Winter housing of sheep creates welfare challenges around respiratory disease, feed access, and social stress that contrast with the welfare benefits of protection from harsh weather.
Winter housing welfare involves genuine trade-offs: sheep protected from extreme weather benefit from reduced exposure and hypothermia risk, but housed sheep face respiratory disease from inadequate ventilation, nutritional competition from inadequate trough space, and the stress of high-density social environments. Welfare-positive housing management requires adequate airspace per animal, sufficient ventilation without draughts, and enough feed space to ensure all ewes eat adequately regardless of social rank. Regular body condition monitoring identifies animals failing to maintain condition in the group.