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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #131461
Title: HOW TO DEVELOP AND MANAGE CONTRASPECIFIC LIVESTOCK GROUPS--FLERDS

Author
item Anderson, Dean
item SHUPE, W. - RETIRED ARS

Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: An increased understanding of the pivotal role of animal behavior and, in particular, behaviors among contraspecifics will prove to be highly beneficial for promoting ecologically beneficial, economically profitable, management efficient and realistically sustainable animal production systems as we enter the 21st century. This paper focuses on a behavior modification technique originally developed to reduce canine predation of sheep and goats by modifying their behavior. As a result of modifying the behavior of small ruminants, costs associated with management, fencing and spot grazing have also been reduced. Procedures are discussed on how to modify the individual behaviors through the socialization of sheep and goats to cattle. Once altered, individuals consistently express their new behaviors under conventional mixed-stocking strategies with cattle thus radically changing the group behavior of flocks managed with herds. The behavior modification involves bonding sheep and/or goats to cattle. The resulting cohesive group we have termed a flerd. A flerd acts as a single, interdependent livestock unit rather than as two independent, intraspecific groups;i.e., herds of cattle or flocks of sheep and/or goats. In addition to summarizing current techniques for producing flerds and comparing flerd sheep to flock sheep, future management innovations to foster mixed livestock groups are proposed.

Technical Abstract: A step-wise method to alter small ruminant behavior such that they consistently remain with cattle to form a flerd under free-ranging conditions is described. Serendipitous observations, together with rigorously designed scientific studies, are discussed and provide the background for developing intensive and extensive protocols for socializing gdifferent animal species. Preliminary research suggests that production parameters, including lives weights, number of lambs weaned, lambs born and weaned per ewe, and interval between lambs, are not practically different between sheep in flerds and flocks. Emphasis is focused on the practical do's and don'ts of socialization to enhance the development of between-species bonds to produce flerds.