Animal behaviour and welfare: Sheep Part 1

SHEEP BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 1

Origins: Senses: Social behaviour: Feeding

By Dr Clive Dalton

Origins

• Domestication of sheep started some11,000 years ago to produce an animal that was more docile and more flexible than the wild sheep to fit man's needs.
  
• Sheep proved to be very adaptable to a wide range of environments.
  
• After domestication, they spread across many continents and developed into a range of types.
  
• They are found from cold continental areas, in dry deserts, and right through to the tropics.

Uses for sheep:

• Meat
• Wool - clothing
• Skins - clothing, footwear, housing and saddles
• Milk - cheese
• Animal fat
• Offal - wide range of products and pharmaceuticals
• Companions - pets
  

Modern sheep problems
World sheep populations tend to be on the decrease for a number of reasons such as:

• Wool garments and carpets have gone out of fashion.
• The demand for wool is low, resulting in world surplus.
• Sheep have too many predators that are protected by environmentalists.
• Sheep meat is not eaten by many nations in the world.
• NZ sheep population dropped from 70 million in the 1980s to 47 million today. It is not likely to increase rapidly in the near future.
  

Sheep senses

Sheep using all their senses to check out a threat - man and dog

Sight

• Sheep have generally very good vision.
• The position of their eye allows for wide peripheral vision as they can span some 145 with each eye.
• Binocular vision is much narrower - 40 wide. They have no vision 2-3cm immediately in front of the nose.
• After locating a threat in their peripheral vision, they turn to examine it with binocular vision.
• They have a blind spot at the rear around 70 which is wider than the cow and is useful when catching sheep.
• Sheep tracks are never straight as sheep continually turn to watch behind them.
• They have colour vision but it's not as well developed as in humans.
• They often react in fear to novel colours that they're not used to, e.g. yellow raingear.
• Sheep remember flock mates for very long periods (years) after separation.
  

Smell

• Sheep have a good sense of smell and will not eat mouldy or musty feed.
• Smell is a major factor in rams locating ewes in heat.
• Smell is also vital in lamb identification by the dam associated with sight recognition.
• Sheep are very sensitive to predator smells.

Hearing

• Sheep have acute hearing and they can direct their ears to the direction of the sound.

Social order

'Flocking and follower' behaviour used in mustering sheep
Note the heading dog behind the mob allowing them to move quietly along the tracks

• Sheep are the classical social "flocking" animal and are a "follower species".
• They use the flock for a defence against predators - running away a short distance to form a flock and then turning round to face the predator. On closer approach by the threat, they scatter and regroup.
• Social ranking is not as obvious in sheep as in other species. Normally you'll see very few confrontations among ewes without young lambs to fight over.
• Sheep work out a social order by head butting, nudging, poking with horns, shoulder pushing, blocking and mounting. This is seen most clearly in horned rams (American wild mountain sheep) that back off then charge, meeting head to head with a large bang.
  
• Horned and polled rams should not be mixed as the horned rams will break the others' neck.
• Submissive behaviours in sheep include lowering of the head and neck and moving away with a head shake.
• In wild sheep a dominant ram leads a small flock followed by females, juveniles and lambs. He establishes this as a harem of about a dozen ewes.
• Rams can form harems in farmed flocks in large hill country paddocks where they can easily get separated from main flock. Regular mustering is needed to prevent this.
• In wild sheep, a lamb will stay with its dam till the next lamb is born. Both sexes will stay in their family groups till the adolescent males take off.
• In farmed flocks you don't see much evidence of social order, as regular mustering and movement prevent much of it.
• In groups of rams, especially Merinos in hot climates with no shade, they stand in a tight pack creating shade for each other.
  
• The Merino packs especially tightly when being handled and once in a tight circular mob, you have to get a leader to spin off somewhere and act as leader to get some movement.
  
• This leader sheep is not of high social rank - it's the first one who thinks they can escape. Pressure from barking dogs just makes the pack tighter, and if you are in the middle of this crush, you can feel the physical pressure that can lead to a smother.
• Merinos need room to move and hate hassle. They have different behaviour to other farmed breeds.
• Lambs are noted for their play behaviour - "follow the leader" and "king of the castle". It's said to be an indication of intelligence level and using this behaviour, sheep would rank higher than any other ungulate.
  

