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Redundancy of information is liable to be present in successive observations of an animal's behaviour. This redundancy can be tested for, and its effects studied, with a statistical procedure, Markov chain analysis. Efficient sampling frequency and the precision of estimators are both found to be affected by the redundancy present in one typical data set based on video-taped records of a nursing sow. A method of selecting sampling frequencies for observations is described.

The effect on the social and sexual behaviour of Boran × Sahiwal ( Bos indicus ) bulls of two post-weaning management systems employing one sex grouping is described. The systems differed essentially in having large and small group numbers, and in the utilization of unrestricted range or restricted paddock grazing. Libido of the bulls was significantly affected by management system.

The vocalizations of suckling piglets were studied during brief tests which involved social isolation, restriction of movement, and exposure to unfamiliar surroundings. Similar trends were shown in most cases by the three classes of call studied — closed mouth grunts, open mouth grunts, and squeals. The rate of calling was much lower when a piglet was in the home pen than when alone in an unfamiliar pen, and more calls were given in both situations when the animal's movement was restricted by caging. The presence of the dam and four littermates in unfamiliar surroundings caused a large reduction in calling, part of which was seen with only the dam present, and part with only the littermates. Provision of familiar bedding in the unfamiliar situation had no effect. Aspects of piglets' adaptation to environmental and social change are discussed.

The following behaviour of young domestic lambs was studied by observing their responses to a surrogate ewe moving around a circular runway. Lambs from 12 h to 3 weeks of age were tested once individually. In one series of 67 5-min tests made outdoors, some lambs followed the surrogate throughout while others did not follow at all. The median following time was 42 s. In a second series, consisting of 34 15-min indoor tests, the median following time of the lambs was greater (450 s, 50% of test time), probably because this was a more stressful environment. In both series of tests, lambs of 6 to 10 days of age followed the surrogate more than younger or older lambs. Following behaviour did not appear to change when the recorded bleats of each lamb's dam were replayed instead of the recorded bleat of an alien ewe. It was concluded that management practices which increase the opportunity for very young lambs, especially twin lambs, to contact and follow alien ewes need careful control to avoid separation of dam and off-spring.

An electronic monitoring instrument was developed to record the amount of time during which cow cubicles are occupied daily by recumbent cows. The instrument also recorded the number of times the cubicle was occupied for periods of greater than 5 min. The equipment was used to assess the occupancy of lipless concrete floored cubicles having different floor gradients. Cubicles of standard length 2.25 m, but with falls of 50, 100 or 150 mm, were occupied for 520, 499 and 399 ± 22.5 min/day, respectively. The 150-mm cubicles were occupied for significantly shorter periods per day than either the 100-mm (P < 0.01) or 50-mm (P < 0.001) cubicles. There was a tendency for the average duration of an occupation incident to decrease as the floor gradient increased.

The number of foetuses and corpora lutea in four different groups of Merino ewes has been estimated from observations of their mating activity. Observed and expected values could not be shown to be different.

The individuals in a flock of 12, 9-month-old Dorset Horn X Border Leicester X Merino sheep could be characterized according to the amount of independence they showed in terms of time spent “alone”. The frequency with which a sheep was first of a group to enter the paddock to graze was positively correlated with its initiation or “leadership” of activities in the paddock. There was a significant correlation between “leadership” in pair tests and in groups of six. The time spent alone by individuals in a group of six was positively correlated with a “leader”/follower ratio and negatively correlated with frequency of joining other sheep when grazing. The larger the leader/follower ratio, the less time a sheep spent with others when grazing in a group of 12. The observations suggest that “leadership” in activities is not a positive expression but a consequence of independence and being followed by other individuals.

