A note on lamb%26apos;s choice for different types of bedding materials

作者：Teixeira Dayane L; Miranda de la Lama Genaro C^*; Pascual Alonso Maria; Aguayo Ulloa Lorena; Villarroel Morris; Maria Gustavo A

来源：Journal of Veterinary Behavior-Clinical Applications and Research, 2013, 8(3): 175-179.

DOI：10.1016/j.jveb.2012.06.007

• bedding materials
• bedding choice
• maintenance behaviors
• lambs

The aim of this study was to analyze the lamb%26apos;s choice of bedding material when 4 different types of bedding materials and cement floor (CT) area were available during the fattening period. A total of 16 lambs were selected and distributed in 2 groups of 8 lambs each and fattened for 18 days. The animals were housed randomly in 1 of 2 pens that were subdivided into 5 areas. Four of these areas had 1 of the 4 types of flooring: sawdust (SU), waste of paper (WP), straw (ST), and rice husk (RH), whereas the fifth had a CT, opposite the feeding and drinking troughs. A video-recording device was set up in a room close to the pens to record maintenance behavior. Two kinds of recording were carried out: scan sampling every 10 minutes (7 AM-9 PM) throughout the entire experiment, and continuous behavior sampling recorded continuously for 12 h/d (8 AM-8 PM) on days 1, 7, and 14 (a total of 36 h/pen). The behavior patterns recorded during the experiment included lying down, standing, walking, feeding, and drinking. The occupancy rates for the different bedding areas were significantly different (P %26lt;= 0.001), and the lambs demonstrated a clear preference for SU bed, with a 47% occupancy rate, followed by WP (17%), ST, and RH, with occupancy rates of nearly 6% and 7%, respectively. The occupancy rate in the area with no bedding material (CT) was 21%. Significant differences were also found in behavior patterns between the bedding zones. When the lambs on the SU bedding were observed, 80% of the time they were lying down and 20% of the time standing. When they occupied the WP area, they spent 63% of the time lying down and 37% standing; for the ST bedding, the rates were 23% lying down and 77% standing; and when the lambs were observed in the area with RH flooring, they spent 40% of the time lying down and 60% standing. The clear preference shown by the lambs for SU may be associated to the SU%26apos;s physical and thermal properties compared with ST. If all factors are taken into account (cost, animal preferences, and technical performance), WP bedding becomes a interesting material as an alternative to the ST bedding traditionally used by sheep farmers.

• 出版日期2013-6