feeding behavior

Question 1

what abilities does feeding behavior involve?

Answer 1

mental
motor
digestive abilities

Question 2

what are initiation of feeding behavior affected by?

Answer 2

diurnal rhythms and social factors

Question 3

what body monitors are important

Answer 3

◼ Visual input
◼ Taste receptors
◼ Stomach contractions
◼ Plasma glucose

Question 4

social facilitation

Answer 4

animal starts to engage in behavior because there is already another engaged in that acitivty

Question 5

when food is found, intake is affected by:

Answer 5

 Physical properties of food
 Availability of water
 Nutrient qualities of food
 Disturbances

Question 6

what are examples of disturbances

Answer 6

◼ Predators
◼ Attack by insects
◼ Competition from other animals
◼ Climatic conditions

Question 7

what are two kinds of social influences operative when animals feed in groups

Answer 7

 Social facilitation

 Agonistic behavior

Question 8

social facilitation is a form of ____________ behavior

Answer 8

allelomimetic

Question 9

what is allelomimetic behavior?

Answer 9

Activities in which animals do the same
thing or cooperate in some fashion

ex. lionesses hunting in group

Question 10

agnostic behavior is likely to _____ intake by subordinates

Answer 10

reduce

Question 11

social facilitation ______ feeding

Answer 11

increases

Question 12

when two or more feed together, why will the quantity eaten be increased?

Answer 12

◼ Increased stimulation to eat

◼ Reducing anxiety if animal unfamiliar with environment or fear producing situation

Question 13

how may feed intake vary among species?

Answer 13

 Other individual must be physically present for maximum consumption
 May be sufficient that the other can be seen, heard or smelled

Question 14

when hereford steers heifers were fed with companions in a pen, what was the result?

Answer 14

Those fed in group
 Higher daily gains on high quality hay

◼ No difference when fed poor quality hay
◼ Animals fed alone
 Restless, nervous, wasted hay

Question 15

what was the result of dairy calves in three different groups when being fed

Answer 15

◼ Social facilitation was necessary

◼ Exploratory & imitative behavior likely enhanced in social group environment

Question 16

when cattle are isolated, how much feed intake is reduced?

Answer 16

50%

Question 17

what is the affect on sheep of isolation

Answer 17

eat very little when isolated

Question 18

a satiated hen may feed again if what is introduced?

Answer 18

hungry bird

Question 19

describe commercial layers in chickens

Answer 19

 Consume large amounts when in
individual cages but can see one another
 May need to restrict intake

Question 20

chickens have ________ of feeding

Answer 20

synchrony

Question 21

dogs have ________ of feeding

Answer 21

synchrony

Question 22

why may dogs lose weight when their family is gone?

Answer 22

 Absence of pack

 Anxiety & reduced feeding

Question 23

what happens when one pig walks to the feeder?

Answer 23

others join

Question 24

what is a stimulus for pigs to feed?

Answer 24

sound of feeding

Question 25

true/false: physical presence of another pig is necessary for feeding

Answer 25

false, as long as they are nearby

Question 26

when 2-10 year old beef cows were fed together on a pasture getting supplemental feed, the younger cows lost weight, where do we put the two year old?

Answer 26

put them with the three year olds, less competitive than the older cows

Question 27

what are the most common beef cow breeds on the feedlot

Answer 27

angus
shorthorns
herefords

Question 28

what happens when you remix groups of beef cows

Answer 28

 Extended agonistic behavior

 Reduce feed intake of subordinates

Question 29

why should you provide all day feed with dairy cows

Answer 29

so subordinate animals have a chance at feeding

Question 30

how do barriers provide protection

Answer 30

protects muzzle region when subordinates eat with dominants

Question 31

what happens with small pigs or those farrowed late?

Answer 31

Usually don’t gain access to high yielding nipple

Question 32

describe agnostic behavior when piglets are mixed at weaning

Answer 32

 Social order developed rapidly
 Add pig a week later than others
◼ Attacked

Question 33

true/false: dominant pig will not tolerate subordinate eating at the same time

Answer 33

true

Question 34

describe agnostic behavior in chickens for floor pens

Answer 34

Dominant hens patrol feeder area and Subordinates eat early morning & dusk

Question 35

why may cages not cause as much problems for feeding in chickens?

Answer 35

provide some protection

Question 36

what is a vice

Answer 36

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

Question 37

what are examples of vices related to feeding behavior

Answer 37

Pecking, biting, sucking, chewing non-food items

Question 38

how can you distinguish between aggressive acts and vices?

Answer 38

 Aggressive acts directed at head, neck, forequarters
 Vices involve other parts of body
◼ May initially appear as grooming, play, investigatory

Question 39

what is a behavior in dogs or cats that can be a vice or destructive habit?

Answer 39

chewing and scratching

Question 40

what are vices in horses?

Answer 40

◼ Wood chewing
◼ Pica
 Eating unnatural food/substance
◼ Horses in metal stalls
◼ Board attached to stall
 Fed concentrate diet = 5x wood chewing activity vs. those fed hay

don’t have the opportunity to eat fiber as much as they should

Question 41

what are vices in chickens

Answer 41

◼ Cannibalism & feather pecking 
          Bleeding tissue, 
            internal organs 
          Vent, cloacal area
          Egg laying
◼ Bare skin
◼ Beak trimming
◼ Toe nail trimming

Question 42

what are vices in swine

Answer 42

◼ Tail biting
        Frustration or boredom 
         Also ears
◼ One pig mouths another’s tail 
     Starts bleeding
          ◼ Swishes tail
                  Draws attention to it
                       ◼ Invites further biting