Long-term 24-hour rest-activity pattern of sheep in stalls and in the field

Motor activity of sheep was continuously recorded for 2-3 weeks with an ambulatory monitoring device. Recordings were obtained from free-ranging animals in the field and from animals maintained under various controlled conditions in stalls. The sheep were diurnal under all conditions. While the daily amount of activity and the frequency of rest episodes showed only small differences between the conditions, the rest-activity pattern showed prominent differences. The pattern differed particularly between the field and the stalls. In the field, activity started to increase one hour after dawn, reaching a first maximum towards noon; a second, higher peak in the evening was followed by a rapid decline after dusk. In the stalls the onset and offset of activity was more abrupt; activity peaks coincided with feeding and human activity; the onset of rest with lights off. Activity was lowest and rest most prominent in those stalls where the animals were most isolated from human influence.