(08) Cow Stuff

Question 1

(Origins and Domestication of Cattle)

1. Wild ancestors of cattle were local races of what?
2. domesticated how long ago?
3. What cattle have shoulder hump, floppy ears, and a pronounced dewlap?
4. What are humpless cattle called?

Answer 1

1. aurochs
2. 9,000 years
3. India cattle
4. taurine or Bos Taurus

Question 2

(Origins and Domestication)

1. how many breeds in the world?
2. how many head of cattle?

Answer 2

1. 1,000
2. 1.3 billion

(largest numbers in INdia, Brazil, China, USA, and Europe

Question 3

(Environmental Perception)

1. where are cattles eyes positioned? what kind of vision does this give them?
2. What colors do they distinguish better - long wv (yellow, orange, red) or short (blue, gray, green)?
3. Have slit-shaped pupils and weak eye muscles - what does this mean in regards to focus?

Answer 3

1. side of the head; panoramic vision of 330 degrees with blind spot directly behind them
2. long
3. can’t focus quickly on objects

Question 4

(Envrionmental percetpion)

1. how is their depth percetpion?
2. usually lower their heads to look at something
3. vertical vision is how many degrees?
4. cows walk slowly in unfamiiliar environments
5. they should be given time to move at own pace

Answer 4

1. bad
2. 60 (human is 140)

Question 5

(Envrinomental PErception)

1. how well can they hear? do they like high screeching sounds?
2. is a person hollering as stressful as getting hit with an electric prod?
3. do they feel nervous when alone?
4. do they respond well to automation?

Answer 5

1. well; they absolutely adore them
2. yes
3. yes (prey species)
4. yep

(now look at the slides of pictures of different housings for cows)

Question 6

(Social BEhavior)

1. they are social animals
2. is there a designated leader that they follow from pasture, to feed bucnk, etc.?
3. do they establish a social hierarchy in the group?
4. The presence of a social hierarchy reduces what allowing for what?

Answer 6

2. yep
3. yeah
4. reduces aggression eliminating the need for repeated antagonistic interactions (this is really important in confienment systmes)

Question 7

(Social Behavior)

1. what are one of the most important means of communication in cattle?
2. olfaction is important in what two things?
3. do cattle use vocalizations to communicate? how extensively?

Answer 7

1. visual signs
2. social relationships and contributes to individual recognition
3. yep - not too extensively

Question 8

(Social Behavior)

1. most vocalizations are related to what?

2-5. Tactile communication is not as well documented - it is important in what four things?

Answer 8

1. frustration and stress (an isolated animal seeking lost partner or indication of hunger)
2. sexual and maternal behavior
3. establishing ranking order,
4. allogrooming (social licking)
5. human-animal relationships

Question 9

(Social Behvaoir)

1. dominance is defined in terms of what? usually indicates what?
2. an initial meeting of two cows usually results in some type of response, either submission or head to head butting or pushing
3. for recently mixed cows aggression is dominant but it soom diminsishes as social hierarchy is established

Answer 9

1. one animal inhibiting the behavior of another; priority of access to space

Question 10

(Social Behavior)

1. grouping of dairy cattle is becoming more and more common with the trend for increased herd sizes and loose housing systems
2. In dairy operations, cows are divided in groups according to production level, parity, stage of lactation, reproduction status, health status, or body condition score

Question 11

(Social Behavior)

1. high pen density and large group sizes can affect the behavior and the productivity of dairy cows
2. In large group sizes - may individual cows hav difficulty memorizing the social status of all peers? will this increase or decrease the incidnce of aggressive interactions?
3. Under crowded conditions a cow has a difficult time maintaining individual distances and is forced to move around to avoid dominant cows

Answer 11

2. yep - isnt known

Question 12

(Social Behavoir)

1. can regrouping of animals result in increased aggressiveness and social stress?
2. the reduction in milk yield occurs for how long?

Answer 12

1. yes (negatively affect milk yield, feed intake, locomotion behavior, and somatic cell counts)
2. 3 to 7 days (nevertheless it is significant for animal productivity and well-being)

Question 13

(Social Behavior)

1. group composition can influence the amount of social problems observed in different regrouping events
2. Are low or high ranking animals more affected by regrouping?
3. it is recommended that heifers be housed seprately or together with mature cows?

Answer 13

2. low
3. seperately

Question 14

(Social behvaoir)

1. allogrooming (social licking) indicates what?
2. Are social bonds kept throughout life even if separaated?
3. familiar or related cows could be regrouped together to make social integration easier

Answer 14

1. formation and maintenance of social bonds
2. yes

Question 15

(Social Behavior)

1. is the number of antagonsistc behaviors of cows higher for those house indoors or those housed on pastures?
2. It appeared that cows housed indoors spent a large portion (45 to 66%) of their active time in what is defined as a state of social tension

Answer 15

1. those housed indoors (9.5 per hour) vs 1.1 per hour

Question 16

(Social Behavior)

1. social and individul cow behavior may play a role in the development of what?
2. why is this?
3. lame cows returned from the parlor later and lay down more than non-lame cows

Answer 16

1. lameness
2. low-ranking cows spent less time lying, and more time standing half in the stalls and standing still in the alleys that middle and high ranking cows

Question 17

(Handling and lameness)

1. toe abscesses were reduced how much in a beef feedlot where quieter handling methods were used?
2. one cause of toe abscesses is what?
3. how cows are moved may be related to the incidence of lameness

Answer 17

1. 50%
2. scuffing of the toes when cattle get agitated in a chute

Question 18

(resting behavior)

1. lying down is important for recovery and rest
2. cattle show strong motivation for this behavior
3. most adult cattle lay down how? also occasionally how?
4. What are some benefits of adquate resting time?

