Animal Sciences Commons^™

Growing Weaner Sheep, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

Weaners are the most difficult class of sheep to manage effectively, largely because they usually cannot consume enough energy while grazing dry pastures and crop stubbles.

There are a number of techniques you can apply to ensure your weaners are effectively managed, including setting and meeting growth targets, being vigilant on health and disease management and ensuring the weaners have their protein and energy needs met.

Western Australian Sheep Producer Survey 2018, Mandy Curnow, Janet Conte

Animal production and livestock published reports

This survey was commissioned in 2018 by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), following earlier surveys in 2011 and 2014 conducted as part of national producer surveys for the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Innovation (Sheep CRC). This report is therefore able to analyse respondents’ flock management over time.

The surveys were conducted by telephone with producers who had more than 500 sheep and were located in the Medium Rainfall Zone (MRZ) or Cereal Sheep Zone (CSZ). The sample sizes for the 2011, 2014 and 2018 surveys were 369, 368 and 389 respectively.

Pulling The Wool From Our Eyes, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin review evidence of the complexity of sheep cognition, concluding that researchers ought to feel sheepish about misrepresenting ovine cognitive capacities. However, the failure to situate the data in critical context risks pulling the wool over readers’ eyes.

Domestication And Cognitive Complexity, David R. Brodbeck, Madeleine I. R. Brodbeck, Keeghan Rosso

Animal Sentience

Marino and Merskin (2019) list a number of tasks that sheep can perform well. As comparative psychologists, we are not surprised by these results. Indeed, many domesticated animal species show similar abilities.

Sheep Complexity Outside The Laboratory, Cheryl Abbate

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin’s review shows that sheep are intelligent and highly social but their methodology has some shortcomings. I describe five problems with reviewing only the academic and scientific literature and suggest how one might provide an even more compelling case for the complexity of sheep minds.

The Problem Is Not Discourses Of Production; It Is Production Itself, Sean Hermanson

Animal Sentience

The mistreatment of sheep is not because of fables, stereotypes, unconscious cultural paradigms, our collective consciousness, anthropocentricism, human arrogance, or our drive to dominate. Nonetheless, protections for sheep used in research and agriculture ought to be strengthened.

Is Knowing Enough To Change Human Attitudes And Actions?, Liv Baker

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin present evidence on key aspects of cognition, such as theory of mind, learning, emotional valence, and sociality, to make a convincing argument that sheep are due consideration as individual sentient beings. With this information, what will it take to produce a real, meaningful shift in our attitudes and actions towards other animals, including a species as disadvantaged as sheep? What else do we need to know?

The Intelligence Of Sheep, David Gamez

Animal Sentience

This commentary suggests how recent theories about the predictive brain could help us understand the evidence put forward by Marino & Merskin for intelligence in sheep. I contrast predictive intelligence in sheep with automatic behaviors that do not require intelligence, and I consider the flexibility of sheep intelligence.

Cognition, Emotion, Personality And The Conservation And Management Of Wild Ungulates, Rob Found

Animal Sentience

Increasing public understanding of the complexity of wild ungulates can improve animal welfare and advance global conservation efforts of these keystone species. Unfortunately, shaping public opinion on wild species is challenging because personal experience with wildlife is declining, popular education is still biased towards the predator instead of the prey, and scientific research is more difficult to conduct on wild ungulates compared to those on farms, in zoos, or otherwise in captivity. Nevertheless, studies of cognition, individuality, and intelligence of wild ungulates are increasing. I briefly highlight some major results from my own work on complexity in wild elk, illustrating …

What Should We Do About Sheep? The Role Of Intelligence In Welfare Considerations, Heather Browning

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin (2019) demonstrate that sheep are more cognitively complex than typically thought. We should be cautious in interpreting the implications of these results for welfare considerations to avoid perpetuating mistaken beliefs about the moral value of intelligence as opposed to sentience. There are, however, still important ways in which this work can help improve sheeps’ lives.

Intelligence, Complexity, And Individuality In Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are among the earliest animals domesticated for human use. They are consumed worldwide as mutton, hogget, and lamb, kept as wool and milk producers, and used extensively in scientific research. The popular stereotype is that sheep are docile, passive, unintelligent, and timid, but a review of the research on their behavior, affect, cognition, and personality reveals that they are complex, individualistic, and social.

