DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m905qfvcc
title: The maternal-offspring relationship in tailed and docked ewes and their lambs

description: Maternal behavior in the hours after lambing is critical for establishing
 the lamb–dam bond. In rodents, early-life pain alters maternal behavior,
 but it is unclear whether routine painful procedures like tail docking
 have similar long-term effects in sheep. We tested whether neonatal tail
 docking in female lambs altered (1) their maternal behavior and their
 offspring’s behavior after lambing and (2) behavioral and physiological
 stress responses to separation. Polypay ewe lambs were tail docked using
 the rubber ring method between 24 to 36 hours of age (n=11) or left
 undocked (n=10). At approximately 13 months of age, they gave birth to
 singleton (n=6) or twin (n=15) litters. Between 30 to 60 minutes after the
 last lamb’s birth, the ewe and her lamb(s) were moved to an individual
 maternity pen, where behaviors were video recorded for 2 hours. Between 6
 to 12 hours after lambing, the lambs were separated from their dam for 15
 minutes, with video recordings taken from 15 minutes before separation
 until 15 minutes after reunion. Eye temperatures of ewes and lambs were
 assessed using infrared thermography immediately before and after
 separation as indicators of physiological stress. For all video
 recordings, we analyzed the duration the ewe spent eating, pacing, lying,
 and grooming her lamb(s), as well as the duration the lambs spent wagging
 their tail, nursing, and lying. Transitions from lying to standing were
 also recorded for ewes and lambs in the 2-hour postnatal period. All
 models included the dam’s tail docking status as a fixed effect with
 litter size (singleton vs twin) as a factor covariate; separation models
 also included observation period (before, during, and after separation).
 We found no significant effect of the dam’s tail docking status on
 maternal and offspring behavior following lambing or on their responses to
 separation. However, lambs of undocked ewes tended to spend more time
 lying in the postnatal period compared to lambs of docked ewes. Behavioral
 changes during and after separation – including increased pacing and
 reduced eating in ewes during separation, and increased grooming and
 nursing following reunion – suggest that separation was stressful,
 regardless of the ewe’s tail docking status. No differences were observed
 in eye temperatures before and after separation. Overall, we did not find
 evidence to suggest that neonatal tail docking impairs the ewe’s ability
 to bond with or care for her lambs later in life.
description: # The maternal-offspring relationship in tailed and docked ewes and their
 lambs This repository contains the data and R scripts used in the
 experiment described in the paper of the same name. The materials support
 analyses examining whether neonatal tail docking in ewes affects their own
 or their lambs’ behavior during the early postnatal period and following a
 brief separation event. ## Study Overview We tested the long-term
 behavioral and physiological effects of neonatal tail docking in ewes by
 evaluating: 1. **Bonding behaviors** of docked or undocked ewes and their
 lambs during the early postnatal period. 2. **Responses to ewe-lamb
 separation**, approximately 6–12 hours postpartum. **Subjects:** Polypay
 ewe lambs were randomly assigned to a tail docking treatment: * Docked
 using the rubber ring method at 24–36 hours old (n = 11) * Left undocked
 (n = 10) At ~13 months of age, they gave birth to singleton (n = 6) or
 twin (n = 15) litters. **Observation Schedule:** * **Postnatal period:**
 Video recorded for 2 hours beginning 30–60 minutes after the last lamb was
 born. * **Separation period:** Lambs were removed for 15 minutes; video
 captured 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after. Ewe and lamb eye
 temperatures were recorded using infrared thermography immediately before
 and after separation. Behavioral data were coded using [BORIS (Behavioral
 Observation Research Interactive Software)](https://www.boris.unito.it/).
 ## Files and Descriptions ### `Postnatal_behavior_analysis_250620.nb.html`
 * **Description:** R script analyzing behavior during the 2-hour period
 after the ewe and her lamb(s) were moved to the maternity pen. *
 **Input:** `Postnatal_behavior_data_250620.xlsx` * **Output:** Figures
 2-3, Table 2 * **Use:** Open in any web browser or in RStudio (*File →
 Open File*) ### `Postnatal_behavior_data_250620.xlsx` * **Description:**
 Behavioral observations during the postnatal period. | Variable |
 Description | | --------------------- |
 ----------------------------------------------------- | | `eweid` | Unique
 ID for each ewe (n = 21) | | `treatment` | Tail docking status of the ewe
 (docked or undocked) | | `litter_size` | Number of lambs per ewe (1 or 2)
 | | `ramid` | Unique ID for each sire (n = 8) | | `subject` | Focal
 individual | | `age` | Age class of the focal individual (ewe or lamb) | |
 `observ_duration_min` | Total duration of video recording (120 minutes) |
 | `behavior` | Observed behavior (8 possible types) | | `start_s` | Start
 time of the behavior (seconds from video start) | | `stop_s` | End time of
 the behavior (seconds from video start) | | `duration_s` | Duration of the
 behavior in seconds | | `duration_min` | Duration of the behavior in
 minutes | ### `Separation_behavior_analysis_250620.nb.html` *
 **Description:** R script analyzing behavior before, during, and after
 separation. * **Input:** `Separation_behavior_data_250620.xlsx` *
 **Output:** Figures 4-5, Table 3 * **Use:** Open in any web browser or in
 RStudio ### `Separation_behavior_data_250620.xlsx` * **Description:**
 Behavioral data from the separation event. | Variable | Description | |
 --------------------- |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
 `eweid` | Unique ID for each ewe (n = 21) | | `treatment` | Tail docking
 status of the ewe (docked or undocked) | | `litter_size` | Number of lambs
 per ewe (1 or 2) | | `subject` | Focal individual | | `age` | Age class of
 the focal individual (ewe or lamb) | | `observ_period` | Observation
 period relative to separation (`pre`, `during`, `post`) | |
 `period_duration_min` | Duration of each period (minutes) | | `behavior` |
 Observed behavior (10 types) | | `start_s` | Start time of the behavior
 (seconds from video start) | | `stop_s` | End time of the behavior
 (seconds from video start) | | `duration_s` | Duration of the behavior in
 seconds (state behaviors only) | | `duration_min` | Duration of the
 behavior in minutes (state behaviors only) | ###
 `Separation_eye_temp_analysis_250620.nb.html` * **Description:** R script
 analyzing eye temperature data pre- and post-separation. * **Input:**
 `Separataion_eye_temp_data_250620.xlsx` * **Output:** Figure 6 * **Use:**
 Open in any web browser or in RStudio ###
 `Separation_eye_temp_data_250620.xlsx` * **Description:** Eye temperature
 data obtained from FLIR Studio software. | Variable | Description | |
 --------------- |
 --------------------------------------------------------- | | `file` |
 Image file name | | `eweid` | Unique ID for each ewe (n=21) | |
 `treatment` | Tail docking status of the ewe (docked or undocked) | |
 `litter_size` | Number of lambs per ewe (1 or 2) | | `subject` | Focal
 individual for each image | | `age` | Age class of the focal individual
 (ewe or lamb) | | `observ_period` | Observation period relative to
 separation (`pre`, `post`) | | `side` | Eye side (`L` or `R`) | |
 `max_temp_c` | Maximum temperature of the lacrimal caruncle region (°C) |
 ## Requirements * [R](https://www.r-project.org/) *
 [RStudio](https://posit.co/downloads/) * Basic familiarity with R Markdown
 or `.nb.html` output files.