Keywords
sheep, weaning strategies, animal welfare
Abstract
Stress in sheep can negatively affect productivity and increase their susceptibility to illness and parasites. The traditional method of weaning lambs is the abrupt separation of lambs from their dams. An alternative method of weaning, fenceline weaning, where offspring are separated from their dams by a single fence but retain visual and auditory contact, has been found to reduce stress in cattle and may also reduce stress in sheep. The objectives of this study were to evaluate body weights, fecal egg counts, and behavior to determine if traditional or fenceline weaning has lower stress associated with weaning in lambs. The study was conducted at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research & Extension Center, with two 14-day trials, totaling 32 majority Hampshire lambs (23.5± 0.91 kg initial body weight). Lambs were assigned to either the fenceline or abrupt weaning group. Behavioral responses were observed through video recordings using instantaneous scan sampling for the first three days after weaning. Fecal egg counts (day 14) and weight change measurements (day 0 to 14) were not different (P ≥ 0.26) between the weaning methods. The interaction between weaning group and day was detected for lying and eating behaviors (P ≤ 0.02). The lambs in the fenceline weaning group performed walking behaviors less frequently than the abrupt weaning group. Therefore, fenceline-weaned lambs appeared to have less stress than the abruptly separated weaned lambs. However, further investigations should be conducted to determine the long-term impacts of weaning strategies.
Recommended Citation
Sutton, E. N., Coffey, K. P., Wray, E., Setyabrata, D., Kutz, B., & Weimer, S. (2025). Effect of Traditional Versus Fenceline Weaning on Lamb Stress. Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, 26(1). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/discoverymag/vol26/iss1/13