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Kabuga, J. D. (1992). Social relationships in N'dama cattle during supplementary feeding. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 34(4), 285–290.
Abstract: Social relationships of 30 N'dama cows during supplementary feeding, post-grazing, were studied over a period of 1.5 years. Dominance ranks determined during idling and feeding periods were strongly correlated (Spearman's rank correlation (rs = 0.964, P < 0.01). The number of animals dominated by a cow during feeding was strongly (P < 0.01) related to liveweight (r = 0.822) and age (r = 0.755). Low status cows ate less frequently than medium and high status animals, while middle ranking cows were ejected more frequently from the feed trough than other dominance groups. Animals had preferences in the use of feed troughs, with social rank being the dominant factor determining the location of feed trough space used. Cows of similar status were generally preferred feeding and movement neighbours and antagonists. However, the dominance rank of an animal and its preferred neighbour during idling were not significantly correlated (rs = 0.220, P > 0.05). Voluntary leadership ranks into and out of the pen were, respectively, related closely (P < 0.01) to feeding dominance ranks (rs = 0.661, 0.640) and idling dominance ranks (rs = 0.621, 0.669).
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Lynch, J. J., Hinch, G. N., Bouissou, M. F., Elwin, R. L., Green, G. C., & Davies, H. I. (1989). Social organization in young Merino and Merino x Border Leicester ewes. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 22(1), 49–63.
Abstract: The social behaviour of two groups of Merino ewes and one group of Merino x Border Leicester ewes was studied. Each group comprised eight sheep, 15 months of age and, within each group, the animals were of similar liveweight. Dominance rankings were established at each test, but there was little consistency in ewe rank over time. Similarly, little consistency was found in ewe ranking for movement order between pens, and for exploratory and fear test rankings. However, with tests on movement orders, some consistency in the sheep which ranked first was shown. In the field, no aggression was seen while sheep were grazing and there were no occasions when ranking related to movement could be observed. There were short-term associations between pairs of sheep, but these occurred in less than half the individuals. Although the spatial distribution was not studied, the lack of long-term association between pairs would suggest that strong spatial preference does not occur. It is concluded that the social organization of single-age Merino and Merino x Border Leicester ewes is not based on dominance or leadership ranking nor on long-term associations between individuals.
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Sato, S., Sako, S., & Maeda, A. (1991). Social licking patterns in cattle (<em>Bos taurus</em>): influence of environmental and social factors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 32(1), 3–12.
Abstract: To investigate the functions of social licking in cattle, four calves (one heifer and one steer in each of two herds), known to exhibit frequent social licking were observed continuously for 2 h before sunset for 13 days, using the focal animal sampling method. Calves were observed under various environmental conditions. Social licking significantly decreased on rainy days and tended to increase in a dirty barn and when food was restricted. Solicitation for social licking occurred not only from dominant animals of pairs but also from subordinates. Of the licking interactions, 31% occurred following solicitation, and these accounted for 39% of the total time spent licking. Following solicitation, 78% of social licking was oriented to the head and the neck regions that were inaccessible to self-licking animals. Unsolicited licking, however, was oriented not only to the head and the neck but also to the back and the rump regions, and these two latter regions were the major ones to receive licking. The effect of social relationships on social licking was investigated using least-squares analysis of variance. Social factors investigated were the difference of dominance values, the dominance-subordinance relationship, and kinship and familiarity; the sex of calves involved was also considered. Only familiarity had a significant effect on licking; exchanges of social licking increased with length of cohabitation. We suggest that social licking may have a cleaning effect, a tension-reducing effect and a bonding effect.
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Sato, S. (1984). Social licking pattern and its relationships to social dominance and live weight gain in weaned calves. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 12(1), 25–32.
Abstract: Social licking patterns of heifer and steer herds were observed and recorded during periods of resting and intermittent feeding. The results revealed the following features: (1) heifers and steers had 15.0 and 15.2 social licking interactions per hour which lasted for 37.8 and 41.0 s on average, respectively. The average time an animal spent licking was about 25 s per hour; (2) all the animals in the herds were licked by others, but only 72.3% of the animals licked other animals; (3) the animals close in the social hierarchy tended to lick each other for a longer time than did remote animals; (4) the time receiving l licking and weight gain tended to be positively correlated. The observations suggest that (1) the motivation of giving licking may be individual-specific and may be influenced by genetic factors, while that of receiving licking appears to be general, and that (2) social licking may mean not only cleaning the skin and hair of a passive partner, but also leading it to psychological stability.
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Laister, S., Stockinger, B., Regner, A. - M., Zenger, K., Knierim, U., & Winckler, C. (2011). Social licking in dairy cattle--Effects on heart rate in performers and receivers. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 130(3-4), 81–90.
