Search

Tie-stalls are the most confining method of housing for dairy cows and remain commonly used to house cows in many countries. Finding methods to improve animal welfare through housing modifications and alternative management strategies are of increasing importance. Twelve tie-stall dairy farms in Ontario and Quebec, Canada were visited four times in a 12 month period. Visits were spread to observe the effects of pasture (visit 1), short-term effects of stall modifications (visit 2), effects of winter confinement (visit 3), and final measures after 1 year (visit 4). Lameness, injuries, cow cleanliness, lying and rising behaviors, and production parameters were assessed at each visit. Outdoor access had the largest effect: cows with access to pasture had a lower prevalence of various outcome measures throughout all four visits. Also, cows in modified stalls had a higher prevalence of dirty udders compared to cows in unmodified stalls, but only on farms that provided outdoor access. Although applying minor stall modifications to tie-stalls can help improve aspects of animal welfare, providing year-round outdoor access may represent a more effective method; the continued provision of time outside the stall helps maintain the positive impact of outdoor/pasture access on the welfare of tie-stall dairy cows.

Adequate time lying down is often considered an important aspect of dairy cow welfare. We examine what is known about cows' motivation to lie down and the consequences for health and other indicators of biological function when this behavior is thwarted. We review the environmental and animal-based factors that affect lying time in the context of animal welfare. Our objective is to review the research into the time that dairy cows spend lying down and to critically examine the evidence for the link with animal welfare. Cows can be highly motivated to lie down. They show rebound lying behavior after periods of forced standing and will sacrifice other activities, such as feeding, to lie down for an adequate amount of time. They will work, by pushing levers or weighted gates, to lie down and show possible indicators of frustration when lying behavior is thwarted. Some evidence suggests that risk of lameness is increased in environments that provide unfavorable conditions for cows to lie down and where cows are forced to stand. Lameness itself can result in longer lying times, whereas mastitis reduces it. Cow-based factors such as reproductive status, age, and milk production influence lying time, but the welfare implications of these differences are unknown. Lower lying times are reported in pasture-based systems, dry lots, and bedded packs (9 h/d) compared with tiestalls and freestalls (10 to 12 h/d) in cross-farm research. Unfavorable conditions, including too few lying stalls for the number of cows, hard or wet lying surfaces, inadequate bedding, stalls that are too small or poorly designed, heat, and rain all reduce lying time. Time constraints, such as feeding or milking, can influence lying time. However, more information is needed about the implications of mediating factors such as the effect of the standing surface (concrete, pasture, or other surfaces) and cow behavior while standing (e.g., being restrained, walking, grazing) to understand the effect of low lying times on animal welfare. Many factors contribute to the difficulty of finding a valid threshold for daily lying time to use in the assessment of animal welfare. Although higher lying times often correspond with cow comfort, and lower lying times are seen in unfavorable conditions, exceptions occur, namely when cows lie down for longer because of disease or when they spend more time standing because of estrus or parturition, or to engage in other behaviors. In conclusion, lying behavior is important to dairy cattle, but caution and a full understanding of the context and the character of the animals in question is needed before drawing firm conclusions about animal welfare from measures of lying time.

As part of a cross-sectional survey, Canadian dairy producers were asked a set of questions to (1) determine factors that influenced them to continue using manual milk feeding (MMF) systems or to switch to automated milk feeding (AMF) and (2) investigate producers’ perceived advantages and disadvantages regarding both feeding systems. A total of 670 responses were received. Among respondents, 16% used AMF and 84% used MMF. The four most frequent factors that producers reported as important in motivating them to switch to AMF were to raise better calves, offer more milk to calves, reduce labor, and improve working conditions. For MMF farms, investment in equipment and group housing facilities, as well as farm size, were the primary reasons reported for their continued use of MMF systems. The principal perceived advantages of having an AMF were that calves are able to express natural behaviors and drink more milk without increased labor input. For MMF systems, the main perceived advantage was related to easier identification of sick calves. Results provide insights into factors affecting the choice of calf feeding methods by dairy producers, and improve understanding of producers’ needs and expectations regarding calf management and adoption of technology.

There is increasing interest in keeping dairy cows with their calves during the milk feeding period, and in reducing distress associated with separation. The aim of this study was to investigate how nutritional dependence upon the cow’s milk affects behavioural responses to separation by both the cow and calf. For the first six weeks of life, dependent (n = 10) and semi-dependent (n = 10) calves could suckle from their mother at night, but semi-dependent calves also had ad libitum access to an automated milk feeder (AMF). Independent (n = 10) calves had ad libitum access to an AMF, and their dams wore udder nets to prevent nursing. Once cow and calf were separated, (first a 4 d period of partial separation with fence-line contact followed by total separation when the dam was removed), all calves had ad libitum access to the AMF. We used live, focal-animal observations and classified vocalizations either as high pitched (open mouth) or low pitched (closed mouth). We found that during partial and total separation, independent calves produced fewer high-pitched vocalizations/d than did dependent and semi-dependent calves combined (median: 0.00 vs. 7.2; U = 12.0, z = −3.21, P = 0.001 and 0.00 vs. 0.00; U = 40.5, z = −2.25, P = 0.024 for the two phases respectively) and also tended to produce fewer low-pitched vocalizations during partial separation (0.00 vs. 1.17; U = 29.5, z = −1.90, P = 0.057). Similarly, independent cows tended to produce fewer high-pitched calls during partial separation (0.00 vs. 1.08; U = 31.5, −1.74, P = 0.083) as compared to semi-dependent and dependent cows combined. During the separation phases, 23 calves (four, nine and ten calves) of dependent, semi-dependent and independent treatments, respectively, consumed at least 1.5 L/d from the AMF; these calves spent more time playing (s) (total separation; 3.67 vs. 0.00; U = 28, z = −1.99, P = 0.047) and less time close to the separation barrier (partial separation; 51.31-81.01-124.44 vs. 134.03-147.23-280.10), produced fewer high-pitched vocalizations during partial separation (0.00 vs. 8.33; U = 16, z = −2.22, P = 0.027), and tended to produce fewer low-pitched vocalizations (0.00 vs. 0.83; U = 21.5, z = −1.73, P = 0.083), than did calves consuming less milk from the AMF. The number of high-pitched vocalizations produced was negatively correlated with the calf’s milk intake (partial separation; Spearman’s r = −0.770, P

