour in sheep
If shade is available it is used, if not they shade their heads under flanks or btw hind legs of other sheep
Where do sheep graze
Into the wind on treeless plains (in hot weather)
On cold wet days, they huddle in the down-wind corner of the paddock (shelters should be placed here)
Slide 16
Camping behaviour??
Grazing periods in sheep, how long they graze and what affects grazing
Early morning and late afternoon
5-10 hours/day
Affected by day length, environmental factors, breed, availability of pasture and water
Why do sheep have a cleft upper lip
Allows for very close grazing
Is there a relationship between dominance and mating behaviour
No, dominant ram does not necessarily mate the most
What stimulates rams sexual beh
Not stimulated by seeing others mount
Exposure to recently mated rams increases sexual performance of other rams
Odour of estrus ewe
Sexual behaviour of the ewe
Proceptive
-> seeks out male and stays close to him
Lambing and post lambing behaviours
Some ewes stay with the flock, others leave
Vigorously licks lamb and eats fetal membranes
Lamb finds teat within 1-2 hours
When does fostering need to occur
Strange lambs may be accepted immediately following birth
Rejection rate increases after 12h
Restimulate ewe through simulated delivery and own lamb odours on strange lamb