A wonderful example of sheep as a 'follower species'. It's easy in a round sale ring to keep sheep circling following each other to show them to buyers. Notice the shepherds are going against the flow of the sheep, so the sheep think they are escaping away from danger.
(Photo by kind permission of Helen Brown)

Feeding

• Sheep are ruminants and they start nibbling pasture from about a week old. They are efficient ruminants by about a month old.
• Sheep can graze more closely than cattle as they have a split upper lip.
• They graze for about 8-9 hours/day, which can extend to 13 hours when feed is short.
• Grazing bouts (when feed is plentiful) are about 20 -90 minutes, and they can have as many as 9 of them in 24 hours.
  
• After a grazing bout they have spells of 45-90 minutes of rumination and rest.
• In open range sheep have preferred areas and stick to these. This is seen in the UK "hefting" system in unfenced mountain grazings.
  
• A major concern in the UK Foot and Mouth disaster was how to replace these sheep after slaughter as they would have to learn this behaviour all again.
• Mixed grazing by cattle and sheep is ideal to maintain a good close pasture, and sheep adapt to this without any behavioural problems.
• The condition of a sheep's teeth is critical, and can have a big effect on behaviour.
• Sheep learn from their mothers which feed to eat. South Island sheep will eat grain and hay as they learn from their mothers in spring. North Island sheep will generally not eat grain or hay as they are never offered it, except in serious feed shortages such as droughts.
• It often takes 2-3 weeks for sheep to learn as mature animals, and some may never accept supplementary feed and starve. Sheep also learn to eat different feeds from other adults or their peers.
• Sheep store surplus energy as fat inside the body cavity (e.g. kidney fat and around the intestines) and under the skin. They use this up during late pregnancy and lactation for lamb growth and milk production.
• About 3-4 weeks before mating ewes are given extra feed to encourage extra eggs to be shed from the ovary, ending in more lambs produced. This is called "flushing".
• Sheep kept indoors show stress by eating the wood of their pens and they will also eat their wool, or the wool of the sheep in the next pen.
• This wool eating is seen is sheep that have been buried in deep snow for up to three weeks.
• Sheep need water - about 4litres/day/adult sheep and 1 litre/day for a lamb. But they can adapt to severe drought conditions and extract enough moisture to survive from herbage. The Australian outback Merino shows this important behavioural trait best.

Animal behaviour and welfare: Cattle Part 5

CATTLE BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 5

Baulking: Milking: Cow hates: Social dominance: Training heifers: Milking plant faults: Cattle welfare problems

By Dr Clive Dalton

Baulking
This is a major problem in handling cattle in yards, when they stop or baulk and it breaks the flow, wastes time and the stock usually have to be pushed or goaded to proceed. The ideal is when stock just flow along races and don't need to be pushed.

The other dangerous area is when dairy cows leave the paddock through a gate to enter the race to walk to the farm dairy for milking. If not controlled by the stockperson, damage to hips and ribs can occur by the gate posts and cows can go down and be trampled on by others in the rush.

Which of these cows will be first out of the gate, and which will be last?
This is where their social order comes into effect.

Injuries also happen during transport when cattle are moving off trucks through narrow doorways. They need to be given plenty of time so they don't get stuck in the doorway or bruise their hips on exit.

The main causes are:

• Seeing disturbance ahead.
• Noise ahead e.g. from shouting or banging gates or crushes.
• Dead ends that block their view.
• People standing in front of their point of balance.
• Flapping clothes or sacking.
• Cattle in adjacent pens moving against their flow.
• Smells e.g. blood on floor after dehorning.
• Unfamiliar yards.
• Shadows, open doors, drains or what appear to them to be black holes.
• Bright sunlight especially reflecting off windows.

