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F r e n c h breed , Salers (SA), and of a dairy breed , Fr ies ian (FR) , were e i the r k e p t wi th the i r m o t h e r (M) or i sola ted (I). The n u m b e r s of calves in each t r e a t m e n t g roup were SAI = 15, SAM = 16, F R I = 16 and F R M -- 9. F r o m 32 calves of these 4 groups, b lood samples were t a k e n a t b i r t h , 4 h af te r b i r t h and t h e n every 6 h unt i l the th i rd day. F ixed quan t i t i e s of poo led c o l o s t r u m (2.5% of b o d y weight ) were given to the calves f rom a b o t t l e at 4, 10 and 16 h af te r b i r th .

Salers new-bo rn calves were m u c h less active t h a n Fr ies ian calves, par t i cu la r ly w h e n t h e y were isolated. The interval b e t w e e n b i r t h and first s t and ing up was 204 min for SAI, 64 rain for SAM, 117 rain for FR I and 45 min for FRM. The low ac t iv i ty of the Salers calves was a c c o m p a i n e d wi th a low inges t ion of co los t rum, 2.5 kg in two meals for SAM (8 calves) c o m p a r e d to 4.5 kg for FRM (8 calves), and a low c o n c e n t r a t i o n of b l o o d i m m u n o g l o b u l i n s (IgG), 28 mg g -~ for SAM c o m p a r e d to 41 mg g-I for FRM. However , even w h e n the quan t i t i e s of c o l o s t r u m (and t he r e fo re IgG) ingested by the calves of the two breeds are the same, s e rum IgG levels were lower in Salers t h a n in Fr ies ian calves. The re was n o d i f fe rence in b l o o d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of IgG b e t w e e n isola ted and m o t h e r e d calves. Thy ro id h o r m o n e levels were h igher in the b l o o d of Fr ies ian calves t h a n in t h a t of Salers calves.

The results suggest t h a t Salers are n o t as m a t u r e as Fr ies ian calves at b i r th . This hypo- thesis was t e s t ed by c o m p a r i n g calves b o r n na tu ra l ly before or a f te r the n o r m a l t e r m of p r egnancy , or by induc ing p a r t u r i t i o n w i th p ros tag land in t r e a t m e n t e i the r jus t before n o r m a l t e r m (10 calves) or 2 weeks before (10 calves).

Calves b o r n na tu ra l ly before no rma l t e r m s t o o d up la ter t h a n o the r s (133 c o m p a r e d to 102 rain a f te r b i r th ) , bu t b l o o d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of t h y r o i d h o r m o n e and IgG were n o t s ta t is t ica l ly d i f f e ren t in the 2 groups. Calves i nduced jus t be fo re n o r m a l t e r m also s tood u p la ter t h a n con t ro l s (123 c o m p a r e d to 64 rain af te r b i r th ) , and those induced 2 weeks before n o r m a l t e r m s t o o d up even la ter (208 rain af te r b i r th) .

I t can be c o n c l u d e d t h a t b o t h breed and e n v i r o n m e n t can mod i fy the act iv i ty of new- b o r n calves. These d i f ferences in ac t iv i ty m ay be associa ted wi th d i f ferences in the con- c e n t r a t i o n of some b l o o d c o m p o n e n t s . Salers calves, by the i r low s p o n t a n e o u s act ivi ty , s h o w e d a need to be m o t h e r e d at b i r th , whereas Fr ies ians were very act ive and more adap tab le .

P a r t 2 : S o c i a l B e h a v i o u r

H O M E - R A N G E B E H A V I O U R A N D S O C I A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N I N

S C O T T I S H B L A C K F A C E S H E E P

A.B. L A W R E N C E and D.G.M. WOOD-GUSH

School of Agriculture, West Mains Road, Edinburgh (Gt. Britain)

ABSTRACT

Previous work has ind ica ted t h a t u n d e r free-range cond i t ions , Sco t t i sh hill ewes exist as d i s t inc t home- range groups; ewes wi th in a g roup shar ing a c o m m o n h o m e range.

This paper descr ibes obse rva t ions made wi th a scan-sampl ing t e c h n i q u e on the home- range behav iou r of m e m b e r s o f a home- range group in the Pen t l and Hills near Ed inburgh . Seasonal va r i a t ion in h o m e - r a n g e behav iou r is descr ibed, and it is suggested t h a t th is varia- t ion indica tes changes in social o rgan iza t ion wi th in the group.