Deepening Our Understanding Of Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Our Response is centered on five major themes: (1) our presentation of human mythologies about sheep; (2) the relevance of cognitive complexity (“intelligence”) as a dimension underlying the way people perceive and treat sheep; (3) whether our review is too anthropocentric or anthropomorphic; (4) animal welfare versus animal rights (abolitionism); and (5) whether knowledge and education are enough to change human attitudes and behavior.

Casting A Sheep’S Eye On Science, David M. Peña-Guzmán

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin review evidence that sheep are not just passive and reactive creatures. They have personalities that vary from individual to individual and endure over time. It follows that we must rethink what it means to study them scientifically.

Management Of A Coxiella Burnetii-Infected Sheep Flock After An Outbreak Of Q Fever In Humans, Jana Avbersek, Mateja Pate, Andrej Skibin, Matjaz Ocepek, Brane Krt

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Following an outbreak of Q fever in a group of students who contracted the infection during a training course on a sheep farm, a detailed investigation of the sheep flock involved was conducted. Of 478 flock animals, 60 Coxiella burnetii ELISA-positive and 60 ELISA-negative ewes were selected for the trial and divided into four groups. A month after the initial ELISA screening, all ewes in the flock (except the control group) were vaccinated. Sequentially collected blood samples were tested with ELISA and PCR; feces, milk, manure, bedding, and soil were tested with PCR. The immune response to the vaccination was …

Antimicrobial Resistance And Phenotypic And Molecular Detection Of Extended-Spectrum Ss-Lactamases Among Extraintestinal Escherichia Coli Isolated From Pneumonic And Septicemic Sheep And Goats In Rajasthan, India, Fateh Singh, Ganesh Gangaram Sonawane, Jyoti Kumar, Shivendra Kumar Dixit, Rajendra Kumar Meena, Bhupendra Nath Tripathi

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The present study was planned to isolate Escherichia coli from pneumonic and septicemic sheep and goats and to determine antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of the isolates and evaluate them for the presence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) using the phenotypic and molecular methods. Pneumonic lung tissues and heart blood samples were collected by performing necropsy on sheep (n = 96) and goats (n = 08). The samples were processed and used for bacterial isolation. E. coli isolates (n = 58) including 53 from 34 sheep and 5 from 3 goats were recovered and identified by the cultural and biochemical characteristics and …

2018 Lambing Survey, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock published reports

The 2018 season brought challenging times for sheep producers in WA and there were wide reports of low lambing rates.

Many areas had a very late start coupled with low winter growth, but saw a wet warm spring bring high pasture growth rates (PGR). Other areas, particularly the South Coast and central south region recorded decile 1 rainfall and grew minimal pasture throughout the season (Appendix 4). All of this was on the back of a poor spring in 2017.

To better understand the impacts of poor and variable seasons on lambing and turnoff rates and to map the impact …

Sheep And Goat Industry Funding Scheme Annual Report 2017/2018, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

The Sheep and Goat Industry Funding Scheme (IFS) has been operating since 2010 to address biosecurity threats relevant to the Western Australian (WA) sheep and goat industry. The Scheme was established by regulation under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 to enable sheep and goat producers to identify pest and disease priorities at a whole-of-industry level and raise funds for activities to address these priorities.

There are currently three Industry Funding Schemes in operation. In addition to the Sheep and Goat IFS, there is a Cattle IFS and a Grains, Seeds and Hay IFS. The three IFSs operate in …

Cal Poly's Western Bonanza Junior Livestock Show Hosts First Annual Livestock Auction: The Best In The West Livestock Auction, Karl W. Montague, Tatum E. Holdener

Agricultural Education and Communication

Through this senior project, the authors researched whether or not Cal Poly's Western Bonanza Junior Livestock Show's first ever livestock auction was viable. Through their research, they found the addition of a livestock show to be successful and something that should continue.

