Sheep animal experimentation division

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The permanent flock at the P3R Experimental Unit is composed of 1,300 ewes and 650 growing lambs, raised in indoor bands.

The herd is composed of Romane breed animals and is self-reproducing. The animals are reared in 3 to 4 batches, calving in March, September and December.

Each year, around 3,500 sheep are reared in the P3R Experimental Unit in response to experimental needs; some are sold as future breeding stock to the breeding organism OS Romane, while the rest issold to the SICAREV cooperative,

Twelve  technicians and animal handlers work on the sheep rearing operation. Continuous monitoring of the animals is ensured with shifting on-call duty. The coordinated use of innovative tools (multiple data collection, automated precision feeding, etc.) enables precision rearing, to the benefit of animals well-being, of feed efficiency and reduced environnemental impact.

A division dedicated to sheep scientific experimentation :

The Unit research focuses on improving all aspects of livestock farming, mainly through genetics: animal welfare, lamb quality, eliminating or reducing the use of antibiotics in sheep farming, animal feed and its environmental impact, etc. Main studied traits are : growth, meat quality, feed efficiency, behaviour and disease resistance.

The design of experimental protocols is defined by the researchers in coordination with the Unit technical and management teams. Researchers may then be involved in the conduct of experiments, supporting the technical teams to a greater or lesser degree.

The main research areas are :

• Genetic resistance to gastrointestinal parasitism: genetics can be an alternative to the use of vermifuges to control parasitic infestations;
• Behavioural traits and animal welfare: this area of research aims to determine the effect of experience on the individual's reactivity and ability to adapt;
• Feed efficiency: one of the main levers for improving the profitability of livestock farms and reducing their environmental impact. P3R can phenotype individual feed ingestion and so feed efficiency;
• Improving Romane carcass conformation by introducing the hypermuscularity gene through crossbreeding with the Texel Belgium breed.
• Control of reproduction to control calving periods and improve fertility;
• Researching alternatives to shearing: shearing is unprofitable, and cross-breeding with a woolless sheep breed (Black Belly Martinik) is a possible solution;

Collected data are saved, partly automatically, in secured databases common to all INRAE experimental units, hosted in a data center located in Jouy-en-Josas (France). An application developped by INRAE ensure the access of collected data to researchers.