1. ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. MAJOR TYPES OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Sexual
Maternal
Communicative
Social
Agonisitic
Feeding
Eliminative
Shelter-Seeking
Investigative
Allelomimetic

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Pigs /www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBB4jEIjGHo
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 /

10. Other animals
Sheep behave similarly to cattle in many way around birth
Ewes will accept orphan goats to nurse
Mares also behave in a similar manner

11. 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

12. Examples of 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

13. 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

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. Female rabbits are very territorial in captivity
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’.

18. 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

19. 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.

20. To read about aggression in other animals

21. Classification of aggressive behaviours common to food animals
BEHAVIOURAL CATEGORY
DEFINITION AND EXAMPLE
Interspecific aggression
Maternal defence
2. Defence of territory
3. Predation
Mother defends young against potential predator
Ewe with lamb attacks dog.
Animal attacks intruder-grazing bulI attacks human.
Animal attacks, kills and eats another animal-hen catches and eats an insect.
J ANIM SCI 1986, 62:

22. Intraspecific aggression
4. Aggression after grouping
5. Inter-male fighting
6. Resource defence
7. Inter-gender fighting
8. Aberrant aggression
Previously unfamiliar animals are brought together; they fight and a social structure or hierarchy results -pigs sorted by size, they fight.
Adult males generally fight to win mates or territory – rams fight during breeding season.
When resources become limited, aggression increases cattle fight with limited feed bunk space.
Males attempt to mount non-oestrous females, aggressive behaviour ensues-non-oestrous sows attack a boar who attempted a mount.
Wool-biting in sheep, naval sucking (all mammals, especially those early-weaned), ear and tail chewing in pigs, fence and pen chewing (all mammals), cannibalism
or killing of young, feather and vent picking
in hens and, possibly, hen hysteria.

23. 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 boluses of feed per day
o  Sheep and goats graze 9-11hrs/day, ruminate 7-10hrs/day, regurgitate 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. Spreading Feed out to reduce conflict behaviour, subordinate animals will not get their share if they have to fight dominant animals for it.

30. 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 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)

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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