Just read this news story a few minutes ago. That got me thinking. I have read many times about certain members on this forum and their affinity for sheep. So am wondering if this story would be of any use to them?
What does everybody think? Anybody listening? Hey, what's that sound? :P

Is your sheep stressed? Just ask it

October 22 2003 at 01:54PM


Washington - Stressed-out sheep bleat out their anguish, American researchers reported on Tuesday.

They found that, like humans, sheep communicate stress by changing the timbre of their voices.

Mark Feinstein of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, said his findings could help farmers and, of course, the sheep they herd.

An expert in bio-acoustics, Feinstein did his work at Teagasc, an Irish government agricultural research organization.

He isolated sheep and separated lambs from their mothers as part of his experiments - then recorded their bleats.

His recordings suggest that sheep express stress by altering the timbre of their vocalisations, or the overall quality of sounds, rather than by changing pitch or loudness.

Stress can be measured by taking an animal's blood, but it would be much easier, cheaper and, yes, less stressful to simply listen, Feinstein said.

 

aHEM :-[

 

That's baaaaaaaaaaad!

 

I too remember seeing posts from members about sheep.....something about velcro gloves and electric fences!

 

Stan, I know that this was intended to be funny and it is. But a thought has entered my head and will not leave so I must ask this question. How many livestock owners did not already know the answer to this study? I have cattle and I could tell you that if you separate a cow and her calf that you could tell she is stressed out by listening to her. I have to wonder how much money this researcher made from this so-called study. Also what branch of our government was so stupid as to fund it? Sorry to be the wet blanket but could not help my self.

 

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO EWE!!!!!

o.k. sorry, that's enough

 

[quote author=bigfoot link=board=10;threadid=21322;start=0#msg200016 date=1066870482]
Stan, I know that this was intended to be funny and it is. But a thought has entered my head and will not leave so I must ask this question. How many livestock owners did not already know the answer to this study? I have cattle and I could tell you that if you separate a cow and her calf that you could tell she is stressed out by listening to her. I have to wonder how much money this researcher made from this so-called study. Also what branch of our government was so stupid as to fund it? Sorry to be the wet blanket but could not help my self.
[/quote]
I am wondering the same thing

 

[quote author=bigfoot link=board=10;threadid=21322;start=0#msg200016 date=1066870482]
know the answer to this study? I have cattle and I could tell you that if you separate a cow and her calf that you could tell she is stressed out by listening to her. I have to wonder how much money this researcher made from this so-called study.
[/quote]

The University of Waterloo up here has an "agricultural" area. They did a cow study a few years back and the results were interesting:

1) Cows don't typically walk in a straight line.

2) They'll end up making paths through their pastures as they often follow the same route to water and feed.

3) They won't poop on these paths. They'll pull off the path, let it fly, and then get back on the path.

Just out of curiosity, I wanted to make sure that my cows were actually cows, so I watched them. They had #1 pretty much nailed, but then I though maybe it was because my fence line is crooked and they just got used to walking crooked. So I checked #2, and YUP! All sorts of paths everywhere. Final check was #3. And here was where I determined that my cows weren't cows, or at least weren't behaving in a cow-like manner. They were leaving droppings ALL OVER their paths. I couldn't believe it. Here I was, with a family history in cattle that dates back a couple hundred years, and I WASN'T RAISING COWS. Or at least not cows that behaved in a cow-like manner.

I was devastated.

Crushed even.

I wrote the Unversity of Waterloo about my findings, and thanked them for showing me that my cows were indeed not correct in some way. I also asked them if they had any corrective measures that I may be able to take to ensure that future cows pooped properly. Perhaps a potty training that could begin at calf-hood?

I was even more crushed and devastated when I didn't get an answer back.

The thing that really ticked me off, after I got done laughing, is that the UofW receives more federal grant money than any other U in Canada.

Rod

 

Uhmmm,,,,,, Rod?
You folks up there in Canadaland really DON'T have much in the form of entertainment,,,,,,,,, do you?

 

My cows crap on their paths too. And on or in everything else they come across, for that matter.

 

Just be glad your cows are not hippos. When hippos let fly they wag their tails furiously so that they can spread the dung as far from them as possible. Watch out if you happen to be standing closer than about 15 feet.
Notice that no sheep boys are commenting now. Could it be because you cow guys have distracted us and now the are happy not to spotlighted : ;D

 

:

 

[quote author=Graeme Diesel link=board=10;threadid=21322;start=0#msg200202 date=1066898962]
My cows crap on their paths too. And on or in everything else they come across, for that matter.
[/quote]

Well, I have had some time to think about this, and I suspect its due to the fact that Waterloo, and possibly Ontario cows in general, are more 'cultured' than our Western 'hill billy' cows.

I've since started playing opera music to mine.

Success has thus far been limited. If you think a car horn can cause a stampede, you should hear what the horns in 'The Ballad of 1812' do. I'm still fixing fence.

Rod

 

This is quite interesting... and absoutly hysterical !

 

But you gotta wonder if they were "stressed" in any other way during the gov['t funded research :