| Title | Facilitating mixed-species management of sheep with cattle through bonding |
| Publication Type | Conference Paper |
| Year of Publication | 1993 |
| Authors | Anderson D.M., Havstad K, Shupe, W. Larry, Libeau R. |
| Conference Name | Annual Meeting, Society for Range Management |
| Date Published | 1993 |
| Abstract | If sheep are managed together with cattle under free-ranging conditions, the two species do not consistently stay together. However, by confining weaned lambs with cattle for 30 to 60 d, an affinity or bond develops that will endure over time. These bonded sheep will remain in close proximity to cattle under pasture conditions. Bonding research dating from 1985 is discussed with emphasis on how bonding has reduced coyote predation, eliminated additional time required to locate sheep under mixed-species stocking, acted as a nonwire fence to provide an alternative to conventional sheep-proof fencing and increased the spatial grazing pattern of free-ranging sheep without significantlymodifying sheep diets compared to nonbonded sheep. The cost to produce a bonded sheep using pen confinement in 1992 was approximately $0.55/hd/d. |
Jornada
Science-based management strategies for sustainability of agriculture and other land uses
