Ability of lambs to learn about novel foods while observing or participating with social models

Thorhallsdottir, Anna G.; Provenza, Frederick D.; Balph, David F.

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(90)90066-m

Cited by 131 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This trend has been observed in cattle (Ralphs and Olsen, 1990), sheep (Thorhallsdottir et al, 1990), rodents (Galef, 1985) and birds (Mason et al, 1984). Conditioned flavour aversion behaviours in cattle typically persist for a number of years if all animals in a herd are subjected to the conditioning procedures (Ralphs and Provenza, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Social models fail to induce diet and feeding site avoidance in naïve yearling steers

Cibils

Howery

Ruyle

2008

Animal

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Social learning can be of critical importance to cattle grazing rangeland environments with high variability of food resources across space and time. Experienced individuals can greatly facilitate foraging decisions (what to eat and where to eat) of naïve peers in such settings. We conducted an experiment with cattle to investigate strength and persistence of socially induced food and feeding site avoidance behaviours. Sixteen naïve yearling steers were paired with 16 social models that had either not been trained (control) or been trained with an emetic (LiCl), electrical shock or both to avoid: (a) an unsafe high-quality food (LiCl); (b) an unsafe high-quality feeding site (shock); or (c) both the unsafe high-quality food and the unsafe high-quality feeding site (LiCl 1 shock). Ten-minute trials were conducted in an experimental arena containing three artificial feeding sites each consisting of groups of bowls with either high-(HQ) or moderate-quality (MQ) foods (HQ 5 barley and oat grain; MQ 5 Bermuda grass hay). Unsafe high-quality (UHQ, surrounded by traffic cones) and safe moderate-quality (SMQ) feeding sites consisted of nine rubber bowls containing either HQ or MQ foods. The safe high-quality (SHQ) feeding site consisted of two groups of eight bowls containing HQ food, which surrounded the UHQ and SMQ feeding sites. Social models did not induce diet and feeding site avoidance behaviours in naïve steers; they exerted small and transient changes in the feeding behaviour of their naïve counterparts. Consequences to the individual outweighed social influences; when naïve animals experienced the same punishment contingencies as their social models, their behavioural patterns closely resembled those of their social model. Conditioned food and location aversions via LiCl were apparently influenced by prior exposure to target foods and the experimental arena. Conversely, conditioned feeding site avoidance via shock was apparently not influenced by prior exposure to target foods or the experimental arena.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Social models fail to induce diet and feeding site avoidance in naïve yearling steers

Cibils

Howery

Ruyle

2008

Animal

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“…For example, lambs which were offered two types of food simultaneously took more mouthfuls of the food consumed by their mothers than that avoided by their mothers (Mirza & Provenza, 1990. This influence seems to be specific to the mother because lambs exposed to a novel food with their mothers ate more of this food at weaning than lambs exposed to this food with nonmaternal ewes (Thorhallsdottir et al, 1990). Thorhallsdottir et al (1990) suggested that to learn which food to eat, lambs have to consume the food with their mothers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This influence seems to be specific to the mother because lambs exposed to a novel food with their mothers ate more of this food at weaning than lambs exposed to this food with nonmaternal ewes (Thorhallsdottir et al, 1990). Thorhallsdottir et al (1990) suggested that to learn which food to eat, lambs have to consume the food with their mothers. Indeed, lambs that could only see their mothers eating a novel food from behind a clear plastic sheet did not eat more of that food at weaning than lambs exposed alone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In sheep, little work has been carried out on the importance of the different senses involved but it is commonly accepted that the sense of smell is possibly more important than that of sight in diet selection (Forbes, 1995). Previous experiments in lambs have used novel foods-barley, wheat, or shrub-in which the range of sensory characteristics was varied (Chapple & Lynch, 1986;Mirza & Provenza, 1990Thorhallsdottir et al, 1990). Following the results in rodents, we decided to focus on the role olfactory cues play in the development of food preference in lambs during early exposure to the mother feeding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This influence can begin in utero (rodents: Abate, Pepino, Spear, & Molina, 2000;Gruest, Richer, & Hars, 2004;Hepper, 1988;Smotherman, 1982;rabbits: Bilko, Altbacker, & Hudson, 1994;Coureaud, Schaal, Hudson, Orgeur, & Coudert, 2002;sheep: Nolte, Provenza, Callan, & Panter, 1992;humans: Mennella, Jagnow, & Beauchamp, 2001;Mennella, Johnson, & Beauchamp, 1995;Schaal, Marlier, & Soussignan, 2000). It can also be reinforced during lactation (rodents: Galef & Henderson, 1972;Galef & Sherry, 1973;rabbits: Bilko et al;sheep: Desage, Schaal, Soubeyrand, Orgeur, & Brazier, 1996;Nolte & Provenza, 1991) and can continue into the early stages of solid food intake (cats: Wyrwicka, 1978;sheep: Chapple & Lynch, 1986;Mirza & Provenza, 1990Thorhallsdottir, Provenza, & Balph, 1990). Young herbivores, in particular, are strongly influenced by their mothers during early exposure to solid food.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of the mother in the development of flavored‐food preference in lambs

Saint-Dizier

Lévy

Ferreira

2006

Developmental Psychobiology

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The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the mother in the development of flavored-food preference in lambs. First, we demonstrated that lambs that ate flavored food in the presence of their mothers before weaning ate more of this food 1 month after weaning than lambs that ate flavored food with other ewes or lambs exposed to nonflavored food with their mothers. Second, lambs that could only see their mothers eating the flavored food and had access to the food's olfactory cues before weaning, showed similar preference for flavored food 1 month after weaning to lambs that ate the flavored food with their mothers. However, lambs that were separated from their mothers while their mothers consumed flavored food did not reveal a preference for it. Overall these results suggest that development of food preference in lambs depends mainly on observation of the mother, provided there is also access to olfactory cues characterizing the food.

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Grazing Animal Behavior

Launchbaugh

2020

Forages

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Ability of lambs to learn about novel foods while observing or participating with social models

Cited by 131 publications

References 32 publications

Social models fail to induce diet and feeding site avoidance in naïve yearling steers

Social models fail to induce diet and feeding site avoidance in naïve yearling steers

Influence of the mother in the development of flavored‐food preference in lambs

Grazing Animal Behavior

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