Nursing Behaviour - Anatomy & Physiology
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- Standing – cow, ewe, goat, mare
- Recumbant (lateral) – sow, bitch, queen
- Multiple young soon develop teat order.
- Before this they will compete for teats.
- ‘Maternal bonding’ - critical timing influences chance of fostering.
- Head butting (‘tap’ reflex) especially in sheep. Lambs nudge the udder to initiate the milk let-down reflex.
- Nursing persists for variable times, up to 2 years in horses and ends when offspring are weaned.
- Retrieval behaviour in small animals.
- Will search and retrieve their young and can tell if the full litter is present.
- Aggression and defensive behaviour in many species.