Impact of socialization on the possibility to conduct behavioral tests in sheep

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of socialization with humans on the possibility to conduct tests evaluating problem-solving in sheep. The research included 30 Świniarka sheep aged from 2 to 8 years. The sheep were kept in the barn-pasture system. The observations included three trials carried out on three consecutive days for each sheep. The behavior of the sheep, i.e. exploration and approach to equipment elements of the test arena, was analyzed. The experiment was conducted on groups of sheep with low (G1) and high (G2) levels of socialization. The study showed that the test environment was challenging for the G1 sheep, so they were unable to complete the task successfully.