Data on management practices used with automated milk feeders (AMF) are needed to identify factors associated with calf health in these systems. The objectives of this observational, longitudinal, cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of calf diarrhea (CD) and bovine respiratory disease (BRD), and to identify factors associated with prevalence of these diseases at the pen level on dairy farms feeding milk to group-housed calves with AMF. Seventeen dairy farms with AMF in Ontario, Canada, were visited 4 times, seasonally, over 1 yr. The clinical health of all calves (n = 1,488) in pens (n = 35) with AMF was scored to identify the number of calves with CD and BRD. Data on calf, feeder, and pen management practices were analyzed using generalized linear mixed regression models for each disease. Overall calf-level prevalence of CD and BRD were 23 and 17%, respectively. Median (interquartile range, IQR) within-pen prevalence of CD and BRD were 17% (7 to 37%) and 11% (0 to 28%), respectively. Median age (IQR) for diarrheic calves was 25 d (16 to 42 d), and for calves with BRD was 43 d (29 to 60 d). Factors associated with lower within-pen prevalence of CD were the administration of vitamin E and selenium at birth [odds ratio (OR) = 0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32 to 0.99], feeding of probiotics (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.93), and adding fresh bedding every 2 to 3 d (OR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.76) compared with every 7 or more days. In contrast, sharing air with older cattle (>9 mo old) was associated with increased within-pen prevalence of CD (OR = 4.54, 95% CI: 1.88 to 10.52). Additionally, total bacteria counts ≥100,000 cfu/mL in milk samples taken from the AMF mixing jar were associated with increased within-pen prevalence of CD during the summer visit (OR = 3.34; 95% CI: 1.31 to 8.54). Increased total solids in milk or milk replacer (OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.85) and feeding whole milk versus milk replacer (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.75) were associated with lower within-pen prevalence of BRD. Factors associated with greater within-pen prevalence of BRD were sharing air with weaned cattle up to 8 mo old (OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.26 to 8.16), and greater depth of the wet bedding pack. The use of maternity pens for reasons other than just calving was associated with increased prevalence of both CD and BRD (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.03 to 3.33; OR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.21 to 5.58, respectively). These results suggest that isolation from older animals and frequent cleaning of the feeder and pen may help to reduce disease prevalence in group-housed calves fed with an AMF.

Dairy calves in North America traditionally are housed individually and fed by manual milk feeding (MMF) systems with buckets or bottles. Automated milk feeders (AMF) allow for more natural milk feeding frequencies and volumes, and calves are usually housed in groups. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the prevalence of various milk-fed calf management and feeding practices and (2) compare these practices between dairy farms using MMF and AMF systems. A national online survey was performed from January to May 2015 to quantify management practices for the care of milk-fed dairy calves in Canada. A total of 670 responses were received (6% of all dairy farms in Canada). Among respondents, 16% used AMF and 84% used MMF. Seventy percent of the farms using AMF had freestall barns compared with only 48% of those using MMF. A greater proportion of AMF farms (30%) also had automatic milking systems (AMS) compared with MMF farms (8%). Among tiestall farms, a herd size of >80 milking cows was associated with having an AMF [odds ratio (OR) = 3.8; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6–11.4]. For freestall or bedded-pack farms, a herd size of >80 milking cows (OR = 3.5; CI: 1.8–6.6), having an AMS (OR = 3.1; CI: 1.6–5.7), and use of cow brushes (OR = 3.1; CI: 1.3–6.9) were associated with having an AMF. Calves fed with AMS typically were housed in groups of 10 to 15, whereas almost 76% of the farms with MMF housed calves individually. Although both AMF and MMF farms fed similar amounts of milk in the first week of life (median = 6 L/d), the cumulative volume fed in the first 4 wk differed significantly, with a median of 231 versus 182 L for AMF and MMF, respectively. Median peak milk allowance was higher for AMF than for MMF (10 vs. 8 L/d, respectively). In summary, farms using AMF were larger, provided more milk to calves, and used more automation in general (i.e., in other areas of their operation). These data provide insights into calf-rearing practices across Canada and into how the use of AMF is affecting calf feeding and management on dairy farms.

Play behaviour is an indicator of good welfare in young calves and is reduced by low energy intake and weaning off milk. There is renewed interest in keeping calves longer with the cow but separation leads to signs of distress, such as vocalizations. Providing calves with an alternative milk source prior to separation helps them adapt to the separation. We hypothesized that (1) locomotor play of nursed calves separated from their mothers will reflect their energy intake after separation, and (2) calves’ prior access to automated milk feeders will increase locomotor play and reduce vocalizations after separation due to an increased energy intake. 30 Holstein cows and their calves were kept in adjacent pens. “Suckling-only” calves were allowed to suckle the cow during the night and received no other milk, “Milk-feeder only” calves could obtain 12 L/day milk only from an automated milk feeder while “Suckling-and-milk-feeder” calves could suckle during the night and were allowed 12 L/day of milk from an automated milk feeder. At 6 weeks of age, calves were not allowed to enter the cow pen during the night but had access to automated milk and grain feeders. To measure locomotor play, we placed the calves individually in a 9.5 m × 2 m arena for 10 min, 10 times before and after separation. The frequency of jumping and vocalization were scored. Digestible energy (DE) intakes of the calves after separation were calculated from combined milk and grain intake. Before separation, there were no differences between the treatment groups on any behavioural measure (P > 0.10). For Suckling-only calves, there was a marked decrease in the frequency of jumping (Wilcoxon test, P = 0.02) and a marked increase in the frequency of vocalization during the first 3 days after separation (P = 0.004). During the first 3 days of separation, Suckling-only calves had a lower frequency of jumping (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.009) and vocalized more frequently (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.009) than did calves of the other treatment groups. For all calves, the number of vocalization was negatively correlated with frequency of jumping (rs = −0.51; P = 0.005). After separation, Suckling-only calves had lower energy intakes than calves of the other treatment groups (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.01) and the digestible energy intake of the calves was positively correlated with the frequency of jumping (rs = 0.75; P

The time that dairy cows spend lying down is an important measure of their comfort and lameness and injuries to hocks and knees are associated with alterations in lying time. We examined whether automated measures of lying time could identify cows and farms with problems of lameness or leg lesions. Data were collected from 40 lactating Holstein dairy cows from each of 100 tie-stall farms. The occurrence of lameness, hock and knee injuries was recorded and lying times were recorded automatically using accelerometers. There was large variation between individual cows, and between farms in all measures of lying time. At the cow level, there was no relationship ( P >0.10) between being lame and daily duration of lying time. A lower daily duration of lying time was found among cows with hock injuries (mean±SE: non-injured=12.79±0.06h, injured=12.21±0.06h; P P =0.04) than those without lesions. The median daily duration of lying time on a farm was negatively correlated with the prevalence of lameness ( r p =−0.27, P =0.006), of hock injuries ( r p =−0.35, P =0.003) and of knee injuries ( r p =−0.28, P =0.004). A canonical discriminant function with canonical coefficients of 0.63 for mean daily duration of lying down, and of 0.54 for mean bout frequency could correctly identify 72% of the farms that were above the median for percent of cows with hock or knee injuries or being lame (linear discriminant function: constant=−95.10, daily duration=11.39, bout frequency=4.83) and 68% of the farms below the median (linear discriminant function: constant=−106.95, daily duration=11.92, bout frequency=5.30) (Wilks Lambda test P =0.002). A criterion of a median lying time between 12h and 13h alone could identify over 60% of farms above or below the median for lameness, hock and knee lesion prevalence. Automated measures of lying time may be a useful animal-based measure to indicate farms with a high percentage of lame cows or cows with leg lesions.

