BDA Quiz 3

Vice

an abnormal behavior that is detrimental to the health or usefulness of an animal or to others with which it is associated

Behavioral Vices

commonly associated with confinement rearing and management

ex. pecking, biting, sucking, or chewing on non-food items or animal (abnormal use of these)

Non-agressive

May initially appear as grooming, play, investigative or appetitive – type behavior.

May be directed at the individual’s own body or environment

Behavioral Vices in Pigs

Polydipsia

Tail-biting

Bar-bitting

Polydipsia-Pigs

drinking more water than normal

caused by boredom or compensation for lack of food

Tail-biting- Pigs

barren sows can become restless

less aggressive than ear-biting

Behavioral Vices in Horses

Pica

Cribbing

Pica- Horses

caused by boredom and when high-concentrate diets are fed

Cribbing- Horses

wind-sucking

caused by boredom or high-concentrate diets are fed

Behavioral Vices in Poultry

Feather Pecking

Feather Pecking- Poultry

¡Redirected foraging/feeding behavior

¡Cannibalistic if toward blood or bleeding tissue!

¡Can occur in floor rearing and multi-hen cage rearing

¡ Vent area commonly targeted (Vent= where the egg comes out)

¡Beak trimming

¡Genetic selection against this behavior in best method of reduction!

Why do animals take care of their bodies?

because comfort is a high and a well-cared for body is comfortable

What constitutes a significant proportion of activity for an animal?

acts of body care

Focus of comfort for body care

Skin hygiene

Thermoregulation

Comfort-shift

Evacuation

Body care Behaviors occur in two ways

Auto-grooming

Allo-grooming

Auto-grooming

self-grooming

Allo-Grooming

grooming others

Welfare relation

“deterioration of coat condition”

Sickness or depression may reduce

a clean and orderly appearance

this can also cause animals to lay down much longer than normal

Stereotype

A repetitive behavior that is identical to a normal behavior but has no obvious goal or function

What is excessive grooming?

a stereotype

Grooming behavior types

-Licking

-Scratching

-Shaking

-Preening (Poultry)

Grooming: Licking

Removal of feces, urine and dirt

Cats are not the only ones partaking in this behavior

ex. calf autogrooming, form of maternal behavior

Grooming: Scratching

Form of allogrooming

could be an animal scratching another animal or a human scratching an animal

mutual grooming could be functional or social

goats have built-in back scratchers

What are the three degrees that horses can roll to scratch themselves?

45, 90, 180

Scratching could be caused by

parasites

Shaking occurs in a head to tail motion and

a cutaneous muscle rippling dislodges debris

Grooming: Preening

Poultry use their beak to move oil from uropygial gland throughout feathers

• water proofing effect

• Zip-up feather barbs

• ducks require water on their head for proper preening to occur

Grooming: Preening for Ducks

Ducks also have a uropygial gland

- cannot do dust baths due to eye sensitivity, and the dust disrupting their water proofing

-Clean eyes and nostrils with water.

• Foamy eye, without it

-(caused by a foreign object, that led to scratched cornea)

- Water regulates oil distribution, without the water, feathers lose waterproof ability and thermoregulation is decreased.

Thermoregulation

the biological process by which animal maintain a constant internal body temp, regardless of external environment conditions

Extreme temperatures, wind speeds and precipitation will cause animals to

changet heir behavior in order to seek comfort

Thermoneutral Zone

the range of ambient temperatures where an animal maintains its normal core body temperature without needing to increase metabolic heat production (shivering) or active heat loss mechanisms (sweating/) panting

The TNZ Zone is the

least energetically demanding enviornment

Behaviors: Thermoregulation

Cooling Behaviors

●Shade seeking​

●Sweating​

●Panting​

●Moisture Seeking: Wading and/or Wallowing ​

Warming Behaviors

●Shelter seeking​

●Heat seeking​

Sweating vs. Panting

Both are evaporative cooling mechanisms

Dogs- pant

Cats- pant

Horses- sweat

Ruminant-s sweat

Chickens-pant

Panting

the drawing of air in through the nose, across the turbulent membranes of the nasal mucosa, then the expulsion of warm air out through the mouth.​