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A d i s t r i bu t i on m a p of the loca t ions of the group for the m o n t h s J a n u a r y to March 1982 s h o w e d t h a t 79% of the obse rva t ions of the g roup occur red in an area where sheep f r o m o t h e r groups p rov ided less t h a n 10% of t he observa t ions . This was regarded as t he core area. The poss ib i l i ty t h a t ce r ta in individuals or sub-groups h a d p re fe ren t i a l use of par t s of the g roup h o m e range was e x a m i n e d using the Clus tan vers ion of Ward ' s m e t h o d of c lus te r analysis (Wishart , 1974) . Cluster analysis revealed a large degree o f s imi lar i ty in the use o f t he g roup h o m e range by all g roup m e m b e r s in the m o n t h s J a n u a r y - - M a r c h 1982 .

The d i s t r i bu t i on m a p of the loca t ions of the g roup for the m o n t h s May- -Augus t 1981 s h o w e d t h a t on ly 61% of t he obse rva t ions of the group occur red in the core area. The h o m e range of t he g roup was m u c h larger in s u m m e r t h a n in win ter . Cluster analysis of this da ta s h o w e d a large increase in the var iabi l i ty of home- range behaviour . The expan- s ion of the g roup ' s h o m e range was achieved b y m o v e m e n t s of cer ta in g roup -member s only . All individuals s h o w e d a m u c h h igher degree of p re fe rence for specif ic areas t h a n t hey had in win te r . In add i t i on , i t was s h o w n t h a t ewes wi th l ambs in s u m m e r were more so l i ta ry t h a n ewes w i t h o u t lambs.

I t is suggested t h a t ewes w i th l ambs in s u m m e r show a decrease in g rouping b e h a v i o u r a n d t e n d to forage i n d e p e n d e n t l y of o t h e r g roup m e m b e r s . This may r ep resen t a seasonal va r i a t ion in social o rgan iza t ion wi th in the group.

REFERENCE

Wishart , D., 1974 . Clus tan User Manual . P r o g r a m m e Libra ry Uni t , Regional C o m p u t i n g Cent re , E d i n b u r g h .

DETERMINANTS OF SOCIAL RELATIONS IN SEXUALLY ACTIVE GROUPS OF DAIRY HEIFERS

R.I. HORRELL, J. A T T W O O D and J. HODGSON

Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Hull (Gt. Britain)

A B S T R A C T

Indiv iduals in a sexual ly act ive group of cows develop highly specif ic and o f t en a s y m m e t r i c social re la t ionships , appa ren t ly un re l a t ed to the d ioes t rus social s t r uc tu r e of t he herd . The p resen t s t u d y was des igned to d e t e r m i n e to w h a t e x t e n t the re la t ionsh ips t h a t deve lop b e t w e e n par t icu lar individuals have the i r basis in e i the r (a) the relat ive t iming of the onse t of the var ious stages of oes t rus in these cows, or (b) s tab le and specif ic behav ioura l charac te r i s t ics of the individuals conce rned . To achieve this , t he same g roup of 9 Fr ies ian heifers were i nduced in to a s y n c h r o n i z e d oes t rus at 2 successive cycles and observed c o n t i n u o u s l y over the pe r iod of oest rus .

The cha rac t e r of oes t rus d i sp layed b y individuals varied cons iderab ly , n o t on ly in d u r a t i o n and in t he f r e q u e n c y of m o u n t i n g , b u t also in the relat ive p r o p o r t i o n of o the r k inds o f i n t e r ac t i o n and in the ra t io of the i n t e r ac t i ons in i t i a t ed to those in wh ich the indiv idual was the rec ip ien t . Fo r each of the character is t ics , t he re was a posi t ive correla- t ion ( t h o u g h n o t a lways s ta t i s t ica l ly s igni f icant ) b e t w e e n the indiv idual measures a t the first and s e c o n d oes t rus per iods . I t s eemed t h a t individuals had a charac te r i s t i c oes t rus behav iour , a n d t h a t pe rhaps this was descr ibable in t e rms of the i r relat ive degree of