Effect of shearing on feed requirements of sheep

Abstract

A series of experiments was conducted in which the increased feed (energy) requirement due to shearing was estimated from the live-weight loss of shorn sheep relative to unshorn sheep. The estimate represented the mean increase during the month after shearing. Subjective observation suggests the increase would be considerably greater in the first week after shearing. At 16–17°c shearing increased the feed requirement by 18% for housed sheep and by 24% for exposed sheep.At ambient temperatures of 7–10°c there was no increase in the feed requirement of exposed woolly sheep compared with those housed, but shearing increased feed requirements by 46% even when the shorn sheep were housed and by 76–78% when they were exposed in pens on an unsheltered site. © 1974 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.