The effect of weaning time on the behaviour of lambs
Irodalmi összefoglaló
Abstract
The spread of lactating species with high prolificacy and the technological system of sheep farms specialized in intensive milk-production requires – mainly from ecological point of view – the introduction of artificial rearing applicable in large-scale farming, to a certain extent. Appropriate timing of weaning the lamb is influenced by several environmental end economic factors. During traditional rearing, lambs are weaned after 1,5–2 months or later. In this case such kind of a strong bond evolves between mother and offspring(s) which principally originates from instinctive care and obligate feeding. Under intensive circumstances weaning can happen right after lambing. Thus even the colostrums are eaten up by the help of the stockperson and after the first days of their lives the lambs are kept in a common pen.
The modified, artificial circumstances have effect on the behaviour of lambs. The maternal bond should not be substituted by the interactions between lambs and their pen-mates or the stockperson. Instinctive behaviours are prevented (e.g. suckling) and lambs try to find other, unexpected behaviours (suckling each other or the fence) instead. Otherwise, the artificial rearing is much more favourable from economic aspects, because the early weaned animals accept human handling and also the artificial teat easily. Accustom lambs to bottle feeding is more and more difficult if animals are not separated from their dam immediately. Thus, to determine the time of weaning we have to consider not only economic but ethological and animal welfare factors which can have effect on the production and socialisation of our animals.
Questions of applied ethology and the effect of domestic animals' behaviour on the production have very important role in determining the applicable technology of keeping. In this international and Hungarian literatures' review, we tried to draw attention to the importance of ethological observations in traditional and artificial lamb rearing.
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