Feeding behaviour in ruminants: a consequence of interactions between a reward system and the regulation of metabolic homeostasis

Abstract

Feeding behaviour, through both diet selection and food intake, is the predominant way that an animal attempts to fulfil its metabolic requirements and achieve homeostasis. In domestic herbivores across the wide range of production practices, voluntary feed intake is arguably the most important factor in animal production, and a better understanding of systems involved in intake regulation can have important practical implications in terms of performance, health and welfare. In this review, we provide a conceptual framework that highlights the critical involvement and interconnections of two major regulatory systems of feeding behaviour: the reward and the homeostatic systems. A review of the literature on ruminants and rodents provides evidence that feeding behaviour is not only shaped by homeostatic needs but also by hedonic and motivational incentives associated with foods through experiences and expectations of rewards. The different brain structures and neuronal/hormonal pathways involved in these two regulatory systems is evidence of their different influences on feeding behaviours that help explain deviation from behaviour based solely on satisfying nutritional needs, and offers opportunities to influence feeding motivation to meet applied goals in livestock production. This review further highlights the key contribution of experience in the short (behavioural learning) and long term (metabolic learning), including the critical role of fetal environment in shaping feeding behaviour both directly by food cue–consequence pairings and indirectly via modifications of metabolic functioning, with cascading effects on energy balance and body reserves and, consequently, on feeding motivation.

Particle Size's Effect of Application Forage Processing Technology on Consumption Efficiency, Palatability and Digestibility of Local Goat

“…This is in accordance with Pujaningsih et al (2010) and Gusha et al (2014) which states that the processing of the feed into a smaller form factor will increase the digestibility and palatability of livestock. This was confirmed by Ginane et al (2015) which states forage digestibility is influenced by various factors, including temperature, speed of feed rate passage through the digestive tract, the physical form of feed, feed composition and comparison with the influence of other substances. In addition, feed in small size will facilitate fermentative digestion of feed.…”

“…Overall lead feed consumption at higher of T3. This is supported by the means of their mobile upper lips and very prehensile tongue, goats are able to graze on very short grass and to browse on foliage not normally eaten by other domestic livestock (Ginane et al, 2015).…”

“…This is due to the goats which are familiar on the feed with a particle size of more than 7 cm. Ginane et al (2015) states that consumption tends to be higher for livestock that used to feed against the feed that was given. Furthermore, Murni et al (2012) pointed out that consumption is affected by age, level of production, and form feed.…”

How Dietary Diversity Enhances Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being in Grazing Ruminants

“…Manteca et al (4) and Villalba et al (5) reviewed dietary choice as an important aspect of animal welfare and related it to animals being able to balance their own nutrients to meet individual requirements through nutritional wisdom, and also to balance intake of PSC so that they can experience their benefits (e.g., reduced gastrointestinal parasites) without experiencing toxicities, which all relate to hedonic well-being. Additionally, hedonic well-being is partly responsible for controlling feeding behavior in ruminants (84). While these are likely true, dietary diversity may also reduce stress merely by providing the animals a choice, if the Eudaimonic theory of well-being can be applied to livestock.…”

Seasonal variation in water buffaloes’ diet grazing in wet grasslands in Northern Greece

“…Domestic livestock face multiple challenges during their foraging routine as they have to cope with heterogeneous landscapes and diverse environmental conditions (Launchbaugh et al 2006, Ginane et al 2015. The choice of their diet could be considered a strategy to obtain maximum quantity and sufficient quality of forage (Mládek et al 2013).…”