Group housing of dairy calves with automated milk feeders (AMF) is increasingly being used, but the effect of introducing calves to the AMF at a very young age (

Dairy calves are often separated from the cow soon after birth and prevented from nursing, but little is known about the effects of nursing on the development of the cow–calf bond. This study evaluated the effect of nursing on affiliative behaviours between the dam and her calf including allogrooming, proximity and latency to reunite after a period of separation. Holstein cow–calf pairs were randomly allocated to three treatments differing only in nutritional dependency on the dam: milk feeder ( n = 10 pairs), combined ( n = 10 pairs) or nursing ( n = 10 pairs). Milk feeder calves could feed ad libitum from an automated milk-feeder, combined calves could suckle from their dams at night and could feed ad libitum from an automated milk feeder and nursing calves could suckle from their dams at night. Cows and calves were kept together during the night (between 20:00 h and 08:00 h) and were housed adjacent to each other during the day (between 08:00 h and 20:00 h). Direct live observations were performed 2 h following the opening of the gate that allowed calves to mix with cows at night. All pairs spent more time (% of observations) allogrooming each other (i.e. own cow/calf) than they did grooming other cows and calves within the same group (10 ± 0.8% vs. 0.4 ± 0.7%, t 29 = 168.8, P F 2, 27 = 0.4, P = 0.696). Similarly, time spent in close proximity without nursing did not differ among treatments; 31 ± 2.6%, F 2, 27 = 0.6, P = 0.543). The percentage of occasions a pair did not reunite (i.e. not observed within 1 m of each other within 3 min) was 23% for the milk feeder pairs, 38% for the combined pairs and 32% for the nursing pairs ( χ 2 = 3.9, P = 0.415). Nevertheless suckling from another cow than own dam was observed at least once by 19 of the 20 calves that were allowed to suckle. Latency to reunite (among pairs that did so within 180 s) was highest for the combined pairs and tended to be lower for milk feeder and nursing calves; 52.5 ± 16.0, 23.3 ± 8.3 and 12.9 ± 5.8; F 2, 24 = 3.1, P = 0.062). These results indicate that dam and calf form a bond independent of nursing.

The accumulation of faeces and urine in dairy barns is a cause of cattle and human health concerns and environmental problems. It is usually assumed that cattle are not capable of controlling defecation and urination. We tested whether calves could be taught to urinate in a location using either classical or operant conditioning. Twenty-four female Holstein calves were alternately assigned as treatment or control (experiment 1: n = 12, median age, range = 39, 31–50 days; experiment 2: n = 12, median age, range = 50, 29–64 days). Experiment 1 used classical conditioning, involving repeated pairing of entry into a stall and injection of a diuretic. During the training period (days 1–5) treatment calves were repeatedly placed in the stall (150 cm × 45 cm × 120 cm) and injected IV with diuretic (at 0.5 mL/kg BW) to induce urination. During the test period (days 6–15) calves were held in the stall for 10 min without diuretic injection, and urinations, defecations and vocalisations were recorded. The procedure was identical for control calves except saline was used in place of a diuretic. In the test period, the classically conditioned calves did not urinate more than controls (means ± SE: 4.3 ± 1.28 vs. 6.0 ± 1.41, for treatment and control calves, respectively). In experiment 2, calves were trained using operant conditioning. On training days, operant calves were placed in the stall, received IV of diuretic (at 0.5 mL/kg BW) and, upon urination, were released from the stall to receive approximately 250 mL of milk reward. On test days, calves were placed in the stall but did not receive the diuretic; calves that urinated received the milk reward but calves failing to urinate within 15 min were given 5 min “time out” and received diuretic the following day. Yoked controls were never given diuretic but held in the stall for the same amount of time and received the same “reward” or “punishment” as their matched operant calf the previous day. Urinations, defecations and vocalisations occurring in the stall on test days were compared between treatment calves and controls. Calves trained using operant conditioning had a higher frequency of urinations in the stall than their controls (means ± SE = 5.25 ± 0.95 vs. 2.32 ± 0.52). The results of our experiment show it may be feasible to train cattle to urinate in specific areas using operant conditioning.

Group housing of dairy calves with automated milk feeders has likely welfare and labour saving advantages but delays in the calves adapting to the feeding system may reduce these advantages. We examined factors that influence calves’ adaptation to the feeders. In Exp. 1, 77 Holstein calves were reared in individual “baby” pens with free access to milk from a teat attached to a bucket for 5–6 d after birth. Milk intakes and weight gains were recorded and accelerometers measured the time spent standing. After 6 d, the calves were introduced to group pens with automated feeders. Latency to the first voluntary milk ingestion, milk intakes and weight gains were recorded. In the group pens, approx. 70% of calves ingested milk during the first voluntary visit to the milk feeder, but a large variation was found in the latency to the first voluntary ingestion of milk (10–240 h). Milk intakes were significantly lower on the first day in the group pen than in the baby pens ( P r = −0.29, P = 0.02). Latency to the first voluntary milk intake in the group pen was negatively correlated with body weight at introduction to the group pen ( r = −0.25, P = 0.05) and the duration of standing in the baby pen ( r = −0.30, P = 0.02). In Exp. 2, 55 Holstein calves were housed for 8–14 d after birth either individually in single baby pens or as pairs in double baby pens (with milk supplied ad libitum through teats attached to buckets) and then transferred to group pens (as in Exp. 1). There were no differences between calves housed in single or double baby pens on the latency to first voluntary milk intake after group housing ( P > 0.10). The latency to first voluntary milk ingestion in the group pens was negatively correlated with milk intake over 6 d in the group pens ( r = −0.38, P = 0.03). When data from the two experiments were combined, latency to the first milk intake in the group pens was negatively correlated with age at time of introduction to the group pens ( r = −0.23, P = 0.009) and duration of standing in the baby pens ( r = −0.21, P = 0.02). There are large differences between calves in how quickly they learn to use automated milk feeders and a delay in learning to use the feeder is associated with lower milk intakes over 1–2 weeks. Pair housing immediately after birth did not help. Younger calves at the time of introduction are more likely to take longer to adapt than older calves but many 6 d old calves adapt quickly, especially those that show high vigour in the first week after birth.

A better understanding of when and where group-housed calves are most likely to defecate or urinate might permit improved housing design or more efficient use of cleaning routines. However, this is the first study to address the urination and defecation habits of calves. The primary aims of this study were to report the daily frequency of calves' urination and defecation and determine when and where group-housed dairy calves defecate and urinate most frequently. We were also interested to see if incidence of urination and defecation changed with increasing age and the change in diet at weaning. We observed 36 female Holstein calves, housed in groups of 9, and fed milk, grain, and hay from automated feeders. For the purposes of another experiment, these calves were assigned to 1 of 3 experimental treatments relating to age at start of weaning and milk allowance: low milk allowance and early weaning (6 L/d, 42 d), high milk allowance and early weaning (12 L/d, 42 d), and high milk allowance and late weaning (12 L/d, 84 d) The occurrence of defecations and urinations was determined by continuous observation of video recordings taken over 72 h at 2 age periods (age, mean ± SD; period 1=32.0 ± 11.13 d and period 2=61 ± 11.29 d). Due to the treatments, weaned and unweaned calves were observed in each period (period 1: 34 unweaned and 2 weaned calves; period 2: 16 unweaned and 20 weaned calves). Large differences were found between calves in mean daily frequency of total urinations and defecations across a 3-d period (mean=17.56 ± 5.07/d, range=4.33 to 28.67). Differences between individual calves did not change significantly over time, provided calves remained unweaned. Two days of observation was sufficient to give a reliable estimate of daily urination and defecation frequency. Frequency of urination and defecations was higher in calves postweaning. Higher age and visits to the milk feeder were associated with a higher frequency of urinations and defecations preweaning. After weaning, frequency of eliminations increased with increasing visits to the water feeder. An effect of time of day was observed, with significantly more events during daylight hours (0600-1800 h) in comparison to night (1800-0600 h). Before weaning, calves urinated and defecated significantly more on slatted flooring and sawdust-bedded areas than within the feeder (daily mean ± SD=6.96 ± 3.15, 6.49 ± 3.90, and 4.10 ± 2.67 for slatted floor, bedded floor, and feeder areas, respectively). Frequency of eliminations in feeders and slatted, but not sawdust-bedded, areas was higher in calves postweaning. Calves urinate and defecate more frequently during daylight hours when they are more active. Slatted flooring around feeders is useful to reduce soiling of bedded areas, particularly as calves increase in age.

