Title: Ability of 12-hour-old Merino and crossbred lambs to recognise their mothers
Abstract: The ability of 12-h-old Merino (M) and Border-Leicester × Merino lambs (BL×M) to be attracted to post-parturient ewes and to recognise their own mothers was tested using a 2-choice situation. When released at 6 m from two ewes placed next to each other, most lambs reached a ewe before the end of the 5-min test (2428). Amongst lambs spending more than 3 min close to the ewes, 79% (1924) spent at least two-thirds of this time next to their own dam. On the other hand, the proportion of lambs reaching their mothers first (1124) did not differ significantly from a choice at random. Also, the proportion of BL×M lambs reaching a ewe (1515) or spending more than two-thirds of their time with their own dams (1415) was higher than in pure M lambs (913 and 59, respectively; P<0.05 in both cases). It is concluded that 12-h-old lambs are able to recognise their mothers at close quarters, but not from a distance of 6 m. These results also suggest that in these tests, BL×M lambs perform better than M lambs.
Publication Year: 1987
Publication Date: 1987-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 71
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