The object of this study was to find a reliable, economic, time-saving and easy method to “try” mares for oestrus without the use of a teaser male. The reactions of barren mares, mares with a foal at foot and maiden mares towards the teaser were established and compared to the reactions towards given stimuli. These stimuli were as follows (i) a play-back of acoustic expressions of a courting stallion, (ii) manual tactile manipulation at the neck crest, the flank and the external genitalia and (iii) a combination of these acoustic and tactile stimuli. Mares were tested when in oestrus and in dioestrus. On stimulation, the oestrous signs considered significant were: remaining quiet, lifting the tail, twitching the vulva, spreading the legs, expelling fluid. Signs indicative of dioestrus were: nervousness, kicking and squealing. The preliminary results of observations of 201 Belgian “Warm-Blood” mares showed that oestrus and dioestrus could be detected with virtually as much success by using all three means of stimulation as with the teaser. Few differences were found between barren mares, mares with a foal and maidens. Some oestrous signs (remaining quiet, lifting the tail, spreading the legs) and dioestrous ones (nervousness, kicking) were seen with greater frequency than other signs. Generally speaking, the combination of acoustic and tactile stimulation elicited the most signs. Among the tactile stimulations, pinching the ridge of the neck was ineffective while rubbing the flanks, and especially the external genitalia, was very effective.

The sucking and fighting behaviour of three litters of piglets was observed from birth to 4 h of age. Although each piglet sucked from an average of seven teats during this early period, each piglet spent an average of 55% of its sucking time at a single teat. The development of the teat order was studied further by observing the sucking behaviour of 22 litters from 1 to 21 days of age. The development of a stable teat order was progressive and by the end of the second week of lactation the teat orders of the majority of the litters had reached their most stable levels. However, in large litters and litters with low growth rates teat orders were unstable.

The results from the first experiment showed that the responses of adult hens towards human beings were very resistant to modification. The typical responses of two stocks of domestic fowl, one docile and one flighty, were generally unaffected by associating human contact with a food reward or with a presumably non-rewarding situation. On the other hand, the evidence from the second experiment suggested that the responses of chicks were more easily modified. The association of human contact with a food reward resulted in chicks of the docile stock showing an increased amount of approach towards a human being. However, this same association had no effect on the withdrawal responses of chicks of the flighty stock.

Behavioural responses were investigated in individually fed (maintenance to twice maintenance) feedlot steers housed inside (5 to 27°C) or outside (−40 to 19°C) from October to March (Experiment 1), and in steers exposed to temperatures of −20, 0 and 20°C in controlled temperature chambers in September and again in December (Experiment 2). Respiratory frequencies of the outside steers increased with increases in feeding level (P

A technique used in genetic research is extended to the study of the aggregative behaviour of grazing animals. Two aspects of aggregation are considered: desire for general company or “gregariousness” and specific company preference. To illustrate the technique, application is made to grazing data of two breeds of sheep: Southdown and Dorset Horn.

One thousand one hundred commercial Large White Turkey poults were used in two studies of neonatal feeding behaviour. The first experiment investigated the effect of flashing lights in the feeder on the approach response and some aspects of feeding behaviour. In the second study, a multichoice apparatus was used to determine the relative effectiveness of red, yellow, green and blue lights. In both experiments the lights were flashing throughout the first twenty minutes of each hour for the first six days posthatch, thereafter (6–12 days), commercial tube-type feeders were used. Experimental poults (exposed to flashing lights) began feeding, on average, six minutes sooner than control poults and generally spent more time in the vicinity of the feed trough. Overall, experimental poults consumed an average of 9% more feed than the control birds. This difference was most pronounced on the first day. Feed conversion was not affected by the treatment. Weight gains positively reflected the feed consumption trends. Mortality was reduced by half but starveout mortality was not affected. Poults preferred to feed near green coloured lights.

The aim of the experiment was a comparison of sexual behaviour and efficiency of bulls with impaired growth and substantial differences in body weight. The bulls from each of eight pairs of twins were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The feeding ration of the experimental group was about 30% less in crude protein content. The experiment lasted for 42 months until the bulls were 5 years old. As a result the growth rate was definitely reduced. At the age of 5 years the average weight of experimental bulls was 235 kg less than their control brothers. However, the lighter bulls were more efficient in sexual behaviour patterns. The following were evaluated: time until the first mounting, time between copulations, total semen collection time, number of mounts per copulation and total sexual efficiency. A general conclusion has been drawn that food restriction causing impaired growth has no adverse effects on sexual behaviour in bulls.

