Conservation practices that involve leaving mulch on the soil are known to increase soil fertility. However, mulch is an important source of feed for ruminant livestock. Accordingly, the trade-offs between mulching and stubble uptake by livestock are currently hot topics in the research field. In this study, a comparison between the quality of stubbles of wheat grown in no-tillage and conventional tillage fields and the rumen fermentation characteristics of Barbarine ewes grazing in the two fields was carried out. Samples were collected four times after wheat grain harvesting. Immediately after harvest, stubble biomass was slightly higher under no-tillage than conventional tillage. The ewes displayed different grazing behavior, with feeding at a higher rate on the conservative stubble than the conventional stubble. This feeding behavior seemed to be an adaptive strategy to offset the decline in the nutritional quality of stubbles from no-tillage-grown wheat. Indeed, dry matter, protein, fiber, and ash contents were lower in stubbles from no-tillage than conventional tillage at the second sampling time. Consequently, the concentration of the volatile fatty acid, propionic acid, was lower in ewes grazing in the conservative plots. However, this feeding behavior did not cause any body weight impairment during the two-month experimental period. At the end of grazing, the no-tillage practice was found to be comparable to the conventional tillage system according to the amount of residue remaining on the soil surface. Therefore, no-tillage could not be used to solve the competition between crops and livestock for residues.

This study aimed to assess the welfare of Tunisian sheep in extensive sheep production systems using animal-based measures of ewe welfare. This study encompasses the first national survey of sheep welfare in which animal-based outcomes were tested. Animal-based welfare measures were derived from previous welfare protocols. Fifty-two Tunisian farms were studied and a number from 20 to 100 animals by flock were examinated. The whole flock was also observed to detect clinical diseases, lameness, and coughing. The human-animal relationship was selected as welfare indicators. It was evaluated through the avoidance distance test. The average avoidance distance was 10.47 ± 1.23 and 8.12 ± 0.97 m for a novel person and farmer, respectively. The global mean of body condition score (BCS) was 2.4 with 47% of ewes having a BCS of two, which may be associated with an increased risk of nutritional stress, disease, and low productivity. Ten farms had more than 7% of lambs with a low body condition score, which may be an indication of a welfare problem. The results obtained in the present study suggest that the used animal-based measures were the most reliable indicators that can be included in welfare protocols for extensive sheep production systems.

This experiment aimed to determine the effect of stocking rates and cropping systems (conventional agriculture; Conv A vs. conservation agriculture; Cons A) on biomass dynamics and animal performance parameters of ewes grazing on wheat stubble. Forty Barbarine ewes were divided into eight homogeneous groups and allotted equally to the two cropping systems. Two stocking rates of 15 (SR15) and 30 (SR30) ewes/ha were tested for each cropping system, during a period of 60 d. Stubble biomass and BW variations were monitored at periodic intervals. Blood was sampled thrice during the study period at 15 d intervals. Results showed that the stubble biomass exhibited a gradual decrease (P<0.0001) with the progression of the duration by margins of -85.6 and -81.3% on DM basis, respectively, in Conv A and Cons A, as compared to initial biomass. Further, the biomass was also significantly (P=0.03) affected by the cropping system with a higher values in Conv A than Cons A. The variations in biomass chemical composition showed that the CP content decreased (P<0.0001) with advancing of period, while that of ADF increased (P<0.0001). Additionally, there was a significant effect (P=0.0002) of cropping mode evident in the nutritional composition. Overall, the animals maintained their average BW between the beginning (47.16 kg) and the end (47.36 kg) of the experiment. The blood parameters measured were well within the ranges of normal values for sheep. The stocking rates did not show impact on any of the parameters, with the values being generally similar between stocking rates and cropping systems. It is concluded that while the stocking rate had no effect on the measured variables, conservation agricultural system seemed to keep a higher proportion of residual biomass at the end of the experiment as compared to conventional agriculture.