Baulking can be prevented by:

• Understanding and exploiting their point of balance.
• Making sure stock can see through the head bail to what looks like freedom.
• Handling stock in smaller pens.
• Having a good footing for them.
• Having solid boarding along sides of races.
• Having a good clear entrances to yards so stock don't approach dark holes.
• Avoiding dead ends and sharp corners. Provide a nice gradual curved flow.
• Use rubber to quieten the banging from gates and headbails.
• Teach handlers to keep the noise down and tie up and quieten all barking dogs.

The "Point of Balance"

• This is an imaginary spot just behind the shoulder.
• When you move in front of it, the animal moves back.
• When you move behind it, the animal goes forward.
• There is another point in the middle of the head.
• When you move to the left of it the animal moves to the right, and vice versa
  

Milking

• This is where knowledge of animal behaviour pays enormous dividends.
• The goal is always - Fast and Efficient milking.
• Milking needs to be fast to empty the udder quickly while the oxytocin stimulus is still effective (it lasts 5-7 minutes).
• Milk letdown is caused by oxytocin and the cow has to be trained by conditioned reflex to have a letdown to suit the milking routine.
• Milking needs to be efficient to completely evacuate the udder, and encourage more alveoli (milk cell) activity, and reduce possible infection (mastitis) from milk left in the udder.
• Milking must be a “pleasant and positive” experience for the cow, and this has to be provided by the milker who "likes cows". It's as simple as that!
• Research has shown how the "attitude" of the humans to the cows and milking has very measurable benefits from extra milk in the vat. The challenge is to teach the right "attitude" to the humans!
• It's always been well accepted that women are better milkers than men and there's plenty of evidence to show that as good staff move - herd production also changed. Good people got high production from their cows wherever they went.
• Cows must not get a negative experience in the milking parlour so use some other yard or a time other than milking to do anything that will distress them.
• Design of milking parlour is vital for good milking performance as it inevitably affects both the cows and the staff.
• Fit buzzers or bells to backing gates so cows become conditioned to the signal and move before the gate moves. This saves injuries to legs and reduces stress.
  

What milking cows hate

• Be anthropomorphic and think about this list from the cow’s point of view.
• Poor races that injure their feet.

• Poor entrances to paddocks and the farm dairy that bang their hips and ribs.
• To be touched without warning.
• To be hit by sticks, especially as they are going into the bail.
• Badly adjusted milking machines that hurt teats.

• Cups falling off all the time and having to be put on again.
• Sore teats- where the pain is made worse by milking.
• Dark holes that appear to be full of predators.
• Unfamiliar and sudden noises.
• People shouting at them in loud, high-pitched voices that echo under the large roof of big rotaries.
• Strangers in the milking bail – especially those who might be there to inflict some pain.
• Stray electric shocks.
• Poorly trained staff who hate cows. The cows soon find this out.
• Monday mornings or mornings after favourite teams lose. Staff are not in good moods.
• Tired exhausted staff, who have had little time off and who come to hate cows.
• Staff arguing or fighting during milking. Domestics! Two staff versus one.
• Staff coming off dope or alcoholic hangovers.
• No warning when things happen to them – sudden frights.
• Volume washing with cold water on their teats.
• Having cups put on roughly, and removing them roughly before the vacuum is completely broken.

The proper way to put cups on - with great empathy for the cow

• Backing gates that hit you in the hocks.
• Electric backing gates with hot electric chains hanging down.
• Being in a large herd and losing your mates.

How do you make sure you always eat with a friend or cow of lower social order?

• Very hot conditions with no shade available in paddock or yard. Cows love a sprinkler on hot days to cool off after their walk to be milked.
  

• No water trough at the dairy to have a drink after a long walk to the dairy for milking.
• Flies - especially those that bite.
• Slipping over on hard too-smooth concrete.
• Banging heads or backs against badly designed pipe work.

Modern milking plants are good but you still find minor design
faults from the cow's point of view.

• Deep mud.
• Eye contact by humans.
• Small children in the dairy.
• Dogs in the dairy.

Dairy farmer's dog used to keep cows moving instead of backing gate.
Not a good idea but cheap to run!

What makes happy milkers?

• Confidence with cows.
• Equipment that does not keep breaking down.
  