Observations are reported of 127 foals born to 127 mares. In particular, comparisons are made between the mare's tendency to foal at night, the length of gestation, the weight of the foal and the weight of the foetal membrane, the time taken by the foal to attain a standing position and the time taken by the mare to expel the foetal membrane and the age of the mare and the season. The new facts that emerge from the results are: (a) foals from middle-aged (6–11 years) mares are heavier; (b) variations of gestation length are related to the month of conception (just a trend, not a statistically significant result); (c) time for the foal to stand is related to the foal sex (females: 56.3 minutes; males 70.6 minutes, on average), and to the time taken by the mare to expel the foetal membrane; (d) parturitions take place mainly (80%) during the hours of darkness. In spring, the percentage of night births (85%) is higher than in winter (78%).

The incidence of headshaking in domestic fowls (Gallus domesticus) is influenced by both social and environmental factors; it was more frequent in larger groups and in subordinate birds, and it could be greatly increased by exposure to disturbing stimuli. The findings are not readily explained by earlier suggestions that it is a response to frustration of movement, that it serves to increase sensory input under conditions of social isolation in barren surroundings, or that it is a displacement reaction to conflict situations. Evidence is presented to show that it occurred in contexts demanding increased attention, for example, upon the presentation of novel or disturbing stimuli, and it is proposed that headshaking is an “alerting response”.

Previous work suggested that type of perch, strain, individual preferences and repeated exposure were important factors affecting perching behaviour in domestic fowl. This experiment studied both sexes of 3 strains of pen-housed domestic fowl (‘S’ line — White Leghorn; ‘T’ line — derived from a Rhode Island Red × Light Sussex cross; ‘J’ line — Brown Leghorn), from 6 to 18 weeks of age. They were housed in same-strain, mixed-sex groups of 25–30. Perching behaviour was influenced by the factors of type of perch, sex, age, time of day, strain and continuous access which also interacted with each other. A wire-mesh perch was found to be attractive. Very high densities of birds were observed on it, with no resultant aggression. The sex × strain × type of perch interaction strongly suggested that the design of perches should take sex and strain of the birds into account.

A dummy sow and feeding system was developed to rear piglets from 24 hours of age to at least 3 weeks. The dummy sow incorporated particular features associated with the real sow which appeared to stimulate the development of normal feeding behaviour in the form of nuzzling and sucking. Good growth rates were finally achieved after modification of the milk feed composition. The apparatus was designed to investigate the suckling behaviour of piglets as it occurs on the real sow. Some further applications are outlined.

This paper reports a study of perching behaviour in the domestic fowl, in which the use of various types of perches by both sexes of three strains of pen-housed, 15-week-old chickens (‘S’ line, White Leghorn type; ‘T’ line, derived from a Rhode Island Red × Light Sussex cross; ‘J’ line, Brown Leghorn) was compared. The perching variables tested were the height and shape of the perch and the type of material (wood or wire) from which it was constructed. A preliminary experiment indicated that there was no avoidance of those areas of the pens in which the perches were subsequently placed. Both sexes used the perches equally, but strain was an important factor affecting perching behaviour. Birds of the ‘J’ line almost completely failed to use high perches, but usage was greater in ‘T’-line and greatest in ‘S’-line birds. These strain differences were not due to weight disparity or to social pressure. Individual preferences were observed. Some birds perched (perchers) where-as others did not (non-perchers). Repeated exposure increased the time spent on the perch by perchers but did not convert non-perchers into perchers. The type of material (wood or wire) from which the perches were constructed had little effect on behaviour. Low perches were used more than high ones, although they were never attractive, and square perches were used considerably more than lengths of wood. There were no significant preferences for wire or litter in ‘S’-line and ‘T’-line birds but ‘J’-line birds avoided wire. The welfare implications of these results are interesting. Low levels of perching on the length of wood, which is the type of perch most commonly used in semi-intensive housing, suggest that more appropriate perches could be designed. Although wire floors are commonly considered undesirable, ‘S’- and ‘T’-line birds showed no avoidance of wire. The results suggest that perching has a high genetic variance and, therefore, to keep, in line with industrial trends, it should be possible to select for birds which do and which do not perch.