Abstract: Using heart rate (HR) measurements we investigated whether potential calming effects of social licking were evident for both active (performers) and passive (receivers) licking partners. A HR decline was assumed to indicate relaxation and thus the experience of positive emotions. Effects of the licking category (spontaneous, solicited), the animals' basic activity (standing, lying) and the licked body region (head, neck, rest) were also considered. Two studies (A, B) were carried out in the same loose housed Austrian Simmental dairy herd. HR was recorded in up to 20 focal animals on 16 and 18 days, respectively. Using either direct observations (A) or video recordings (B), social licking interactions were continuously observed. The cow's basic activity was recorded using scan sampling at 5 min intervals. Linear mixed effects models were applied separately for Study A and B in order to compare the mean HR of the licking bouts with the mean of the respective 5 min pre- and post-licking periods. In receivers we found a significant calming effect in terms of a HR decline during allogrooming in both studies (A: -1.3 beats per minute, B: -1.1 bpm). This effect was more pronounced when animals were standing (A/B: -2.4 bpm/-3.8 bpm). However, it was not affected by the licked body region. In dairy cows performing social licking, we did not find an overall calming effect. On the contrary, in Study B, HR significantly increased during licking in lying performers (+2.5 bpm). This reaction was even stronger, when licking was directed to the receivers' head (+3.5 bpm) or neck (+3.0 bpm) as compared to the rest of the body (+1.4 bpm). The licking category had no effect on HR changes during the licking events. Our findings suggest that relaxation effects induced by social licking differ between performers and receivers and are affected by the cows' basic activity. In receivers, there were clear indications of a calming effect implying the experience of positive affective states. In performers, such calming effects during social licking were not identified.
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Figueroa, J., Solà-Oriol, D., Manteca, X., & Pérez, J. F. (2013). Social learning of feeding behaviour in pigs: Effects of neophobia and familiarity with the demonstrator conspecific. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 148(1), 120–127.
Abstract: Social interactions facilitate animals learning of new features of their environment minimizing a trial and error process. It has been observed in some species that food cues can be acquired by one individual (the observer) from an animal model (demonstrator) due to social learning. Three experiments were performed to evaluate whether weaned piglets may show a preference for a flavoured feed following brief social interactions (30min) with an experienced demonstrator. After the social interaction between demonstrator and observer pigs, a 30-min choice test between the flavoured feed previously eaten by demonstrators (DEM-feed) and other flavoured feed (OTH-feed; Exp. 1 and 2) or a known unflavoured starter diet (Exp. 3) was performed with observer animals. Greater intake of DEM-feed occurred when demonstrators and observers were from the same pen (Exp. 1) or from the same litter (Exp. 2), but not when observers and demonstrators were unfamiliar with each other (Exp. 1). Observers also preferred flavours previously eaten by the demonstrator over their unflavoured diet already known. Social interactions with a conspecific pig that had a recent experience with a flavoured feed enhanced the preference for that feed and could even override neophobia to a new feed. The familiarity of conspecific demonstrators plays a key role in social learning of new feed cues probably due to selective exploration involving closer snout-to-snout contacts with kin conspecifics.
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McVey, A., Wilkinson, A., & Mills, D. S. (2018). Social learning in horses: the effect of using a group leader demonstrator on the performance of familiar conspecifics in a detour task. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, .
Abstract: Learning through the observation of others allows the transfer of information without the costs incurred during individual trial and error learning. Horses (Equus caballus) are a highly social species, which might be expected to be capable of learning from others, but experimental findings are inconsistent, and potentially confounded by social facilitation effects not related directly to the learning of the task. We refined the methods used in previous equine social learning studies, to examine and distinguish specific social influences on learning of a task: we used predefined group leaders rather than agonistically dominant individuals to demonstrate a detour task to familiar conspecific observers; in addition we had two control groups: a non-observer (true control) and a group with the demonstrator simply present at the goal (social facilitation control). 44 socially kept horses were allocated to one of the three test conditions and took part in five trials each. Success rate, latency and detour direction were recorded. There was no significant difference between the three groups in the likelihood of them succeeding in the task nor latency to succeed; however there was a significant difference in the route chosen by the groups, with the true control choosing the side with the entrance gate significantly more than either the observer group or social facilitation group. Both of the latter two groups chose to go in the same direction relative to themselves, regardless of which side the gate was. Seven out of nine horses in the observer group chose the same direction as their demonstrator every time. Our results show a significant role of social facilitation on detour behaviour and highlight the importance of including adequate controls for simpler cognitive influences on behaviour before claims can be made about the specific learning of motor actions or goal directed behaviour. Social cues may be important to horses if the task is sufficiently challenging and motivationally important, so future work should consider more demanding, but ecologically relevant situations, in order to maximise the potential revelation of social learning effects which do not depend on simple local or stimulus enhancement effects.