a b s t r a c t When calves are placed in an open arena, they perform locomotor play, which provides a time-efficient means of assessing playfulness. To use this as a method of assessing welfare, we need to relate playfulness to other welfare indicators and understand what factors influence results. The novelty of the arena, the ages of the calves, and the size of the enclosure relative to the calf’s home pen can have important effects. We placed veal calves for 15 min in a novel (11 m × 3.2 m) arena and measured the frequency of jumping and the duration of running. To determine whether fearfulness or exploratory behaviour mediates changes in locomotor play, we measured vocalization, defecation, sniffing and latency to enter the arena. In exp. 1, 24 calves were assigned to two feed levels. At about 6 weeks of age, calves on the high feed level did less jumping and running (P < 0.05) but there were no differences in sniffing, defecating or latency to enter the arena. Sniffing was correlated (P < 0.05) with both jumping (r = 0.46) and running (r = 0.56) while the latency to enter the arena was negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with jumping (r = −0.64) and running (r = −0.58). Defecation was not correlated with either running or jumping. There were no effects of feed level at week 10. In exp. 2, 48 calves were housed either in pens (2.1 × 1.8 m) or in stalls (0.65 × 1.8 m) to examine the effects of spatial restriction. When released into the arena, calves in stalls did more running and jumping than those in pens (P < 0.05) with no differences in sniffing, defecating or mooing. When calves in stalls were placed in a pen for 15 min before being placed in the arena, there was a reduction in running and jumping which resulted in calves in stalls running less than calves in pens (P < 0.05). Running and jumping increased with age, and this was associated with increased sniffing. The effect of novelty and age on locomotor play is mediated by the calves’ levels of exploratory behaviour, with calves that show more exploration doing more play. Among younger calves, fear tends to reduce playfulness, but the effects are not strong. Spatial restriction in the home pen results in a rebound in locomotor play in the arena, which is not related to exploration or fearfulness.

We compared 2 methods for identifying lame cows and estimating the prevalence of lameness in tiestalls. Cows (n=320) in 9 tiestall herds were scored as lame both by the presence of limping while walking and by stall lameness scores (SLS). The SLS was based on the number of the following behaviors that the cow showed while standing in the tiestall: weight shifting, standing on the edge of the stall, uneven weight bearing while standing, and uneven weight bearing while moving from side to side. Two observers watched video-recordings of the cows. Intraobserver agreements for the 4 SLS behaviors ranged from 92 to 100%, and interobserver agreement ranged from 81 to 100%. The overall prevalence of lameness based on an SLS of ≥2 was similar to that of limping (39 vs. 40%). The sensitivity of the classification based on the SLS was 0.63 and the specificity was 0.77 in identifying cows with a limp; accuracy varied across farms from 62.2 to 80.4%, with a mean of 71.7%. A cow with an SLS of ≥2 had 4.88 times the odds of limping than a cow with an SLS of2. The prevalence of lameness on farms based on SLS was highly correlated with the prevalence of limping (Pearson correlation=0.88; n=9), and prevalence estimates from the 2 methods diverged most when the mean herd prevalence was lower. The SLS method provides an estimate of the prevalence of lameness in tiestall herds comparable with traditional gait scoring, but does not require that the cows be untied. The SLS method could be used to improve lameness detection on tiestall farms and obtain estimates of lameness prevalence without the need to walk the cows.

Manure is an important cause of dirtiness and disease for cows and can affect milk quality and human health. The aim of this study was to test whether we could stimulate cows to defecate at a particular location in order to reduce the spread of manure. A series of four tests with 12 lactating Holstein cows (days in milk=137.5±17.5 days, parity=3.3±1.5) was conducted. In Test 1, cows walked through either an empty footbath or one filled with water (21°C) following a balanced order with one treatment per day, for 6 days. Cows were more likely to defecate when walked through the water filled footbath (67% vs 42% of tests: P =0.04). In Test 2, the cows stood for 2min either in an empty footbath or in a footbath filled with still water or with running water, with one treatment per day, for 9 days. In Test 3, the cows stood for 2min in an empty footbath with nothing, air or water sprayed on their feet, with one treatment per day, for 9 days. No significant treatment differences were found for Tests 2 and 3 ( P >0.10). After Test 3, we repeated one repetition of Test 1 (Test 4) but no treatment differences were found at that point ( P >0.10). None of our tests reliably stimulated defecation, which seemed to occur most when cows were exposed to novelty.

The use of play as an indicator of animal welfare shows promise, and an arena test is one method used to assess how different procedures or housing conditions affect calves’ motivation to perform locomotor play. However, it is unclear if this test reflects play in the home pen. In addition, the specific conditions of this test, including timing of the tests and design of the arena, vary between studies; the consequence of these differences in methodology is largely unknown. In a series of experiments, we explored the relationship between play in the home pen and arena (Experiment 1), how testing on consecutive versus alternate days (Experiment 2) and size and shape of the arena (Experiment 3) affected performance of play behavior. In all experiments running duration was continuously recorded. Additionally, the number of bucks, jumps, and kicks were recorded in the second and third experiments. On average, play in the arena reflected play in the home environment ( r ≥ 0.56, P ≤ 0.002). However, neither play in the home pen nor the arena was consistent from day-to-day. In both the first and second experiments, frequency and duration of running were, on average, three times greater during the initial exposure to the arena than in subsequent tests, which may reflect calves’ reaction to novelty or an increase in motivation to play due to restriction in the home pen. Conducting arena tests on alternate, rather than on consecutive, days had no effect on play. In contrast, calves spent more time running in larger (60 m 2 vs. 30 m 2 ; ranked means: 41 ± 3.0 vs. 32 ± 3.0 rank of s/15 min, P = 0.034; true means: 19 vs. 8 s/15 min) and longer pens (twice the length; ranked means: 40.6 ± 3.0 vs. 32.4 ± 3.0 rank of s/15 min, P = 0.054; true means: 18 vs. 9 s/15 min). This is likely due to the greater distance available for uninterrupted running in the larger and longer spaces. Calves tended to jump more often in the small pens (ranked means: 40.6 ± 3.0 vs. 32.4 ± 3.0 rank of times/15 min, P = 0.066; true means: 3 vs. 2 times/15 min), possibly because less space is required to perform this behavior. We found that while arena tests offer a promising tool for measuring play, caution is needed when interpreting these results, as more play is seen during the first exposure to this environment than in subsequent exposures, as well as in larger and longer arenas.

