Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes
The reliability and feasibility of 10 animal-based measures of ewe welfare were examined for use in extensive sheep production systems. Measures were: Body condition score (BCS), rumen fill, fleece cleanliness, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score, foot-wall integrity, hoof overgro...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/1/2 |
| _version_ | 1818420621606912000 |
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| author | Carolina Munoz Angus Campbell Paul Hemsworth Rebecca Doyle |
| author_facet | Carolina Munoz Angus Campbell Paul Hemsworth Rebecca Doyle |
| author_sort | Carolina Munoz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The reliability and feasibility of 10 animal-based measures of ewe welfare were examined for use in extensive sheep production systems. Measures were: Body condition score (BCS), rumen fill, fleece cleanliness, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score, foot-wall integrity, hoof overgrowth and lameness, and all were examined on 100 Merino ewes (aged 2–4 years) during mid-pregnancy, mid-lactation and weaning by a pool of nine trained observers. The measures of BCS, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score and lameness were deemed to be reliable and feasible. All had good observer agreement, as determined by the percentage of agreement, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) and Kappa (k) values. When combined, these nutritional and health measures provide a snapshot of the current welfare status of ewes, as well as evidencing previous or potential welfare issues. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T12:57:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5f19bb93dca946798be3c10057e0547b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T12:57:23Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-5f19bb93dca946798be3c10057e0547b2022-12-21T23:00:32ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152017-12-0181210.3390/ani8010002ani8010002Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed EwesCarolina Munoz0Angus Campbell1Paul Hemsworth2Rebecca Doyle3Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne, North Melbourne, VIC 3051, AustraliaFaculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC 3030, AustraliaAnimal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne, North Melbourne, VIC 3051, AustraliaAnimal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne, North Melbourne, VIC 3051, AustraliaThe reliability and feasibility of 10 animal-based measures of ewe welfare were examined for use in extensive sheep production systems. Measures were: Body condition score (BCS), rumen fill, fleece cleanliness, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score, foot-wall integrity, hoof overgrowth and lameness, and all were examined on 100 Merino ewes (aged 2–4 years) during mid-pregnancy, mid-lactation and weaning by a pool of nine trained observers. The measures of BCS, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score and lameness were deemed to be reliable and feasible. All had good observer agreement, as determined by the percentage of agreement, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) and Kappa (k) values. When combined, these nutritional and health measures provide a snapshot of the current welfare status of ewes, as well as evidencing previous or potential welfare issues.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/1/2animal-based indicatorsanimal welfarekappa statisticsobserver agreementon-farm welfare assessmentsheep |
| spellingShingle | Carolina Munoz Angus Campbell Paul Hemsworth Rebecca Doyle Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes Animals animal-based indicators animal welfare kappa statistics observer agreement on-farm welfare assessment sheep |
| title | Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes |
| title_full | Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes |
| title_fullStr | Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes |
| title_short | Animal-Based Measures to Assess the Welfare of Extensively Managed Ewes |
| title_sort | animal based measures to assess the welfare of extensively managed ewes |
| topic | animal-based indicators animal welfare kappa statistics observer agreement on-farm welfare assessment sheep |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/1/2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carolinamunoz animalbasedmeasurestoassessthewelfareofextensivelymanagedewes AT anguscampbell animalbasedmeasurestoassessthewelfareofextensivelymanagedewes AT paulhemsworth animalbasedmeasurestoassessthewelfareofextensivelymanagedewes AT rebeccadoyle animalbasedmeasurestoassessthewelfareofextensivelymanagedewes |