Oversee Herd Health And Production

Knowledge of Livestock Behaviour Patterns

The behaviour of cattle is determined by instinct, sensory perception and experience. Instinctual behaviours refer to those that the cow is naturally motivated to perform. Sensory behaviours are those that are the result of something heard/seen/smelt/felt in the environment.

Examples of these different types of behaviour include:

• Instinct or innate, fully developed and complete at first appearance; suckling and standing at birth, those rhythmical behaviours fundamental to the life process (such as breathing and defecation) and freezing or baulking in response to an unfamiliar noise or object. Baulking is when the animal flinches and ceases movement, that is, it is resisting what it is being led to do.
• Conditioned learning or learning by experience, which can be positive, negative or neutral; drinking milk from a bucket, mounting behaviour during copulation, eating concentrates from an out of parlour feeder, responding to a feedout wagon, milk let down during milking as well as responding to a handler. Much of this occurs as the result of sensory perception and investigatory behaviour when cattle are first exposed to an unfamiliar environment.
• Many behaviours are a combination of these influences. Mounting behaviour during copulation is a good example of this, with the novice bull being instinctually driven to attempt mounting, but the technique of mounting improving with experience.

Of the five senses cattle possess, sight is the most dominant. Hearing and smell also play important roles in how cows assess their environment.

As a prey species, cattle have an inherent fear of unfamiliar objects, situations, smells, sudden movements and noises. As well they can experience fearfulness in situations where they are solitary or isolated. Understanding this is critical to managing them in a low stress manner.

Click here to view a video that explains natural behaviour in dairy cattle.

Cattle are less expressive of pain and injury than humans. Therefore, behavioural indicators of pain that cattle do express are subtle. An animal experiencing pain has compromised welfare, and consequences to their health and productivity are also likely.

The presence of indicate that a cow is in a compromised welfare state, and is feeling frustrated at the inability to behave naturally. In cattle, oral stereotypies, which relate to nutritional and foraging deficits, and ambulatory stereotypies, the result of restricted movement, are common. The intensification of cattle housing, feeding and management contributes to behavioural problems not seen in grazing animals. Frustrations lead to some cows engaging in often repetitive and pointless (stereotypic behaviours stereotyped) behaviour that can be interpreted as a reflection of reduced activity, hence restricted normal behaviour, in intensively managed housing systems.

Click here to download a handout that explains identifying pain behaviours in dairy cattle.

Tongue rolling and bar chewing are two classic stereotype behaviour problems. Nymphomania, silent heats and extreme aggression towards humans are other behavioural problems in intensively managed cattle.

Feeding vices can be attributed to boredom following a too rapid satisfying of their nutritional needs. These include dropping feed, feed throwing and water lapping.

The behaviours of cows will change in response to the situations they are in and the handling they experience, resulting in an increased or decreased frequency of common behaviours.

The behaviour of the cow handler has an enormous impact on cow behaviour, welfare and performance. Negative behaviours produce more fearful cows. Positive behaviour will lead to a relaxed herd of cows that are easier to handle.

A good handler with a considerate, calm and positive attitude towards cows can lead to 20% higher milk yields over a handler with a poor attitude.

Non-performing Livestock is Identified and Removed According to Feedlot Procedure

Non-performing cattle might be a HIGH RISK for causing a violative residue problem. Non-performing cattle should have records carefully reviewed by both the feed yard veterinarian and manager before being released for salvage. Establish a minimum withdrawal (WD) time that reflects the longest WD for any of the products administered. Animals recovering from illness may have organ damage that interferes with the normal clearing of medications. Marketing decisions should not be made solely on the results of a pre-marketing residue screening test. Critical factors to avoid a violative residue include medication selection, dosage, route of administration, volume per injection site and adherence to prescribed withdrawal times. In accordance with FDA regulations for use of prescription animal health products, a treatment protocol must be written (hard copy or electronic) and signed by the feed yard veterinarian,