Nursing Behaviour - Anatomy & Physiology

• 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.