Behaviour of tail-docked lambs tested in isolation

Marchewka, Joanna; Heredia, Ina Beltrán de; Averós, Xavier; Ruíz, R.; Zanella, Adroaldo José; Díaz, Julia Adriana Calderón; Estévez, Inma

doi:10.1515/ijafr-2016-0019

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In recent history, many locally adapted breeds of different species were non-desirable in new intensive breeding programs in Europe. This trend inevitably led to a marked reduction in animal genetic resource biodiversity [4,15,16,[18][19][20][21][22]. It is, therefore, clear that appropriate in situ conservation methods are urgently needed to prevent this tendency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Situ Programme for the Conservation of the Autochthonous Lipe Type of Zackel Sheep

et al. 2018

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The aim of this study was to emphasize the importance of conservation of the Lipe sheep, as a local endangered type of Zackel breed, and to perform a comprehensive phenotypic characterization in order to ensure a better use and preservation of this genetic resource. In addition, we compared the results of a detailed morphometric characterization of the modern Lipe sheep carried out in the present study with the morphometric parameters of the native form of this breed described in 1935. The comparative analysis revealed the development dynamics of the local Lipe sheep in the traditional habitat, over a period of nearly one century. Throughout this period, different factors affecting Lipe sheep management, such as biogeografic, agro-economic, sociocultural and others, led to significant population erosion, and to the current status of the Lipe sheep as an endangered genetic resource. Although a slight increase has been registered in some body measurements, the major body indexes of the Lipe sheep, such as body format, body compactness, body massiveness, body proportion, pelvic, and head index, remained without significant fluctuations over the last century (p>0.05). Body length of the modern type still exceeds the height at withers, which was also recorded in the native Lipe sheep nearly 100 years ago. A prominent sexual dimorphism is still evident. Therefore, our comparative analysis showed no significant differences between the native and modern form of Lipe sheep in their body format and growth potential. The slight increases in absolute body measurements of the modern Lipe type we recorded could be linked to better housing conditions and improved quality of feed, without application of strategic selection measures over the last 100 years. The importance of conservation of this ovine resource is less economical, but mostly cultural, historical and heritage oriented, and still essential for the survival of the breed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Situ Programme for the Conservation of the Autochthonous Lipe Type of Zackel Sheep

et al. 2018

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“…Likewise, tail wagging and kicking/foot stamping have proved useful [ 11 , 12 ] and not useful [ 6 , 13 ] for the identification of pain in lambs after castration. Furthermore, standing still (statue standing) is common in lambs following surgical castration [ 10 , 12 ], but not in lambs castrated with rubber rings [ 10 ], or in lambs that have been tail docked [ 14 ]. These inconsistencies pose a significant problem for the management of sheep as they may limit a producers’ motivation to use analgesics [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary Findings on a Novel Behavioural Approach for the Assessment of Pain and Analgesia in Lambs Subject to Routine Husbandry Procedures

Grant

Wickham

Anderson

et al. 2020

Animals

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The identification and assessment of pain in sheep under field conditions are important, but, due to their stoic nature, are fraught with many challenges. In Australia, various husbandry procedures that are documented to cause pain are routinely performed at lamb marking, including ear tagging, castration, mulesing, and tail docking. This study evaluated the validity of a novel methodology to assess pain in lambs: qualitative behavioural assessment (QBA) was used to compare the behavioural expression of control lambs (CONTROL) with that of lambs subject to these procedures that received either a saline placebo 15 min before procedures (PLACEBO), or were administered meloxicam 15 min before procedures in addition to the standard analgesic Tri-Solfen at the time of procedures, as per the manufacturer’s recommendations (ANALGESIC TREATMENT; AT). In terms of behavioural expression, it was expected that: CONTROL ≠ PLACEBO, AT = CONTROL, and PLACEBO ≠ AT. Video footage of the 6−8-week-old lambs (n = 10 for each treatment) was captured approximately 1.5 h postprocedure and was presented, in a random order, to 19 observers for assessment using the Free-Choice Profiling (FCP) approach to QBA. There was significant consensus (p < 0.001) among the observers in their assessment of the lambs, with two main dimensions of behavioural expression explaining 69.2% of the variation. As expected, observers perceived differences in the demeanour of lambs in the first dimension, scoring all lambs subject to the routine husbandry procedures as significantly more ‘dull’ and ‘uneasy’ compared to the control lambs (p < 0.05). Contrary to expectations, the results also suggested that analgesic treatment did not provide relief at the time of observation. Further investigations to validate the relationship between behavioural expression scores and pain are necessary, but these results suggest that painful husbandry procedures alter the behavioural expression of lambs and these differences can be captured using QBA methodology.

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Sex impacts pain behaviour but not emotional reactivity of lambs following ring tail docking

Marini

Monk

Campbell

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Studies in humans have shown sex differences in response to painful events, however, little is known in relation to sex differences in sheep. Understanding sex differences would enable improved experimental design and interpretation of studies of painful procedures in sheep. To examine sex differences in response to pain, 80 lambs were tested across five cohorts of 16. The lambs were penned in groups containing two male and two female lambs with their respective mothers. Lambs were randomly allocated from within each block to one of four treatment groups; FRing–Female lamb, ring tail docked without analgesia, MRing–Male lamb, ring tail docked without analgesia, FSham–Female lamb, tail manipulated and MSham–Male lamb, tail manipulated. Following treatment, lambs were returned to their pen and were video recorded for 45 mins for behavioural observations of acute pain and posture. An hour after treatment, lambs then underwent an emotional reactivity test that consisted of three phases: Isolation, Novelty and Startle. Following treatment, Ring lambs displayed more abnormal postures (mean = 2.5 ± 0.5) compared to Sham lambs (mean = 0.05 ± 0.4, P = 0.0001). There was an effect of sex on the display of acute pain-related behaviours in lambs that were tail docked (P < 0.001), with female lambs displaying more acute behaviours (mean count = +2.2). This difference in behaviour between sexes was not observed in Sham lambs. There was no effect of sex on display of postures related to pain (P = 0.99). During the Novelty and Startle phase of the emotional reactivity test, Ring lambs tended to (P = 0.084) or did (P = 0.018) show more fear related behaviours, respectively. However, no effect of sex was observed. The results of this study indicate that a pain state may alter the emotional response of lambs to novel objects and potential fearful situations. It was also demonstrated that female lambs display increased sensitivity to the acute pain caused by tail docking compared to males.

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Behaviour of tail-docked lambs tested in isolation

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

In Situ Programme for the Conservation of the Autochthonous Lipe Type of Zackel Sheep

In Situ Programme for the Conservation of the Autochthonous Lipe Type of Zackel Sheep

Preliminary Findings on a Novel Behavioural Approach for the Assessment of Pain and Analgesia in Lambs Subject to Routine Husbandry Procedures

Sex impacts pain behaviour but not emotional reactivity of lambs following ring tail docking

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