Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-26T09:26:04.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sheltering behaviour at lambing by Welsh Mountain ewes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

C. J. Winfield ,
W. Brown  and
I. A. M. Lucas
C. J. Winfield
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University College of North Wales, Bangor
W. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University College of North Wales, Bangor
I. A. M. Lucas
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University College of North Wales, Bangor
Get access

Summary

From observations made over 3 years on a flock of Welsh Mountain sheep kept at 210 to 330m above sea level there was no indication that ewes especially sought shelter for lambing when wind speed was under 8 km/hr or the Kata cooling power was below 20 millical/cm2 per sec. When wind speed or cooling power rose, lambing sites chosen by the ewes were progressively more sheltered. Average wind speed and Kata cooling power at sheep height at lambing sites were about 14 km/hr and 35 millical/cm2 per sec.

Variability in wind speed and cooling power at an unsheltered site accounted for only 24% and 18% of the variability in these measures at the lambing sites, thus the lambing sites chosen depended to a considerable extent upon other factors, which are discussed.

The environment at lambing sites chosen by ewes cannot be taken as the optimum. No attempt was made to correlate lambing site environment with ewe or lamb performance.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , February 1969 , pp. 101 - 105
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1969

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Caborn, J. M. 1965. Shelterbelts and Windbreaks. Faber and Faber, London.Google Scholar
Munro, J. 1962. The use of natural shelter by hill sheep. Anim. Prod. 4: 343–349.Google Scholar
Nichols, J. E. 1960. Shelter needs in relation to land use. Forestry 33: 8–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purser, A. F. and Karam, H. A. 1967. Lamb survival, growth and fleece production in relation to birthcoat type among Welsh Mountain sheep. Anim. Prod. 9: 75–85.Google Scholar
Short, B. M. 1951. Ecological studies of Welsh Mountain sheep with special reference to variations in fleece characters and age composition of various flocks. Ph.D. Thesis, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.Google Scholar