Play may be a behavioural indicator of positive emotions in young animals, but in calves spontaneous play is time consuming to record. We examined whether measures of acceleration of calves in a large enclosure could detect effects on play running of age, dehorning and weaning off milk. Holstein calves were placed in an arena for 15 min and their running, jumping/kicking and walking were recorded from video. Accelerometers were attached to one hind leg and the summed acceleration was recorded. In Exp. 1, 24 calves were placed in the arena the days before and after being dehorned on d4 of age with caustic paste and sedation or as control calves. Prior to and after dehorning, there was a strong positive correlation between the duration of running and the total acceleration ( r s > 0.77; P P = 0.049) and a smaller total acceleration ( P = 0.031) than control calves and the duration of running was positively correlated with total acceleration ( r s = 0.78; P r s > 0.84; P P P r s = 0.83; P P P = 0.09). The summed acceleration was strongly correlated with the duration of running ( r s = 0.88; P r s = 0.44; P = 0.008). Age, dehorning and weaning all affected the amount of running the calves did in the arena, and measures of acceleration could be used to automatically estimate the duration of play running suggesting this was a time-efficient way of detecting the calves’ locomotor play.

Lying behaviour is a useful indicator of cow comfort, but can be time consuming to measure. Data loggers are commonly used to automatically record behavioural activity but may influence the animal's behaviour. We investigated the effect of a new model of the IceTag data logger (IceTag Sensor, IceRobotics© Ltd, Edinburgh, UK) on lying behaviour of forty dairy cows. Smaller Hobo ® Pendant G data loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, Pocasset, MA) were attached to the hindlegs of all cows balanced for left and right and measured total duration of lying time, frequency and mean duration of lying bouts and the percent of time lying down on each side. Sixteen cows were semi-randomly split into two groups depending on the position of the IceTags on the inside of the leg (medial) or the outside (lateral). Each cow experienced four treatments in a Latin square design: no IceTag data logger attached as a control (C); one IceTag data logger on the left hind leg (L), one IceTag data logger on the right hind leg (R), and a IceTag data logger on both hind legs (B). Each treatment lasted for 6 days. As part of a separate study, lying laterality data from 24 cows with an IceTag data logger attached to the lateral part of each hindleg was used. On average, cows ( n = 39) spent 47.5% of their time lying on the right side during a 24-h period. However, there was a large variation of time spent lying on the right side ranging from 25.1% to 65.7%. There was no significant effect of IceTag location (medial or lateral) or treatment (C, L, R, B) on total lying time, frequency of lying time, duration of lying bouts or percentage of time lying on each side. In summary, IceTags did not affect lying behaviour in dairy cows, allowing them to be reliably used in research as a high tech tool to measure activity. Overall as a group, cows show no preference for lying on one particular side, but individual cows do show a distinct preference.

To examine the effects of milk allowance and weaning age on cross-sucking, 45 dairy calves were housed in groups of nine and fed milk and grain-based starter feed from automated feeders and allocated to three treatment groups: (A) Low-Milk Early-Weaned (fed 6 L/d of milk until weaned at 47 d of age), (B) High-Milk Early-Weaned (fed 12 L/d of milk until weaned at 47 d of age), (C) High-Milk Later-Weaned (fed 12 L/d of milk until weaned at 89 d of age). We observed all instances of cross-sucking another calf during 12 h/d over 18 d between wk 5 and wk 21. When all calves were drinking milk, little cross-sucking occurred and was not related to milk allowance (P > 0.10). There was no significant change in the duration of cross-sucking when calves were weaned at either age (P > 0.10). There were large differences between individual calves in the duration of cross-sucking performed and these were stable over time, with positive correlations between the duration of cross-sucking in consecutive weekly periods (0.33

The objective of this study was to investigate behavioural changes in Holstein heifers caused by exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) administration. Twelve 11-month-old heifers were submitted to either a single saline or ACTH injection and then the treatments were switched after 3 days (n = 12 heifers/treatment). Heifers were in full view throughout the experimental period and recordings started immediately after ACTH and saline administration (injection corresponded to time 0 min), with general activity patterns of each heifer recorded on videotape for 24 h. Behavioural results during the first two experimental hours showed that heifers were less active and spent more time lying following ACTH than after saline treatment (P = 0.04). Also, heifers spent significantly less time ruminating immediately following ACTH injection (P = 0.05). However, feed intake measured after 4 and 24 h was similar between treatments (P > 0.05). Overall, there was no significant influence of ACTH treatment on frequency or duration of behaviours during the 4- and 24-h periods following injection (P > 0.05). The rapid and minimal effect of ACTH injection on behaviour suggests that peripheral administration of ACTH can be used to measure reactivity of the adrenal cortex without inducing biologically significant consequences.

We observed housed dairy calves nursed by their dam to examine the development of sucking, teat change, butting, manipulating and other behaviours during the first four weeks post partum. The study herd was kept in a deep litter system with access to an out-door area. The nursing cows were milked two to three times daily and calves could suckle them at will. Twelve cow–calf pairs were followed to obtain video recordings of two nursings per pair at 7, 14 and 28 days post partum. Videos were analysed for the duration and frequency of all observable behaviours within a nursing. The nursings lasted on average 7.2min ranging from 2.8 to 16.3min. Sucking made up 66% of the total nursing time and occurred throughout the nursing. Total sucking and butting were higher at the beginning of the nursing and decreased towards the end. Older calves had longer nursing durations ( p p p p p p

We examined which calves within a group were the recipients of cross-sucking, whether this was related to body weight or feeding behaviour, and whether cross-sucking served to displace calves from the feeders. Forty-five Holstein dairy calves housed in groups of nine and fed by computer-controlled feeders were used. Calves were fed either 6 L/d or 12 L/d of milk and gradually (over 9 d) weaned off milk either by d47 or d89. Cross-sucking was recorded continuously for 12 h/d on 2 d at approximately 37 d, 47 d, 79 d and 89 d of age. Data on feeding behaviour were collected automatically by the feeders. There were large differences between calves in the duration of time being cross-sucked. There was a moderate positive correlation across calves in the duration of being cross-sucked and the duration of cross-sucking another calf. The top quartile of calves that were cross-sucked accounted for 68% of the total duration of cross-sucking. These calves had significantly higher bodyweights and spent more time in the milk feeders than the lowest quartile at most ages, but no difference was found in the time spent in the starter feeders. The calves were most often cross-sucked in the sawdust-bedded area at d37 and d47 and in the feeder areas at d79 and d89, but only a minority of cross-sucking occurred while the calf was actually in a feeder. In 80% of the episodes of cross-sucking that occurred when the recipient was in a feeder, the receiver remained in the feeder. Cross-sucking rarely resulted in a calf being displaced from a feeder. We concluded that larger calves that spend more time in the feeders seem to be at a higher risk for being cross-sucked but that cross-sucking does not serve to displace animals from the feeders.

