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The use of natural shelter by hill sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1962

Joan Munro
Joan Munro
Affiliation:
Hill Farming Research Organisation, Edinburgh, 12
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Extract

A small flock of 16 Blackface ewes occupying 40 acres of hill ground grazed as a fairly tight community. From observations over a complete year, 1960, it has been shown that sheltering behaviour was largely dependent on wind speed exceeding 24 m.p.h. Sheltering increased markedly at temperatures below freezing. Temperature above freezing, except for rapid falls in temperature exceeding 4° F., exerted little effect on sheltering. No relationship could be found between sheltering behaviour of the sheep and other factors which included rain, relative humidity, wind direction or season of the year.

It would appear therefore that the sensitivity of sheep to exposure is influenced more by wind speed than any other climatic factor.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , October 1962 , pp. 343 - 349
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1962

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References

REFERENCES

Armstrong, D. G., Blaxter, K. L., Clapperton, J. L., Graham, N. MCC, & Wainman, F. W., 1960. Heat production and heat emission of two breeds of sheep. J. agric. Sci., 55: 395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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