Sheep welfare in different housing systems in South Norway

Abstract

The vast majority of sheep in Norway are housed indoors during the cold season, most commonly in insulated buildings with expanded metal floors, and grouped in pens with high stocking densities. However, various designs of simple, non-insulated sheds are increasingly being built for this purpose, some of which have larger group sizes and deep litter bedding. The aim of this study was to identify welfare issues for sheep on farms distributed in South Norway, and to explore how housing systems and other resource-based welfare measures are associated with welfare outcomes. A web-based questionnaire was distributed to 3764 Norwegian sheep farmers (response rate 32%, n = 1206), and data on sheep housing conditions was collected. Prior to the lambing season, five trained veterinary assessors performed welfare assessments on 64 of these farms (35 insulated and 29 non-insulated/open housing designs) using a refined version of a welfare assessment protocol for housed sheep. The most prevalent physical conditions observed were callus (area of hard and thickened skin) on carpal joints (27.5%), dirt on the abdomen (18.8%), considerably overgrown claws (18.1%) and wool loss (16.0%). There was a much higher likelihood of any degree of claw overgrowth on deep litter bedding (OR 204.9) compared to expanded metal floors. There was also a reduced likelihood of calluses for sheep kept on deep litter bedding (OR 0.02) and on plastic slatted floors (OR 0.24). Dirt on the abdomen was positively associated with dirt in the lying area (OR 5.53), whereas there was a lower risk of dirt on the abdomen with more space per ewe (OR 0.21). The odds ratio for severe skin lesions was significantly lower in sheep that were not recently shorn (OR 0.05). Lameness had a low overall prevalence (0.4%) and seems to be of much less concern than in many other countries. The first component of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), labelled ”mood”, was positively associated with access to outdoor areas in the winter housing period, indicating more positive emotional states when the ewes were given opportunities for greater behavioural freedom, exercise, and increased available space. As claw overgrowth, knee calluses, dirtiness, and skin lesions were associated with flooring type, hygiene of the lying areas, space allowance, and shearing, these are areas that may warrant further attention in the design of new sheep housing in Norway.