Med. Weter. 70 (2), 90-93, 2014
full text
| Abramowicz P., Brzozowski P., Gołębiewski M. |
| Practical aspects of the social behavior of cattle |
| The paper presents issues related to the creation and establishment of hierarchical systems in a herd of cattle, as well as the importance of these issues for cattle breeders and producers. It also discusses the concepts of a flight zone and individual comfort zone, whose violation makes it difficult for the observer to determine the position of a given cow in the herd hierarchy. Aggressive and submissive behavior, as well as the symptoms of domination, is also described. The definition of the herd hierarchy is often confused with that of leadership. Older animals are more likely to lead a herd, but there is no relation between their age and position in the hierarchy of the group. The paper discusses the significance of affinitive behavior for building positive relations between individuals. Social relations in a group of cattle are based on the mutual recognition of individuals. Cattle are capable to recognize and memorize approximately 50-70 individuals of their own herd, which is an important fact to consider when technological groups are created. This issue is also discussed here. An important factor for reducing stress and for strengthening the relations and hierarchy in the herd is mutual grooming, which is often a symptom of "friendship" or a kind of emotional closeness between animals. It is believed that cows exhibit empathy, understood as fear or pain, which is reflected in the behavior of the entire herd. |
| Key words: animal behavior, dominance, submission |