Heat Seeking Behaviors

Turning towards the sun

grouping up

shivering

Shelter Seeking

●Specifically relating to driving wind and precipitation!​​

●Horses and cattle will turn their back to the wind.​

●Cattle will stand with rear limbs adducted​

i. (drawn towards the midline of the body)

●Side of a building, ridge, trees/brush​

●Huddling​

●Willingness to give up personal space for the benefit of E conservation!​

Anthropomorphism

○The act of attributing human characteristics, intentions, motivations, and emotions to non-human animals or objects

Comfort-Shifts def

Behavioral and physiological adaptations used to maintain a state of physical and mental well-being, often by moving away from discomfort or stress toward a more comfortable, secure environment

Comfort-Shifts

Occur periodically in resting phases:​

●Minor position changes​

●Trunk, Limbs, Tail​

●Consider external parasite effects!​

●REM sleep cycles may mimic grooming behaviors!​

May be increased during illness ​

●Edema, Ulceration, Necrosis​

May be increased during illness ​

●Colic​

Evacuation: Urination and Defecation

●Many animals work to avoid ingestion of feces​

●Horses, Pigs, Cattle, Cats (if given the choice, will go away from food areas)​

●Cats bury it!​

●Exception: Rabbits +/- Dogs​

●Coprophagia ​

●Urination is sexually dimorphic; defecation is not.​

●Increased frequency with stress or disease​

Spacing Behavior

the actions of an animal in relation to it’s nearness or distance from conspecifics

Spacing behavior is

very important in social groups

cross-species

can be inter-species as well

In a partnership:

each party exploits and benefits the other

ex. occasionally, humans force reluctant animals to associate with them

2 Types of Spacing:

Individual space

Home Range/Territory

Individual Space

moves with the animal

Home Range/ Territory

static area utilized by the animal

Spacing of social animals offers

significant information regarding the social dynamics of a group

Dogs, Horses, Rabbits, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, an domestic fowl all allow

fairly close physical proximity between one another

•Exceptions:

•Sexual Behaviors

•Maternal Behaviors

•Aggressive Behaviors

Spacing with members of other species like potential predators, is generally

much greater

Flight Distance/Zone

•the radius of space in which the animal will not voluntarily permit the intrusion of man or other animals that might be dangerous without escaping.

•A form of individual spacing.

•Reactions to intrusion: Startle, Alarm, Flight-Flight Display, Vocalization

•Appropriate husbandry and socialization of domestic species lessens the flight zone.

Flight Zone =

Animal’s Person Space

What changes an animals flight zone?

•Zone size is related to animal’s wildness or tameness

•Increases if excited or approached head on.

•Lessens when calm.

•Important for animal handling: Calm cattle are easier to move.

Limitation of movement to a home range usually involoves

the presence of food in that location

Primary Motivation =

Food/Eating

Secondary Motivation=

Protection of Food Source (aka territory defended)

Agnostic (Agressive Behavior) =

defensiveness, threatening, or attack

•Majority of domestic animals that spend a long period of time in a “controlled” extensive area (pasture or range) spend little energy on agnostic behavior.

Common feature of group behavior

Social facilitation

Synchrony of action

Types of Space

1. Home range

2. Territory

3. Individual space

1. Home Range

•Learned area in which the animal moves about

•Habitually utilized

•May be total range or a specific area of the given range

•Example: Fenced Pasture or Range

2. Territory

•Area that is actively defended

•Fighting

•Demarcation (Scent cues)

•May not be permanent

•Usually provides immediate food, water, shelter, etc.

•May be used to attract a mate

3. Individual Space

•The minimum distance within which approach elicits avoidance or attack. (Hediger, 1955)

•Includes physical space required for lying, rising, standing, stretching & scratching.

•Varies depending on activity!

