Grazing Animal Behavior

K. Launchbaugh USDA - ARS

Basis for Animal BehaviorWhat affects how animals behave: Born with certain abilities:

Inherited abilities Physical, Sensory & Physiological Abilities

Born knowing what to do: Called “Instincts”

Learn how behave

Physical abilities affect what animals eat Ability to eat cellulose

Capture and Consume Prey

Inherited Abilities

Carnivore

Omnivore

Herbivore

Roughage Feeder (grass)

Intermediate Feeder (forbs)

Concentrate Feeder (browse)

Select Correct SpeciesGrass

Forb

Browse

Inherited Abilities

Percent Slope

Per

cent

of O

bser

vatio

ns

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80+

CattleHorsesDeerBighorn

Figure 10.2 Relationship of slope gradient to the percentage of observations of cattle, feral horses, deer, and bighorn sheep. (From Ganskopp and Vavra 1987)

Physical abilities affect where animals eat

1210 1300 1390

0 500 1000 1500 2000

1210 1300 1390

0 500 1000 1500 2000

(Bailey et al. 2001; J. Anim. Sci.)

Select Correct Breed

Select Correct Breed

(Winder et al. 1996, J. Range Manage.)

Brangus…..traveled further from waterthan…..Hereford or Angus

Brangus consumed different diets than Hereford or Angus

Inherited Behaviors - Instincts Mammals know how to find milk and stay

close to mother. Basic ideas of what is cover

& how to hide Preference for salty foods Preference for sweet…

not sure

Washington Dept. of Fish &

Wildlife

Behavioral characteristics can be inherited Example = Guard Dogs vs Herding Dogs

Inherited Behavior - Instincts

Consequences+-

BehaviorBehave

Behavior results from consequences

Basics of Animal Behavior

Behavior

4 Basic Learning Paradigms

“Good” Consequence “Bad Consequence”

Add or Apply

Behavior Increases(Positive Reinforcement)

Behavior Decreases(Positive Punishment)

Remove Behavior Decreases(Negative Punishment)

Behavior Increases(Negative Reinforcement)

Early life experiences are influential

Young animals clearly learn what to eat avoid from their mother

0

100

200

300

400

None Alone Mother

3 Months 34 Months

Inta

ke o

f whe

at, g

/d

Exposure to Wheat (1 h/d for 5 d at 6 wk age)

Learning from Mother

Early Life Experience is Influential

Preferences are formed

Early dietary experience

Goats - 6 weeks old Experienced: raised on blackbrush range Inexperienced: drylot fed alfalfa pellets

Weaned at 26 weeks Week 28 - offered all goats blackbrush in

pens

Distel & Provenza 1991

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

day of trial

gram

s bl

ackb

rush

eat

en

ExperiencedInexperienced

Early dietary experience

Animals must learn how to eat Build Foraging Skills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DbUaZ3SHH8&feature=plcp

Skin Defense System:

Touch Pain Avoid

Animals learn based on consequences

Gut Defense System:

Eat Plant(taste)

DigestiveFeedback

+-

Preference

Aversion

Animals learn based on consequences

DigestiveFeedback Aversion

Aversion Aversion

Aversion Aversion

PreferencePreference Preference

Preference PreferenceEat

Plant(taste)

Animals learn based on consequences

Nausea(LiCl)

No Feedback (empty capsule)

Mountain-Mahogany

Conditioned Aversions

Conditioned Aversions

1 2 3 4 50

20

40

60

80

100

120N

umbe

r of B

ites

Lambs quit eating mountain mahogany when consumption was followed by nausea.

Control

Averted(LiCl 3g/day)

Terpenes in sagebrush limit intake of sagebrush

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 10 20 30

Inta

ke o

f Rat

ion

(g/d

ay/k

g B

W)

Sagebrush Levels in Ration (%)

Gut Defense System:

Eat Plant(taste)

DigestiveFeedback

+-

Preference

Aversion

Animals learn based on consequences

DigestiveFeedback Aversion

Aversion Aversion

Aversion Aversion

PreferencePreference Preference

Preference PreferenceEat

Plant(taste)

Animals learn based on consequences

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsGAIxDldAg&feature=plcp

Conditioned Preference

e Feedbackstarch

Controlwater

Straw

0

20

40

60

80

100

9 17 25 33

water starch

Inta

ke o

f str

aw, g

Day

Energy Increases Palatability

Nutrient – Toxin Interactions

How to get sheep to eat more sagebrush?

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Sheep Goats

Unsupplemented Supplemented

Inta

ke o

f Sag

ebru

sh, g

Nutrient - Toxin Interactions

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 150

10

20

30

40

50

60

Day

Sag

ebru

sh, %

Sca

ns

Supplemented

Unsupplemented

Use of Sagebrush by Sheep

Select animals that naturally possess the desired ingestive characteristics

Breed animals with these abilities

Prepare animals with prescribed dietary experiences

Offer animals nutritional or pharmaceutical resources to aid in digestion or detoxification

Creating “Designer” livestock

For More information:

www.behave.net