VetSRev
Database of veterinary systematic reviews
Database of veterinary systematic reviews
Livestock Science (2020) 238: 238
DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104063
Stereotypies are repetitive behaviors the may be performed in effort to relieve frustration or cope with a sub-optimal environment. Cattle are hypothesized to cope with the differences between forage and grain-based diets with oral stereotypies that manifest as in the form of non-nutritive oral behaviors (NNOB). Diets fed in confinement contain less roughage compared to the predominantly forage diets cattle consume while on pasture. These changes in diet composition, presentation, and time required to consume elicit physiological changes in the rumen and require cattle to spend less time engaged in oral behaviors (e.g. mastication of the cud, using the tongue to grasp and pull on grass) - all factors that contribute to NNOB performance. Allogrooming and self-grooming are also classified as NNOBs, however, they have function and are not stereotypic in nature. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the current state of research regarding the relationship between diet and NNOB performance in cattle. Searches of CAB Abstracts, AGRIS, Scopus and SPAC, performed prior to September 2018 resulted in 22 articles (25 studies) that analyzed the impact of dietary treatments on NNOB performance in both beef and dairy cattle housed in confinement. Increasing dietary roughage levels decreased the performance of NNOBs while limiting dietary roughage increased NNOB performance. However, there was little conclusive evidence to suggest that ingredient type, particle size, total feed amount, mode of feeding, or mineral addition influenced NNOB performance. Strengths of the studies included consistent housing across treatments and valid and reliable methods of behavioral recording. Many studies did not consider weaning method in their animal selection and some studies did not randomize animals into each treatment, identifying an opportunity for improvement in this area of research. Risk of bias was performed using JBI Critical Assessment Tools and a very low risk of bias was found for both randomized and (non-random) quasi-experiment trials. This systematic review examined studies varying in sample size, cattle age/sex and experimental design, showcasing a small yet diverse research area.
Ridge, E. E., Foster, M. J., & Daigle, C. L. (2020). Effect of diet on non-nutritive oral behavior performance in cattle: a systematic review. Livestock Science, 238, 238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104063 animal behavior, animal behaviour, behavior, cattle, dairy cattle, beef cattle, systematic reviews, Animal Nutrition (Physiology) [LL510], cattle feeding, Dairy Animals [LL110], diets, Meat Producing Animals [LL120], Non-communicable Diseases and Injuries of Animals [LL860], Animal Behaviour [LL300], feeding stuffs, feeds, feed intake, roughage, abnormal behavior, abnormal behaviour, deviant behaviour, Feed Composition and Quality [RR300], age differences, mineral supplements, feeding behavior, feeding behaviour, mastication, sex differences