To examine the effect of gradually weaning calves off milk on cross-sucking, and the relationship between cross-sucking and energy intake, 32 Holstein calves were housed in groups of four and allowed 12 L/d of milk until the process of weaning began. The process of weaning was either abrupt at 41 d of age or gradual, taking place over 22 d, 10 d or 4 d so that weaning was completed at 41 d of age. Digestible energy intake (DE) was calculated from milk and starter intakes. The calves were observed for 6 d before weaning was complete and for 3 d after weaning was complete, and the duration of all instances of cross-sucking during 8 h/d was recorded. The frequency of vocalizations during 2 h/d after weaning was also recorded. There were no differences between male and female calves in the duration of cross-sucking. Before weaning began and the calves were drinking their full allowance of milk, very little cross-sucking occurred. However, when calves began to be weaned, cross-sucking increased, and cross-sucking during the period before weaning was completed was highest for calves gradually weaned over 22 d compared to the other three treatments (median duration = 12 min/d vs

We examined the effects of milk allowance and weaning on the duration of play running in group-housed dairy calves. Our predictions were that (1) calves on a lower milk allowance would run less than calves on a higher allowance; and (2) running would decrease at weaning, especially in calves weaned earlier rather than later. Milk allowance and age of weaning were varied across three treatments: ‘6L-early weaned' (fed 6L/d of milk and weaned at 7 weeks of age), ‘12L-early weaned' (fed 12L/d of milk and weaned at 7 weeks), and ‘12L-later weaned' (fed 12L/d of milk and weaned at 13 weeks). Weaning occurred gradually over 9 days. Calves were observed for 2 days at each of six ages (3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 weeks) and their average daily duration of running at each age was calculated. At 3 weeks, the 6L-early weaned calves ran less than calves receiving 12L/d of milk ( P P =0.52). All treatments showed a drop in running at weaning but the decrease was more pronounced in the early-weaned calves (both P s P =0.06). At 3 weeks (before weaning) and at 7 and 13 weeks (immediately after weaning), there were positive correlations between digestible energy intake and duration of running ( r =0.48, 0.56, and 0.29, respectively, all P s

Low temperatures increase mortality of calves but we know little of calves’ abilities to thermoregulate. To examine effects of milk feeding level on thermoregulatory behaviour, 27 Holstein calves were housed for 3 d after birth in individual pens fitted with heat lamps at one end to provide a thermal gradient. They were fed milk at a high (30% BW) or low (8% BW) daily allowance. Daily temperatures in the barn were 6.27 ± 3.12 °C, range: −5.46 °C to 16.63 °C. Temperature loggers were fitted to each calf to record ambient temperatures chosen by the calf. Video cameras recorded the calf's distance from the heat lamp and lying posture (on sternum or side, with legs extended or contracted) for 24 h/d, and records were scored every 20 min. Calves spent most time in the portion of the pen with heat lamps (Proc Mixed P 0.10). Calves tended to be closer to the heat lamp during the coldest periods of the day than during the warmer periods (P 0.10). Young calves show a preference for warmer environments but this preference does not interact with the amount of milk fed. Temperature recorders attached to the calves can measure calves’ thermal preferences. Calves did not thermoregulate through changes in resting posture.

Adequate sleep is important for the health and well being of animals but we lack non-invasive methods to record sleep states from group-housed, freely-moving farm animals. We used electrophysiological data (electroencephalography; EEG, electromyography; EMG, and electro-oculography; EOG) to characterize sleep states in calves and examined how well observations of resting behaviour were correlated with the electrophysiological data. We obtained 20 h of EEG, EMG and EOG recordings from each of six pair-housed dairy calves using an ambulatory EEG recording device, while recording their resting posture via direct observation. Visual scoring of the electrophysiological data was used to distinguish between awake, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep during 30 s epochs. Calves were asleep for a mean (±S.D.) 25% (±2.0) of all observations in 50 (±22) bouts of 5 (±2) min per day. NREM sleep composed 55% (±7) and REM sleep 45% (±7) of the calves’ total sleep time. Both types of sleep occurred in short bouts of 2–3 min. According to electrophysiological data, calves were awake during 81% (±9) of the 30 s-epochs when the calf was standing or resting with its head lifted up and moving. Observations of “the calf resting head lifted up still” predicted 55% (±9) of the epochs of NREM sleep. The best behavioural predictor of REM sleep was “the calf resting with neck relaxed”, which predicted 61% (±9) of the epochs of REMS. The calves’ resting body postures can successfully be used to estimate calves’ total duration of time asleep and duration of time spent in REM and NREM sleep states. However, there was less success in estimating the time spent in the different phases of sleep during each 30 s epoch. Electrophysiological data can be recorded non-invasively from freely-moving, group-housed calves and observations of resting behaviour can identify when calves are asleep, although further work is needed to use behaviour to identify the phases of sleep.

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the classical properties of social dominance describe the pattern of feeder-related displacements with groups of cattle. We also compared the advantages and disadvantages of three dominance indices for describing the competitive success at the feeder. We observed displacements at the feeder within six groups of 12 lactating dairy cows over 72 h per group. We demonstrated that the cattle in our experiment established a quasi-linear hierarchy at the feeder where many dominance relationships were bi-directional (52.0 +/- 5.9%); namely, dominance relationships were significantly linear (P < 0.05 in five of the six groups) but contained many circular triads (45.0 +/- 5.6%). Dominance rank influenced the milk production (r = 0.36, P = 0.002) and the time budget of the animals: high-ranking cows were found spending more time at the feeder during the 120 min following provision of fresh food than low-ranking cows (P = 0.022), but dominance indices based on the occurrence of displacements at the feeder did not correlate with actual time spent at the feeder. The presence of numerous circular triads and bi-directional relationships suggests that the classical properties of social dominance do not correspond to the pattern of displacements that occur at feeders within small groups of cattle. Instead, the competitive success may also be affected by motivation or persistence by the animal to gain access to the food resource.

Dairy calves are typically fed only about half of their ad libitum milk intake and are highly motivated to drink more milk. The aim of the current study was to describe the behaviours associated with milk hunger in dairy calves, by comparing animals fed restricted quantities of milk (two milk meals weighing a total of 10% of the calf's body weight; n = 12) or provided milk ad libitum (n = 12). Calves were kept in groups of four and observed from 8 to 14 days of age. Treatment was assigned within group using a computerized milk feeder. Calves fed milk ad libitum gained about four times more weight (P

