On-farm qualitative behaviour assessment in sheep: Repeated measurements across time, and association with physical indicators of flock health and welfare

Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) is a ‘whole-animal’ methodology that assesses the expressive qualities of animal behaviour using terms such as ‘tense’, ‘relaxed’, ‘anxious’, and ‘content’. The reliability and validity of QBA as an indicator for on-farm welfare assessment in pigs, cattle, poultry and sheep has been examined in a number of ways. However, the use […]