s

1. Introduction
“In the 1950’s and 1960’s there was much debate concerning
whether particular behaviour is innate or learned; today most
ethologists hold that most behaviour has both innate and
learned components.” [Allaby, M (2010)] Learned behaviours
develop over the animals life span as it interacts with it’s
environment. Innate behaviour is defined a form of behaviour
which is genetically programmed. A lot of studies look into how
both behaviours have evolved with one and other over the years.
[Tierny A.J (1986)] found that rapidly changing environments
influence more development of learned behaviour whereas
stable environments favour innate behaviours to be displayed
more frequently.
Locomotory behaviour should be considered as behaviour
conducted for the purpose of moving from one position to
another with the aid of physical movement. The shift in position
for example could be from standing to laying down, walking
from one spot to another or jumping from the ground. Cattle
display these locomotory behaviours from birth for example
cow calves learn to stand normally within 2 hours of being born.
(John Hall 2001). Locomotory behaviour is often used as a guide
to look for any infrequencies in regular behaviour which could
be an early sign of illness or disease like lameness.
A study comparing the locomotory behaviour displayed by cattle
Methodology
From the herd of cattle located in the roundhouse two cows
were selected for observation. The first cow selected was a
juvenile calf situated in a section of the roundhouse with other
juveniles and mature female cattle. The second cow selected was
from the same section of the roundhouse, this cow was a mature
female cattle who had produced offspring this year. Each cow
was studied for a period of 14 minutes with observations being
recorded every 30 seconds. At the 30 second interval, the
behaviour being displayed at that current time was recorded.
Five different locomotory behaviours were chosen to be the
focus of the study. A behaviour was considered to have occurred
if it matched the predetermined description of that behaviour
and could be ticked off as having happened. Walking,
characterized by the cow moving from one position in the
roundhouse to another. The stride pace should be relatively slow
with multiple steps being taken one after the other without
returning to a stationary position for longer than 2 seconds.
Running
Discussion
References
John Hall. (march 2001). The Cow-Calf Manager - First 72
Hours Critical for Calves. Available:
http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/livestock/aps-01_0
Michael Allaby (2010). A Dictionary of Ecology. 4th ed. New
York: Oxford University Press, Inc.. p203.
Tierny, A.J. (1986). The evolution of learned and innate
behavior: Contributions from genetics and neurobiology to
a theory of behavioral evolution. Animal Learning &
Behavior . 14 ( 4 ), p339-348.
Results
Figure 1: Shows the total time that a chosen behaviour was
displayed over the course of the 14 minute study period . The
orange bar represents the juvenile calf and the blue bar
represents the mature mother cow.
Figure 2: Outlines the amount of times a behaviour occurred
during the set intervals of observations. The orange bar
representing the juvenile calf and the blue bar representing the
mature mother cow.
Standing is represented as a stationary form of behaviour where the
cattle remains in an upright position on both pairs of legs. There
should be no observable change caused by motion in where the cattle
has moved to a new location. Herding defined by the motion of
movement made by the subject animal alongside the same motion of
another animal in their situation. One or more cattle must follow the
motion of the observed animal in a close proximity of no more than
two strides apart for it to be considered as herding. Laying should be
noted by the stationary position of the animal’s body connecting to
ground level rather than the base of their feet. The animal should be
in this position for more than 4 seconds.