This experiment was conducted to evaluate whether a degree of rumen synchronicity with fermentable energy and nitrogen (N) supply would have an effect on the N utilization by sheep and microbial efficiency in the rumen. Two diets differing in their degrees of ruminal degradation synchronicity between N and organic matter (OM) (Synchrony index =0.3 and 0.8) were fed to four crossbred Suffolk adult rams at a maintenance level of requirement in a change-over design, and differences in microbial N (MBN) supply and N balance with both diets were investigated. The in situ rumen degradation parameters of OM and N were determined for timothy hay, rolled corn, rolled barley and sunflower meal and subsequently were used to formulate the two diets to have different ruminal degradation synchronicity. The diets were also formulated to give comparative provision levels of metabolizable energy (ME) and metabolizable protein (MP). The animals were fed asynchronous (ASYNC) and synchronous (SYNC) diet for a period of 22 days, and metabolizm trial and blood collection were carried out for the last 7 days of the period. Animals consumed their diets thoroughly. The nutrient intakes and apparent digestibility were unaffected by dietary treatments (P >0.05). There were no differences in MBN supply and microbial efficiency between the diets (P >0.05). The estimates of N retention were significantly higher for ASYNC than those for SYNC owing to the lower urinary N excretion for ASYNC compared with SYNC (P < 0.05). The concentrations of plasma urea nitrogen and glucose did not differ significantly between the diets (P >0.05), although the concentration of plasma urea nitrogen seemed to be numerically lower for ASYNC than that for SYNC (P =0.20). These results suggest that when ME and MP were provided to suffice a maintenance requirement of adult sheep, the diet being imbalanced between fermentable energy and degradable N provision could increase the N utilization efficiency by reducing their urinary N excretion or increasing urea recycling.

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We analyzed the vocal structure of ewes and lambs in summer pasture of arushantu and buruto, Mongolia. Regarding the ewes, in the time between vocalization types/ηηηη/and/ηaee/, /ηaee/and/ηnaeee/, significant differences were noted in the fundamental frequencies and sound pressure between vocalization types/ηηηη/and/ηaee/, /ηηηη/and/ηnaeee/ (P< 0.05).
Regarding the lambs, in the time between vocalization types/ηηηη/and/ηeee/, /ηeee/ and/ηneeee/, significant differences were noted in the in the fundamental frequencies and sound pressure between vocalization types/ηηηη/and/ηeee/ (P< 0.05).
There were also significant differences in the end of vocalization of phonation time between different vocalization types (χ²=10.8, P< 0.05).
With both ewes and lambs showing variations in phonation time, fundamental frequencies, and sound pressure-depending on phonetic notation-this suggests that sheep use dif-ferent sounds based on the circumstances of vocalization and behavior.

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With the increasing concern of animal welfare among consumers, regulations for animal welfare have been implemented. These regulations also cover transport of live animals in EU and the USA. In Japan, it is needed that the level of animal welfare during transport is studied. Therefore, this experiment aimed to study and evaluate stress levels of sheep during transport with increasing arterial and mountain roads because of geological characteristics in Japan. Lambs (approximately four months of age) were transported by truck in July 2006 (in the shortest distance) and July 2007 (in the increased distance of arterial and mountain roads). There was a significant relationship between year and road type in the number of lying lambs (χ²=48.69, P<0.01). While the number of lying lambs in arterial and mountain roads in 2006was more than the expected, fewer the number of lying lambs in arterial and mountain roads in 2007 was than the expected. There was a significant relationship between year and road type in the number of lambs heading to all directions (front χ²= 178.77 ; back χ²= 81.44 ; right χ² = 21.25 ; left χ²=23.73, all P < 0.001). While the number of lambs heading to directions expect left in arterial roads in 2006 were more than the expected, fewer the number of lambs oriented most directions except left in arterial roads in 2007 were than the expected. The number of lambs that lost their balance in arterial and mountain roads was significantly more than that in expressways (both P< 0.01), even though a significant difference was not found between years. The number of vocalizations was hardly observed at the early time of transport in 2006, but large number of vocalizations was observed in 2007, and the number was linearly decreased until 80 minutes of transport (y =-0.131x +11.81, R²=0.798, P< 0.01). This might be due to the presence or absence of isolation of lambs from ewes before transport. More increased variation of heart rate, rectal temperature, plasma cortisol, blood lactate from pre-to post transport were seen in 2007 compared to those in 2006, but all variations were not statistically significant. These results suggest that the shortest route including expressways should be used and drive carefully when the shortest route could not be used, because stress levels of transported lambs were slightly heightened with increasing the distance of arterial and mountain roads.

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With the increasing concern of animal welfare among consumers, the idea of promoting animal welfare has prevailed among various administrative bodies and producers' groups worldwide, not only those limited to academic societies. Therefore, we studied the adverse effects on animals during transportation and organized their evaluation indexes in this report, using the relatively-recent studies of sheep transportation since 1990. The stresses imposed on animals are classified into three categories : 1) physical stress, 2) physiological stress, and 3) mental stress. The physical stresses involve fatigue caused primarily during loading and unloading, postural positioning, and maintaining balance during transportation. The physiological stresses include : starvation, dehydration, injuries and disease, the reactions caused naturally by changes in body temperature and physiological function in animals. The mental stresses include the ones perceived by sensory organs of animals and the desires for eating and drinking. For the purpose of measuring these stresses, behavior and physiological indexes are used. Blood creatine kinase levels and blood lactate levels are used as indexes showing fatigue. A decrease in body weight, plasma glucose level, plasma free fatty acid levels, plasma urea levels, plasma, β-hydroxybutyric acid levels, blood total protein levels, blood total albumin, blood cell volume in blood, and blood osmolarity are all used as indexes showing starvation and dehydration. An increase in heart rate and an increase of discharging volumes of catecholamine and cortisol in the blood are used as indexes showing anti-stress response. Lastly, plasma free fatty acid levels and blood glucose levels also are used as indexes showing anti-stress response. It is considered to be important to improve the farm animal welfare trend in Japan and to introduce legislation for the purpose of realizing this goal in the future by broadly investigating the adverse effects on sheep during their transportation and taking into consideration the above factors together with geological and climatic characteristics in Japan.

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