Foraging behavior of heifers with or without social models in an unfamiliar site containing high plant diversity

Velázquez-Martínez, Mauricio; López-Ortíz, Silvia; Hernández–Mendo, Omar; Díaz-Rivera, Pablo; Pérez-Elizalde, Sergio; Gallegos‐Sánchez, Jaime

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2010.03.001

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Several studies have reported that the presence of grazing‐experienced conspecifics have a positive effect on the development of foraging behavior and feed selection (Hessel ; Velazquez et al . ), but it did not have a positive effect on body weight gain at 1 month after the start of grazing in this study. Because calves were stocked in the pasture for only 2 h per day in this study, differences in foraging behavior development at the feeding station scale may not have been reflected in body weight gain,…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 71%

“…There have been several studies showing that elder conspecifics have effects on the development of foraging behavior of young herbivores (Bailey et al ; Launchbaugh & Howery ; Hessel ; Velazquez‐Martinez et al . ). Baily et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…() and Velazquez‐Martinez et al . () suggested that the presence of experienced conspecifics play a role for young animals regarding learning where to feed. On the other hand, Hessel () suggested that first‐grazing season calves that were stocked with grazing‐experienced conspecifics foraged more actively than calves stocked without experienced conspecifics, and that the effect of the presence of conspecifics on calf foraging activity development disappeared after 1 month.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of the presence of grazing‐experienced heifers on the development of foraging behavior at the feeding station scale for first‐grazing season calves

Shingu

Ueda

Tada

et al. 2016

Animal Science Journal

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In this study, effects of grazing-experienced heifer presence on foraging behavior development at the feeding station (FS) scale for first-grazing season calves were determined. A group of four calves grazing alone (C), and another comprising four calves (Wc) and three grazing-experienced heifers (Wh), were alternately stocked every day for 2 h on the same pasture for 26 days. The foraging time budget for Wc was significantly longer than that for C (P < 0.05) on day 7, and was similar to that for Wh on all days. Bite rate per FS was significantly higher for Wc (15.5 bite/min) than for C (13.2 bite/min) from day 1 to 14 (33.4 vs. 29.0 bite/min, respectively; P < 0.01) and significantly lower than that for Wh on all days. The number of steps taken between adjacent FSs by Wc (4.7) was significantly lower than that for C (7.2) on days 1 and 14 (2.1 vs. 2.9 steps, respectively; P < 0.01) and was similar to Wh on all days. This suggests that grazing-experienced heifers have positive effects on the foraging behavior development of new-season grazing calves through 14 days after the start of stocking.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 71%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of the presence of grazing‐experienced heifers on the development of foraging behavior at the feeding station scale for first‐grazing season calves

Shingu

Ueda

Tada

et al. 2016

Animal Science Journal

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“…Other studies have observed that social facilitation of grazing behaviour leads the calf to develop suitable grazing techniques within days of birth (Kerr and Wood-Gush 1987b;von Keyserlingk and Weary 2007;Arrazola et al 2020). Foraging with experienced grazing partners up to 10 months older than experimental animals has also been shown to increase the consumption of novel feeds, increase grazing intensity, and reduce the latency to commence grazing in the hours to days after mixing (Velázquez-Martínez et al 2010;De Paula Vieira et al 2012;Shingu et al 2017). Costa et al (2016) and Hessle (2009) found that the effects of an experienced grazing companion were highest in the first 1-3 days postmixing.…”

Section: Animal Production Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It appears to improve positive social behaviour and reduce agonistic social interactions in horses (Bourjade et al 2008). In cattle, housing juveniles with older, experienced conspecifics has been linked to an accelerated uptake of novel feeds and improved feeding behaviour (Velázquez-Martínez et al 2010;Costa et al 2016). Aside from feeding-behaviour studies, little research has explored the effects of contact with non-maternal adults on the behavioural development of cattle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations on the effects of non-maternal adult contact on the behavioural patterns of pre-weaned dairy heifers

et al. 2023

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Context. Dairy calves are often separated from their dams following birth, despite the beneficial effects of early life adult contact on behavioural development across species. Cow-calf contact systems are rare and often difficult to implement in the modern dairy industry. The development of alternative systems offering some of the benefits of adult social contact during early life, such as contact with non-maternal adults, has been limited. Aims. This study explored the behavioural patterns of grouped pre-weaned calves reared with or without non-maternal adult contact, and is the first in a series of studies following the social and behavioural development of experimental calves from the age of 2 weeks to 2 years. Methods. Four groups of 10 calves housed at pasture were studied from 2 to 12 weeks of age. Two groups were housed with three non-maternal dry cows each (+S). Calf behaviour in these groups was compared with that of calves in the remaining two groups, housed without adult contact (−S). Observations were conducted on behaviours including grazing, locomotion and lying, using 5-min scan sampling between morning (0930 hours) and afternoon (1600 hours) milk-feeding on 1 day every second week of the experiment (x ¯= 5.9 h of data ± 0.4 h/group.day). Key results. Few behavioural differences were found between groups. All groups performed mostly lying behaviour in the middle of the day and spent the most time grazing in the afternoon before the evening milk feed. Conclusions. Our results indicated that calves housed at pasture behave according to innate diurnal patterns previously observed in studies of calves housed with the dam, and choose to spend the majority of daylight hours lying or grazing. Being housed with non-maternal adults has few effects on these observed behavioural patterns. Implications. Our study suggests that non-maternal adult contact does not affect the immediate behavioural development of calves housed at pasture. Future research needs to explore longitudinal effects of this contact.

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Veterinary Medicine: The Value of Plant Secondary Compounds and Diversity in Balancing Consumer and Ecological Health

Villalba

Provenza

Gibson

et al. 2013

Issues in Agroecology – Present Status and Future Prospectus

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Foraging behavior of heifers with or without social models in an unfamiliar site containing high plant diversity

Cited by 11 publications

References 39 publications

Effects of the presence of grazing‐experienced heifers on the development of foraging behavior at the feeding station scale for first‐grazing season calves

Effects of the presence of grazing‐experienced heifers on the development of foraging behavior at the feeding station scale for first‐grazing season calves

Observations on the effects of non-maternal adult contact on the behavioural patterns of pre-weaned dairy heifers

Veterinary Medicine: The Value of Plant Secondary Compounds and Diversity in Balancing Consumer and Ecological Health

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