Keel bone fractures — breaks in the sternum of laying hens — are increasingly recognised as a major welfare issue in poultry, but sheep have their own distinct skeletal welfare concerns related to lameness, metabolic bone disease, and footcare.
Lameness in sheep is a significant welfare challenge that is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated. Sheep are prey animals that suppress pain expression, making early detection difficult. Research using force plates and accelerometers shows lame sheep have profoundly reduced movement, altered grazing behaviour, and spend more time recumbent. Chronic lameness causes persistent pain, weight loss, and reduced reproductive performance. The Five Domains framework applied to sheep lameness identifies impairments across nutrition, physical environment, health, and behavioural expression simultaneously. Prompt identification using flock lameness scoring, followed by appropriate treatment and isolation of affected individuals, is essential to minimise suffering.