CONDITIONED TASTE-AVERSION - POTENTIAL FOR REDUCING CATTLE LOSS TO LARKSPUR

Barbey larkspur Delphinium barbeyi is a palatable poisonous plant that causes a large number of cattle deaths on mountain rangelands. Heifers were conditioned to avoid eating larkspur by intraruminal infusion of lithium chlorine whenever they consumed larkspur in a pen feeding trial. Following conditioning, the heifers were taken to mountain rangeland in C Utah. Non-averted heifers consumed larkspur throughout the field trial, while averted heifers generally consumed little larkspur. The aversion from the previous summer persisted. Averted heifers were placed in a pasture with non-averted heifers to determine if social influences would affect learned aversions. A rapid breakdown of the aversions was observed and the averted heifers continued consuming larkspur after being separated from non-averted heifers. -from Authors