Individual differences in sociability and their consequences for foraging behaviour in sheep

Abstract

The spatial distribution of grazing sheep is influenced by the distribution of vegetation and by social behaviour. Where there are conflicts between grazing preferred vegetation and maintaining normal inter-individual distances, animals may have to make trade-offs based on the relative strengths of their motivation to feed or to be social. Social motivation, or sociability, has been assessed in chickens by measuring the rate at which isolated individuals move towards their companions (Suarez and Gallup, 1983) and in sheep by studying nearest neighbours (Sibbald et al, 1998). The aim of this experiment was to test whether individual differences in sociability affect the foraging behaviour of sheep, when animals have to choose between grazing or remaining close to their companions.