Keywords: Equine; Imitation; Leader; Social facilitation; Social learning
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Hartmann, E., Christensen, J. W., & Keeling, L. J. (2009). Social interactions of unfamiliar horses during paired encounters: Effect of pre-exposure on aggression level and so risk of injury. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 121(3-4), 214–221.
Abstract: Group housing of horses is not widely applied in practice despite the welfare advantages of keeping animals socially rather than individually. In particular, concerns have been raised about the possible increased risk of injury and how to introduce a new horse into an established group. This study investigated two hypotheses: (1) pre-exposure of young horses in neighbouring boxes reduces the frequency of aggressive interactions when the same horses are subsequently put together in a paddock compared to horses without this previous box experience, (2) the occurrence of aggressive behaviour, in particular contact aggression in the paddock can be predicted after observing the horses' social interactions in neighbouring boxes. Danish Warmblood mares (n = 20), 2 years old, were kept in two groups of 10 horses. In total, 60 encounters were arranged whereby each horse was confronted pair-wise with six horses from the other group, three according to each treatment: treatment I--box (B) and subsequent paddock meeting (BP), and treatment II--only paddock meeting (P). Horses met in neighbouring boxes for 5 min and together in the same paddock for 10 min. The frequencies of aggressive and non-aggressive interactions were analysed from video recordings. Total aggression levels between BP and P did not differ, but [`]contact aggression', i.e. bite, kick, strike, push, tended to be lower in BP compared to P (median BP = 1, P = 2; p = 0.083) and there were less bites in BP than P (median BP = 0, P = 1; p = 0.050). Frequencies of [`]non-aggressive' interactions, e.g. friendly approach, nasal sniff, were lower in BP than P (median BP = 2.5, P = 10; p < 0.01). Results further revealed that [`]bite threat' performed in boxes correlated with [`]contact aggression' in the paddock (r = 0.46, p = 0.011). In conclusion, pre-exposure of young horses in neighbouring boxes may reduce [`]contact aggression', especially biting, in the paddock and [`]bite threat' shown in boxes may help to predict contact aggression when horses are later turned out together. The reduced non-aggressive interactions in the paddock in the BP test were probably a consequence of horses having exchanged these behaviours in the preceding B test. Exposing young horses in boxes next to each other may be a helpful tool before mixing them because horses meet in a safe environment that could assist in reducing the type of aggression where horses are most at risk of being injured.
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Keiper, R. R. (1988). Social interactions of the Przewalski horse (Equus przewalskii Poliakov, 1881) herd at the Munich Zoo. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 21(1-2), 89–97.
Abstract: Data were collected on 972 aggressions and 233 acts of mutual grooming in a herd of 9 Przewalski horses in the Hellabrunn Tierpark in Munich, West Germany. The herd was composed of 1 adult stallion, 5 adult mares and 3 foals. A distinct linear dominance hierarchy was present in the herd, with the stallion being the top-ranking animal. Age was significantly correlated with rank. Almost 40% of all aggressions consisted of herding actions by the stallion. Threats to bite (20% of all aggressions) and threats to kick (11.4%) were next in frequency of occurrence. Most mutual grooms (71%) involved grooming the front part of the body. Although mutual grooming may be used to appease higher-ranked animals, most grooming bouts were between related horses. Foals initiate 47.6% of all allogrooming. Mutual grooming may reduce weaning conflict between a mare and her foal or may result in female coalitions that defend against predators or aggression by the herd stallion.
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Keiper, R., & Receveur, H. (1992). Social interactions of free-ranging Przewalski horses in semi-reserves in the Netherlands. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 33(4), 303–318.
Abstract: Social interactions were recorded in two bands of free-ranging Przewalski horses living on large (greater than 30 ha) pastures in the Netherlands. The average number of aggressive interactions per hour was 8.86 at Lelystad and 10.36 at Noorderheide. The most common aggressive interactions were lower intensity, lower cost displacements (17.2% of all aggressive acts at Lelystad, 13.2% at Noorderheide), threats to bite (42.3% and 40.7%, respectively) and threats to kick (15.4% and 23.9%, respectively). Analysis of aggression revealed that a clear, linear dominance hierarchy was present in each band. For each band there was a positive and highly significant correlation between the age of a horse and its rank in the hierarchy. In each band, the stallion was not the highest ranked horse. Non-agonistic behaviors exceeded the number of agonistic interactions (1253 vs. 558 for Lelystad; 1257 vs. 995 at Noorderheide). There was a negative correlation between the rank of a horse in the dominance hierarchy and the number of non-agonistic behaviors displayed. The group displaying the highest number of non-agonistic interactions were foals (48.9% of total non-agonistic behaviors at Lelystad; 51.1% at Noorderheide). The non-agonistic/agonistic ratio was greater than 1 for yearlings and the band stallion, as was also the case for foals, but was less than 1 for males.
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