Animal question that has been bugging me for a long time.?

Question

Can someone explain to me why domestacated animals such as ducks and buffalo loose their natural instinct to migrate during the season changes? Has this instinct bread out of them ? This question has been on my mind for years.

Answer 1

The reason for migrations have to do with food,breeding, and shelter.
Come the cold season the food disapears for some species, their ability to procreate is diminished by the weather, and the cold is more likely to kill than help.
Often if the the migrating animal has a food source then migration is put off because the breeding season is a permanent time of procreation I.E. spring, in the northern hemisphere or a new season in the equatorial regions.
Migrating will not affect some beast of burden for the simple reason of care. They are cared for by their stewards. Shelter,food, health care is provided by the farmer. Ducks do not have to follow the geese because they have the food scattered about them every day. They have shelter built for them that is permanent. They do not need to follow the winds south or north. Bison do not migrate regardless, and beef, are domesticated and have been for thousands of years. Elk, Moose, Muskox, and wild Bison do follow the food supply but that is mostly in the land they were born in.
Instinct cannot be bred out of animals. You can retrain them individually but let them go ferrel and within a very short time their instincts for survival will return.
If a small number of Canada Geese find that there is food galore in some part of the northern hemisphere then it is most likely they will remain in that area throughout the winter. If there is no food to be found then migration is the answer. High Park, Toronto always has geese around the ponds. There is a nesting marsh I know of around the Cornwall area that does not have Canada Geese in the winter. They fly the coop so to speak. Not enough food for them to survive. High Park has more than enough food, and more than enough soft hearts to care for them throughout the four seasons.

Answer 2

If an animal is domesticated does it even have a choice of migrating?

Instincts are set off by "triggers". In animals, for the instinct of migration, the cold weather is probably one of those triggers. If the animal is being kept out of the cold, then there's nothing to trigger the migration. It's January here in West Virginia. When they migrate, we get tons of ducks that fly over our house, and we hear them. There hasn't been any migrating this year (probably because it's been so warm!)

Answer 3

Yes, good question. I don't know why!

But, we've got the so-called Canadian geese. Cause' these never go to Canada at all, and it can cause quite a headache.

That isn't natural. Not at all. That's for sure.

Now they have organized a shoot, and used them to feed the homeless.

Last I heard, they think they can retrain them to beat it! Let's hope.

The guardia problem raises the bacteria to a very high level in the waterways, specially the swimming holes. I love em' though.

Answer 4

Well, when first artificially selecting these animals don't you think that the ones that stayed put for what ever reason were the ones further mated and passing on the genes for staying put, whatever that would be. 12,000 years ago, when wolves were first being domesticated, not every wolf of that time became an ancestor of a dog of this era.

Answer 5

who says they've lost it? but if you're fenced in or you can fly only a 100 yards, you'd not be migrating now would you?
I don't know the answer, I'm just challenging the premise of the question. Food for thought? Live long and prosper.

Answer 6

i think it is because of there enviroment and being fed daily and loved and cared for stops them leaving the same goes for stray cats and dogs they dont bite the hand that feeds them hope this helps