P. Plusquellec et Mf. Bouissou, Behavioural characteristics of two dairy breeds of cows selected (Herens) or not (Brune des Alpes) for fighting and dominance ability, APPL ANIM B, 72(1), 2001, pp. 1-21
Two breeds of dairy cattle, one selected for intra-specific fighting and do
minance ability (Herens, H), the other not selected for this behavioural tr
ait (Brune des Alpes, BA), submitted to the same management techniques, wer
e compared with respect to their social behaviour (dominance, agonistic beh
aviour, social tolerance, social motivation, social distance), fear reactio
ns, ease of handling and physiological correlates.
As expected, cows from the H breed were dominant over the BA cows, they wer
e also less fearful either in response to novel objects or in surprise effe
ct tests and had higher social distances at pasture.
On the contrary, H cows were less aggressive in undisturbed groups and more
tolerant in a food competition test than BA cows. There were no difference
s: between the two breeds either in aggressive acts in encounters with unfa
miliar animals, or in persistence in conflict situations.
Furthermore, H cows were less easy to handle in a standardised test, and te
nded to be less socially motivated than BA cows. Lastly, H cows had higher
plasma testosterone levels, and tended to present a lower increase in plasm
a cortisol level after a surprise effect than BA cows.
Thus, the breeders' selection for fighting and dominance ability in H breed
appears to have led to several behavioural and hormonal changes. (C) 2001
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