Hourly activity patterns and behaviour-based management of feedlot steers with and without a cattle brush

Meneses, Xandra Christine A; Park, Rachel M; Ridge, Emily E.; Daigle, Courtney L

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105241

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Early morning and late afternoon appeared to be the favoured times for enrichment use overall. This is in line with the activity and grazing peaks around sunrise and sunset seen in cattle housed on pasture [ 7 , 60 , 61 ], and peak brush use time from other studies [ 10 , 48 , 58 , 62 ]. A limitation of the current study was that observations only occurred during daylight hours, and none at night.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Beef Cattle Preference and Usage of Environmental Enrichments Provided Simultaneously in a Pasture-Based Environment

Dickson

Campbell

et al. 2022

Animals

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Environmental enrichment can improve livestock welfare through increasing environmental complexity to promote a greater range of natural behaviours. However, there is limited understanding of the need for and impacts of enrichments for extensively managed beef cattle that can sometimes be kept in grassed paddocks devoid of additional natural and artificial features, i.e., ‘barren pastures’. This trial assessed which enrichments beef cattle preferred and utilised in a barren paddock environment. Eight groups of seven Angus steers housed on pastured paddocks devoid of natural or artificial features were observed during daylight hours for two days a week over a period of three weeks, after being presented with four enrichments simultaneously: a cattle brush, a piece of hanging rope, a tree stump, and a woodchip pile. Although enrichment use generally decreased over time, the brush, stump, and woodchip maintained a higher level of use than the rope, based on the frequency of interactions and number of displacements around the enrichments (both p < 0.001). This suggests that the brush, stump, and woodchip pile were more valuable resources to the cattle, allowing for grooming and lying behaviours, although oral manipulations also occurred on the stump, woodchip, and rope. The inclusion of these enrichments can increase the complexity of barren pasture environments and allow for the increased expression of natural behaviours, potentially contributing to improved welfare.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Beef Cattle Preference and Usage of Environmental Enrichments Provided Simultaneously in a Pasture-Based Environment

Dickson

Campbell

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…In this way, cows modify their feeding behavior, increasing water intake and change feeding times to cooler periods of the day [ 5 , 10 ]. In addition, activity patterns, the periods of minimum activity in the first hours of the day and maximum activity in the afternoon, are also modified [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dairy Cows Activity under Heat Stress: A Case Study in Spain

Ramón-Moragues

Carulla

Mínguez

et al. 2021

Animals

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Heat stress plays a role in livestock production in warm climates. Heat stress conditions impair animal welfare and compromise the productive and reproductive performance of dairy cattle. Under heat stress conditions, dairy cattle modify their behavior. Thus, the assessment of behavior alterations can be an indicator of environmental or physiological anomalies. Moreover, precision livestock farming allows for the individual and constant monitoring of animal behavior, arising as a tool to assess animal welfare. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of heat stress on the behavior of dairy cows using activity sensors. The study was carried out in Tinajeros (Albacete, Spain) during the summer of 2020. Activity sensors were installed in 40 cows registering 6 different behaviors. Environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) were also monitored. Hourly data was calculated for both animal behavior and environmental conditions. Temperature and Heat Index (THI) was calculated for each hour. The accumulated THI during the previous 24 h period was determined for each hour, and the hours were statistically classified in quartiles according to the accumulated THI. Two groups were defined as Q4 for no stress and Q1 for heat stress. The results showed that animal behavior was altered under heat stress conditions. Increasing THI produces an increase in general activity, changes in feeding patterns and a decrease in rumination and resting behaviors, which is detrimental to animal welfare. Daily behavioral patterns were also affected. Under heat stress conditions, a reduction in resting behavior during the warmest hours and in rumination during the night was observed. In conclusion, heat stress affected all behaviors recorded as well as the daily patterns of the cows. Precision livestock farming sensors and the modelling of daily patterns were useful tools for monitoring animal behavior and detecting changes due to heat stress.

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“…That could be due to the circadian pattern of cattle behavior. For example, behaviors such as brush use, mounting, and allogrooming tend to be performed at lower frequencies during the morning than the afternoon [ 21 ]. If the time of day can influence when the behaviors are expected to occur, then samplings should be distributed throughout the day; otherwise, the accuracy of the sampling strategy could be negatively impacted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating accurate and efficient sampling strategies designed to measure social behavior and brush use in drylot housed cattle

2023

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Efficient sampling strategies expedite behavioral data collection. While multiple studies have evaluated sampling strategies for core behaviors in cattle, few have focused on social interactions. To identify sampling strategies that accurately captured cattle social behaviors and brush use feedlot steers (n = 3 pens; 9 steers/pen) were observed from 8:00 to 17:00. Average bout duration (sec), total duration per day (sec), and bout frequency were recorded for allogrooming, bar licking, tongue rolling, and brush utilization. Frequency was recorded for headbutting and mounting. Data was extracted from continuous observation datasets using eight different sampling strategies and the results subsequently compared. Differences among sampling strategies were evaluated using a non-parametric One-Way ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis Test. Pearson correlation evaluated the strength of association between a specific sampling strategy and continuous observations. Bout duration for allogrooming (P > 0.65), bar licking (P > 0.60), tongue rolling (P > 0.99), brush use (P > 0.99), and mounting frequency (P > 0.70) did not differ from continuous observations. Tongue rolling (r2 > 0.95, P <0.0001) and brush use (r2 > 0.70, P < 0.0003) were best captured when cattle were observed from 08:00 to 14:00. When cattle were continuously observed from 08:00 to 14:00 or for 15 minutes every 30 minutes, allogrooming (P > 0.2) (frequency, duration), bar licking (P > 0.95) (frequency, duration), brush use (P > 0.1) (frequency, duration), heat butt (P > 0.30) (frequency), or tongue rolling (P > 0.30) (frequency, duration) did not differ from continuous observations. Observing cattle for 15 minutes every 30 minutes yielded the highest accuracy for all behavioral metrics and was considered the most effective strategy for comprehensively evaluating cattle social behavior (r2 > 75; P < 0.05). These results provide insight into accurate and efficient sampling strategies that expedite social behavior data collection in cattle and will facilitate efficient generation of new knowledge regarding cattle social behaviors.

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Hourly activity patterns and behaviour-based management of feedlot steers with and without a cattle brush

Cited by 11 publications

References 70 publications

Beef Cattle Preference and Usage of Environmental Enrichments Provided Simultaneously in a Pasture-Based Environment

Beef Cattle Preference and Usage of Environmental Enrichments Provided Simultaneously in a Pasture-Based Environment

Dairy Cows Activity under Heat Stress: A Case Study in Spain

Evaluating accurate and efficient sampling strategies designed to measure social behavior and brush use in drylot housed cattle

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