A behavioural study of scrapie-affected sheep
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| Category | Journal Articles |
|---|---|
| Abstract |
The behaviour of 12 sheep, suspected of having scrapie, and 12 clinically normal animals from the Irish Republic was observed over a 6-day period [date not given]. Confirmation of the true disease status of the animals was made at postmortem using both histopathological and immunocytochemical methods. Scrapie and control sheep were each divided into three groups of four animals and housed in separate solid-walled pens in the same building. Behaviour was recorded at 60-second intervals over 30 min observation periods conducted from 0800 to 1600 h using instantaneous scan sampling. Seven of the scrapie animals were confirmed to have the disease following postmortem examination and only their data were used for the analysis of the scrapie group. Scrapie sheep spent significantly more time ingesting concentrate feed (P0.05) but less time feeding on hay than the controls (P0.001). The frequency of mastication and bolus regurgitation were lower in scrapie than control sheep (P0.005). Scrapie-affected animals spent less time standing (19 |
| Date | 2002 |
| Publication Title | Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 89-102 |
| ISBN/ISSN | 0168-1591 |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0168-1591(02)00122-3 |
| Language | English |
| Author Address | Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary College of Ireland, University College Dublin, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Irish Republic.anne.healy@ucd.ie |
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