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ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR. TERMS TO KNOW. Instinct – (reflexes and responses) what the animal has at birth. Ex. Nursing, searching for food. Habituation – learning to respond without thinking, response to certain stimulus is established as a result of habituation.
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TERMS TO KNOW • Instinct – (reflexes and responses) what the animal has at birth. Ex. Nursing, searching for food. • Habituation – learning to respond without thinking, response to certain stimulus is established as a result of habituation. • Conditioning – learning to respond in a particular way to a stimulus as a result of reinforcement when the proper response is made.
TERMS TO KNOW • Reinforcement – a reward for making the proper response. • Reasoning – the ability to respond correctly to a stimulus the first time that a new situation is presented. • Intelligence – the ability to learn to adjust successfully to certain situations. Both short-term and long-term memory are part of intelligence.
Sexual Maternal Communicative Social Agonisitic Feeding Eliminative Shelter-Seeking Investigative Allelomimetic MAJOR TYPES OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR Useful in implementing breeding programs Examples of Sexual Behaviour o Cows that are in heat, allow themselves to be mounted by others o Bulls, rams and stallions smell the vagina and urine to detect pheromones o Flehmen – Male animal lifts head and curls its upper lip o Rams chase ewes that are coming into heat o Sows seek out boars for mating o Mares in heat squat and urinate when stallion approaches and vulva winks
MATERNAL BEHAVIOUR Females taking care of newborn and young animals Examples of Maternal Behavior o Mothers clean young by licking them o Mothers fight off intruders o Become aggressive in protecting their young after birth
Cows • Maternal behavior begins at parturition (time of birth) and continues to weaning • Cows giving birth • Will seek seclusion, usually in a depression or trees • Cow will inspect calf and lick it clean • Calf stands and starts to nurse after ~ 1 hour • Cow eats the placenta (so as to not alert predators) • Cow and calf rejoin herd after 2-4 days
Cow is very possessive throughout nursing period • Will come to rescue calf very quickly • Cows identify young primarily by smell • Sight and sound also contribute to identification • Time of calf removal in beef herds is very noisy • Dairy herds – calf is immediately removed from the mother
Pigs • Sows build nest ~ 18 hours before birth • Time of farrowing - ~ 4 hours • A few sows become agitated and kill piglets • Cross fostering is possible within first few days • Frequently each piglet adopts a single teat • /www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBB4jEIjGHo
Other animals • Sheep behave similarly to cattle in many way around birth • www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5VHea4h4PQ • Ewes will accept orphan goats to nurse • Mares also behave in a similar manner
COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOUR When some type of information is exchanged between individual animals Examples of Communicative Behaviour o Distress Calls – Lambs bleat, calves bawl, pigs squeal and chicks chirp o Dams recognize offspring by smell o Farm animals respond to calls or whistles of the producer o Bulls bellow deeply to communicate aggressive behaviour
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Includes “fight or flight” and aggressive and passive behaviours between animals Includes interactions with other animals, humans and behaviour during handling and restraint Examples of Social Behaviour o Males of all farm animals fight when they meet other unfamiliar males of the same species o Cows, sows and mares develop a pecking order, but fight less intensely than males o Cows withdraw from the herd to a secluded spot just before calving o Almost all animals withdraw from the herd if they are sick
Social Dominance • Advantage – gives mating preference to strongest males (important for sustaining genetic merit for strength in a species) • Disadvantage – weaker individuals are sometimes deprived of food if it is limited • Genetic contribution – appears to be moderately heritable
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5t2bIdN51U • www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0u5RK_IL6s • www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIggQ9-fpDw
AGONISITC BEHAVIOUR • Agonistic behaviours are those behaviours which cause, threaten to cause or seek to reduce physical damage. • Agonistic behaviour is comprised of threats, aggression and submission.
Types of Aggression Seen in Livestock Animals Here are some reasons why livestock animals may become aggressive: • Pain Induced – An animal gets aggressive when in pain, particularly if someone tries to touch the painful area. • Maternal Aggression – Most female domesticated animals are protective of their young and wary of strangers coming near. • Territorial Aggression – While horses may share a feeding site, they retain control of their home range.
Female rabbits are very territorial in captivity. They will attack a male rabbit put into her cage, so for mating purposes, the female is taken to the buck's cage. • Inter male Aggression – This can occur between stud animals, particularly boars. • Sexually Induced Aggression – Females in oestrus have been known to fight. • Dominance Aggression – Species housed in groups develop as hierarchy. Even horses have a ‘pecking order’.
