Social Behaviour in Farm Animals

by Linda Keeling, Harold Gonyou

Overview

An understanding of social behavior is increasingly necessary in farm animal husbandry as more animals are housed in groups rather than in individual stalls or pens. There may be economic or welfare reasons for such housing. This book is the first to specifically address this important subject. The chapters fall into three broad subject areas: concepts in social behavior; species specific chapters; current issues. Authors include leading experts from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780851993973
Publisher:	CABI
Publication date:	04/03/2001
Series:	CABI Series
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.75(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Keeling, Linda J.; Gonyou, Harold W.

Table of Contents

Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Jonathan Hale Foreman, DVM, MS, DACVIM (University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine)
Description: This book was written by 28 international experts in animal behavior. The 14 chapters were edited by two experts from Sweden and Canada.
Purpose: The editors' purpose is to produce the first comprehensive book on farm animal ethology. They cite a need for such a singular text because of the wealth of information already published but in widely disparate sources. These are worthy objectives which are met by this text.
Audience: The intended audience is undergraduate students in animal behavior, agriculture, and veterinary medicine as well as postgraduate students and researchers. It may be too advanced and too complex for first year undergraduates and may be more appropriate for final year undergraduates and postgraduate students. The authors are credible authorities, but ethology is a complex animal science with explicit human social and economic considerations.
Features: The book is divided into three main sections. The first is intended to impart "some basic understanding of the principles underlying all animal behaviour." The second section consists of six chapters devoted to single farm animal species: cattle, pigs, domestic birds, sheep, horses, and fish. The third and final section "presents relatively new or controversial research areas." The authors are correct in that experienced readers will go directly to the section detailing their species of interest, but there is value in the earlier, more general chapters on ethology. One major strength fo the book is its reliance on data-based research in underscoring arguments or observations. There is less opinion and more actual science than might be initially expected. One drawback is the generality of the index where, for instance, the words "horse" and "equine" do not appear.
Assessment: This is an excellent book with considerable scientific data collated into a single source. Its detail and high cost may make it more useful for graduate students, researchers, and laboratory animal care officials than for early undergraduates.

Doody's Review Service

"Contributors in agriculture, animal science, and animal rights from around the world apply social behavior findings from classical ethnology works on wild animals to animals that do not get to choose their own social groups, which individuals are housed together, and other dimensions that normally would serve as media for social interaction. The information is designed to provide insight for the management, productivity, and welfare of the animals. They begin by setting out concepts in social behavior, then concentrate on species-specific animal behavior, and conclude by taking up some contemporary topics such as personality and people as social actors in the world of farm animals."—SciTech Book News

From the Publisher

3 Stars from Doody

Contributors in agriculture, animal science, and animal rights from around the world apply social behavior findings from classical ethology works on wild animals to animals that do not get to choose their own social groups, which individuals are housed together, and other dimensions that normally would serve as media for social interaction. The information is designed to provide insight for the management, productivity, and welfare of the animals. They begin by setting out concepts in social behavior, then concentrate on species-specific animal behavior, and conclude by taking up some contemporary topics such as personality and people as social actors in the world of farm animals. Distributed by Oxford U. Press. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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