Evaluation Of Biochemical Parameters And Oxidative Stress In Sheep Naturally Infected With Dicrocoelium Dendriticum And Hydatid Cysts, Mi̇yase Çinar, Meral Aydeni̇zöz, Sami̇ Gökpinar, Güzi̇n Çamkerten

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The purpose of the study was to investigate the lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status as well as biochemical profile in sheep naturally infected with Dicrocoelium dendriticum and hydatid cysts. Ten sheep naturally infected with D. dendriticum, 10 sheep naturally infected with hydatid cysts, and 10 healthy sheep were used. The blood and visceral organs of sheep brought to a slaughterhouse in the region of Kırıkkale were checked for D. dendriticum and hydatid cysts. Plasma total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, Ca, Mg, inorganic P, Cu, Zn, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, ß-carotene, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, erythrocyte MDA …

Comparison Of Different Paternity Test Panels In Sheep, Onur Yilmaz, İbrahi̇m Cemal, Behi̇ç Coşkun, Yusuf Zi̇ya Oğrak, Nezi̇h Ata, Orhan Karaca

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The aims of this study were to evaluate different paternity test panels with 17 microsatellite markers for their effectiveness in paternity analysis and to identify pedigree error rates in the Kangal Akkaraman breed of sheep. The animal material for the study consisted of 175 Kangal Akkaraman sheep, 35 rams, and their 140 offspring, raised on farms and bred using controlled mating. The panels were created according to probability of exclusion (PE) of 17 studied microsatellites. A total of 240 alleles were detected across 17 microsatellite loci. The overall mean value of the polymorphic information content (PIC) (0.78) indicated that the …

Comparison Of Pre- And Postpartum Serum Leptin, Ghrelin, And Lipid Levels In Sheep, Ethem Mutlu Temi̇zel, Hüseyi̇n Ci̇han, Pinar Levent, Ahmet Saril, Yeşi̇m Özarda, Zeki̇ Yilmaz

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Serum leptin and ghrelin play important roles in energy metabolism and inducing appetite during pregnancy and lactation. We investigated the serum levels of leptin and ghrelin and their relationship with the duration of lactation and serum biochemical responses during the prepartum (last week before lambing) and postpartum periods in sheep. They were also evaluated between pregnant and nonpregnant (control ewes) ewes. For these purposes, pregnant (n = 15) and control Awassi ewes (n = 15) that were 2 years of age were used in this study. Blood samples were collected 1 week before the expected date of lambing (baseline) and …

Molecular Detection Of Virulent Mannheimia Haemolytica And Pasteurella Multocida In Lung Tissues Of Pneumonic Sheep From Semiarid Tropics, Rajasthan, India, Fateh Singh, Ganesh Gangaram Sonawane, Rajendra Kumar Meena

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The present study was planned to detect the genetic elements of Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida in pneumonic sheep lungs. Pneumonia was diagnosed on the basis of gross pathological lesions. Lung tissues were collected at necropsy of sheep (n = 96) and subjected to isolation of total DNA. The M. haemolytica-specific PHSSA and Rpt2 genes, and the P. multocidaspecific KMT1 and the Omp87 genes were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A housekeeping gene targeting the sheep cellular mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA was used as an internal control. PCR reactions were optimized using the positive and negative controls. Gene-specific PCR …

Sheep And Goat Industry Funding Scheme 2016/2017, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

The Sheep and Goat Industry Funding Scheme (IFS) has been operating since 2010 to address biosecurity threats relevant to the Western Australian (WA) sheep and goat industry. The Scheme was established by regulation under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 to enable sheep and goat producers to identify pest and disease priorities at a whole-of-industry level and raise funds for activities to address these priorities.

There are currently three Industry Funding Schemes in operation. In addition to the Sheep and Goat IFS, there is a Cattle IFS and a Grains, Seeds and Hay IFS. The three IFSs operate in …

Sheep Worms – Breeding Worm Resistant Sheep, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

Lost productivity due to drench resistance in sheep worms has been recognised as a widespread problem in Western Australia (WA) since the 1980s. The first member of the macrocyclic lactone (ML) group, ivermectin, was released in Australia in 1988 and by 1993 the first case of resistance to this group was discovered. It is now thought that more than 85% of WA sheep farms are likely to have ML resistant sheep worms. In other parts of Australia, resistance to barber's pole worms is especially severe and involves all drench groups except the newly-released drench, monepantel (Zolvix).

