ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR & WELFARE

Interactions between Genetics & behavior

Lecture 5

Cluj Napoca, 10th November, 2021

Interactions between genetics and behavior

• Behavior patterns can be:

a. similar between different species,
b. found only in a particular species.
• Innate behavior patterns can be:
a. very rigid and experience has little effect on them.
b. modified by learning and experience.
Interactions between genetics and behavior (cont)

Innate behaviors affected by learning

Example1 : Burrow digging by ratts
Interactions between genetics and behavior (cont)

Innate behaviors affected by learning

Example 2: Sow nest building
The paradox of novelty
WHAT is Novelty ?
• anything new or strange in an animal’s environment.
WHY is novelty a paradox?
• because it is both fear-provoking and attractive.
• it is most fear-provoking and attractive to animals with a nervous,
excitable temperament.
• animals that survive in the wild by flight are more attentive to novelty
than more placid animals.
Reaction to Novelty
• WHAT is SUDDEN Novelty?
Highly reactive animals have a major fear reaction when confronted
with sudden novelty like:
• being placed in a new cage,
• transport in a strange vehicle,
• unexpected loud noise,
• being placed in an open field.
Reaction to Novelty in farm animals

• Example 1 - Calves
• Example 2 - Horses
Genetic Factors and the Need for Novelty
Examples:
- Kittens
- Dogs
- Chicks
Genetic Factors and the Need for Novelty
Other examples in pigs:
• Familiar vs. Novel object – age influence
• Raising on concrete vs straw
• Influence of genetics: pure vs. hybrid
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR & WELFARE

Feeding behavior
Lecture 6

Cluj Napoca, 10th November, 2021

The 5 freedoms
• Freedom from Hunger and Thirst - access to fresh water and diet to
maintain health and vigor.
• Freedom from Discomfort.
• Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease.
• Freedom to Express Normal Behavior.
• Freedom from Fear and Distress.
Definition
Foraging is the behaviour of animals when they
are moving around in such a way that they are
likely to encounter and acquire food for
themselves or their offspring (Broom, 1981)
Mechanisms of the hunger system
a) Perceptual - for recognizing food;

b) Central hunger mechanism - for integrating causal factors for eating

and coordinating necessary movements;

c) Motor - for locating and ingesting food

Rate of ingestion and intake depends on:
a. Oral mechanics and other abilities of the animal;

b. Physical and mechanical properties of the food;

c. Availability of water;

d. Nutrient qualities of the food;

e. Effects of disturbances

f. Gut size and input to the brain from sensory receptors - FULL
Rate of food processing depends on:
a. Gut cross-sectional area,

b. Enzyme activity in the gut

c. Food quality and palatability

d. Timing of next meal – delayed or accelerated

e. Health status and adverse conditions

f. Pleasure (or not!) associated with eating

Grazing behavior decisions
a. About how to behave in order to find, ingest and digest food
b. Which plants or parts of a plant to eat
c. Large or small bites
d. Stop and restart grazing
Grazing behavior
Grazing behavior
Food finding
a. Sheep, goats or cattle on pasture often have to use much energy
searching for preffered plants
b. They may have to travel long distances and remember where
suitable patches of pasture are to be found
c. Suitable food at very low density
d. Different approach by predator animals – dogs and cats
e. Finding the source of milk in newborns
Feeding

a. The efficiency of feeding by animals is altered by experience

b. Animals usually learn very fast when food is provided in a new place

c. ...or when a new procedure for obtaining food is required of them

Feeding
Meal size and food selection – Facts!
a. Animals can recognize the energetic value of foods,
b. ..and can take account of the energetic cost of obtaining food when
organizing their feeding behavior
c. Termination of feeding can occur because ingested food releases
hormones, such as the neuropeptide cholecystokinin, from the
gastrointestinal tract
d. Plasma glucagon, produced in the pancreas, increases during feeding and
injection of glucagon can reduce meal size
e. If a pig, for example, is given food diluted with low-energy material, it eats
more so that the energy intake remains constant
f. Controlling intake is that changing nutritional demands, such as those due
to pregnancy or lactation, can be allowed for if adequate food is available,
as can extra energy requirements due to adverse climatic conditions
Feeding behavior in social groups
a. If cattle, sheep or pigs are taken from their group and housed
individually they eat less
b. when food is continually available, social animals usually synchronize
their feeding
c. duration of grazing is much more constant when animals graze in a
herd than when they graze individually
d. rate of feeding is also affected by the presence of one or more
companions.
Grazing behavior
Competition and feeding behavior

• Fighting ability within the group - hierarchy

• Feed availability

• Space availability – number and size of feeders/ drinkers