Raising sheep is one of the key elements of animal husbandry. Since these animals experience winters and summers in different regions, their management is tailored to suit the pastures. This situation results in significant differences in meeting the animals' needs, such as feeding and shelter, water supply, etc., depending on the region's structure. These differences have been analyzed by a group of Turkish researchers, who have compiled the study titled "The Importance of Sheep Shelters in Cold Climate Regions," published in the specialized journal "Black Sea Journal of Agriculture."

Proper Shelter

Sheep farmers often focus on animal nutrition and may not pay much attention to the structures and surroundings of animal shelters. A significant amount of waste is released into the environment when sheep graze in various pastures.

Therefore, a proper shelter should be designed to protect the animals from rain and snow during winter and from heat during summer, especially when the sun is intense, and environmental pollution is high.

Several factors are essential for the adequate design of animal shelters. Adequate space should be provided for each animal, and the animal shelters should have proper ventilation and waste management systems. Otherwise, structural issues can lead to negative outcomes.

Animals can harm each other, harmful gases can accumulate to dangerous levels, and environmental pollution can occur. This can lead to stress in animals and a reduction in feed intake, resulting in decreased productivity.

Taking all these factors into account, below are presented healthy, efficient, and practical plans and recommendations suitable for sheep farming in cold climate regions, designed according to local conditions.

Two Approaches

Sheep are important sources of milk, meat, and wool. There are disputes among farmers regarding whether sheep require housing. Since they depend on grazing in the field, they can easily adapt to a wide range of climates and available feed.

Some animal owners believe it is more suitable to keep sheep outdoors, although harsh winters can be fatal for sheep. However, farmers have a responsibility to provide proper shelter for their sheep. Adequate shelter can help sheep cope better with various climate extremes that can occur throughout the year and increase their productivity.

Healthy sheep can tolerate a wide range of temperatures if they are acclimatized and provided with adequate feed and water. However, shelter can improve animal welfare and reduce production losses. Open systems, year-round, are a cost-effective husbandry model, but extra attention is needed during winter, especially since the insulating effect of shelters is overlooked.

Due to varying cold adaptation responses, sheep can withstand winters. However, these responses need to be supported by a suitable shelter system to prevent heat loss, which could lead to cold stress (Wassmuth, 2013). Substantial dietary energy can be diverted from productive functions to heat generation when animals are exposed to extreme cold stress.

Risk of Death

Failure to provide adequate warmth can lead to death. Additionally, cold stress can lead to secondary changes and eventually diseases. Physiological adaptation occurs in animals when prolonged exposure to even mild cold conditions leads to increased thermal insulation, appetite, basal metabolic rate, and digestive function changes.

Much of the reduced productivity and nutritional efficiency observed in ruminant production systems during the colder months of the year can be explained by these adaptive changes (Young, 1983).

In areas with high precipitation and strong winds combined with cold temperatures, the lack of shelter can cause mortality, especially in freshly shorn sheep and young animals. Newborn lambs have low cold tolerance, limited energy reserves, and poor insulation, so they require shelter with a straw-covered floor and three sides (Wassmuth, 2013). The impact of cold weather will depend on duration, precipitation, wind speed, and temperature.

All these factors create the "wind chill" factor, which can double heat loss. Firstly, any water evaporated from the skin will cool the body in the same way as sweating. Secondly, rain falling on sheep, sheltering in the wool and ultimately dripping, will reduce heat from the skin. When wet and cold, sheep can be reluctant or unable to move (Erickson, 2016).

Therefore, only healthy animals with sufficient body fat can be wintered outdoors, and the animals must have experience with local winter conditions (Richardson, 2012). The effectiveness of different responses to cold stress is greatest at the lower limit of the thermoneutral zone (TNZ), a point referred to as the lower critical temperature (LCT).

Environmental Issues

It has been observed that waste and manure generated from sheep shelters, when stored directly on the ground surface without proper management practices, can pollute both surface and groundwater resources. Agricultural pollution can be described as either point source or non-point source pollution. Point source pollution is pollution of a waterway from a single discharge point, such as a pipe, tank, or building.

Pollution as a point source can be caused by manure, runoff, silage effluent, uncollected dirty water, tar, pesticides, or sheep scouring. Most sheep farmers in cold regions have reported that sheep dipping applications were uncontrolled and lacked designated areas for sheep.

The storage, application, or uncontrolled disposal of pesticides can also have destructive effects on rivers and water supplies. Pesticides applied directly to farm animals are classified as veterinary medicines.

Contaminating clean water sources or groundwater can result in poisoning, both in humans and animals. This situation can also mean the loss of a drinking water source, possibly forever. Therefore, sheep dipping facilities should be carefully located.

They should not be placed less than 10 meters from any waterway (rivers, streams, and wetlands) and should never be located less than 50 meters from a spring, well, or borehole as far as possible.

Traditional sheep and goat shelters are usually poorly lit and have inadequate ventilation and drainage. Housing sheep and other farm animals in the family home can have serious consequences, such as disease outbreaks.

Housing farm animals near human areas also causes the spread of parasites and bacterial and viral infections that can be transmitted to humans, especially children. Sheep are grazed in summer without any environmental protection measures, and in winter months, sheep are kept in closed shelters.

Closed shelters provide poor conditions for animals in many areas. Most farms lack an auxiliary equipment section, waste storage systems, have poor drainage systems, and inadequate ventilation systems. Sometimes, manure and urine from a single farm point source are collected and spread back onto agricultural land to avoid groundwater or land surface water pollution as an environmental problem.

Waste Management

Two general systems are used for manure storage and handling: slatted floors above a collection pit or a deep-litter system (Berge, 2017). In deep-litter systems, the floor should be gravel or sand.

A plastic membrane could be installed under the gravel for groundwater drainage. A concrete floor might require much more bedding material to ensure dry and clean conditions. (Nedkvitne and Nygaard, 2010). To prevent seepage, the pit needs an impermeable floor and sides.

For well-provisioned and well-fed shelters, pits 1.2 meters below the floor provide sufficient space for manure for 5 months. A deeper and more expensive pit is not needed.

Space requirements should be calculated for sheep accommodation to determine how many sheep can be housed in a given area. Recommended living spaces should be strictly adhered to.

Water Management

To maintain sheep health, the quality of provided drinking water should be adequate. Watering points should have sufficient capacity and allow safe access. Periodic assessments of water quality and supply quantity should be made.

In some places, water resources are not frequently monitored. To help remove excess heat, moisture, carbon dioxide, dust, harmful gases, and infectious organisms from the environment, sheep shelters should be designed either for efficient natural ventilation or with mechanical fans.

Internal air distribution is necessary for proper animal location and building design. Sheep should not be kept or exposed to any environment where the air is contaminated with dust or harmful chemicals that could be harmful to their well-being.

Design Requirements

Sheep (and goats) housing should meet animal requirements and fulfill the farmer's needs at the lowest possible cost. Small ruminant housing should be:

• Strong enough to withstand wear and tear and large enough for all animals to be comfortably accommodated. It should allow free movement of all animals.

• Well-drained or have well-maintained dry bedding and be easy to clean. Sheep and goats do not tolerate mud well, so shelters should only be built on well-drained land.

• Should receive morning sun evenly and be well-lit and ventilated. Air circulation, temperature, dust levels, relative humidity, and gas concentrations should be at levels that will not affect the animals.

• Should have adequate isolation pens for sick or injured animals as far away from the main shelter building as possible.