Mother rearing of dairy calves: Reactions to isolation and to confrontation with an unfamiliar conspecific in a new environment

Wagner, Kathrin; Barth, Kerstin; Hillmann, Edna; Palme, Rupert; Futschik, Andreas; Waiblinger, Susanne

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2013.04.010

Cited by 59 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…When exposed to a fifteen-minute isolation test at 43 days of age, calves reared by their mothers, rather than with an automatic feeder, displayed more escape behaviors and increased attempts to reunite with their herds. Mother-reared calves also displayed increased sociality with an unfamiliar calf at 90 days of age, compared with calves reared in isolation (Wagner et al, 2013). Mother cows also have demonstrated an ability to adapt their maternal behaviors to the needs of their calves.…”

Section: Social Complexitymentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Both groups were able to stay in their herd. When later tested for their reaction to challenging situations such as an isolation test and a confrontation with an unfamiliar cow, the motherreared calves showed more active efforts to get back to their mother and the herd and lower stress hormone levels when faced with an unfamiliar individual, than the feeder group (Wagner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Psychology of Cows

Marino¹,

Allen²

2017

ABC

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-Domestic cows (Bos taurus) are consumed worldwide as beef and veal, kept as dairy product producers, employed as draft animals in labor, and are used for a long list of other products, including leather and manure. But despite global reliance on cows for thousands of years, most people's perception of them is as plodding herd animals with little individual personality and very simple social relationships or preferences. Yet, a review of the scientific literature on cow behavior points to more complex cognitive, emotional and social characteristics. Moreover, when cow behavior is addressed, it is almost entirely done within the framework of and applied to their use as food commodities. Therefore, there is relatively little attention to the study of cow intelligence, personality and sociality at a basic comparative level. In this review, we examine the current state of scientific knowledge about cows within an objective comparative framework, describing their cognitive, emotional, and social characteristics. Our aim is to provide a more veridical and objective current summary of cow psychology on its own terms and in ways which will facilitate better-informed comparisons with other animals. Moreover, an understanding of the capabilities and characteristics of domestic cows will, it is hoped, advance our understanding of who they are as individuals.

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Section: Social Complexitymentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychology of Cows

Marino¹,

Allen²

2017

ABC

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“…Calves with contact with the mother for 2-12 weeks showed higher social activity and less abnormal oral behaviour, e.g. cross-sucking, than those separated from the mother within the first 24 h (Flower and Weary, 2001;Fröberg and Lidfors, 2009;Roth, 2008;Roth et al, 2009a;Wagner et al, 2013). Furthermore, calves that were reared in a pen together with their dams for 4 weeks and fed via bucket struggled less during a restraint test than single-or pair-reared calves (Duve et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Effects of mother versus artificial rearing during the first 12 weeks of life on challenge responses of dairy cows

Wagner

Seitner

Barth

et al. 2015

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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“…It remains an open question whether a longer postnatal cohabitation with the mother would have a stronger influence on later calf playfulness. Even when the play behavior of calves remaining with their mothers and calves separated immediately after birth were compared at 90 d, the differences were complex, with the mother-reared calves displaying more social play but less locomotor play (Wagner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Effects Of Age At Separationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of age at separation from the dam and presence of social companions on play behavior and weight gain in dairy calves

Valníčková

Stěhulová

Šárová

et al. 2015

Journal of Dairy Science

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Play behavior positively affects welfare of farm animals, yet impoverished social environment during early ontogeny may limit the opportunity or motivation to play. This study investigated the independent and the combined effects of the presence of the dam during the colostrum feeding period and subsequent group housing on play behavior and growth in dairy calves. Forty female calves were allocated to 1 of 4 treatments according to a 2×2 factorial design. The treatments were with or without mother during the 4d after birth and companion housing (single pens or grouped housing in pens of 4 calves between 1 and 8wk of age). After 8wk of age all calves were housed in groups of 4 calves. Play behavior of the calves was observed at 2, 5, and 12wk of age in the following situations: 6 h of spontaneous behavior in the home pen, a 15-min open-field test, and a 15-min social test with an unfamiliar calf. Additionally, play behavior after grouping or relocation at 8wk of age was recorded during two 2-h sessions. There were no significant effects of the mother by companion interaction either on the amount of play behavior in any of the tests or on the body weights of the calves. Presence of the mother after birth did not increase later playfulness, with the exception of higher spontaneous play at 12wk of age. When calves were housed in groups of 4, they played more in the home pen on wk 2 and 5 than individually housed calves of the same age. In contrast, individually housed calves were more playful during open-field tests and social tests on wk 2 and 5. At 8wk, single calves that were placed in a new pen with 3 unfamiliar calves played more than twice as much as grouped calves that were just moved to a new pen with familiar companions. These results show that single-housed calves are deprived of natural levels of play, as demonstrated by both their lower spontaneous play behavior and the higher rebound effect when they are exposed to larger spaces or larger spaces plus companions. Calves that stayed with their mothers for 4d postpartum grew much better until the end of the second week. After that, grouped calves grew better until wk 10 and they tended to be heavier for at least 2wk after relocation or mixing at wk 8. The study shows that brief maternal rearing and group housing independently improve different aspects of performance and welfare of dairy calves.

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Mother rearing of dairy calves: Reactions to isolation and to confrontation with an unfamiliar conspecific in a new environment

Cited by 59 publications

References 59 publications

The Psychology of Cows

The Psychology of Cows

Effects of mother versus artificial rearing during the first 12 weeks of life on challenge responses of dairy cows

The effect of age at separation from the dam and presence of social companions on play behavior and weight gain in dairy calves

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