Toward on-farm measurement of personality traits and their relationships to behavior and productivity of grazing dairy cattle

Abstract

There is growing evidence that animal personality is linked to a range of productivity traits in farm animals, including dairy cattle. To date, the methodology for assessing personality traits of dairy cattle is time consuming and often requires a test arena, which limits the opportunity for commercial farms to use personality traits of dairy cattle for individualized management. This study investigated whether personality traits of pastured dairy cattle, scored in short behavioral tests, are associated with daily behavioral patterns and milk production. Cows (n = 87) were exposed twice to each of 5 behavioral tests, where their responses to novel or putatively stressful situations were scored on an ordinal scale for investigative and reactive behavior toward a novel object and a novel human after exiting the milking parlor, response to restraint in a crush, avoidance distance from an approaching human in the paddock, and response to milking (step-kick behavior). Most behavior test scores were consistent over the 2 test repeats (using repeatability estimates, Mann-Whitney U test of difference between repeats, and Spearman rank correlation). Behavior test scores were subjected to a principal components analysis that revealed intertest relationships in 3 factors of correlated sets of test scores, interpreted as personality traits (fearful of humans, calm-investigative, and reactive to milking). Regression analyses determined how these traits were associated with daily grazing, ruminating, and lying behaviors, and milk production (after controlling for cow age, breed, lactation status, group, and climate variables). Cows that were more fearful of humans (high avoidance distance, reactive toward the novel human) had reduced lying time compared with cows that scored low on this trait. Cows that were more calm (during restraint) and investigative (toward the novel object) had greater grazing time, which likely contributed to their greater milk production compared with cows that scored low on this trait. Cows that were more reactive to milking produced less milk than cows that scored low on this trait. These results indicate that individual differences in daily behavior patterns and milk production of dairy cattle are associated with personality traits of cows, measured using several short behavioral tests. These methods may be useful for characterizing grazing dairy cattle on commercial farms, which could aid in understanding individual behavior patterns and provide opportunities for individualized management.

Is the temperament of crossbred dairy cows related to milk cortisol and oxytocin concentrations, milk yield, and quality?

“…We hypothesized that milking temperament would be related to milk yield based on previous studies reporting that cows who are more reactive to milking (measured by the number of steps and kicks) produced less milk [ 4 , 5 , 7 ]. Nevertheless, none of the milking temperament measures assessed in the present study were related to milk yield.…”

“…Studies have shown the importance of cattle temperament in livestock husbandry. Some studies have reported that calmer and more docile dairy cows in the milking parlor (milking temperament) produced greater milk yield [ 4 – 5 ], while others have found opposite results [ 6 , 7 ] or did not find any association between milking temperament and milk yield [ 8 , 9 ], showing a lack of consistency among results. It is important to highlight that these articles used different methods to assess milking temperament.…”

“…It is important to highlight that these articles used different methods to assess milking temperament. Hedlund and Løvlie [ 10 ]; Marçal-Pedroza et al [ 11 ]; and Neave et al [ 5 ] used the number of steps and kicks as measures of reactivity during milking procedure. Breuer et al [ 4 ]; Sutherland et al [ 8 ]; Sutherland and Huddart [ 9 ] measured reactivity based on the intensity of leg movements, whereas Gergovska et al [ 6 , 12 ] and Sawa et al [ 7 ] assigned subjective temperament scores.…”

Early-life contact with non-maternal adult cows and a pasture-based rearing environment influence behavioural responses of dairy heifers to novelty

“…Sustained and excessive stress can, furthermore, lead to chronic stress with negative welfare and productivity outcomes (Forkman et al 2007 ). ‘Boldness’, meanwhile, has been correlated positively with growth rates of beef cattle, while dairy cattle deemed ‘fearful’ appear to have reduced milk production (Breuer et al 2000 ; Biro & Stamps 2008 ; Hedlund & Løvlie 2015 ; Neave et al 2022 ).…”

Alternative Practices in Organic Dairy Production and Effects on Animal Behavior, Health, and Welfare

“…In a review of literature on behavioral differences between cows housed with and without pasture access, Charlton and Rutter [ 14 ] suggested that the pasture environment may alleviate some animal health issues that are aggravated in total indoor confinement systems, such as lameness and hock lesions possibly caused by exposure to hard (e.g., concrete) flooring and resting areas. Alternatively, the pasture environment can introduce other challenges that may jeopardize animal welfare, such as biting flies [ 15 , 16 ], heat stress [ 17 , 18 ], an increase in gastrointestinal parasites [ 19 ], and impairment of the human–animal relationship [ 20 , 21 ] in dairy cows.…”