In four experiments to investigate aspects of the conduct of the serving capacity (SC) test for beef bulls, it was found that (i) the 60-minute yard test could be shortened to 40 or even 30 minutes without sacrificing the test's accuracy (r = 0.98 between SC40 and SC60, r = 0.97 between SC30 and SC40), (ii) generally 2-year-old bulls displayed their inherent SC on their virgin test (r = 0.86 between SC on their virgin test and SC in a later test), and (iii) as long as bulls were tested within their own age group, their social ranking in their testing group did not significantly influence the SC they displayed in the test.

In modern farrowing pens, side creep areas are sometimes so narrow that the heated portion overlaps with the sow's lying area, possibly increasing the danger of piglets being crushed. In two experiments the behaviour of sows and litters was studied during the first week of lactation in relation to the position of the creep heater. With a side creep area, the amount of time the piglets lay inactive or semi-active against the sow declined from between 30 and 40% on the first day of life to between 5 and 20% on days 3 to 7. With the heater at the front of the pen, the young showed an increased tendency to lie well away from the sow on days 3 to 7 ( P P

The object of this study was to assess the importance of social interaction and dominance relationships in influencing egg production in battery cages. A light and a medium hybrid (Shaver 288 and Thornber 909) were housed as single birds, as pairs of the same strain or as mixed pairs. The light hybrid was more aggressive and was dominant to the medium hybrid although its mean body weight was 27% less. Contrary to an earlier report social dominance was not reflected in increased egg production nor subordination in reduced performance, perhaps because the generous space allocation meant there was no competition for food. Birds housed as pairs were significantly heavier than those housed in single cages by 30 weeks; the reason was considered to be social facilitation of feeding.

The involvement of light in nest-site selection by domestic fowls was tested in two strains of laying hens at two stages of maturity. Individuals that were about to lay an egg were isolated in a pen and given a choice of two sorts of nest-box, one illuminated internally and the other without illumination. Nearly all birds tested laid in one of the boxes provided, but their choice of dark or light conditions varied strongly with both strain and maturity. Only one of the four categories of hen, those of a White Leghorn strain laying their first egg, exhibited the expected preference for dark nests. Birds of a strain derived from Rhode Island Reds were more likely to lay in light nests, and with both strains hens which had previously been laying in open pens showed greater preference for light nests than did naive individuals. These results suggest that light intensity is not a fundamental factor influencing nest-site selection, but it may nevertheless haveto be considered in the management of laying hens.

Observations were carried out on 8 Large White × Landrace sows and their litters housed in either large straw-bedded pens, or conventional farrowing pens. The animals were observed for periods during the 8 days following parturition. Sows in the straw-bedded pens had built nests into which the piglets were born. Sows and piglets did not rest outside the nest for at least 3 days after parturition and piglets rested nearer to the sow on Days 1–4 than on Days 5–8. Nursings were terminated either by the sow continuing to lie with the udder exposed or making the udder inaccessible by rolling on to the sternum or standing. Sows rolled on to the sternum less often on Days 1–3 than on Days 6–8 (difference significant at P < 0.01 in straw-bedded pens and at P < 0.05 in farrowing pens). Of the 198 sucklings observed, only once did piglets move away from the sow when the udder was accessible. On Days 1–4, piglets in the straw-bedded pens remained by the sow after suckling, regardless of the way in which the nursing was terminated. Throughout the study, piglets in farrowing pens usually moved away to the creep area after suckling. It is suggested that whilst providing a heat lamp may encourage piglets to rest away from the sow, a more important factor is the accessibility of the udder to the piglets.

