Wool cortisol as putative retrospective indicator of stress in ewes during the third trimester of pregnancy, and their newborns: effects of parity and litter size — an exploratory study

Stress is an important factor in animal welfare. Hair or wool cortisol concentrations are considered to be potential long-term indicators of stress experienced by an animal. Using Swifter sheep, we investigated whether ewe parity and litter size affect the wool cortisol concentrations in ewes and th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elly C. Zeinstra, Johannes C.M. Vernooij, Mireille Bentvelzen, F. Josef van der Staay, Rebecca E. Nordquist
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Animal Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2023.1056726/full