Feeding and vigilance behaviour of breeding ostriches (Struthio camelus) in a farming environment in Britain.

Ross, E. J. and Deeming, D. Charles (1998) Feeding and vigilance behaviour of breeding ostriches (Struthio camelus) in a farming environment in Britain. British Poultry Science, 39 (2). pp. 173-177. ISSN 0007-1668

Full content URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071669889088

Documents
Feeding and vigilance behaviour of breeding ostriches (Struthio camelus) in a farming environment in Britain
[img] PDF
#73 Ross Deeming 1998a.pdf - Whole Document
Restricted to Repository staff only

143kB
Item Type:Article
Item Status:Live Archive

Abstract

Vigilance and feeding behaviour of male and female adult breeding ostriches were recorded to determine feeding and scanning bout lengths, a time budget and the pattern of vigilance immediately after food was provided. 2. Males were more vigilant and fed for shorter periods than females immediately after concentrate food was delivered but not throughout the whole day. 3. Most interscan periods of males were below 40 s with a maximum of 90 s compared with most interscan periods of females lasting less than 70 s with a maximum of 160 s. 4. Gender differences in behaviour are attributed to increased male vigilance for predators and/or conspecifics, and increased female feeding required for egg production and greater opportunity to feed because of male vigilance.

Keywords:Ostrich, Ostrich farming, feeding behavior, vigilance, gender difference, Egg production, Struthio camelus
Subjects:D Veterinary Sciences, Agriculture and related subjects > D423 Poultry keeping
C Biological Sciences > C140 Developmental/Reproductive Biology
Divisions:College of Science > School of Life Sciences
ID Code:13338
Deposited On:14 Feb 2014 08:37

Repository Staff Only: item control page