To validate two methods for detecting lameness in cows, we gait scored lame and healthy lactating cows while walking and measured the percent of weight placed on each leg while standing, before and after injections of a local anaesthetic. Before injection, healthy cows had lower gait scores than did lame cows. Lame cows placed less weight on the injured leg and placed more weight on the contralateral leg than did healthy cows. The variability in weight applied to the injured and the contralateral leg was much higher for lame cows, suggesting more frequent shifting of weight. Lidocaine injections reduced gait scores, increased the percent of weight applied to the injured leg and reduced the variability in weight applied to the injured and contralateral legs in lame cows. The system of gait scoring and the measure of weight applied to each leg were both able to detect lame cows and were both sensitive to local anaesthetic, indicating some degree of validity. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cross sucking by dairy calves occurs most commonly before weaning, but is of most concern in older animals where it has been claimed to cause mastitis and udder damage. Providing ad libitum milk allowance via a teat and gradual weaning reduces cross sucking, but low levels of this behavior still persist. Our aims were to understand why this behavior persists in some calves after weaning off milk and to examine whether individuals which are cross sucked postweaning are more likely to sustain teat injury or develop mastitis during their first lactation. Fifty-six female Holstein calves were housed in groups of 8 and fed milk, grain, and hay ad libitum from automated feeders. During weaning, milk allowance was gradually reduced according to grain intake. Cross sucking was recorded using overhead video cameras (5 observation periods of 72h). The effects of weaning on cross sucking were examined; to examine whether cross sucking affected udder health, all incidences of damaged quarters or clinical and sub-clinical mastitis in the first lactation were recorded, as was milk production. The overall level of cross sucking after weaning, at 4 to 5mo of age, was low and a small proportion of individuals accounted for the majority of events. The duration of cross sucking that occurred at 4 to 5mo of age was correlated with the amount of cross sucking done before and immediately after weaning. After weaning, the calves that cross sucked did so on certain calves, with the most sucked calf within each pen accounting for 73.98% of all cross-sucking events. No relationship was found between cross sucking and being cross sucked in the period before weaning but a positive correlation was found by 4 to 5mo of age. The majority of calves reduced or ceased cross sucking after weaning. Individuals still observed to be cross sucking by 4 to 5mo of age had formed pairs with other cross-sucking individuals and cross-sucking events occurred almost exclusively between these pairs. Cows that were cross sucked as heifers were no more likely to develop mastitis or have higher somatic cell count in their first lactation than those which were not involved in cross sucking. Cross sucking typically begins before weaning, but the formation of lasting pairs of reciprocal cross-sucking partners after weaning may be responsible for this behavior persisting in group housed dairy calves after weaning off milk. Low levels of cross sucking did not appear to have a negative effect on udder health.

We examined the relationship between calves’ suckling behaviour at nursing, calves’ feeding motivation and milk availability. Dairy calves (six female and four male) suckled from their dams twice a day after milking from birth until 9 weeks old. By removing different amounts of milk from the udder during the milking prior to the nursing, we were able to control how much milk was available to the calf during nursing. Reducing milk availability led to lower milk ingestion but a longer duration of sucking in more frequent but shorter bouts and more butting and switching between teats. Increasing milk availability had the opposite effects although no extra milk was drunk compared to the control condition. By use of tube feeding or reducing the amount drunk during a previous meal, we were able to control the level of the calves’ feeding motivation at the nursing. Increasing the calves’ feeding motivation increased the duration of sucking and increased the amount of milk consumed by the calf. Reducing the calves’ hunger had the opposite effects. Calves’ suckling behaviour did not change between the ages of 2 and 9 weeks. The rate of sucking was not affected by either milk availability of feeding motivation. The results show that calves’ behaviour during nursing is a poor indicator of milk transfer but that calves are able to regulate milk intake during nursing. Butting and teat switching are likely signs of low milk flow rates. Allowing calves to nurse milked cows occasionally is a useful model to examine the effect of feeding motivation and milk availability on suckling behaviour. # 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

To examine the role of the various components of milk in stimulating non-nutritive sucking, 4–18 week-old male dairy calves ( N = 10–15 in each experiment) were allowed to suck a dry teat after being given small quantities of milk or reconstituted milk and their sucking behaviour was observed. We varied the composition of milk or reconstituted milk by adding or removing four components: casein, whey protein, lactose and fat. Increasing concentration of lactose increased non-nutritive sucking but increasing the concentration of casein, whey protein and fat had no effect. Removing casein, whey protein and fat had no effect. Increasing the concentration of all milk components increased non-nutritive sucking but omitting lactose prevented this from occurring. Use of lactase (to break down lactose into glucose and galactose) did not affect non-nutritive sucking. Non-nutritive sucking can be enhanced by the taste of milk and the sugar components of milk are most effective in doing this. The protein and fat components appear to play little role.

Research has documented the effect that stockmanship has on animal welfare and shown that rough handling of animals can make them fearful of people. Interest has arisen in using measures of animals’ responses to people in on-farm welfare assessment. In this article, we discuss some of the unresolved issues that lead us to doubt whether current measures of animals’ responses to people can be used effectively in on-farm welfare audits. These include: uncertainty as to the best type of measure to be used, the low level of reliability of some tests, difficulties in establishing a clear cut-off point, and questions about the validity of the measures arising from effects due to the identity of the test person, the location of the test, the influence of motivations other than fear, and poor correspondence with type of handling actually used on farms.

ei saatavilla

We examined whether very young dairy calves are able to discriminate between two people, and whether they use the colour of clothing or other indices to do so. During the familiarisation phase, one person (the familiar rewarder), who always wore the same colour clothes, gave milk, spoke gently and patted the calves in their individual pen for 6 days each week. During the test phase, the calf had to make a choice in an Y-maze placed in front of the gate of its stall. When the calves chose the familiar rewarder, they received 200 ml of milk as reinforcement. When they made the incorrect choice, they received nothing and were returned to their stall. On each test day, the calves made eight choices. The criterion of success was that the calf made at least six correct choices in eight trials on each of two consecutive test days ( P

Cubicles with deep straw are widely used in uninsulated cubicle housing for dairy cows, but the problem for many farmers is to obtain sufficient straw. Soft rubber mats or sand bedding may help reduce the use of straw. In Experiment 1 cows’ preferences for three types of cubicle flooring were examined using a paired choice procedure. The materials examined were: concrete with large amount of straw, soft rubber mat (Cloud 9; NRI Industries, Canada) with a thin layer of straw and sand (2–3 mm) without straw. Friesian dairy cows were allowed to choose between 5–6 cubicles containing one type of material and 5–6 cubicles containing one of the other material. This was replicated four times using different groups of cows. The cows were filmed 7–8 days during each 3–4 weeks preference test period in winter and in summer. Before the preference tests, cows were restricted to cubicles containing each type of material for 3 days (forced choice) and were filmed for 2 days to record the total duration of lying down and the duration and frequency of lying bouts. Cows lay down for as long on straw as on soft rubber mats, but lay down for a significantly shorter time on sand (P

This experiment examines the cues used by cattle to discriminate between people, particularly the role played by facial cues. We trained and tested eight Holstein cows 5 days each week for 2 months. For each cow, we used two people, a rewarder and a non-rewarder, of different size and dressed in overalls of the same colour. The operant chamber was a large box within which stood the two people. The cow could see, smell and touch each person. A lever was placed in front of each person. When the cow pushed the lever in front of the rewarder, it received 75g of concentrate and nothing when it pushed on the other one. For each test session, the cows made 10 choices. The placement of the people was determined randomly according to the Gellerman series. The success criterion was defined as at least eight correct choices out of 10 trials for two consecutive sessions (binomial law P

Many studies on pigs, poultry, and dairy cattle have shown that rough or aversive handling of farm animals by people can substantially reduce the animals' productivity and welfare. Some of this effect occurs because the animals become afraid, either of people in general, or of specific individuals as a result of aversive handling. In this paper, we review a number of studies showing that farm animals handled roughly or aversively learn to associate the handling with people, and that this learned fear of people can have marked effects on production. The ability to recognize individual people has now been shown indisputably for many species of farm animals, although under some circumstances, animals do not behave differently to different people. Animals' learned fear of individual people can markedly affect their productivity. For example, in dairy cattle, the presence of an aversive handler during milking can reduce milk yield and substantially increase residual milk. Pigs appear to use multiple cues to distinguish people, although visual cues are clearly important. Cows can readily learn to distinguish between people wearing different colour clothes, but it is more difficult for them to distinguish between people wearing the same colour. Furthermore, cows' responses to people change markedly when clothing colour is changed, although this does not seem to be true for poultry. However, animals' responses to people can be affected by the context. For example, cattle's learned responses to individuals can be strongly affected by the place they are in. We finish with some suggestions as to how these results can be used to reduce fear in farm animals.

