Development of mother discrimination by single and multiple newborn lambs

Nowak, Raymond; Poindron, Pascal; Putu, I Gede

doi:10.1002/dev.420220807

Cited by 64 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The results obtained here in lambs with their intact mother are in agreement with previous reports (Nowak, 1990;Nowak & Lindsay, 1990;Nowak et al, 1987;Nowak et al, 1989;Terrazas, 1999) that lambs consistently discriminated between their own dam and an alien mother at ages varying from 12 to 24 hr. They also are consistent with the finding that at that early age, discrimination by the lamb occurs only at close quarters, with distal recognition becoming evident only several days later (Arnold, Boundy, Morgan, & Bartle, 1975;Nowak, 1990).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Twenty‐four‐hour‐old lambs rely more on maternal behavior than on the learning of individual characteristics to discriminate between their own and an alien mother

Terrazas¹,

Nowak²,

Serafín³

et al. 2002

Developmental Psychobiology

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Lambs can discriminate their own mother from an alien dam on the first day of life, suggesting the recognition of individual physical characteristics of the mother. Alternatively, their choice may depend on behavioral differences existing between the ewes because of their maternal selectivity. To clarify this, the ability of 24-hr-old lambs to discriminate between their own and an alien mother, that were either intact and accept only their own lamb at nursing (i.e., selective, n = 19) or anosmic, which nurse indiscriminately alien lambs as well as their own (i.e., nonselective, n = 24), was assessed by a 5-min, two-choice test. With intact dams, lambs spent significantly more time next to their own mother whereas this was not so in the presence of anosmic dams. Furthermore, in the intact group, the vocal activity by their own mother differed from that by the alien dam while this was not so in anosmic ewes. We conclude that 24-hr-old lambs rely more on the behavior of the ewes to select their dam than on their individual physical characteristics.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Twenty‐four‐hour‐old lambs rely more on maternal behavior than on the learning of individual characteristics to discriminate between their own and an alien mother

Terrazas¹,

Nowak²,

Serafín³

et al. 2002

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…The choice of the lamb during the preference test in Experiment 2 reflects a true learning process facilitated by colostrum ingestion or volumetric changes of the stomach. Because previous studies had consistently shown that discrimination occurs at close quarters (Nowak, 1991;Nowak et al, 1989), it was suggested that 24-hr-old lambs discriminate and prefer a mother that shows acceptance behaviors over a mother that shows rejection behaviors, and that the low-pitched bleats may be a determinant attractive element (Terrazas et al, 2002). In the present work, mothers emitted more low-pitched bleats and less high-pitched bleats than the alien ewes in all groups once the lambs were in the zone of contact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Under such behavioral pressure, the young have patent advantages to recognize rapidly their own mother as she is the only care provider. Indeed, lambs discriminate their mother from alien ewes within 12 to 24 hr after birth (Nowak, Poindron, Le Neindre, & Putu, 1987;Nowak, Poindron, & Putu, 1989). Such an ability avoids rejection by alien ewes and optimizes the reunion with the dam at feeding times.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A full belly and colostrum: Two major determinants of filial love

Val‐Laillet¹,

Simon²,

Nowak³

2004

Developmental Psychobiology

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The establishment of filial bonding in sheep relies on the success of the first suckling bouts. Previous work has shown that colostrum ingestion facilitates the development of a preference for the mother. We conducted a series of experiments to investigate the influence of quantitative and qualitative factors linked to fluid ingestion. The first experiment demonstrated that the procedure was not detrimental to the mother-young interaction and did not cause any harm to the lamb. In a second experiment, lambs could interact with their dam, but were deprived of suckling during the first 12 hr after birth (The udder was covered.) and fed via a nasogastric tube in the presence of their mother on seven occasions. When tested in a two-choice test at 12 hr of age, lambs that received either colostrum or saline (total amount = 10% birth weight) spent more time near their own dam than near an alien ewe. When smaller volumes of fluids were used (5% birth weight), lambs that received colostrum showed a preference for their mother while those ingesting saline did not. The differences persisted at 24 hr even though all the lambs had access to the maternal udder from 12 hr onward, and these differences were not related to weight variations or body temperature. In the choice test, the motor skills and vocal activity of the lambs were not affected by the treatment nor were the behaviors of the ewes. The third experiment showed that colostrum, and saline to a lesser extent, reduces the number of vocalizations emitted by lambs compared to sham-intubated lambs, but did not otherwise influence mother-young interactions. This suggests that post-ingestive factors may facilitate the development of mother preference through a satiated or comforted state. This is the first evidence that depending on the amount of liquids ingested, a preferential relationship with the mother can be established via nutritional and nonnutritional signals originating from the gastrointestinal region, pointing out the major role played by the gut-brain axis in the development of filial bonding.

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“…It is therefore highly beneficial to the lamb to get rapidly attached to its dam. Most lambs can discriminate between their mother and an alien maternal ewe 12 to 24 h after birth [70,71] and this ability still improves markedly during the first few days postpartum [72]. While recognition of the mother at 24 h is based primarily on cues that lambs can perceive at close quarters, they can clearly discriminate their mother from a distance of several metres when 3 days old [73].…”

Section: Getting Attached To the Mothermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While recognition of the mother at 24 h is based primarily on cues that lambs can perceive at close quarters, they can clearly discriminate their mother from a distance of several metres when 3 days old [73]. The development of early recognition of the dam varies according to breed, sex, and litter size [71,72]. Twins commonly take more than two days before they begin to show a preference for their dam.…”

Section: Getting Attached To the Mothermentioning

confidence: 99%

From birth to colostrum: early steps leading to lamb survival

2006

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-New-born lambs have limited energy reserves and need a rapid access to colostrum to maintain homeothermy and survive. In addition to energy, colostrum provides immunoglobulins which ensure passive systemic immunity. Therefore, getting early access to the udder is essential for the neonate. The results from the literature reviewed here highlight the importance of the birth site as the location where the mutual bonding between the mother and her young takes place. Attraction to birth fluids by the periparturient ewe leads to intense licking of the lamb. Grooming not only dries, cleans and stimulates the newborn it also facilitates bonding through learning of its individual odour. Ewes having twins should ideally stay on the birth site for at least six hours in order to establish a strong bond with both lambs and favour lambs survival. However, primiparous ewes or ewes having high levels of emotivity are more likely to exhibit poor maternal behaviour. In addition, difficult parturition and weather conditions have an indirect effect on the behaviour of the mother and are other major causes of lamb death. On the lamb's side, rapid access to the udder and early suckling are extremely important. Delayed lactation or insufficient colostrum yield may be fatal especially since suckling has strong rewarding properties in the establishment of a preference for the mother, which in turn increases lamb survival. Insufficient access to the udder in mothers leaving the birth site too soon after parturition, especially in twin-bearing ewes, could also partly account for the high incidence of loss of mother-young contact and subsequent death in such lambs. Strategies to improve neonatal survival should be aimed at maximising lamb vigour, colostrum production, and mutual mother-young bonding through adequate feeding in late pregnancy and selection on behaviour.energy reserve / colostrums / suckling / maternal behaviour / bonding / ewe / lamb / nutrition / survival

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Development of mother discrimination by single and multiple newborn lambs

Cited by 64 publications

References 24 publications

Twenty‐four‐hour‐old lambs rely more on maternal behavior than on the learning of individual characteristics to discriminate between their own and an alien mother

Twenty‐four‐hour‐old lambs rely more on maternal behavior than on the learning of individual characteristics to discriminate between their own and an alien mother

A full belly and colostrum: Two major determinants of filial love

From birth to colostrum: early steps leading to lamb survival

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