Ecology and behaviour of domestic sheep (Ovis aries): a review

Behaviour of sheep is complex and poorly understood. It is only within the past 20 years that a concerted effort has been made to elucidate those aspects of behaviour which have most relevance to sheep raising under open‐range conditions. The present report attempts to summarize and review published work on the behaviour and ecology of sheep. The whole question of the significance of behaviour and the extent to which it is possible to shape it is a field which is open for study. This paper is an attempt to summarize the work on sheep behaviour and on those aspects of physiology which impinge. Consideration is given to the evolution of Bovids, scope of domestication and world distribution of sheep since these aspects have a major influence on the sheep with which we deal today. Animal requirements for food, water, shelter, protection from predators, and control of disease and parasites have been largely met by man and the forces for selection which operated among the progenitors of domestic sheep have been largely negated. Despite this, genetic selection still goes on. Behavioural adaptation to a wide variety of environmental and nutritional regimes is a common feature among free‐ranging sheep. Reproductive success, a matter of considerable commercial concern is often poor. Lamb survival is of critical importance. Factors involved in neonatal mortality are reviewed in detail. Finally, the now extensive literature on sheep behaviour, physiology and management is collated in a bibliography with over 150 literature citations.