Response of Djallonke Lambs to Repeated Separation from Their Dams during the First Week of Lactation: 2. Physiological Response

Physiological response of thirty Djallonke lambs comprising of 14 males and 16 females to repeated separation from their dams were assessed during the first week of lactation. Dams were allowed to go out with their flock mates for grazing while their lambs were left behind. Heart and respiratory rates, rectal temperature and blood glucose concentrations in lambs were taken immediately after separation, mid-way through separation, just before the arrival of dams from grazing and 5 minutes after the dams and their lambs were reunited (control). The separation process was repeated for three consecutive days. The General Linear Model (GLM) of SPSS was used to determine the effects of day and interval from separation on the various physiological parameters. Also, 2-tailed t-test was used to determine the influence of sex and birth weight on the aforementioned physiological parameters. Respiratory and heart rates, rectal temperature, and blood glucose concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.05) on each of the days and intervals from separation than when the lambs were together with their respective mothers (control). Similarly, High birth weight lambs had higher (p < 0.05) rectal temperatures and blood glucose concentrations than low birth weight lambs.