Lambing ewes or wethers in mixed flocks of unshorn and recently shorn sheep, in small gently-sloping (1 in 76) paddocks, were examined for evidence of mutual interaction in their sheltering behaviour. Their distribution in paddocks containing a small sheltered area of grass hedges, sited centrally or at the higher or lower boundaries, was compared with that in paddocks without shelters. During calm weather, in daylight, the sheep largely behaved as one flock, but in windy weather, and at night, most shorn sheep congregated in shelter, while unshorn sheep remained away from shelter. There was no evidence that the inclusion of shorn sheep in a flock of unshorn sheep increased the use of shelter by the unshorn sheep; evidence that the presence of unshorn sheep reduced the sheltering behaviour by shorn sheep was equivocal. Both shorn and unshorn ewes and wethers tended to congregate at the higher end of the paddocks, and the use of shelter by shorn sheep declined as the distance of the shelter from the higher end of the paddock increased, despite the absence of alternative shelter. Clearly, the selection of sites on which to establish shelter will have marked effects on the use that sheep make of shelter.

Preferences of broiler and layer strains of fowl for light and dark were investigated in experiments with Skinner boxes. The birds were trained to operate a light switch by pecking responses. With a background of darkness, and with 1 or 3 min of light (15 lux) per response, both types of fowl had lights on for about 20% of time, time illuminated being closely associated with time spent feeding. When allowed to switch lights on and off, most birds were illuminated for over 80% of time. With a background of light, and with 3 min of dark per response, both types were in darkness for less than 1% of time. Fowls thus appear to have a clear preference for light over dark, and to be prepared to work for a minimum of about 4 h of light per day, but not for much darkness. Poultry producers should therefore have plenty of scope for manipulating lighting, to maximise efficiency of production, without upsetting the welfare of the birds.

Animal management systems can be considered from two different points of view: the ethological one, as “subdivisions of animal behaviour”, and the ecological one, as “functional domains”. These two groups can each be divided into nine subgroups. By establishing the correlations between both groups, the result will be a handsome analysis of an ethological-ecological system. It is discussed in this report with reference to cattle.

Observations were made of male spacing, mating and agonistic behaviour in 2 pens of mated domestic fowl. In both pens, site attachment was found, with a bunching of observations for cocks living close to a wall. High-ranking males appeared to move over smaller areas than did low-ranking males. A simple model of dominance relationships between cocks provided a good explanation of the interferences to mating by threatening neighbours. In the larger pen (3.18 m2/cock), the interference was best explained by a territorial type of model, with the most dominant cocks threatening subordinate males mating close to the range centres of either. In the smaller pen (1.95 m2/cock), the effects of fixed sites were negligible, while the threats by dominant neighbours depended on the distance between the males and the orientation of the mating subordinate towards the dominant. The results emphasise the dynamic nature of social systems and the types of social control operating on interactions.

The use of lithium chloride (LiCl) as an oral illness-producing agent in taste aversion studies has been questioned. Because of the detectability of LiCl, a different aversion-producing substance may be needed. To test the anthelmintic thiabendazole (TBZ) as an aversion-producing agent, 5 wolves ( Canis lupus ) were tested with 4 different foods. For each test, 2 wolves were given treated food and 3 were used as controls. A different pair of wolves were treated with each food. One wolf did not receive any treated food, while each of the other 4 wolves received treatments with 2 different foods. Treatment consisted of mixing 500 g of food with 2 g of TBZ. Of the 4 times wolves were treated, one, using chicken franks, produced no apparent aversions. Reductions in consumptions for the remaining 3 foods were 29% with spaghettios, 75% with dog food, and 100% with turkey soup.

