Ewe and lamb contact at lambing is influenced by both shelter type and birth number

Broster, John; Dehaan, Remy; Swain, D. L.; Friend, Michael

doi:10.1017/s1751731110000030

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…More recently, proximity loggers, a remote sensing technology, have been used to quantify social dynamics within a group of animals. To date, proximity loggers have been used in sheep to identify ewe-lamb interactions (Broster et al 2010), stocking rates (Broster, Rathbone, et al 2012) and feed availability (Freire, Swain, and Friend 2012), but they have not been used to identify individual social interactions within a stable adult flock.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock

Doyle

Broster

Barnes

et al. 2016

Behavioural Processes

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Please cite this article as: Doyle, Rebecca E., Broster, John C., Barnes, Kirsty, Browne, William J., Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock.Behavioural Processes http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.beproc.2016.08.004 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Highlights: Sheep appear to have temperament-related social preference for specific individuals within a flock. Age, rainfall and temperature all affected social interactions of the sheep flock. Vocalisations and movement scores in the isolation box test are well correlated over time, but the two types of behaviours were poorly correlated with each other, suggesting they reflect different things. Multiple Membership Multiple Classification modelling is a useful way to analyse social structures of the flock and make predictions on how animal or environment circumstances affect social behaviour. AbstractThe aim of the current study was to investigate the social relationships between individual sheep, and factors that influence this, through the novel application of the statistical multiple

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock

Doyle

Broster

Barnes

et al. 2016

Behavioural Processes

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“…Proximity loggers have been used in a small number of focussed animal studies; however, they have the potential to address a broader range of behavioural, ecological and evolutionary questions. Proximity logging devices have been employed in several studies of wild and domestic animals including contact networks in captive brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula [8]; proximity detection in wild raccoons Procyon lotor [9]; cow-cow, cow-calf and ewe-lamb interactions in domestic livestock [10], [11], [12]; contact rates between Eurasian badgers Meles meles [13] and between badgers and cattle [14]; population network structure of wild Tasmanian devils Sarcophilus harrisii [15]; and in revealing spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the behaviour of European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus [16]. Proximity loggers provide data that can be used to develop quantitative contact networks, which may offer insights into behavioural and social processes, and can potentially lead to improvements in disease management [17], [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of Proximity Loggers in Recording Intra- and Inter-Species Interactions: A Laboratory and Field-Based Validation Study

et al. 2012

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Knowledge of the way in which animals interact through social networks can help to address questions surrounding the ecological and evolutionary consequences of social organisation, and to understand and manage the spread of infectious diseases. Automated proximity loggers are increasingly being used to record interactions between animals, but the accuracy and reliability of the collected data remain largely un-assessed. Here we use laboratory and observational field data to assess the performance of these devices fitted to a herd of 32 beef cattle (Bos taurus) and nine groups of badgers (Meles meles, n = 77) living in the surrounding woods. The distances at which loggers detected each other were found to decrease over time, potentially related to diminishing battery power that may be a function of temperature. Loggers were highly accurate in recording the identification of contacted conspecifics, but less reliable at determining contact duration. There was a tendency for extended interactions to be recorded as a series of shorter contacts. We show how data can be manipulated to correct this discrepancy and accurately reflect observed interaction patterns by combining records between any two loggers that occur within a 1 to 2 minute amalgamation window, and then removing any remaining 1 second records. We make universally applicable recommendations for the effective use of proximity loggers, to improve the validity of data arising from future studies.

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“…It is also possible that the lower proportion of SME deaths in twin lambs in shrubs compared with hedgerows 494 was associated with a difference in the behaviour of ewes and lambs in the different shelter types. In a separate 495 study within this experiment, where use of contact loggers recorded sheep coming within approximately 4 m of 496 another sheep, ewes in the hessian shelter had 17% less contact with their twin lambs than ewes in the shrubs 497 (Broster et al 2010). However, it is not clear whether this lower level of contact contributed to reduced 498 survival.…”

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Survival of twin lambs is increased with shrub belts

Robertson¹,

Friend²,

Broster³

et al. 2011

Anim. Prod. Sci.

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Perinatal lamb mortality is a major source of reproductive loss, particularly for twins. A study was conducted to determine whether provision of shelter in the form of shrub belts (a 'maternity ward') could increase survival of twin lambs compared with hedgerows, and whether hedgerows improve survival of single lambs compared with unsheltered paddocks. Measurements were recorded for Merino x Poll Dorset cross twin lambs born in hedgerows (phalaris or hessian) or shrub belts and single lambs born in hedgerows or unsheltered paddocks over the years 2007 to 2009. Records for 382 single and 726 twin lambs were used. The survival of single lambs was not increased (P=0.06) by hedgerow shelter. The survival of twin lambs in shrubs was 10% higher (P<0.05) than in hessian hedgerow shelter in 2008 to 2009 (0.77 cv 0.70), associated with a reduction in deaths from starvation/mismothering/exposure. The hessian shelter was associated with an increased (P<0.05) growth rate to weaning of single lambs, but the growth rates of twin lambs were lower (P<0.05) in shrub compared with hessian shelter. In 2010 a second study of 178 twin Merino x Poll Dorset cross lambs found that survival of lambs born alive was not improved by shrubs compared with unsheltered paddocks (0.80 vs 0.77; P>0.05). It is concluded that shrub belts which forced twin-bearing ewes to lamb in a sheltered environment reduced perinatal mortality in one of three data sets, but was not repeated. The shrubs take time to establish, and the benefit will be small if weather is mild during lambing. Abstract 14 Perinatal lamb mortality is a major source of reproductive loss, particularly for twins. A study was conducted to 15 determine whether provision of shelter in the form of shrub belts (a 'maternity ward') could increase survival of 16 twin lambs compared with hedgerows, and whether hedgerows improve survival of single lambs compared with 17 unsheltered paddocks. Measurements were recorded for Merino x Poll Dorset cross twin lambs born in 18 hedgerows (phalaris or hessian) or shrub belts and single lambs born in hedgerows or unsheltered paddocks over 19 the years 2007 to 2009. Records for 382 single and 726 twin lambs were used. The survival of single lambs 20 was not increased (P=0.06) by hedgerow shelter. The survival of twin lambs in shrubs was 10% higher 21 (P<0.05) than in hessian hedgerow shelter in 2008 to 2009 (0.77 cv 0.70), associated with a reduction in deaths 22 from starvation/mismothering/exposure. The hessian shelter was associated with an increased (P<0.05) growth 23 rate to weaning of single lambs, but the growth rates of twin lambs were lower (P<0.05) in shrub compared with 24 hessian shelter. In 2010 a second study of 178 twin Merino x Poll Dorset cross lambs found that survival of 25 lambs born alive was not improved by shrubs compared with unsheltered paddocks (0.80 vs 0.77; P>0.05). It is 26concluded that shrub belts which forced twin-bearing ewes to lamb in a sheltered environment reduced perinatal 27 mortality in one of three data ...

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Ewe and lamb contact at lambing is influenced by both shelter type and birth number

Cited by 15 publications

References 28 publications

Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock

Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock

Performance of Proximity Loggers in Recording Intra- and Inter-Species Interactions: A Laboratory and Field-Based Validation Study

Survival of twin lambs is increased with shrub belts

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