• Plenty of time off!
• Nice quiet cows that don't kick. The cows know they are liked by the milker.
• Cows with well-shaped udders and teats to make milking easy.
• Cows that don't dung in the dairy (more than 2 dungs/HB row indicates problems).
• Good drenching facilities so cows don't fight the operator.
• The pit or rotary platform at a good height to avoid backache.
• Non-slip floors for both humans and cows - especially on steps.
• No piping to knock head or arms.
• Well-aligned clusters so cows milk out correctly.
• A kick rail behind cows for human safety.
• Minimal noise from machinery.
• System that allows cows to be milked in as short a time as possible.
• A "thank you" from the boss now and again.
• Good wages and conditions - often the conditions come first.
  

Signs of contented cows

Cows keen to get to shed . Is this race wide enough for the herd size?
It's marginal.

• They are keen to come in to be milked.
  
• They stand quietly looking straight ahead .
• Eyes bright and looking slightly down.
• Chewing their cud.
• Lying down with legs tucked under.
• Breathing steadily through their nose.
• Not concerned about the world around them.
  

Social dominance in the milking herd

Why are the same cows always at the back of the herd?
There are plenty of reasons and are worth finding out.

• Old research showed that cows could recognise about 100 other cows in the herd, and sort out a social order among them.
• A happy and hence productive cow knows her place and generally keeps to it. There are big benefits of doing this.
• What happens in grazing groups of 250 or 500 cows or more? ; we don't know! This needs to be studied with some urgency as herd sizes build.
• When grazing, cows should be able to find enough personal space for comfort. But when you see large mobs grazing with great competition for feed, you must wonder about cow welfare.
• When leaving the paddock, low-rank cows wait till higher-rank ones have walked past them.
• Dominant cows can stop low-rank cows drinking as they stand and idle near the trough. So heifers may not get drink till night, which has serious effects on production.
• Cows must have access to adequate water troughs with enough room around them and high enough pressure to keep them full all the time, otherwise low-rank cows won't drink.
  
• Putting a trough in the fence line to share between paddocks and save cost is not effective as it can cut drinking access in large groups.
• Social order is important when the whole herd is walking home for milking. There's no problem with them going back to the paddock after milking as they go back in small groups.
• As herds get larger, walking distances get longer. Some do up to 2.5km in one trip.
• You find some dominant cows at the front, many dominant cows in the middle acting as the driving force, and low ranking (especially heifers) and sick cows are at the rear.
• So the cows at the rear get the pressure from the person, pushed by the bike, and bitten by the dog, and they are the animals who can least afford this distress.
• Contented cows walk with head down, and stressed cows walk with head up and cannot see where they are stepping. They get sore feet and lameness is a major cost of $365/cow/year in lost production and vet charges.
  

Training heifers for milking

• The first milkings can be very stressful for heifers if they have not been trained.
  
• The term "breaking in" is regularly used and for many heifers - that's exactly what it is. It should be "training" and not breaking in!
• Good training really starts during calf rearing so that they are used to close contact with humans when it comes to time for them to enter the herd.
• Then a few weeks before calving, if reared away from home (the usual system), the heifers come back and join the herd. Here they sort out their social order and it can be quite stressful, especially if there are some very dominant old cows in the herd.
• It's good practice to do the following:
• First put them through the yards and the milking parlour with all gates open.
• Repeat the exercise and then hold them in the yard.
• Repeat this and hold them in the bail of the herringbone or put them on the rotary with it stopped.
• Next time switch on the machine and play music to accustom them to usual sounds.
• Walk around behind them, touch them and massage their teats and udders.
• Have more than one person in the parlour, moving around and talking.

To ensure success at heifer's first milking:

• Make sure the cups don't suck air and squeak.
• Don't let the cups fall off among her feet.
• Keep her head up.
• Make sure she cannot turn round in the bail or jump out.
• Avoid over-milking. In fact it's probably better to under-milk her.
• Keep your cool.
• Rub her tail head and talk to her (low tones) when cups are on. Massage her udder and talk to her in low voice tones.
• Don't let her get sore teats.