Predicting The Onset Of Parturition By Determining Calcium In Prepartum Milk Of Sheep, Lensey Watson

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Multiple methods of pregnancy detection can be used in sheep production. The gestation period for sheep is usually between 144 and 150 days; however, depending on the breed and age of the ewes, this number can vary. A breeding marker, such as a breeding crayon, is used to detect when the ewe is bred by the ram, and the date the ewe will lamb is typically calculated based on an average 145-day gestation. Unfortunately, this method provides only a rough estimate of when the ewe could lamb. In addition, because sheep routinely give birth to multiples (twins, triplets, and, sometimes, …

The Influence Of Oblique Angle Forced Exercise In Surgically Destabilized Stifle Joints Is Synergistic With Bone, But Antagonistic With Cartilage In An Ovine Model Of Osteoarthritis, Rachel J. Hill, Holly M. Mason, Gavin Yeip, Samer S. Merchant, Aaron L. Olsen, Rusty D. Stott, Arnaud J. Van Wettere, Eadric Bressel, Jeffrey B. Mason

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Large animal models of osteoarthritis are a necessary testing ground for FDA approval of human medicine applications. Sheep models have advantages over other available large animals, but development and progression of osteoarthritis in sheep is exceedingly slow, which handicaps progress in development of potential treatments. We combined oblique angle forced exercise to increase stress on the stifle, with surgical destabilization to hasten the development of osteoarthritis in ewes. Methods for early detection of clinical signs included radiography, urine, and serum biomarker assays and gait analysis and ex vivo we used microcomputed tomography and macroscopic joint analysis. Our model was able …

The Effects Of Camelina Sativa Meal On Haemonchus Contortus In Breeding Age Ewes, Nicole Julia Nichols

Student Theses and Dissertations

Gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) are one of the greatest threats to sheep production in the United States. Increased resistance to traditional anthelmintics has created the need for alternative methods to control GIP. The objective of this study was to determine if Camelina sativa (CS) meal could be fed as part of a daily ration to reduce infection rates of the GIP Haemonchus contortus during two 28-day trials. Forty-eight ewes were sorted and fed a 14% crude protein (CP) supplement with or without 10% CS as part of their daily ration. All ewes grazed a mixture of Bermuda (Cynodon dactylon) and tall …

Co-Existence Of Bovine Viral Diarrhea And Border Disease Viruses In A Sheep Flock Suffering From Abortus And Diarrhea, Peli̇n Tuncer Göktuna, Gi̇zem Alpay, Eda Baldan Öner, Kadi̇r Yeşi̇lbağ

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Pestivirus infections have a huge economic impact on livestock production. In 2014, an aborted fetus from a sheep flock suffering from abortus and diarrhea was submitted for virological diagnosis. Due to the positive result of the sample for pestivirus and continuing clinical symptoms in the flock, all of the animals were sampled individually. Blood samples for serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from 93 animals (5 rams, 26 lambs, and 62 sheep). During sampling 1 ocular and 4 rectal swab samples were obtained from lambs that had a clinical eye problem and diarrhea, respectively. Additionally 5 aborted fetuses …

The Effect Of Combining Vitamin E And C On The Viability Improvement Of Transfected Ovine Spermatogonial Stem Cells After Cryopreservation And Thawing, Hosein Shabani, Mohammad Zandi, Hamideh Ofogi, Mohammad Reza Sanjabi, Khosro Hoseini Pajooh

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The present study aimed to identify whether vitamin E and C and their combination in basal freezing medium improved the viability of postthaw transfected spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). For this purpose, SSCs were harvested by enzymatic digestion twice. After enrichment and culture on Sertoli cell feeder layer, SSCs were characterized by using alkaline phosphatase staining and expression of oct-4 and c-kit genes as specific stem cell markers. As to the transfection of SSCs, different concentrations of DNA (0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 μg) and turbofect (0.4 and 0.8 μL) in 100 μL of medium were studied. The results showed that cryopreservation …

Comparative Evaluations Of Tear Secretion In Healthy And Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis Romanov Sheep With Schirmer Tear Test And Phenol Red Thread Tear Test, Mustafa Bariş Akgül, Ni̇hat Şindak, Ali̇ Gülaydin, Doğukan Özen, Serpi̇l Kahya Demi̇rbi̇lek, Kadi̇r Sulu

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The aim of this study is to determine the amount of tear secretion in sheep with infectious keratoconjunctivitis and healthy ones in the Siirt region by Schirmer tear test and phenol red thread tear test. A total of 47 Romanov sheep, consisting of sheep with infectious keratoconjunctivitis (n = 6) and healthy sheep (n = 41), constituted the study material. Phenol red thread tear test followed by Schirmer tear test was performed on both eyes of the animals, properly taken at a control visit on their feet. The Schirmer tear test and phenol red thread tear test values were measured …