Indoor finishing of lambs allows year-round production but creates challenges around social stress, respiratory disease and expression of natural behaviour.
Indoor finishing lambs housed at high density show elevated agonistic behaviour and respiratory disease rates compared to outdoor-finished counterparts. Poorly ventilated buildings increase pathogen load and pneumonia risk. However, indoor systems offer protection from predators, weather extremes and parasite challenge. Welfare outcomes depend critically on stocking density, ventilation design and enrichment provision rather than the system type per se.