Behavior of parturient ewes in group-lambing pens with and without cubicles

Abstract

Maternal behavior was examined in 301 multiparous ewes (2–6 years of age) that were of predominantly Suffolk or Targhee breeding. The ewes gave birth in either a normal lambing pen (control) or in a similar pen modified by the addition of 8 cubicles (cubicles). Approximately 100 ewes were present in each pen at a time, creating a density of 1 ewe m −2. Within the cubicle treatment, comparisons were made between the ewes which gave birth inside a cubicle (CUB-I, n = 64) and those that gave birth outside the cubicles (CUB-O, n = 92). CUB-I ewes spent less time moving about ( P<0.01), travelled less distance ( P<0.001), investigated fewer potential birth-sites ( P<0.001) and spent more time in the cubicles ( P<0.001) during the 60 min prior to giving birth than did CUB-O ewes. After giving birth, CUB-I ewes remained close to their lambs, which always remained in the cubicles. This resulted in CUB-I ewes and their lambs remaining closer to each other and to the birth-site than CUB-O ewes and lambs ( P<0.001). CUB-I ewes were rarely interfered with by other ewes (17 vs. 82% interference for CUB-I and CUB-O ewes, respectively) and had fewer (0) lambs separated or stolen from them than did CUB-O ewes (13 of 144 lambs). In comparing the cubicle system and the control pen, it was found that interference with ewes and lambs was less in the cubicle treatment ( P<0.01). In the cubicle system, there tended to be fewer lambs separated from their dams (5.4 vs. 9.6%) and less stealing of lambs (3.1 vs. 5.2%) compared to the control pen. It is concluded that the use of cubicles under these conditions reduces the incidence of poor maternal behavior in ewes.