The ability of Merino lambs to find and discriminate their dams when separated by 6–10 m and having the choice of three ewes was examined over the first 4 weeks of life. In the first experiment the techniques were validated and comparisons made between normal lambs and lambs deprived of visual or auditory cues. The proportions of lambs recognizing their dams in 2 min were increased over the first week of life and were similar in all groups. There were no further changes with age up to 4 weeks; values in this period were 0.78, 0.64 and 0.44 respectively for normal lambs and lambs deprived of visual and auditory cues. Similar results were obtained in the second experiment. Normal lambs had to be 8 days old before a high proportion (0.90) could find and recognize their dams in 2 min. The effects of depriving the lambs of visual cues decreased in the second week of life whereas the effects of depriving the lambs of auditory cues increased in the second week of life. When both visual and auditory cues were absent no more than 10% of lambs found their dams. When deprived of auditory cues most lambs actively sought their dams but failed to recognize them, whereas when deprived of visual cues a proportion of lambs failed to seek their dams at all and those that did were slower to start doing so.

This paper extends previous findings that recently shorn ewes make extensive use of the shelter provided by grass hedges, of a phalaris hybrid, 20 m apart, whereas unshorn ewes make no use of the available shelter. In the present study, shorn sheep were observed sheltering near phalaris hedges, 240 m apart, for about 30% of the time during the day and 60% of the time during the night, compared with 60% and 80%, respectively, for shelters 20 m apart. These differences can only partly be accounted for on the basis of chance occupancy of shelter, since 10% fewer sheep appeared to move to shelter with the spacing of 240 m than with a spacing of 20 m. Shelters were also used extensively by shorn ewes during periods of inclement weather during the day. Lambs made slightly more use of shelter than their mothers. The use made of shelters in the form of fences of black, plastic mesh (60% porosity), 240 m apart, was only 70% of the use made of similarly spaced phalaris hedges. Ewes, with the exception of unshorn ewes that were still to lamb, spent a disproportionately large amount of the time at the eastern or up-hill end of the paddocks. During the day, the proportion of shorn ewes lambing in the lee of the widely spaced shelters was similar to the proportion of ewes in shelter (about 30%), but during the night when 50–70% of the ewes were in shelter, the proportion of lambing sites in shelter was well below this range. In contrast, while only 10–20% of unshorn ewes lambed near the widely spaced shelters, this was several fold higher than the small proportion of non-lambing unshorn ewes in shelter. In addition, of the shorn and unshorn sheep that lambed away from shelter in these paddocks, some 50% more than expected on the basis of even distribution lambed in close proximity to the boundary fences; this disproportionate distribution was not seen in ewes that had not lambed. These results indicate that perhaps half of these Merino ewes isolated themselves from high concentrations of other sheep, for lambing, and in the process lambed near boundary fences or shelters. It is not clear whether the movement to isolated lambing sites is deliberate or fortuitous due to restlessness arising from physical discomfort. Lambing sites of both shorn and unshorn ewes were more concentrated near the eastern or up-hill end of the paddocks than the positions of ewes that had not lambed; the eastern end was clearly a preferred lambing area. The provision of ample shelter near any preferred lambing areas in large paddocks could lead to many lambs being born in shelter and hence to a reduction in mortality of lambs born during inclement weather.

To describe eliminative behaviour of domestic piglets, 17 litters were observed from the first until the 15th day of life. The first urination took place 44 min post partum and the first defaecation 187 min post partum. From 4.9 days old, the litter kept the lying area clean. After that day, only 2.7% of all eliminations happened in the lying area. From 8.1 days, the piglets had a special dunging area. A significant difference was recorded between the sexes. The urinating and defaecating postures of domestic and European wild piglets have been described. Some environmental influences on eliminative behaviour were investigated. In the first days of life, light has an influence on the choice of the dunging place. However, the same could not been ascertained for warmth. Straw-bedding was preferred for eliminations to a solid floor. Draught did not have an influence on the choice of the dunging place. With increasing age, the piglets urinated and defaecated more often in the same dunging area as the sow. From 7 days of age, that area was chosen in more than 50% of the cases. A large number of the eliminations took place near the walls of the pen. Males showed this behaviour more often than females. Most eliminations occurred after suckling and before playing; only a few after sleeping and before suckling. Social facilitation in eliminations was observed several times. Defaecation due to excitation happened only in fright and in excitement but not in intraspecific conflicts.

