Outdoor yards for sheep during winter - Effects of feed location, roof and weather factors on resting and activity

Abstract

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of roof cover and location of feed on sheep's use of an outdoor yard under different weather conditions. A 2-2 factorial experiment was conducted with roofcovering ofoutdoor yard (yes or no) and location off eed (indoors or outdoors) in four different pens, each with one of four possible combinations of these factors. Twenty adult ewes of the Norwegian White breed were randomly allotted to four groups with five animals. Weather parameters were automatically recorded. The following behavioural parameters were scored using instantaneous sampling every 15 min throughout 24-h video recordings: location (indoors or outdoors), general behaviour (stand/walk, resting, feeding). Weather factors did not seem to have any large influence on sheep behaviour. A roof covering the outdoor yard increased time spent in the yard, had no effect on feeding time, a limited effect on resting time, but increased the time spent resting outdoors. Locating the feed outdoors increased time spent in the yard, but also increased the time spent resting indoors, indicating that ifa dry and comfortable resting area is offered indoors, the feed should be located in the outdoor yard.