Behaviour of Cattle

Origins of Cattle
Breed differentiation

Bos primigenius

• Domestication

9000 years ago Bos indicus

Breed differentiation
Bos primigenius

British Iron Age

800 BC—43 AD

Bos taurus
Gregarious
animals
Broad vision range
Effects of castration
 Sex differences in behaviour

• Same sex and similar age

husbandry conditions

• Different on how they

organize their time

• Different on how they

ruminate
Chillingham cattle
 Behaviour rhythms
• They can breed all year round
• Alternating phases of feeding and rumination
Behaviour rhythms
 Foraging and Feeding
Effects of plant structure

Meals last on
average 110
minutes
 Foraging and Feeding
Effects of plant and sward structure
70 bites per minute

Unselective cannot graze closer

than 1 cm
 Foraging and Feeding
Effects of plant and sward structure

maintain rate of intake, by maintain quality of intake,

accepting herbage of by reducing bite size and
poorer quality bite length
Foraging and Feeding
Rumination
6-7 hours

45 minutes

Alertness is reduced
and cattle will
become drowsy.
 Social Behaviour
Dominance structure is stable from year to
Bulls have a home range
year, and it can be highly complex, with
system and a more strictly
individuals sometimes consistently dominating
linear hierarchy than cows
cows who appear to be of higher social rank.

The hierarchy is based on the dominance–subordination

relationships that exist between each animal, and each
other individual
Social Behaviour
cow can recognize 50–70 other individuals

cows form ‘friendships’

which last for long
periods of time.

Licking is a comfort mechanism,

helping cattle to cope with
intensive husbandry systems
Communication
Vocalization
Visual signals

Paw the ground, thrash vegetation

with the horns, vocalize, and exhibit
a wide range of displays, mainly based
on positioning the body in various
ways to accentuate the size and
strength of the shoulders

the ‘inverse polar’ position)

Facial expressions

Flehmen

Mouth opening that

accompanies vocalization
 Lateral
Neutral display, low
intensity

Lateral Approach
display, high relatively
intensity confident

Approach Alert
submissive position
Mating Behaviour
Maternal Behaviour

The calf is usually licked intensely

immediately after birth,

The calf usually succeeds

in standing within the first
30–60 minutes

Calves resemble kids and are very

different from lambs and foals,
which follow their mothers back
to the herd soon after birth.
The milk-ejection reflex

Pituitary gland
Stereotypy
Tongue
rolling
Internal Factors
Affecting
Behaviour
• Geneticall and
Environmentall
Breed selection
Temperament
External Factors Affecting Behaviour
Temperature
Privation
Danger
Other behavioral disorders
GRACIAS