Abstract
Sheep farming makes an important socio-economic contribution to Spain’s rural areas by sustaining farming and employment in less favored regions, but it is a low-profit sector because of high operating and regulatory costs. One possible solution would be to raise for slaughter lambs from dairy sheep that are not required as replacements. However, the early weaning of these lambs and their artificial rearing generally lead to reduced growth rates and high mortalities. In the work presented herein, three housing systems (slat + heating plate, slat + infrared lamp, and deep-litter + infrared lamp) were tested on 763 lambs over an eight-month period in a farm located in Ejea de los Caballeros (Zaragoza, Spain), with a view to reducing mortality during the period of artificial lactation. The effect of the environmental parameters of the lamb housing on the development of the lambs was evaluated by monitoring environmental (temperature, relative humidity, CO2 and NH3) and productive parameters (weight, average daily gain, and deaths). The results suggested that the combination of deep litter with straw bedding and infrared lamp heating would be the most favorable option, as it led to the highest average daily gain and the lowest percentage of deaths. From the study of the relationship of the initial weight with deaths, a prediction curve was obtained, defining the maximum prices to be paid per lamb as a function of their initial weight to guarantee the profitability of the raising process. This may be regarded as a valuable guidance for Spanish sheep farmers, as it can reduce their economic uncertainty.
Highlights
The Spanish sheep meat sector is going through a deep crisis, which has been aggravated by decreases in the price and in the consumption of lamb meat: according to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fish and Food (MAPA), per capita consumption has decreased from 2.67 kg in 2006 to1.62 kg in 2015
A possible solution to improve this situation would be to raise for slaughter lambs from dairy sheep that are not required as replacements
The CO2 concentration was significantly lower for the slatted floor system than for the deep litter bedding with straw method, whereas NH3 was significantly higher in the former than in the latter, regardless of the period of the year considered
Summary
The Spanish sheep meat sector is going through a deep crisis, which has been aggravated by decreases in the price and in the consumption of lamb meat: according to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fish and Food (MAPA), per capita consumption has decreased from 2.67 kg in 2006 to1.62 kg in 2015. A possible solution to improve this situation would be to raise for slaughter lambs from dairy sheep that are not required as replacements. In the dairy sheep sector, early weaning (0–2 days) based on milk-replacers or solid foods is generally conducted [1,2]. This artificial weaning entails a high percentage of mortality, because it negatively affects the immune function [3,4] and the growth of lambs [5]. The main parameters to take into consideration in sheep housing are the concentration of harmful gases (NH3 and CO2 ), temperature (T), relative humidity and livestock density [6]
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