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Disorders in the feeding behaviour of fattening bulls
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 14 (1985) 385--392
385
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., A m s t e r d a m - Printed in The Netherlands
Proceedings (Papers presented at the Winter Meeting of the Society for Veterinary Ethology, London, Great Britain, 30 November 1983) DISORDERS IN THE FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF FATTENING BULLS
H.H. SAMBRAUS
Leh~tuhl~rZierzucht, W e i h e n s t e p ~ n ( ~ Germany)
ABSTRACT
For labour-saving reasons, fattening bulls in West Germany are commonly housed o n slatted floors and fed only corn silage and concentrates. Bulls kept under these conditions quite frequently show disturbances associated with feeding behaviour. Such disturbances were quantitatively recorded in four fattening-bull enterprises. Two of the operations kept exclusively bulls of the German Fleckvieh breed, while the other two kept Polish Black and White bulls as well as some Fleckvieh bulls. The animals were 8--10 months of age (Fleckvieh) and 12--13.5 months of age (Black and White). The individual behaviour problems were classified as: (1) oral preoccupation with the body parts of stallmates (ears, prepuce, scrotum, tail and haircoat of the rest of the body); (2) oral preoccupation with inanimate object (dividing bars, overhead pipes, walls, floor, neck straps); (3) urine drinking; (4) tongue rolling. All of the bulls showed at least one of these behavioural disturbances. Preoccupation with inanimate objects occurred most frequently, followed by tongue rolling, preoccupation with the prepuce and urine drinking. Distinct differences in the occurrence of the individual disturbances existed between the enterprises. The same was true for the two breeds within the individual enterprises; all of the behavioural disturbances occurred more frequently in the German Fleckvieh than in the Polish Black and White bulls. It is suspected that besides a certain breed predisposition, the triggering factor for these behaviour disturbances is the lack of structured feedstuffs.
THE ADRENAL MEDULLA OF THE PIG AND CALF IS NOT STIMULATED WHEN THE ANIMALS ARE EXPOSED TO SIMULATED TRANSPORT VIBRATION AND NOISE D.F. SHARMAN, D.B. STEPHENS and T.R. COOPER
A.F.R.C. Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge (Gt. Britain) ABSTRACT
An apparatus to study responses to noise and vibration in farm animals using operant
0168-1591/85/$03.30
© 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
385
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., A m s t e r d a m - Printed in The Netherlands
Proceedings (Papers presented at the Winter Meeting of the Society for Veterinary Ethology, London, Great Britain, 30 November 1983) DISORDERS IN THE FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF FATTENING BULLS
H.H. SAMBRAUS
Leh~tuhl~rZierzucht, W e i h e n s t e p ~ n ( ~ Germany)
ABSTRACT
For labour-saving reasons, fattening bulls in West Germany are commonly housed o n slatted floors and fed only corn silage and concentrates. Bulls kept under these conditions quite frequently show disturbances associated with feeding behaviour. Such disturbances were quantitatively recorded in four fattening-bull enterprises. Two of the operations kept exclusively bulls of the German Fleckvieh breed, while the other two kept Polish Black and White bulls as well as some Fleckvieh bulls. The animals were 8--10 months of age (Fleckvieh) and 12--13.5 months of age (Black and White). The individual behaviour problems were classified as: (1) oral preoccupation with the body parts of stallmates (ears, prepuce, scrotum, tail and haircoat of the rest of the body); (2) oral preoccupation with inanimate object (dividing bars, overhead pipes, walls, floor, neck straps); (3) urine drinking; (4) tongue rolling. All of the bulls showed at least one of these behavioural disturbances. Preoccupation with inanimate objects occurred most frequently, followed by tongue rolling, preoccupation with the prepuce and urine drinking. Distinct differences in the occurrence of the individual disturbances existed between the enterprises. The same was true for the two breeds within the individual enterprises; all of the behavioural disturbances occurred more frequently in the German Fleckvieh than in the Polish Black and White bulls. It is suspected that besides a certain breed predisposition, the triggering factor for these behaviour disturbances is the lack of structured feedstuffs.
THE ADRENAL MEDULLA OF THE PIG AND CALF IS NOT STIMULATED WHEN THE ANIMALS ARE EXPOSED TO SIMULATED TRANSPORT VIBRATION AND NOISE D.F. SHARMAN, D.B. STEPHENS and T.R. COOPER
A.F.R.C. Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham, Cambridge (Gt. Britain) ABSTRACT
An apparatus to study responses to noise and vibration in farm animals using operant
0168-1591/85/$03.30
© 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.