Maternal behavior scores and temperament of ewes under intensive and extensive handling systems.

Abstract

Maternal behavior has been related to ewe's reactivity, as more reactive ewes might have greater risk of presenting worse maternal ability. This study aimed to determine the association between maternal behavior score (MBS) of Corriedale ewes with their physiological and behavioral variables measured at weaning of their offspring within two handling systems. Data from 335 ewes with average (± SE) age of 3.1 ± 1.8 years and 46.5 ± 6.1 kg of body weight were used. Experimental farms were classified into two handling systems: intensive (n = 3) and extensive (n = 2), based on stocking density and nature of human-animal relationships. Maternal behavior was evaluated in the field within 24 h after delivery, using a 6-rated scale (1 = poor to 6 = excellent). This scale takes into account the distance the ewe takes from the lamb when the lamb is restrained by an observer. The temperament of the ewes was evaluated during an arena test, at the weaning of the lambs, and was divided into two phases: social isolation and human presence. Data were subjected to principal component analysis and logistic regression. Logistic regression of principal factor (PF) scores in MBS showed that physical activity during the isolation phase increased in 1.57 (CI: 1.02 to 2.42; P < 0.05) the probability of extensively handling ewes showing high MBS (≥4), while in intensively handling ewes, logistic regression showed that the number of vocalizations in both phases of the arena test increased in 1.64 (CI: 1.12 to 2.4; P < 0.05) the probability of ewes having high MBS. Albeit the handling systems are not comparable, MBS was positively associated with some behavioral variables measured at the arena test.