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Stephanie Matheson presents Poster 67 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 6: Free topics
WELFARE ASSESSMENT OF NEONATAL LAMBS
S.M. Matheson, C.M. Dwyer
Animal Behaviour & Welfare group, Sustainable Livestock Systems, SAC, Edinburgh, Scotland
139
Poster 67
Two welfare problems within the sheep production industry are the issues of low vigour lambs and
high levels of birth intervention. Lamb survival is dependent upon the expression of appropriate
behaviours from both mother and offspring, and lamb vigour, i.e. the speed at which the lamb
stands, finds the udder and sucks. Lambs that require assistance at birth are slower to perform
neonatal behaviours than unassisted lambs, and are less active for the first three days after birth.
Accurate assessment of lambs (and ewes) identifies which individuals need extra care/observation.
Recording lambing difficulty allows for selection of breeding animals with easy lambing
characteristics.
However, there are many reasons why behavioural data are difficult to collect on farm, e.g. farmers
are unskilled in behavioural data collection which can only occur at specific times of the year, at an
already busy time; management systems are not amenable for data collection. Therefore, the
objective was to develop proxy methods (Scoring Systems) in order to assess the level of birth
difficulties and lamb vigour on farm. Scoring data is also relatively easy for the farmer to collect.
Data from over 1, 000 lambs were assessed to create criteria for 4 scores: Lamb Vigour, Sucking
Assistance, Birth Assistance and Lamb Mortality. The behaviour scoring systems were then
validated in an experimental flock, 80 greyface ewes scanned with twins (total lamb N=160), by
recording both scores and the latency to perform specific behaviours (i.e. stand, seek the udder and
suck). Vigour scores (taken at 5 minutes of age) were compared with the latency from birth to
standing (H=47.15, p