Behavior of ewes towards foreign lambs

effect of genital stimulation and close contact

Abstract

Maternal behavior in the ewe is established during the first postpartum hour. Following this period mothers will reject any alten lamb trying to suck. One of the parameters used to measure the degree of rejection is the emission of high pitched bleats by the ewe. The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of genital stimulation and restraint contact with an alien lamb on the rejectlon behavior of ewes that had already established a selective link with their own lambs. An hour after parturition, 15 multiparous ewes were separated from their own lambs and distributed in three groups and treated as follows: genital stimulation, genital stimulation plus 2 hrs of contact with an alien lamb and non treatment. Genital stimulation by itself did not reduce the rejection behavior. However, when stimulation was followed by two hours of restraint contact with an alien lamb. The number of high pitched bleats was significantly decreased. 80% of the ewes submitted to this treatment remained attached to the alien lamb during field observations performed 24 hours after the test. By contrast, control animal and genital stimulated animal were not observed near an alien lamb. In summary, genital stimulation followed by two hours of restraint contact with an alien lamb significantly reduced the rejection behavior and facilitated their adoption.