Genetics and Behavior During Handling, Restraint, and Herding - Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals - page 117

only defense sheep have against predators. Cattle often turn and fight. Small,
nimble animals such as antelope rely on the ability to quickly flee.
Following the reintroduction of wolves in the Yellowstone Park area, ran-
chers are reporting that Angus cattle are becoming extremely aggressive
towards both domestic dogs and wild canines.
Syme and Elphick (1982) found vocal and jumper sheep were seldom the
first animals to move through a handling facility. Grandin (1980b) made sim-
ilar observations in cattle. The wildest and most difficult to handle cattle
move through a handling race at the end of the group. This was demonstrated
by Orihuela and Solano (1994) with cattle in slaughter plants. Animals at the
end of the group took longer to move through the race. Tulloh (1961)
reported that Brahman cattle flock more tightly together. Whateley et al.
(1974) and Schupe (1978) also showed breed differences in flocking behav-
ior of sheep. Rambouillet flock tightly and Chevoits are more independent.
Social Behavior and Handling
When a herd is moving, social rank can determine an animal's position
within the herd. Animals with high social rank seldom lead ( Hedigar, 1955,
1968 ). Being a leader is a more dangerous position, so animals with high
social rank lag behind or remain in the safety of the middle of the herd.
Social behavior also has an influence on learning. Boissy and Le Neindre
(1990) found that in tasks where cattle had to press a plate to obtain a food
reward, the presence of a companion facilitated learning. Cattle trained with
companions learned quickly compared to isolated animals. This was proba-
bly due to less separation distress (PANIC). Kilgour and de Langen (1970)
further showed that presence of companions lowers secretion of stress hor-
mones in sheep. The ability to detect and respond to signs of fear and pain
in other members of the herd has probably conferred a strong selective
advantage during evolution. Animals as diverse as primates, birds, mice,
cats, and cows learn fear by observing other members of their species
( Curio, 1988 ; Olsson et al., 2007 ). Munksgaard et al. (2001) found the
behavior of dairy cows was influenced by observing other members of the
herd being handled gently or aversively. In a test of recognition, Elliker
(2007) trained sheep to approach photographs of sheep with a calm expres-
sion rather than those of sheep with a startled expression. Ear position was
the main feature used by the sheep to make this distinction, rather than eye
features.
Social learning, social fear learning, and social recognition are familiar to
most people that handle or raise domestic cattle and horses. Horse trainers
use calm trained horses to help ease the fear of novelty in young inexperi-
enced horses. For example, loading in a trailer for the first time, being ridden
for the first time, or even the stress of weaning can be reduced by having a
calm companion horse nearby. In Australia, tame “coacher” cattle are used