Aggression in Cattle • With cattle it is the bull that is of concern. Pawing the ground with forefeet and snorting while holding its head up are signs of aggressive behaviour. • An aggressive bull will knock down a person and continue to knock him down or toss him about which could result in being gored if the bull has horns
Aggressive behaviour in the heifer is more related to breed and socialization. Cows that are handled frequently, such as dairy cows, are usually docile. • It is the cows that aren’t handled regularly, such as beef cattle, particularly in large herds, that may become aggressive. • The cattle fight or flight response varies considerably on how often they are handled. A herd of dairy cows will veer away if a human gets into their personal space, however, high country cattle are more likely to run to get further away from the encroaching human.
To read about aggression in other animals • http://suite101.com/article/aggressive-behaviour-of-livestock-animals-a147397 • www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dYVv5FIQNI
Classification of aggressive behaviours common to food animals J ANIM SCI 1986, 62:1130-1139.
FEEDING BEHAVIOUR Exhibited by animals when eating and drinking (Ingestive Behaviour) Examples of Feeding Behavior o Cattle graze 4-9hrs/day, ruminate 4-9hrs/day, regurgitate 300-400 boluses of feed per day o Sheep and goats graze 9-11hrs/day, ruminate 7-10hrs/day, regurgitate 400-600 boluses of feed per day o Cattle usually don’t go more than 2kms away from water o Sheep may travel as much as 5kms a day
Feeding Management • The feeding behaviour of livestock has a significant influence on growth rates and milk production, health and the quality and quantity of the product being produced on farms
Browsing for feed • If given the opportunity livestock like to browse and forage for feed. They will take advantage of open gates or holes in fences, this can be hazardous. • RISKS • Exposure to bovine tuberculosis TB • Injury and death • They will investigate anything strange in the paddock • This could include hydrants, vehicles etc
TB and production • Carriers • Possums , ferrets, wallabys, wild deer and pigs • Cattle will investigate the strange dead thing and this could be a TB infected organism • This can mean herd movement is restricted and production can be affected. • TB testing of cattle • Disease control in cattle and deer - Animal Health Board
Selective grazing • Cattle like to select the best pasture available to them • The most palatable • The most nutritious • Intensive grazing systems are based on perennial ryegrass and white clover pastures. They need careful management to remain palatable and nutritious.
Managing Pasture • Cattle left to selective graze would lead to stalky long unproductive pasture. Leading to a drop in production. • Strip grazing is often used to manage pasture quality and ensure high milk production. • Shape of the breaks???? Which is best? • Rotational Grazing is monitoring • grass growth and how fast stock are eating it.
Spreading Feed out to reduce conflict behaviour, subordinate animals will not get their share if they have to fight dominant animals for it.
ELIMINATIVE BEHAVIOUR Elimination of faeces and urine Examples of Eliminative Behaviour o Cattle, sheep, horses, goats and chickens eliminate faeces & urine indiscriminately o Pigs eliminate faeces in definite areas of a pasture or pen o Cattle, sheep, goats and swine defecate while standing or walking, urinate while standing, but not walking o Cattle defecate 12-18 times/day, urinate 7-11 times/day o Horses defecate 5-12 times/day, urinate 7-11 times/day o Animals defecate & urinate more when stressed or excited o Animals lose 3% of their live weight when transported to & from market points (Shrink)
SHELTER-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR Examples of Shelter-Seeking Behaviour o Animals crowd together in snow and cold winds o Animals seek shelter of trees when it rains o Cattle and sheep seek shady area for rest and rumination if weather is hot o Pigs find a wet area if weather is hot o In extreme situations, animals pile up to the extent that some get smothered
INVESTIGATIVE BEHAVIOUR Examples of Investigative Behaviour o Pigs, horses and dairy goats are highly curious, investigate any strange object, approach carefully, slowly, sniffing and looking as they approach o Sheep are less curious and more timid
ALLELOMIMETIC Animals of a species tend to do the same thing at the same time Important in that a producer may observe the herd with little difficulty, also useful in driving groups of animals from one place to another Examples of Allelomimetic Behaviour o Cattle and sheep tend to graze at the same time and rest and ruminate at the same time o High Country cattle gather at the watering place about the same time each day because one follows the other