Observations were carried out on 8 Large White × Landrace sows and their litters housed in either large straw-bedded pens, or conventional farrowing pens with the sows restrained in crates. The animals were observed for periods during the 8 days following parturition. Piglets in both housing conditions used well-defined areas for excretion. Those housed in farrowing pens excreted standing close to a pen wall, and in particular in corners. Piglets in farrowing pens occasionally excreted in the creep area, but only in the first 2 days of life. Piglets housed in straw-bedded pens were never seen to excrete within the nest.

Behavior and average daily gain were evaluated after mixing pigs amongst litters or maintaining them as littermate groups, after weaning and initially limit or full fed. Limit fed mixed groups fought most and gained least of the treatment groups. Limit fed littermate groups fought least of the groups. Limit feeding after moving and mixing pigs amongst litters may reduce pathological conditions but was not demonstrated to reduce behavioral stress, as indicated by the expression of agonistic behavior.

Species-typical action patterns were identified in wild and domesticated canids during play in dyads of the same or different species. While these actions are under relatively rigid genetic control (i.e. are inherited), other dimensions of the play sequence may be more easily modified contextually. Thus not only species and context determine the frequency of occurrence of certain actions, but also the “compatibility” of the interactee, be it of the same or of a different species. The long-term consequences of inter-species interactions under conditions of captivity may lead to more permanent changes in the occurrence, frequency and amplitude of certain species-typical,“fixed”action patterns; this may be an additional variable to consider in investigating the complex influences of domestication upon behavior and warrants further investigation.

One out of each of 6 balanced paired groups of 8 weaner piglets, held in flat-deck cages for one week, was supplied with a trough containing sterilized earth. The behaviour of the animals in each group was observed by systematic scanning at 2-min intervals for 4 periods of 20 min on each of 3 days, after the piglets had been in the cages for 4 days. In all groups, the piglets with the trough made use of it and the amount of lying inactive was greater in all groups without the trough. In piglets weaned immediately into the experimental cages, the frequency of lying inactive was positively correlated with temperature. It is suggested that enrichment of the bare cage environment by provision of an earth trough resulted in an elaboration of a number of behaviours. This may be interpreted as an indication of reduced boredom.

When eight groups of four piglets were reared on four-teat artificial sows (all teats yielding equal volumes of milk), each group formed a consistent teat-order. An artificial sow with a single row of fourteen teats was then constructed to rear groups of eight piglets, thus providing a greater choice of teat position. Development of teat-order was compared for the groups of 4 and 8 piglets. For the piglets reared on the fourteen-teat sows, preference for different sections of the udder was examined. The possible consequences of piglet social interactions and of early and rapid fixation on a small area of the udder are among features which require further research into the teat-order phenomenon. The position of the sow's “voice” initially appeared to have a positive influence on the piglets' activity at certain teat sites and there was preference for end teats. Two-thirds of the piglets finally fixed on a teat from the 3-teat area of the udder that they used most on Day 2. Large differences in piglet activity were observed on teats producing widely different volumes of milk. However, there was less association between activity and milk yield for teats with up to 30 ml difference in milk yield (the maximum milk-volume ranging between 50 and 120 ml).

Housing hens in battery cages has a profound effect on their behaviour but there is little comparative information on fearfulness in birds housed in cages and pens. Tonic immobility, a state of reduced responsiveness induced by physical restraint, is a fearpotentiated response and it was compared in pen- (n = 24) and cage-housed (n = 20) one-year-old White Leghorn laying hens. Susceptibility to the reaction was found to be similar in both groups. Pen-housed birds showed statistically significant shorter latencies to the first leg and head movements and significantly shorter durations of immobility (righting time) than caged birds. The results suggest that caged birds are more fearful than pen-housed ones.

