Maternal Behaviour in Sheep
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Summary of your observations and what you learnt about recording observations
Over the past several weeks, studying the attitudes and actions of pregnant ewes helped to solidify the definition of maternal behaviour as being the archetype of care and attendance an offspring receives exclusively from its mother. Domestic sheep occur in a somewhat manipulative environment, allowing for a relatively predictable reaction composed of both acquired and innate behavioural factors. Variance in the components of maternal behaviour are categorised into subsections, including protective behaviour, post-parturient and pre-parturient behaviour and behavioural endocrinology. The task of note-taking, numerous different times, allows for a detailed and varied description of my observations of sheep behaviour, resulting in a more credible chronicle, however, as a neoteric note taker, there will be definitive improvements that I can learn to increase my skills.
The study of animal behaviour, known as ethology, is cardinal to the understanding of the significance of maternal conduction and its importance for the survival of sheep offspring. The reasons for the need of a strong maternal bond include, auspicious rearing of offspring, which then in turn result in advantageous gene transfer, decreased incidence of mortality, abandonment and the reduced necessity for hand-feeding by individuals. Behaviour is classified into two predominant branches, including learned, known as the adaptive behaviour resulting from environmental conditions and the animals’ personal experience and innate, which is the instinctive behaviour. Early indications of examples of innate behaviour while completing my note taking was seen when analysing maternal behaviour as a ewe was entering the early stages of labour. As a pregnant ewe is going into labour, it shows many behavioural signs to indicate that it is ready to give birth. This is known as the preparatory stage. It begins with
Summary of your observations and what you learnt about recording observations
Over the past several weeks, studying the attitudes and actions of pregnant ewes helped to solidify the definition of maternal behaviour as being the archetype of care and attendance an offspring receives exclusively from its mother. Domestic sheep occur in a somewhat manipulative environment, allowing for a relatively predictable reaction composed of both acquired and innate behavioural factors. Variance in the components of maternal behaviour are categorised into subsections, including protective behaviour, post-parturient and pre-parturient behaviour and behavioural endocrinology. The task of note-taking, numerous different times, allows for a detailed and varied description of my observations of sheep behaviour, resulting in a more credible chronicle, however, as a neoteric note taker, there will be definitive improvements that I can learn to increase my skills.
The study of animal behaviour, known as ethology, is cardinal to the understanding of the significance of maternal conduction and its importance for the survival of sheep offspring. The reasons for the need of a strong maternal bond include, auspicious rearing of offspring, which then in turn result in advantageous gene transfer, decreased incidence of mortality, abandonment and the reduced necessity for hand-feeding by individuals. Behaviour is classified into two predominant branches, including learned, known as the adaptive behaviour resulting from environmental conditions and the animals’ personal experience and innate, which is the instinctive behaviour. Early indications of examples of innate behaviour while completing my note taking was seen when analysing maternal behaviour as a ewe was entering the early stages of labour. As a pregnant ewe is going into labour, it shows many behavioural signs to indicate that it is ready to give birth. This is known as the preparatory stage. It begins with