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Lookup NU author(s): Sophie HoltORCiD, Dr Fritha LangfordORCiD
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As grazing ruminants, incisor health is important to sheep and sheep farmers. Loss of sheep incisor apparatus functionality is a significant factor in culling from flocks worldwide. However, there is very little recent research on sheep dental disorders, the distribution across ages, breeds or systems, the aetiology of conditions, and none on the potential impact on the welfare of the sheep. This preliminary study sought to establish the prevalence of incisor wear in ewes, distribution across ages, and assess potential relationships with body weight and body condition score (BCS). Dohne Merino ewes from a single, extensively grazed Australian pastoral farm (total flock size: 32,000) were assessed for this study during routine husbandry assessments. 818 ewes, aged between two and 10 years, were assessed. Each ewe was assessed for BCS using hands-on palpation in a weigh crate. An incisor assessment was undertaken using the degree of dentine exposure to assess tooth wear using an ordinal score of 0-3. Wear score 3 was considered excessive wear, with wear of a third of the dental crown. An endodontic ruler was used to measure the central incisors (mm). Data was analysed in R. Wear score 3 was present in one or more incisors of 35% of 2-year-old ewes, 89% of 3-years, 98% of 4-years, 99% of 5-years and 99% of 7+year-old ewes. Farm culling practices excluded the 6-year-old age group, and analysis combined the 7 to 10 years due to lower numbers. Incisor wear was associated with body weight and BCS (P<0.01); as incisor wear increased, body weight and body condition reduced when controlled for age. The mean incisor length decreased linearly from 19 (+/- SE 0.12) mm for 2-year-olds to 10 (+/- SE 0.29) mm for the 7+-year-old ewes. Incisor length varied with body weight and BCS (P<0.01). 58% of ewes in the 7+-year-old cohort had all incisors present, 1% had lost all eight incisors. Where more incisors were present, ewes had higher BCS (P<0.01). These results suggest that incisor wear could be more prevalent than previously documented, especially in younger ages. While not a direct welfare indicator, the link to BCS implies that sheep with higher incisor wear struggle to maintain nutrition reserves, impacting production and welfare. Higher incisor wear results in exposure of dentine and pulp, often provoking a painful inflammatory response called pulpitis. Further studies on more sites are underway to investigate the production and welfare impacts in more detail.
Author(s): Holt S, Sharma G, Langford F
Publication type: Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
Publication status: Published
Conference Name: UFAW International Animal Welfare Conference
Year of Conference: 2024
Pages: 86-86
Acceptance date: 02/04/2024
Publisher: The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW)
URL: https://www.ufaw.org.uk/downloads/ufaw-2024-prog-book-final.pdf