Answer 18

3. on their sternum; occasionall on their side
4. reduced stress on feet and legs, reduced lameness, increased blood flow to mammary gland, greater overall cow health

Question 19

(resting behavoir)

1. the preferred amount of lying time by dairy cattle is estimated to be a minimum of how many hours per day?

Answer 19

1. 10 hours

(if the facilities are not properly designed, cows might have a difficult time standing up and lying down, and might not get the amount of rest they need for optimal health and productivity)

Question 20

(Consider cow time budget)

say how much time for each of these

1. eating
2. drinking
3. lying down/resting
4. ruminating
5. grooming and other interactions?

Answer 20

1. 4 to 6 hrs
2. 30 min
3. 10 to 12 hrs
4. 7 to 9 hours
5. 1 hr

(total time is 21 hours)

Question 21

(good free stall design)

1. it allows cows to lie down, rest and get up as they would in a free space
2. cows should be able to get up and lie down without slipping, modifying their normal posture or striking the stall structure

Question 22

(resting behavior)

1. adequate rumination activity is very important to what?
2. rumination acts as a relaxing and anti-boredom activity in diary cows
3. what percentage of cows lying down in the stalls should be ruminating in a well-disgned barn?
4. Can social stress (overcrowding) reduce rumination activity?

Answer 22

1. maintaining a healthy rumen environment
2. 50%
3. yes

Question 23

(Feeding behavior)

1. cattle feed and drink using what three things?
2. when eating grass, cattle use lips, teeth and tonge to secrue the forage material in the mouth and rip if trom the pasture
3. when they eat concentrates and preserved forages from a feed bunk/manger, they use what to a larger extent?

Answer 23

1. lips, teeth, and tongue
2. tongue

Question 24

(feeding behavior)

feeding behavior in cattle can be influenced by….

grouping strategy

feeding system equipment and design

nutritional compostion and physical characteristsic of the feed

social hierarchy

competition for food and water

Question 25

(Feeding behavior)

1. do cow indoors or outdooes tend to synchronize their feeding times more?
2. cows fed in gropus have been found to be less fearful, more contented, healthier, and more productive
3. do cows eat more in groups or separately?

Answer 25

1. on pasture (possibly as a result of increased competition for feed when indoors)
2. in groups

Question 26

(Feeding behavior)

1. what has the greatest impact in attracting cows to the feed bunk?
2. accessibility to the feed may be more important than nutritional quality
3. in loose housing confinement systems, the highest competition at the feed bunk occurs when? which cows will have priority at the feed bunk?

Answer 26

1. the delivery of fresh feed
2. when cows returning from milking of fresh feed is offered; dominant cows

Question 27

(Feeding behavior)

1. When a competitive situation exists at the feed bunk, like limited feed bunk space, do cows of lower or higher dominance spend more total time eathing? What does this result in?

(there was no difference in feeding behavior between loose housed cows fed via a post and rail system or a headlock system when 2 feet of feed bunk space was avaailabe for each cow)

Answer 27

1. dominant; greater feed intake

Question 28

(Feeding behavior)

1. As competition for feed bunk space increased, cows showed shorter average eating times and faster eating rates… was total feeding intake affected?
2. When cows were offered limited amounts of feed, dominant cows consumed how much more feed than submissive cows?
3. Therefore - what is important here?

Answer 28

1. no
2. 14%
3. that dairy cows have access to feed at all times of the day

Question 29

(Feeding behavior)

1. the number of agonistic interactions increased at the most competivie situaton
2. cows of lower rank more often displaced
3. cows of lower rank tend to adjust behaior more

Question 30

(feeding behavior)

1. instead of eating, the subordinate cows were observed standing and lying more often near milking time, when what would have been preferred?
2. Are cows more efficient when eating few longer meal or lots of short ones? why?

Answer 30

1. feeding
2. few long ones; give more time to ruminate and rest

Question 31

(Cool new ways of evaluating behaviors on farm)

(precision dairy technologies)

1. rumination sensors
2. lying/standing sensors
3. feeding behavior sensors
4. activity sensors
5. robotic milking

Question 32

(Behavioral disturbances)

1. efforts must be made to reduce what?
2. cow space, density, and distribution will affect what?
3. what help cows deal with psychological stresses?

Answer 32

1. competition for feed, water ,and shelter
2. behavior and productivity
3. highly repetitive coping behaviors

Question 33

(Behavioral disturbances)

1. common beavior is that of lapping of the water cup or leaning
2. nose pressing or leaning has been found to increase with stall discomfort
3. this could be any factor that increases standing time or causes a painful situation such as severe lameness, severe mastitis, and abdominal pain

Question 34

(Behavioral disturbances)

1. nose pressing can be seen as a cow’s effort to achive what?
2. in general - if these behaviors and prevented - what will happen to stress?
3. cattle that are not healthy will show abnormal behavior - show little interest in their environment, have dull eyes, sluggish movement, poor grooming, poor appetite

Answer 34

1. an endorphin release
2. it will increase

Question 35

(Behavioral disturbances)

1. rearing calves in isolation can result in what?
2. cattle reared in inadquate conditions can display behaviors that are considered abnormal (cross sucking, biting objects and tongue rolling)

Answer 35

1. adult cows that are not well adjusted (become less dominant, more nervous, and less interacttive with other cows)

Question 36

(Behavior and welfare)

1. is animal behavior the same as animal welfare?
2. knowledge and observation of animal behavior can help establish input and outcome based criteria for animal welfare
3. study of animal behavior can help us define animal’s needs - called what?
4. occurrence of some behaviors can indicate poor welfare - called what?

Answer 36

1. no
2. input-based
3. outcome based

Question 37

Question 38

Answer 38

Question 39