ANS 490-A: Ewe Lamb’sTemperament and Effects on Maze Entry, Exit Order and Coping Styles When Exposed to Novel Stimulus

The objectives of this experiment were (1) to determine if experience affects maze entrance and exit order and (2) how temperament affects ewe lamb coping response to a predictable novel stimulus. A total of nine, ~4-month-old blackface Hampshire-cross ewe lambs, BW~18 to 27 kg were used. Ewe lamb temperament was identified and three groups of ewe lambs were created. Each group had a BOLD, MODERATE and SHY ewe lamb. All ewe lambs were introduced and habituated to the maze for four consecutive days (days -3 to day 0), respectively. On trial day 1, Group 1 (EXPERIENCED) passed through the maze. On trial day 2, Groups 1 and 2 (MIDDLE) passed through the maze. On trial day 3, Groups 1, 2 and 3 (NAÏVE) passed through the maze. Over these trial days, ewe lambs were exposed to a red ball and a red flag (novel stimuli). Behavioral measures (order to enter and exit the maze and coping style [active vs passive]) were collected over four habituation days (-3, -2, -1 and 0), and over three trial days (1, 2 and 3), respectively. The data will be presented descriptively. Ewe lamb 1936 had the highest number of cone touches, with 1943 having the least over the 1-h observation period. For the BOLD group the cone touches ranged from 7 to 10, MODERATE ranged from 5 to 6 and SHY ranged from 0 to 4 respectively. Over all entry days a BOLD ewe lamb entered and exited the maze first, but it was not always the same BOLD ewe lamb. There was no consistent ewe lamb order for entering or exiting the maze for MODERATE or SHY temperament classification. Ewe lambs for both stimuli engaged in a passive coping style (77.8%). In conclusion, ewe lambs, regardless of temperament, did not react negatively to a novel stimuli. Furthermore, experience to the maze did not affect entrance and exit order and all ewe lambs navigated the maze in less than 15-seconds over all trial days. We predict that this behavioral reactivity would enable producers to handle ewe lambs effectively in a handling system for necessary husbandry practices without undue animal welfare issues. Introduction Fear, anxiety, and stress are affective states observed in cattle, swine, poultry, and sheep. An animal can react in three ways when placed in a novel or unfamiliar environment: 1) fear, 2) flight or 3) freeze. Animal fear can be tested using many methodologies. These methodologies can differ to include, for example, the number of animals being tested, the type of testing arena and the novel stimuli used. During fear tests, behavior is often measured to determine how fearful a prescribed set of circumstances are. Primary behavioral indicators of fear include active defense reactions such as attack and threaten, active avoidance reactions such as hiding and escaping, and movement inhibition. Activity level often is dependent on the emotional intensity of the threat. During a low threat, such as those presented by fear tests, increased activity has been concluded to indicate a fearful animal. Sheep are flock animals and communicate using a multi-modal approach. However, how experienced sheep communicate with naïve sheep to a predicable novel/fear eliciting stimuli is unknown. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were (1) to determine if experience affects maze entrance and exit order and (2) how temperament affects ewe lamb coping response to a predictable novel stimulus.