Temperament does not affect the overall establishment of mutual preference between the mother and her young in sheep measured in a choice test

Abstract

Temperament influences maternal behavior and lamb survival in Merino sheep selected for calm or nervous temperament. The impact of this selection on mother-young recognition and early expression of temperament in lambs is unknown. We tested the ability of multiparous ewes selected for calm (n = 16) or nervous (n = 18) temperament to recognize their own lambs 6 hr after parturition, the ability of the lambs to display a preference for their own mother at 18 hr, and the temperament of the lambs at 1 and 16 weeks of age. Ewes and lambs from both genotypes showed a similar preference for their familiar kin. In contrast, differences in temperament were detectable at 1 and 16 weeks of age. Nervous lambs showed higher vocal and locomotor activity than calm lambs. Thus, temperament did not affect the early process of ewe-lamb bonding but might affect the quality of the mother-young relationship under more challenging situations.