SENSORIAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN SMALL RUMINANTS: SHEEP AND GOATS

Abstract

Contrary to rodents in which maternal behaviors is characterized by the nest formation and give birth to altricial offsprings, maternal behavior in sheep and goats is characterized by the establishment of a selective bond between the mother and their progeny during the first postpartum hours. In both species, maternal behavior ethogram at parturition consists of a series of behaviors that initiates with the prepartum isolation of the female from their coespecifics and that culminates with the successful exclusive nursing behavior toward their newborn during postpartum. The sensory and physiological factors that control the expression of maternal behavior are very similar in both sheep and goats, although in the goats there is little information generated about this aspect. The increased peripherical concentrations of oestradiol at the end of gestation and the vaginocervical stimulation are two primary physiological events that are very important to the expression of the maternal behavior. However, olfactory cues from the offspring also are involved in the maintenance of maternal responsiveness once the birth takes place. Although mother-young spatial relationships during postpartum are different between sheep (followers) and goats (hiders) the maternal behavior had many similarities and their sensorial and physiological control are basically identical for many aspects.