A technique is described for recording butting activity in individually penned sheep as an index of aggression. The method used wall-mounted reflective sprung panels which, when depressed in response to a butt, activated totalising electronic counters automatically printing-out every hour. Eight Dalesbred wethers were tested using this system over a 5-week period. During the first week, the animals received no treatment and the panels were used sporadically. However, during Weeks 2–5, sheep (N = 4) treated with testosterone propionate (20 mg/day) increased their butting activity, whereas those (N = 4) similarly treated with dihydrotestosterone propionate did not. The results suggest that non-aromatizable androgens may not support aggression in the ram.

The comparison was made during the first 24 hours after parturition. One group of the calves was left loose in the pen with their dams, the other was transferred into the prophylactorium one hour after parturition. In consequence of their being continuously licked, the calves housed with their dams urinated earlier and more frequently (726 minutes after birth as against 1280 minutes, and four times within 48 hours as against 2.3 times), and the same applied to defecation (after 606 minutes as against 901 minutes, and 8.7 times within 48 hours as against 4 times). The calves did not learn to drink from the udder by themselves and the learning took longer than drinking from the bucket. The first day, the calves drank 7.7 kg milk from the udder, and 7.6 kg from the bucket; the second day 5.5 and 7.7 kg, respectively. The drank more quickly from the bucket. The first day they drank 1 kg milk from the bucket in 4.1 minutes, and 1 kg from the udder in 5.6 minutes; the second day the times were 3.2 and 6.8 minutes, respectively.

The changes occurring in an experimental piggery during temproary power failure, which stopped controlled ventilation, were recorded in six experiments. The changes were influenced by: (1) the position of the emergency ventilation panel — whether it fell out or stayed in; (2) the activity of the pigs; (3) the temperature outside the building at the time of the power cut. The pigs were less disturbed by increases in temperature than by decreases. The temperature inside the building dropped when it was cold outside and when the ventilation panel fell out. Otherwise, the temperature and relative humidity increased during power failures. It is concluded that the effects of short-term power failure are more harmful in very hot or very cold weather than in moderate weather. The effects in cold conditions can be ameliorated by leaving the ventilation panel in, but this should be a short-term measure.

The literature on maternal behaviour of rabbits is reviewed with special emphasis on socialization, mating, nest building and parturition. The results of a survey of mating and maternal behaviour in rabbits are reported.

Laying hens of two hybrid strains were housed in newly-formed groups of four, half in cages and half in deep-litter pens. Agonistic behaviour (aggressive pecks and threats) was measured over a 28-day period; the cage-housed groups were then transferred to pens, and vice versa, and measurements were taken over a further 28-day period. The incidence of aggression declined considerably over time; this decline was hastened by transfer from pen to cage and delayed by transfer from cage to pen. Isolation for extended periods in single cages had little effect on subsequent aggression when the birds were grouped. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that hens display less aggression in cages because subordinates are more firmly under the inhibiting influence of the dominant bird.

Multiple free choice systems may provide one way of evaluating the relative preference of animals for different housing systems. This paper proposes a possible model that attempts to take into consideration previous criticism on multiple free choice systems. A hexagonal housing system was constructed with 6 identical cubicles, which allowed elimination of all variables except the one to be investigated. Barriers could be introduced at the entrance to each cubicle to prevent easy access to the cubicle of preference. To test the usefulness of this system, several different types of flooring were used. In each cubicle, we introduced either sawdust, straw, concrete, concrete slats, perforated metal, rubber or plywood. The results clearly indicate that preferences for a particular type of flooring may be investigated by this model.

German language publications that were concerned with the behaviour of domestic farm animals are reviewed. Those publications up to 1955 that had either a strong practical aspect or that outlined basic principles, were taken into consideration. Some early reports identified ethological phenomena which have now become more fully understood.

A study of drinking behaviour of individual broiler breeder chicks from hatching to 5 weeks of age was conducted. The action patterns involved in obtaining a drink as well as water consumption were described quantitatively and qualitatively. Over the experimental period, the action patterns of drinking were modified gradually. Marked changes in immersion angle, swallowing angle and distance from the waterer were evident. All birds made progressively fewer trips to the waterer to take a larger number of higher volume drinks. This information is essential for future design of improved watering equipment to better complement the natural drinking behaviour of broiler chickens.