•Advantages of maintenance:

•Decreased:

•contact injuries

•interference while feeding

•impedance of movement

•disease or parasite transmission

Spatial Features

Animals may select or avoid certain areas based on importance or implications of environmental features

•Examples:  Edge of a river, woods, cliff, caves, open space, tall trees, etc.

•Dairy cows have been noted to prefer certain milking stalls over others. (Hopster, 1988) (Paranhos da Costa, 2001)

Association vs. Avoidance

•Domestic animals (many of which are gregarious species) have varying _____ of individual space, based on…

Activity

Relationship

Examples of association

•Mother & offspring

•Conspecifics reared together

•Developed later in life

Personal preferences

Domestic herbivores tend to

maintain a set distance from at least one neighboring herd mate

Avoidance

•the inverse response to agnostic behavior

•The primary behavior that maintains social structure!

•Requires adequate space!

Spatial Needs

•How much space does an animal actually need?

Consider quantitative and qualitative needs

Quantitative Needs

•Is the area physically large enough for the animal to move about freely/normally?

•Length, width, height

•Consider needs for standing, lying, stretching, getting up/down, etc.

Qualitative Needs

•Does the space provide enough food, shelter, proper climate, opportunities to explore or hide, opportunity for proper body care?

•Consider normal social interactions.

•Consider importance of avoidance!

Domestic animals will

tolerate decreased individual space foe a short period of time

•Example: Weighing, Transport, Sleeping, etc.

•Gradual desensitization when young is important!

Possible welfare concerns due to panic

So, how much space does an animal actually need?

•Recommendations are species specific

•Relationship between body weight (BW) and space occupied is represented by a “constant” value (C), which is then multiplied by the BW^0.67

•C * BW^0.67 = Individual Space Needed

•Equations for some species have been “modified” to account for varying activity needs.

Spatial Needs- Chickens

•Proper brooding temperatures are necessary for chicks to be healthy and to rapidly feather. The brooder temperature will decrease with each week of age.

•All poultry requires a minimum amount of square feet in coops, runs and cages that increases with age to maintain health and to prevent social problems. They also require a certain amount of space at feeders and waterers.

Crowding

occurs when an individuals movements are restricted by the physical presence of others

doesn’t = overcrowding or poor animal welfare

Overcrowding

occurs when a high social density causes adverse effects on the fitness of individuals

High animal density increases the likelihood that one animal will invade another animals individual space, thus resulting in

an aggressive or avoidance-type response

Is proper number distribution of resources importatn?

Yes

Multi-Cat households should have

(N + 1) number of litter boxes, to prevent resource competition, which can lead to inappropriate elimination behavior

Spacing Behavior of Dogs

Intrusion of personal space or territory may result in growling or biting

•Home, yard, sleeping space, food bowl, etc.

•Signs of intent can rapidly escalate.

•Bites occur very suddenly!

Male dogs urine-mark defendable territory and visited locations.

•Height of mark indicates size

•Pheromones indicate fitness 

Spacing Behavior of Cats

•Scent marking/rubbing with facial & tail-base glands indicates ownership!

•Males will urine-spray.

•Odor is very strong in Tom cats!

•Active nocturnal defense of territory is a direct result of human/urban environments.

•Hissing, growling, etc.

Clawing and biting head vs. back/rump area

Spacing Behavior of cattle

•_Head-butting or threatening to head-butt

•Bull Dominance Display:

•Digging in dirt w/ front feet and horns

•Rubbing head along ground

•Preference for perimeter of enclosures

•Preferred grazing space:

•Cows: 4-10 meters

•Bulls: 25 meters  - often found at herd perimeter

Spacing Behavior of Horses

Territorial/Aggressive/Distance-Increasing Behaviors:

•Biting (Offensive)

•Kicking (Defensive)

•Striking (Offensive)

•Rearing

•Chasing

•Cross-species?

Spacing Behavior of Horses pt. 2

•Horses spend 12 hours/day grazing

•Grazing range is limited by availability of water and salt within the range.

•Presence of snow increases the range

•Horses prefer shade if given the choice

•Stud piles

• Lawns vs. Roughs

Lawns

short grass

Roughs

grown out grass