How outdoor lamb production systems affect welfare outcomes during the critical neonatal period and through the growing phase.
Outdoor lamb production offers significant welfare advantages during the growing phase but creates acute vulnerability during the neonatal period. The balance between system welfare benefits and neonatal risks depends heavily on lambing timing, breed selection, stockperson skill, and shelter availability. Painful husbandry procedures including tail docking and castration should be performed with analgesia regardless of system, but compliance remains variable. Welfare certification schemes for lamb must account for both the neonatal risk period and the positive welfare potential of outdoor growth.