The characterisation of some selected social behaviours of Zulu sheep
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Date
2018
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University of Zululand
Abstract
Zulu sheep are an ecotype of the Nguni sheep and are native to South Africa. They are found in the northern region of KwaZulu-Natal. However, the breed is under threat. There is a need to characterise the existing populations in order to design informed conservation programmes. The behaviour of the Zulu sheep has not been documented. The knowledge of animal behaviour is essential to understand welfare implication.
The study was designed to characterise some selected behaviours of Zulu sheep, i.e. lamb behaviours, the distances between ewes and lambs from birth till natural weaning, and social dominance in rams of similar age group. The study was divided into two experiments; the first experiment consisted of lambs and ewes and the second experiment consisted of rams only. In the first experiment, ten ewes and their lambs were used. These animals grazed in natural pastures and water was provided ad libitum. Lamb behaviours were recorded and the distances between the lamb and its mother were estimated using field posts.
A feed competition test was used to determine the social dominance in rams, with water provided ad libitum. Physical body traits for each ram were recorded. During the first week after parturition, lying behaviour of lambs was highest (53.5%), but as the lambs grew older, distance reached 19.4 m in the 19th week. There was no significant difference between gender behaviours in lambs (p>0.05). In rams, the correlation of time spent at the feeder was moderately positively correlated with social rank. The social rank of the rams had no significant effect on the time spent at the feeder. Moderate positive correlation was also established between proportion of weans and times spent at the feeder. In lambs, it was concluded that grazing behaviour and average distance between ewes and lambs are low during the early growth stage, but they increase with lamb growth.
In rams, the social rank of Zulu sheep is not affected by body size. It is important to understand behaviour, distance, social rank, lamb and feed competition test.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Department of Agriculture (Animal Science) at the University of Zululand, South Africa [2018].