Ž .
by kids was poor at 18 and 24 h with more than half 71 the kids failing to recognize their Ž
. dams. Dam recognition ability improved with age and at 48 h the majority of kids 88 were
Ž .
able to recognize their dams. Does tested at 48 h post partum had better P 0.05
kid recognition than those tested at 18 and 24 h. The sex and birth weight of kids and the parity of
dams had no effect on the mutual recognition of kids and their dams at 48 h post-partum. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Goat; Maternal–filial bond; Separation response; Recognition ability
1. Introduction
Ž Neonatal mortality in goats worldwide has been estimated to exceed 25 Davendra
. and Burns, 1983 . In Ghana, preweaning mortalities of 42 and 53 have been reported
Ž .
for goats and sheep, respectively Awumbila and Sumani, 1992 . These authors reported that the majority of deaths occurred early in life. Mortalities of up to 24 have also
Ž .
been reported in local Malawian goats Rischkowsky and Steinbach, 1997 . Early
postnatal deaths in lambs and kids are due to climatic conditions, litter size, nutritional status of the dam, birth weight and maternal and neonate behaviour. The latter involves
complex interactions between parents and offspring. During the first few hours post- partum, dams learn to distinguish their offspring from others. Their own offspring are
Ž .
suckled exclusively while aliens are rejected. A study by Licklitter 1982 , for instance, showed that in domestic goats, 2 h of mother–kid separation from birth disrupted
maternal responsiveness in most primiparous does. On the other hand, 5 to 10 min of Ž
. Ž
contact at birth resulted in at least partial maternal discrimination 1 h later Gubernick, .
1981 . The organization of maternal care in sheep and goats differ. The sheep, a ‘follower’
species moves along with her offspring while grazing and thus, maintains close contact with the lamb most of the time. The goat, a ‘hider’ species, on the other hand leaves her
offspring behind while grazing during the first few days after parturition. This act leads Ž
. to periods of separation between mother and young Lent, 1974 . There is a paucity of
information on the behavioural interactions between mother and young in tropical breeds of livestock, especially those found in Africa. Breed is an important factor that can
affect behavioural interactions between mother and young. Studies have shown, for instance that 12-h-old Border–Leicester = Merino crosses have better dam recognition
Ž .
ability than pure bred Merino lambs of the same age Nowak and Lindsay, 1990 . In an earlier study, we reported on the behavioural relationships between Djallonke = Sahellian
Ž .
ewes and their single-born lambs during the first 24 h post-partum Asante et al., 1999 . We now report on a similar study in the West African Dwarf goat. This is a compact
breed of goat that is reared in most villages in West Africa. It has a remarkable ability to survive under unfavourable conditions and is of great economic importance to the
Ž .
people of West Africa Oppong, 1965 . The present study was specifically designed to Ž .
Ž . investigate I the response of the doe and its kid to separation, and II the existence of
mutual recognition between the doe and the kid as affected by the age, sex and birth weight of kids and hours post-partum and parity of the doe.
2. Animals, materials and methods
