Wear of sheep's Teeth

Abstract

Abstract Length of incisor teeth of four‐tooth ewes (stocked seven per acre), and soil content of faeces, were measured every six weeks from February 1965 to January 1966 at the Te Awa hill country research area of the Grasslands Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Wear was low when soil content of faeces was low, and rose to a peak as soil content of faeces reached a peak, supporting the hypothesis that ingested soil is the main cause of wear. Maximum wear occurred August–September, when average tooth wear per animal for six weeks was 0.07 in. and soil content of faeces was over 40%. Mean total wear for the year per animal was 0.24 in., and about 70% of this occurred in the period July to October, suggesting that any control measures must be concentrated in this period.