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Salari F, Roncoroni C, Mariottini F, Muzic A, Altomonte I, Sodi I, Creatini S, Giuliotti L, Brajon G, Martini M. Risk Categorization in On-Farm Welfare in Different-Sized Dairy Sheep Flocks. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1401. [PMID: 38791619 PMCID: PMC11117197 DOI: 10.3390/ani14101401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The objective of the present work was to categorize the risks in the on-farm welfare of dairy sheep in semi-extensive systems in order to highlight if risks in welfare vary according to the farm size. To the best of our knowledge, this study constitutes one of the few categorizations of the risks in the welfare of dairy sheep reared semi-extensively. The survey was conducted on 12 semi-extensive dairy sheep farms in Tuscany (Central Italy), which were classified according to flock size: <500, from 500 to 1000, and >1000. The results showed an adequate rating for all the farms included in the study. The most critical issues concerned the ratio between the number of stockpersons and the number of animals within the farms, the small decubitus areas, the lack of udder cleaning procedures during milking operations, and, in terms of biosecurity, the lack of prevention, control, and eradication plans for the most important infectious ovine diseases. The results show that different items in the five areas evaluated, including the assessments of management of the flock, the number of daily inspections, and the hygiene of the water supplies are associated with the farm size. In large farms, the assessment of management of the flock was better, but the number of daily inspections and the hygiene of the water supplies were worse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Salari
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
| | - Cristina Roncoroni
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178 Rome, Italy;
| | - Francesco Mariottini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, Via Castelpulci 43, 50018 Florence, Italy; (F.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Alessandra Muzic
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
| | - Iolanda Altomonte
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
| | - Irene Sodi
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
| | - Susy Creatini
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
| | - Lorella Giuliotti
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
| | - Giovanni Brajon
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, Via Castelpulci 43, 50018 Florence, Italy; (F.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Mina Martini
- Department of Veterinary Science, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (F.S.); (A.M.); (I.S.); (S.C.); (L.G.); (M.M.)
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Woodruff M, Munoz C, Coleman G, Doyle R, Barber S. Measuring Sheep Tails: A Preliminary Study Using Length (Mm), Vulva Cover Assessment, and Number of Tail Joints. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13060963. [PMID: 36978505 PMCID: PMC10044615 DOI: 10.3390/ani13060963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Docking sheep tails is a long-standing practice that, when done at the recommended length, reduces the risk of flystrike. The recommended length is to cover the vulva of ewes and to a similar length in males. This length is often equated to three coccygeal joints left intact, and there are many other ways the recommended length is described by researchers, industry, and government. This study compared the observer consistency and retest consistency using three different tail length measurement methods: vulva cover assessment, length (mm), and joint palpation. The tails of 51 yearling and 48 weaner Merino ewes were assessed by two observers. Length and vulva cover assessment methods provided the most reliable results, and joint palpation was the least reliable method of tail measurement. In the sample, tails that covered the vulva of yearlings and weaners measured 57.6 mm (n = 14) and 63.7 mm (n = 30) on average, respectively, and contained two coccygeal joints (more than two coccygeal vertebrae). Tails that did not cover the vulva of yearlings and weaners measured 41.3 mm (n = 36) and 52.8 mm (n = 17) on average, respectively, and had less than two coccygeal joints. The two most reliable methods enable valid comparison to the best practice recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Woodruff
- The Animal Welfare Science Centre, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Carolina Munoz
- Faculty of Science, Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Grahame Coleman
- The Animal Welfare Science Centre, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Rebecca Doyle
- Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 1RS, UK
| | - Stuart Barber
- Faculty of Science, Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
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