Effects of immediate and early post-partum separation on maintenance of maternal responsiveness in parturient multiparous goats

Abstract

The subject of study consisted of the determination of the effects of separation, either immediate or after brief mother-young post-partum contact, on the maintenance of the maternal response in multiparous goats of Murciano-Granadina breed, having eliminated every visual, olfactory, auditory, or taste stimulus that could be used as a reminder by the mother. Fifty goats and their 82 kids were used in the study. The goats were kept away from their kids for 1 2 or 1 h when the separation took place immediately after birth, and for 1, 8, or 24 h when it took place after a brief 5-min post-partum contact between mother and young. At the end of the separation both were put together in a stall. The half-hour following the reunion was recorded on video tape. The results have shown that, as for an immediate post-partum separation, the maternal response is maintained ( 10 10 ) after a separation of 1 2 h . However, the response is null ( 0 10 ) after 1-h separations. After a brief mother-young post-partum contact, the results show that there is maternal response after separations of 1 and 8 h ( 10 10 ). On the other hand, a separation of 24 h brings about the extinction of that maternal response ( 10 10 ) and breaks any mother-young ties that may have been established during that brief period of initial contact.