To enhance the relationship development between the ewe and the dam at lambing, it is believed that the ewe will isolate herself from the herd. After lambing, the ewe and her lamb return to the flock and the lamb begins to interact with other lambs. This study examined the importance of the social isolation at birth and other social and spatial factors that affect the maternal recognition of lambs. The ewes lambed in individual 2 m2 pens, which allowed the lambs to freely interact with the dam. The role of isolation was examined in the first experiment. The control treatment left the ewe and her lamb were left isolated in the birthing pen for the first 24 hours following birth. The experimental treatment progressively provided the pair with more space and increased contact with other pairs during the first 24 hours after birth (0-6h 1 ewe, 1 litter, 2 m2; 6-12h 2 ewes, 2 litters, 4 m2; 12-24h: 4 ewes, 4 litters, 8 m2). The lambs also underwent a choice test, in which they had to choose between their mother and an unfamiliar lamb. Twelve hours after birth, the lambs allowed social interaction displayed a preference for their mother, while the isolated lambs did not display this same preference. Even after 24 hour, the isolated lambs did not display any maternal preference. A second experiment investigated the importance of social interactions within each of the two groups previously studied. The isolated treatment received an increasing amount of space during the first 24 hours after lambing, similar to what the social treatment underwent. Twelve hours after lambing, lambs from both treatments displayed a preference for the dam, but was seen much sooner in the isolated mother-lamb pair. Data from both experiments suggests that lambs that were remained only with the dam during the first 24 hours after birth, also displayed a preference for their dam from a distance. The results from this study demonstrated that increasing the exposure to other flock members following birth, encourages the lamb to develop an attachment to the dam, and this bond is even stronger when they are provided increased space. Therefore, the development of the mother-lamb bond is socially and environmentally complex.