KEY
Note Taking Guide
Topic # 3037
Animal Behavior
Alyson Wilsona
Behavior is: The individual and group actions that take place in order for animals to live
and function in their environment.
Ethology is: The study of animal behavior
Anthropomorphism is: Attributing human characteristics to animals
It is important that what we record is what we: Observe objectively
Valid comments/guesses include:
”the bull’s head is lowered”
“the eyes are wide and open”
“he appears to be pawing the ground’
“the bull’s territory has been invaded”
“the bull is being threatened by someone or something”
Animal Behaviors include:
Nest Building (Sows)
Mating Behavior
Postpartum Behavior
Environmental Comfort
Social Behavior
Nest Building
3days prior to Labor, sow spends majority of her time eating and sleeping.
Sow will start nest building as labor gets closer.
Sow will try to clean and dry an area and will chew on long grass or straw to provide
bedding.
Sow may change nest area more than once.
Pawing Activities occur.
Sow may resist human intervention regarding nest building.
Time will vary with each sow, but all will utilize dry bedding.
Mating Behavior
Threat Displays (males)
Bulls
Arching of the neck
Protrusion of eyeballs
Erection of hair along their back
Pawing the ground
Turning of the shoulder toward the threatened animal
Stallions
Rearing on hind legs
Laying back of ears
Rams
Vigorous stamping of forefoot
Nudging
Estrus Behavior
Cows
Increased excitability
Licking
Mounting other females
Ewes
Difficult to see unless with a ram
If ram is present, will seek out his company and stay with him
Sows
Pressure on back causes her to stand
Sow may become restless when enclosed
Ears may be laid close to her head, turned up and backwards and held stiffly
Postpartum Behavior
Mares
Mare will often lie exhausted for 20-30 minutes
Mares do not eat afterbirth, but will groom foals
Cows
Cow will lick own urine discharge
Cow will rest and then clean her calf
Cow will usually eat the placenta
Ewes and Does
Ewes and Does eat entire afterbirth
Recognition of ewe/lamb and doe/kid is very important
Rejection may occur if young is taken away after birth and returned later
Critical time period can be as little as 1 hour
Management practices:
Encouraging an orphaned lamb to be “adopted”
Rubbing afterbirth on orphan
Skinning a dead lamb of the foster ewe
Sows
Sows pay little attention to young until last one is born
Sows will eat part or all of afterbirth unless removed
Sows will call littler to suck using short repeated grunts
Sow may emit barking grunts if disturbed by an intruder
Sows rarely lick or groom young
Sows may also crush their young with sudden movements
Environmental Comfort
Discomfort Behavior includes:
Feather picking and cannibalism in poultry
Tail biting and ear chewing in swine
TOO Cold
Huddle together/pile up
TOO Hot
Cattle and sheep seek shady areas
Pigs seek wet areas to lie in
Social Behavior
Males fight unfamiliar males
Cows, sows, and mares develop a pecking order and fight less intensely
Ewes seldom fight
Social order in cow herds is influenced by:
age
size
horns (if any)
experience
strength
Once social order is established in cow herds, it will remain the same for years
Pigs develop a social order at birth
Closely confined pigs have some difficulty establishing a social order
Pecking order in chickens is found in feeding, nesting, and roosting.