In practice some farmers avoid all this saying they haven't got time. So they resort to some very inhumane practices like squeezing the heifer between two older cows and slap the cups on and even apply some violence if she plays up. If you need to resort to physical violence and lose your cool, blame your management and not the heifer.


Milking plant faults that affect behaviour

A critical area - the entrance from yard on to rotary platform

There are many basic faults in farm dairies that cause cow behaviour problems. even in expensive new installations. Some examples are:

• Poor concrete work that is too smooth - so cows slip over.
• Concrete that is too rough and wears feet.
• Poor concrete reinforcing allowing stray voltage in the parlour.
• Holding yards that are too small so cows are too tight.
• Poor cow flow so backing gates are made bigger and better - and electrified!
• Poor lighting in the parlour so cows are reluctant to go in.
• Pipework that jams the head of the first cow in the herringbone when the exit gate is released.
• Bails too small for large cows and are not adjustable during season.
• Dark doorways that cows see as threats and cause panic.
• Blind right angle bends when cows have to leave the parlour
• Clusters not aligned correctly behind cows, so cups are pulled over and some teats do not milk out evenly.
• Pits that are too low for the milkers so they end up with backache and the cows suffer.
• Repairs to the milking plant that never get done and that frustrate tired milkers, and again the cows suffer.
• 
  
• It's a good idea when planning a new plant to visit other plants working and talk to the milkers - not the salesmen. Offer to help milk their cows to see how things work and note cow and human behaviour.
• Count how many times the cows dung each row in the herringbone. If there are more than two/row, there is a behaviour/management problem.
  

Training cattle to lead

• This is best done when calves. Put a halter on the calf and tie it up for short periods (e.g. 30 minutes) twice a day, and feed the calf when it is tied.
• Groom and handle it when tied up.
• Then move the feed away some distance and lead the calf to the feed.
• Then start to lead it around without feed - giving it a gentle push from behind as well as some light pressure on the lead. Get someone to help do the pushing.
• Teaching mature stock to lead is not easy as they are so strong.
• Use the tie up technique (30 minute spells) for 2-3 periods each day for a week, grooming and massaging at the same time. Offer some feed too while grooming.
• Then try leading over short distances with help from an assistant pushing the animal from behind when it baulks. Don't let it get away on you or it will remember its success and do it again. Wear safety boots with plenty of grip.
• To get animals used to halters and restraint, some stockpersons tie two animals of similar weights together with a 500mm chain including a swivel, so they get used to their heads being pulled.
• Try this trick with animals of different weight so the large one teaches the lighter one to lead.
  
• Some stud breeders use a donkey to teach show cattle to lead. The donkey and cattle beast are tied together with a short chain and swivel and are left to graze together for a few weeks.
• If you have to start with older heavier animals (e.g. Mature cows and bulls), then it‘s hard work and can be dangerous. Some stockmen halter the beast to a frontend loader set at the height of the human handler who stands in the correct position. The tractor is then slowly reversed for very short intervals till the beast realises it has to move forwards and follow the handler. This should only be done for short intervals.
  

Solving milking problems

• This is big business for special consultants.
• A major problem is poor cow flow from the paddock to the milking parlour.
• It's a good idea to go back to the paddock and follow the cows home.
• It's also a good idea to get down and see the world from cow eye height.
• Problem may not always be where you think they are. Remember the cows can remember and may not go into the parlour because they are scared to go out e.g. a slippy floor.
• ALWAYS start off by checking the milking machine. There is nothing more important in cow comfort. It should have two checks by an approved service agent twice a year.
• It's very revealing to video the milking and analyse it with the staff later. They often get some surprises to find the things they do and didn't realise it.
  

Welfare issues (dairy cows)

• Calving problems – Dystocia.
• Cow-calf separation - the stress involved.
• Mastitis - the pain and stress.
• The use of Intra Vaginal Devices and Inductions.
• Lameness- the pain and stress of sore feet.
• Metabolic diseases.
• Downer cow management.
• Flies.
• Lack of shade and shelter
• Horn damage
• 

Horned and polled cattle should not be mixed - especially in close confinement

• Dehorning/disbudding done without anaesthetics.
• Ingrowing horns.

