Sand bath
As sand bathing (also: dust bathing ) is called a encountered mainly among birds form of comfort behavior , but also in many other land vertebrates such as horses and zebras can be observed.
In domestic and farm animal husbandry, a bowl filled with sand or other litter in which the animals can sandbath is also referred to as a sand bath . Similarly, the term is also used in the leisure industry and chemistry.
The sand bath in the animal kingdom
Similar to the much more common water bath , a sand or dust bath and wallowing in the mud are also used to clean the plumage, skin and fur. For many animal species it is probably a substitute act if there are no suitable open water areas. Many birds also have plumage that makes wetting with water almost impossible; With many pigeon species , for example, the water rolls off so much that a water bath would be of no use.
The animals of some species repeatedly use certain sunny places for sand or dust baths, for example the capercaillie ; they are called Huderkuhlen . Apparently, the warmth that can be felt in the soil substrate when applied to the body also brings a sense of warmth.
Birds
When bathing in sand, birds crouch close to the ground and wiggle their bodies back and forth, swirling up the loose soil material. In doing so, they usually spread one or both wings. Then they usually shake violently and show cleaning behavior.
The judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on the keeping of hens in cages of July 6, 1999 also assigned sand bathing to "self-body care", which every animal keeping of a hen has to allow.
The behavior of dust bathing in native species is, with a few exceptions ( sparrows , wren ), limited to ground birds, but can also be observed, for example, in the spectacled pigeon ( Metriopelia cecilae ) and the Galapago pigeon ( Nesopelia g. Galapagoensis ). In 1962, Jürgen Nicolai described the dust bathing of spectacled pigeons and its emergence in the course of tribal history as follows:
“The birds lay like chickens in small sand hollows, shoveled sand under their bodies from the edge of the hollow with their beak, then tossed it up with shaking body movements and brought it to the skin with the raised feathers. (...) The dust bathing of birds is probably derived from water bathing. The movement elements of both behaviors are still largely similar, or their modifications in the service of the new function are easy to recognize. The close relationship between the two behaviors in the central nervous system is also evident from the fact that young birds of species that 'still' have both behaviors usually attach their dust bath directly to the water bath. (...) On the observer, this behavior makes an almost nonsensical impression because of the temporary total contamination of the plumage. (...) What evolutionary 'interest' there is in developing a dust bath in addition to water bathing and ultimately restricting the former in favor of the latter or giving up completely, we cannot make any statements about this for the time being. "
In the case of the capercaillie, there are now studies that show that considerable amounts of parasites have been found in their hollows. Feather mites and lice (so-called featherlings ) cling to the soil particles and are then thrown out of the plumage at high speed when shaken out.
Chinchillas
Among the common pets, chinchillas are the animals that need daily sand baths most for their health. Although their thick fur, made up of extremely fine hair, is not water-repellent, chinchillas also have sebum glands . In the sand bath, during which the animals roll around repeatedly in the sand, excess fat accumulates on the sand particles and is then shaken out of the fur. In this way, the chinchillas protect their fur from sticking together and matting and prevent skin problems. A quartz-free chinchilla sand offered in pet shops is optimal, as bird sand, for example, contains too many sharp-edged grains and would damage the ends of the hair.
Deer and wild boar
Deer and wild boar regularly wallow in mud pools , with the result that their backs are completely encrusted afterwards. As soon as the mud has dried, it jumps off the body in larger chunks or is rubbed off on so-called painting trees . Parasites on the outside of the skin are literally baked into this mud crust and can thus be removed from the body.
Elephants
Also, buffalo and elephants wallowing occasionally in sand, dust or mud. In elephants it can also be observed that they take up soil material with their trunks and then blow over their bodies, preferably after bathing. The elephant “powder” its skin in this way, lets the material dry and then rubs itself against a tree. Parasites are rubbed off like with sandpaper . In particular, this behavior serves to protect the numerous skin folds and is in this respect comparable to the powdering of sensitive body parts in humans. In zoos, sawdust is often made available as an alternative.
Marion Garai and Fred Kurt described the behavior of the elephants in the Cologne Zoo magazine as follows:
"Body care (...) is an important activity for keeping the skin healthy, as protection against the sun and ectoparasites. To do this, elephants need water, mud, sand and objects to scratch. Often, however, such 'non-social' activities play a role in social encounters. Throwing sand is not only used to powder the body, but also acts as threatening behavior. Social skin and fur care, as it is common practice with primates and rodents, rarely occurs in elephants that live in captivity. But with wild ones. When it rains, they rub their bodies against each other. They too brush newborns with bundles of grass. These behaviors can usually not be used in human custody because partners, space and substrates are missing. "
literature
- Jürgen Nicolai : About rain, sun and dust bathing with pigeons (Columbidae). In: Journal of Ornithology. Volume 103, No. 2/3, 1962, pp. 125-139, doi: 10.1007 / BF01670863
Web links
- Pictures: Dust bath of a house sparrow
- Sand bath for chickens. On: huehner-haltung.de , accessed on September 17, 2015
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schweizerischer Rassegeflügelzucht-Verband: Guidelines for keeping ornamental poultry. (PDF) .
- ↑ German Film Institute : Equus quagga (Equidae) - skin care behavior.
- ^ Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs ( February 26, 2015 memento in the Internet Archive ): Bird Dusting Behavior. Dump dated October 7, 2012.
- ↑ provieh.de (PDF; 195 kB) ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ): The judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on keeping hens in cages of July 6, 1999.
- ↑ Jürgen Nicolai: About rain, sun and dust bathing with pigeons (Columbidae). In: Journal of Ornithology. Volume 103, No. 2/3, 1962, p. 135.
- ↑ Jürgen Nicolai: About rain, sun and dust bathing with pigeons (Columbidae). In: Journal of Ornithology. Volume 103, No. 2/3, 1962, p. 136 ff.
- ^ Marion E. Garai and Fred Kurt: Socialization and the well-being of the elephants. In: Journal of the Cologne Zoo. Issue 2/2006, p. 91; Full text (PDF; 644 kB) .