Abstract
Although neonatal farm animals are frequently subjected to painful management procedures, the role of maternal behaviour in pain coping, has not been much studied. We investigated whether ewes were able to distinguish between lambs in pain and those that were not, and whether their behaviour altered depending on the severity of lamb pain. Eighty male lambs were allocated to one of 4 pain treatments within 24 hours of birth. Lambs were either handled only (C), bilaterally castrated with tight rubber rings (RR), as for RR but with the application of a Burdizzo clamp immediately proximal to the ring (Combined) or subjected to short scrotum castration (SSC) where the testicles were retained within the abdomen and only the scrotum removed. The behaviour of the ewe, treated lamb and untreated sibling where present (n = 54) were recorded for 30 minutes after treatment. Castration treatment increased the expression of abnormal standing and lying postures, specific pain-related behaviours (head-turning, stamping/kicking, easing quarters, tail wagging) and composite pain scores (P<0.001 for all). The greatest expression of pain-related behaviours was shown by lambs in the RR group, which were the only group to show rolling responses indicative of severe pain, followed by the SSC group. Ewes expressed more licking/sniffing responses to the RR and SSC lambs than towards the Combined and C lambs (P<0.05), and oriented most to RR lambs and least to C lambs (P<0.001). Ewes with two lambs also directed more attention towards the treated than the untreated lamb (P<0.001). The quantity of maternal care directed towards the lamb was positively correlated with the expression of active pain behaviours. The data demonstrate that ewes are able to discriminate between lambs in pain and those that are not, and that their response is increased with a greater severity of pain.
Highlights
Mammalian mothers play a fundamental role in the lives and survival of their young offspring, providing nutrition, thermal and physical protection and opportunities for social learning (e.g.PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0134024 July 28, 2015Maternal Behaviour and Lamb Pain Responses as reviewed by [1])
rubber rings (RR) lambs spent significantly more time in abnormal lateral lying than any other lamb group, and RR and short scrotum castration (SSC) lambs were more likely to be in abnormal ventral lying postures than C or COMBINED lambs
We extend the observations of [17] by demonstrating that ewes respond to the pain behaviour of their lambs, but show graded responses in relation to the degree of painrelated behaviour shown by their lambs, and distinguish between littermates that are in pain and those that are not
Summary
Mammalian mothers play a fundamental role in the lives and survival of their young offspring, providing nutrition, thermal and physical protection and opportunities for social learning (e.g.PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0134024 July 28, 2015Maternal Behaviour and Lamb Pain Responses as reviewed by [1]). Female rats express more licking and grooming towards their neonatal pups that were subjected to painful stimuli than those that were not [4,5] These changes in maternal care were associated with altered pain sensitivity in the offspring, suggesting that mothers are able to buffer the pain experience of their offspring through increased maternal behaviour. Maternal separation or artificial rearing in rats is associated with increases in pain sensitivity in later life [6,7,8] These data suggest that another function of maternal behaviour is to support offspring during adversity and prevent sensitisation of pain responses in adult life. Recent evidence suggests that farm animals may be affected by the sensitising effects of early pain exposure (e.g. tail-docking in sheep: [10])
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