Not ingrowing yet but soon will be.

• Tail docking - especially of adult cows.
• Transport - the long distances cows travel to slaughter and cows ferry crossings.
• Emaciation - skinny cows and why they are left to get to this state.

• Heifers - introduction to herd.
• Bobby calf - disposal and transport.
• Castration - methods used in relation to the age of the animal.

Welfare issues (beef cattle).

• Transport and handling.
• Metabolic diseases.
• Parasites - internal and external.
• Calving problems – Dystocia.
• Lack of shade and shelter.
• Flies.
• Rubbish lying around farms.
  

Animal behaviour and welfare: Donkey Part 2

DONKEY BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 2

Donkeys & horses: Senses: Social structure: Communication

By Dr Clive Dalton



A donkey is not a horse !

• Never call a donkey a horse. It will never forgive you!
• The donkey is more related to the zebra, which is obvious from its shape and the way it moves (its gait).
• The donkey was bred from wild African asses making it the only domestic animal to come from Africa. The oldest donkey remains have been found 5000-6000 years ago in Egypt with later specimens found in Mesopotamia and Iran.
• There is a wide range of about 300 breeds of donkeys today. The largest is the Catalonian donkey, which is 17 hands high, is found in Spain. The Poitou is about 16 hh.
• The donkey has 62 chromosomes and the horse 64, so in theory they are genetically incompatible.
• Donkeys have been crossed with zebras to produce a "Zeedonk". These are sterile hybrids.
• Donkeys and horses can be crossed to produce the mule (male donkey Jack on mare) and the “hinny” (horse stallion on donkey Jenny). Both these are sterile hybrids and have 63 chromosomes. But there are exceptions as some female mules are fertile and will breed.
• Most donkeys and many mules lack the obvious saddle holding withers of the horse.
• The donkey's main and tail hair is stiff. It has no true forelock and the tail has short hair to switch more like a cow than a horse.
• The croup muscles of the donkey are usually less developed than the horse.
• Hooves of donkeys and mules are smaller than equal-sized horses and the pastern angle is greater.
• Donkeys have no chestnuts on their rear legs.
• Donkeys have slightly different larynx anatomy, and have smaller nostrils and nasal passages than equal sized horses.
  

Man and the donkey

• The donkey was one of the first animals to be domesticated and has served mankind well throughout the ages. The donkey is still doing valiant service as the primary beast of burden in many cultures today.
• Donkeys appear to have an innate trust of man, and very strong bonds build between donkeys and their owners because donkeys are a very social species.
• Donkeys have been used in times of war for transport and food. Owners stress the very special bond that can be built between donkey and caregiver and is much different between man and horse.
• Some breeders say that if you assume a donkey is a big dog, you'll go a long way to understanding their behaviour.
• Donkeys have shown that they can solve maze problems a lot faster than horses.
• Despite the donkey's role in man's civilisation, it still struggles to maintain a decent image among the human race. Our acceptance that the donkey is stupid, cunning and lazy is as alive and well today as it has been for the last two thousands years.
• Donkeys are not stupid and lazy - this image is caused by man's practice of ridiculing them, overloading them, and treating them with disrespect.
• Donkeys are smart and their owners need to recognise this. They will not move in situations they perceive as dangerous. This prevents a lot of accidents, eg in harness.
• Donkeys evolved in grasslands and are an animal of the open grasslands in warm dry climates.
• In the USA, donkeys and mules are becoming the fastest growing part of the recreational equine industry. Miniature donkeys are appealing to people who normally keep dogs and cats.
  

Donkey senses

Hearing

• Considered to be similar to the horse but the donkey's large ears have an added sound-gathering advantage.
• It's often claimed that the donkey has much more acute hearing than a horse and certainly a human.
  
• Like the horse, the donkey has the ability to move its ears to locate the source of the sound.
• Donkeys DO NOT like their ears pulled - their ears are very personal!
• Before a donkey will let you handle its ears freely, you need to build up a secure bond.
  
