Exploratory study of the maternal-filial relationship among sheep: factors that impact the performance of lambs in a locally adapted Pantaneiro flock

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on an exploratory study of maternal-filial relationships of Pantaneiro sheep naturalised to the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul and focuses on the importance of the behaviour of ewes and lambs between parturition, first suckling and weight at weaning. The average duration of lambing was 18 min, and 65% of the sheep were lying down; 48.8% of the sheep tended their lambs 15–30 min before the first suckling, while 73% of lambs initiated contact with the mother through vocalisation 10 min after birth. The lambs’ birth weight was 4 ± 0.6 kg, and they were weaned at 42 days with an average weight of 12.9 ± 2.2 kg. To conclude, the data gathered during the study can help us better comprehend the adaptive traits of sheep that belong to the Pantaneiro genetic group.

KEYWORDS:

• Animal behaviour
• small ruminants
• weaning
• weight gain

Acknowledgments

To all the members of the Ovinotecnia research group – CNPQ (https://dgp.cnpq.br/dgp/espelhogrupo/8112331595527307) who collaborated in this research.

Data availability statement

The data that support this paper are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [ Scholarship]; Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul [Universal / PDPG]; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [PQ researcher].