Summer environment and behavior of Chinese little fat-tailed sheep on intensive sheep farm

More attention is being paid to promote sheep housing system that is adapted to their biological and behavioral characteristics. The experiment was conducted to study the environment of sheep house and observe the behavior of the Chinese little fat-tailed sheep for two weeks. The results show that behavioral patterns of Chinese little fat-tailed sheep were made up of intake, rumination, rest and locomotion, there were behavioral differences among Chinese little fat-tailed sheep at their different breeding phase under housing environment. The environmental temperature had great influence for the sheep on their choices of lying areas and lying postures. The sheep houses could provide a good microclimate condition for sheep, but the natural behaviors of sheep could not be fulfilled due to the barren rearing environment and limited space in the occupied zones.