• The feral donkey is a very alert animal, aided by its acute hearing.
  

Smell

• The donkey's sense of smell is considered to be similar to the horse.
• It's said that donkeys can smell water over a mile away.
  
• Donkeys greet each other by smelling and blowing in each others nose. The smell of breath imparts important information to the donkey.
• So greeting donkeys by blowing up their noses is an effective way to reassure them that you are friendly.
  

Sight

• A donkey's sight is not as good as the horse, and like the horse donkeys have a blind spot immediately in front of the nose and behind the head.
• They have good peripheral vision with head down when grazing, but poor ability to see high objects.
• They have good binocular vision. Donkeys like the horse view any threats with their binocular vision.
• It is thought they have the same colour vision as the horse. They can clearly differentiate between the major colours.
• Donkeys don't seem to bother with direct eye contact. It seems to be less important than in horses.
  

Touch

• As in the horse - donkeys have whiskers near their eyes and on their muzzle which carry nerves and act as touch receptors.

Taste

• Donkeys have a very sweet tooth, and are very partial to fruit.
• They love walnuts and will crack them and spit out the shells.
• Like the horse they will not eat musty feed, and will not eat out of dirty containers so their ability to smell must be acute.
  

Donkey's gait

• Donkeys are naturally slow movers, and impatient humans find this frustrating.
• They do not show all the different gaits of the horse.
• At speed they move like a zebra or a sheep in a bouncy gait and appear to have all four feet off the ground at the same time.
  

Social structure

• Donkeys are very social animals. A lone donkey kept as a pet needs a friend of either another donkey, horse or other animal.
• Feral donkeys live in small bands of females with their current and previous year's female offspring.
• There is a strong bond between mother and offspring, established very soon after birth. Foals are weaned when the next foal is born.
• These bands will contain some juvenile males, but mature males are generally solitary except at mating time when they form harems which they defend against competitors.
• Fights among males for control of the harem can be very savage, with kicking and biting any part they can get hold of. The long ears are very vulnerable.
• Whereas horsed flee from danger, donkeys do not and stand and face up to the threat or predator. They will bite and kick with both front and rear feet, and stand with heads high, nostrils flared and teeth bared. And they add their loud bray to their collection of defences.
• Donkeys are natural followers. Often in a group grazing in a field, when called they'll form up in line to be led by the lead donkey, rather than making their own way to the caller.
• Donkeys have very sensitive ears and love them ears scratched. If you rub the ears gently from the poll area, the donkey slowly lowers its head and appears to dose off in ecstasy.
  

Communication

• The donkey's bray is unique and the sound travels for very long distances.
• But they also communicate with a variety of snorts, grunts, wheezes and whuffles which seem to vary between individuals.
  
• The variations in the bray that humans can detect must denote different information to other donkeys.
• Jacks bray most frequently and loudest.
• Grunts are antagonistic and usually accompanied by assertive body language like tail lashing, chin jerking or stomping.
• Snorting shows excitement and wuffling is used by a Jenny to call her foal or when inviting another donkey for some mutual grooming.
• Jennies use an additional low-pitched and gentle wuffle to communicate with their newborn foals.
  
• Like the horse, donkeys use a wide range of body language to communicate.
• Donkeys can indicate their mood with their head, angle of neck, body and tail.
• The way they move too gives clear messages from the quiet amble of the Jenny and foal to the aggressive chase of the Jack after a predator or Jenny in heat.
• Around the eyes and ears of a donkey is a very personal area - so avoid touching them on first greeting.
• Donkeys mutual groom each other, standing together using their teeth along their necks, withers and shoulders scratching the hair gently and gently nibbling with their teeth.
• Scratching a donkey under its chin is a very effective way to make friends with the animal.

Zoning out

• When donkey foals have been frightened, they have been observed to 'zone out' by slipping into a catatonic state.
• The advice is to 'back off' until the animal comes around again.
  

Donkey - human bond
There are frequent reports of donkeys showing great stress when losing a foal, a companion or when changing owners. When no donkeys are available they will form lasting bonds with horses, goats, sheep, camelids, dogs and cats and even fowls.