Imprinting: an animal (esp poultry) will attach itself to or adopt another animal or objects as its companion or parent. Occurs shortly after the animal is born or hatched (usually w/i the first 36 hours)
For example, a hen sits on duck eggs, the resulting ducklings will accept the hen as their mother.
Some sheep producers make use of this behaviour by placing very young pups with a flock of sheep. The dog is raised among the sheep and accept the sheep. It will then act as guardian.
Habituation: Animals learn to ignore stimuli they know from experiences to be harmless. It is important to prevent the animals to react continuously and unnecessary.
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