Ewe–lamb bonding behaviours at birth are affected by maternal undernutrition in pregnancy
Open Access
- 1 January 2003
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in British Journal of Nutrition
- Vol. 89 (1), 123-136
- https://doi.org/10.1079/bjn2002743
Abstract
Maternal undernutrition in pregnancy results in low birth-weights and impaired postnatal survival in sheep. Largely anecdotal evidence suggests that the expression of appropriate maternal and neonate behaviours may also be disrupted by undernutrition. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a moderate (35 %) reduction in ewe nutritional intake in pregnancy on the expression of ewe72, L 2280, P<046, L 005, P<031, L 314, P<012, L 48639, P<03, L 2105) and at 3 d postnatal. We conclude that even a moderate level of undernutrition impairs the attachment between ewes and lambs by affecting maternal behaviours expressed at birth. In addition, the results suggest that levels of nutrition resulting in a decrease in birth weight will affect neonatal lamb behavioural progress.This publication has 57 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fetal Brain Injury Following Prolonged Hypoxemia and Placental Insufficiency: A ReviewComparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 1998
- Influence of maternal bodyweight on size, conformation and survival of newborn lambsReproduction, Fertility and Development, 1997
- The effect of diet in late pregnancy on progesterone concentration and colostrum yield in ewesTheriogenology, 1996
- Involvement of the main but not the accessory olfactory system in maternal behavior of primiparous and multiparous ewesPhysiology & Behavior, 1995
- Plasma oestradiol and progesterone during early pregnancy in the cow and the effects of treatment with buserelinAnimal Reproduction Science, 1995
- Effect of nutrition during pregnancy on birth weight and lamb survival in FecB Booroola×South Australian Merino ewesAnimal Reproduction Science, 1993
- Relationship of circulating estrogen and progesterone concentrations during late pregnancy and the onset phase of maternal behavior in the eweApplied Animal Behaviour Science, 1991
- Maternal behavior is related to prepartum urinary estradiol levels in red-bellied tamarin monkeysPhysiology & Behavior, 1988
- RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PLASMA HORMONE CONCENTRATIONS, UDDER DEVELOPMENT AND THE PRODUCTION OF EARLY MAMMARY SECRETIONS IN TWIN‐BEARING EWES ON DIFFERENT PLANES OF NUTRITIONQuarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology, 1987
- Behaviour at parturition and lamb survival of Booroola Merino sheepLivestock Production Science, 1985