USU professor teaches about animal behavior

By Jamie Keyes

During the past 35 years, students and faculty in the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University have conducted research on animal behavior. Beth Burritt, extension assistant professor, traveled this past week to a Natural Resource Conservation Services workshop in Lafayette, La to discuss this research with animal producers.

“This is a really interesting topic, and as far as I know we are the only place that really focuses on behavior,” Burritt said.

Throughout experimentation and research, Burritt and her colleagues have discovered that animal behavior depends on consequences. Animals learn to eat from their mom and from feedback, and they also prefer variety.

“The best thing about talking about behavioral science is that people can relate,” Burritt said. “Ranchers know about this stuff, they just can’t put it into words.”

Grazing conditions in Utah and Louisiana are extremely different, something that Burritt had to remember as she did her presentation.

“In Louisiana they graze in marshes, and if the animals don’t know about the marsh they won’t graze in it,” Burritt said.

Burritt talked with the producers about teaching their cattle to eat marsh grass by drawing them in with something they will eat, just to get their head down grazing.

“The first generation may not ever do it, but I would think their calves would,” Burritt said.

In Louisiana they deal with problems concerning wet pastures, a problem ranchers in Utah have never thought of.

“People who run cattle in harsh situations understand that they have to have cattle from that area, people who run on just grass pasture think a cow is a cow and any cow would be fine,” Burritt said. “If a Louisiana cow was placed in Utah it would look around and say, where’s the food?”

Through Burritt’s research, animal producers are able to teach their animals to eat a wide parameter of different foods. Just by teaching them through consequences and feedback.

“People just figure animals will know what to do,” Burritt said. “Animals don’t innately know what is good and what is bad.”

Lyle McNeal, a professor in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at USU, thinks this research is important and hopes someday it will be taught in the classroom.

“What Beth is doing should’ve been done years ago, it is long overdue,” McNeal said. “We need to bring back animal psychology classes, it will help improve land management.”