Alper YILMAZ, Ömür KOÇAK, Bülent EKİZ, Hülya YALÇINTAN, Elif ERGÜL EKİZ, Deniz AKTARAN BALA

Certain behavioral characteristics and stress responses of out-of-breeding ewes and rams during an intensive fattening program

The aim was to investigate behaviors and stress responses of rams and ewes in an intensive fattening period. Out-of-breedingrams (Hemsin = 10, Karakul = 10) and ewes (Hemsin = 8, Karakul = 10) were used in the study. Sheep and rams belonging to each breedwere placed into four different pens. Behavioral observations (individual, feeding, abnormal self-grooming behaviors) were performed2 days a week for two groups a day for 1 h. Blood samples were collected at the beginning, at the 4th week, and at the end of the fatteningperiod. Karakul ewes displayed significantly more feeding and rumination behavior than Hemsin ewes, while there was no significantdifference between ram groups. Ewes displayed more lying and rumination behavior than rams in the current study. On the other hand,rams were more active than ewes and also showed more abnormal behavior (butting other animals) during the fattening period. Sheepbreed had no influence on packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, or cortisol level at any sampling time. PCV,Hb, and cortisol levels at the middle of the fattening period were higher in ewes than rams. In conclusion, the behavioral repertoire ofHemsin and Karakul breeds in intensive fattening does not reveal any stress responses.

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