ARTIFICIAL WEANING IN SHEEP - CONSEQUENCES ON BEHAVIORAL, HORMONAL AND IMMUNO-PATHOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF WELFARE

Weaning sheep under farming conditions combines two factors that can b e potentially stressful agents: (1) physical separation of mother and young and (2) modification of lambs' feeding habits. The purpose of th is study is to measure the consequences on animal welfare of two weani ng procedures currently used in France: (1) progressive weaning (PROG) with daily separation starting when lambs are 3.5 weeks of age increa sing in duration until definitive weaning at 3 months and (2) sudden w eaning (SUDD) at 3 months. Forty ne de France ewes and their 60 lambs were used in the study. In the FROG group, a sharp increase in the voc al activity of ewes and lambs was recorded during periods of temporary separation. However, animals became accustomed to the procedure with repeated separations and very few behavioural reactions were recorded when lambs were definitively weaned at 3 months of age. In the SUDD gr oup, ewes and lambs were very vocal at weaning but signs of disturbanc e were no longer noticeable after two days. In ewes, the cortisol leve ls were not affected by separation from their young whatever weaning m ethod was used, but an increase in leucocyte levels was recorded in SU DD ewes on the day of weaning. In lambs the number of coccidial oocyst s excreted at 9.5 and 16.5 weeks of age was higher in FROG than in SUD D lambs. Their growth rate was not affected by the daily separation. I n conclusion, neither method seems highly stressful in sheep. I Howeve r, lambs are more sensitive to parasite infestation when separation fr om the mother is repeated until weaning. Finally, sudden weaning, whic h involves less work for the breeder, can be used without heavy disadv antages on welfare. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .