• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Department of Animal Science
  • Degrees and Programs
    • Undergraduate Programs
      • B.S. Animal Science
        • Production/Industry Option
        • Science Option
      • Undergraduate Certificate Programs
      • Undergraduate Honors Program
    • Graduate Programs
      • M.S. in Animal Science
      • M.S. in Physiology of Reproduction
      • M.S. in Animal Breeding
      • Master of Equine Industry Management
      • Master of Agriculture in Animal Science
      • Ph.D. in Animal Science
      • Ph.D. in Animal Breeding
      • Ph.D. in Physiology of Reproduction
      • Graduate Certificate Programs
    • Specialized Programs
      • Meat Science Program
    • High-Impact Learning Opportunities
      • Competitive Teams
    • Academic Advising
      • Contact an Advisor
    • Academic Resources
  • Admissions and Aid
    • Student Life
    • Scholarships and Financial Aid
    • Graduate Admissions
  • Research and Extension
    • Research
    • Extension and Programs
    • Animal Science Facilities
  • Get Connected
    • Department of Animal Science Calendar
    • Giving to Animal Science
  • About
    • Department Directory
    • Department Leadership
    • Department History
      • Historical Brands of Texas
      • Dr. Howard Hesby
    • Areas of Excellence
    • Department of Animal Science Awards
    • Strategic Plan
    • Animal Science on AgriLife Today
    • Animal Science Job Board
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Contact Us
Search

Diet type may influence cattle behavior in confinement

December 21st, 2020

Limited access to forage may cause cattle to display non-nutritive oral behaviors, which may also be “useful behavioral proxy” for rumen status.

Cattle feeding in a trough full of hay.
Photo by Tyler Olson/Thinkstock

In animal behavior research, stereotypies are repetitive behaviors that an animal may perform in an effort to relieve frustration or cope with a suboptimal environment, according to a review article published in Livestock Science by Emily Ridge and Courtney Daigle with the Texas A&M University department of animal science and Margaret Foster with the Texas A&M Medical Sciences Library.

They hypothesized that cattle may cope with differences between forage and grain-based diets with non-nutritive oral behaviors (NNOB), a form of oral stereotypies.

Ridge et al. suggested that diets fed to cattle in confinement often contain less roughage than the predominantly forage-based diets cattle consume while on pasture, and the changes in diet composition, presentation and time required to consume can “elicit physiological changes in the rumen and require cattle to spend less time engaged in oral behaviors (e.g., mastication of the cud, using the tongue to grasp and pull on grass),” which contribute to NNOB performance.

The researchers noted that allogrooming (grooming of herdmates) and self-grooming are also classified as NNOBs, but those behaviors have function and are not stereotypic in nature.

Ridge et al. conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the current state of research regarding the relationship between diet and NNOB performance in cattle. They reported that searches of CAB Abstracts, AGRIS, Scopus and SPAC, performed prior to September 2018, resulted in 22 articles (25 studies) that analyzed the influence of dietary treatments on NNOB performance in both beef and dairy cattle housed in confinement.

Click here to read the full article.

Filed Under: Department Updates, Research News Tagged With: Research News

A member of
Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service | Texas A&M AgriLife Research | Texas A&M Forest Service | Texas A&M AgriLife Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab | College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Degrees and Programs
  • Department Directory
Department of Animal Science

© 2023 Texas A&M University. All rights reserved.

  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information