During nursing, the young of many ungulates butt at their dams' udder, which has been hypothesized to reflect difficulty obtaining milk. We investigated the effect of manipulating milk flow rate on the butting behaviour of domestic calves sucking milk from an artificial teat. The lowest rate of butting during nutritive sucking occurred with the fastest flow rate, and the highest rate of butting occurred with the slowest flow rate. When milk flow rate was changed during a meal, calves butted more following a decrease in flow rate than following an increase in flow rate. Butting rates were consistent and relatively low with a constant flow of milk. Regardless of flow rate, calves butted more at the beginning of their meal compared with the middle and end. Overall, the highest butting rate occurred when milk flow stopped, either at the end of the meal or when milk flow during the meal was stopped repeatedly for 30-s periods. We conclude that calves are sensitive to variations in milk flow rate and that butting rate changes accordingly. The occurrence of butting by young ungulates during nursing thus may indicate either a stoppage of milk flow or a decrease in milk flow rate, and thus may help identify periods of nonnutritive sucking during nursing. (c) 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

This experiment examined which aspects of milk ingestion elicited non-nutritive sucking in calves. Male dairy calves were allowed to suck a non-nutritive teat after meals of either cows' milk or milk replacer, and the amount of non-nutritive sucking that occurred during the 10 min following the meal was observed. There were no differences between milk and commercial milk replacer in the amount of non-nutritive sucking elicited. In later experiments, the calves were given small quantities (5–50 ml) of various liquids, either in a bucket or by syringe, allowed to suck the teat, and the non-nutritive sucking during the subsequent 2 min was observed. Non-nutritive sucking was greater after the calves were given milk replacer rather than water, and milk replacer continued to elicit non-nutritive sucking in calves weaned off milk 14 days previously. Non-nutritive sucking increased as the concentration of milk replacer was increased to 300% of normal concentration. A suspension of ground-up grain, and water solutions of casein and whey proteins did not elicit more non-nutritive sucking than water. Post-prandial non-nutritive sucking was elicited specifically by the ingestion of milk, and this was related to the concentration of the milk. However, the concentrations of the protein components alone appear not to be responsible for this effect.

The issue of behavioural deprivation is central to animal welfare but can be dealt with only once the motivational basis of the behaviour is understood. The occurrence of apparently functionless vacuum behaviours by farm animals has renewed interest in “Lorenzian” models of motivation, which describe motivation as being reduced by the performance of behaviour rather than by achievement of the normal functional goals. Non-nutritive sucking by calves of an artificial, dry teat was examined. Most non-nutritive sucking occurred directly after a meal and was elicited by the taste of milk. Increasing the volume of milk drunk did not reduce the amount of non-nutritive sucking, suggesting that the consumption of milk did not immediately reduce the motivation. However, non-nutritive sucking was not totally independent of hunger: non-nutritive sucking was increased when calves skipped a meal, or were placed on a low feed level. Performance of non-nutritive sucking behaviour itself reduced its underlying motivation, but this motivation declined spontaneously within 10 min even if the calves could not suck, and there is no evidence that sucking motivation accumulated across meals. Cross-sucking within groups of calves occurred most often after meals and was reduced when the calves were given a teat to suck. The apparent satiating effect of non-nutritive sucking may be due to its effect on metabolic hormones: levels of insulin and cholecystokinin after the meal were increased when the calves could suck a teat after drinking milk. Non-nutritive sucking by calves displays some but not all of the properties ascribed to “Lorenzian” motivational processes: performance of the behaviour is more effective than achievement of functional consequences in reducing the motivation. However, the behaviour is elicited when milk is drunk, and the underlying motivation does not continue to accumulate when the calves cannot suck. Deprivation of sucking behaviour may interfere with digestive processes.

The open-field test is commonly used but has been interpreted as indicating both fear in response to novelty, and locomotory motivation. To clarify the interpretation of the test, 16 female Holstein calves were tested alone in an open-field to determine how their behavioural and heart rate responses were affected by: (1) the novelty of the enclosure (5 and 15 weeks of age), (2) a period of previous exercise (7 and 14 weeks), (3) the presence of a familiar or unfamiliar person (8 weeks). Factor analysis revealed three weakly correlated factors. Factor 1 had positive loadings for sniffing and licking and a negative loading for immobility (SNIFF/LICK). Factor 2 had positive loadings for running and jumping (RUN/JUMP). Factor 3 had positive loadings for walking, defecating and vocalizing (WALK/VOCAL/DEFECATE). Scores for RUN/JUMP increased, and those for WALK/VOCAL/DEFECATE decreased with age. Prior exploration of the open-field decreased scores on SNIFF/LICK and WALK/VOCAL/DEFECATE, but did not affect RUN/JUMP. When the test was repeated over 2 consecutive days, scores for RUN/JUMP were higher on Day 1 than on Day 2, but were not reduced by a preceding period of exercise on either day. Heart rate increased during the open-field test and the rise was correlated with RUN/JUMP. Basal heart rates decreased as the calves aged, but the heart rate response to the open-field was unaffected by age, prior exploration or prior exercise. Bouts of contact were shorter with an unknown person, but factor scores did not differ. Calves with high scores on WALK/VOCAL/DEFECATE made more contact with the person. Behaviour in the open-field reflects several motivations: sniffing and licking are primarily exploratory behaviours in response to the novel area; defecation and vocalization, associated with walking, may represent fearful responses to novelty and social separation; while running and jumping are elicited the first time the animals are allowed to run free in a large area, but may not represent endogenous sources of locomotory motivation.

Although non-nutritive sucking is common, the motivation is poorly understood. The motivation of non-nutritive sucking in dairy calves was examined by independently varying milk intake and prior opportunities for non-nutritive sucking and observing calves sucking at a non-functional teat. Small amounts of milk elicited non-nutritive sucking, suggesting a relatively inflexible response to the taste of milk. Reinforcement from milk was not needed to maintain sucking. When calves were given less than the normal volume of milk, their subsequent non-nutritive sucking was not affected, but calves on a low-feed level sucked more, and those that missed a meal increased sucking after a subsequent meal. When calves sucked after ingesting milk they sucked less after immediately ingesting further milk. Thus, sucking motivation is reduced more by sucking behaviour than by milk intake, although it is not completely independent of hunger. Deprivation of non-nutritive sucking after one meal did not increase sucking 40 min later or sucking after subsequent meals. Thus, sucking motivation does not continue to accumulate across bouts. Non-nutritive sucking by precocial calves has some, but not all of the properties of Lorenzian processes.

Resting behaviors are an essential component of animal welfare but have received little attention in zoological research. African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) rest includes recumbent postures, but no large-scale investigation of African and Asian zoo elephant recumbence has been previously conducted. We used anklets equipped with accelerometers to measure recumbence in 72 adult female African (n = 44) and Asian (n = 28) elephants housed in 40 North American zoos. We collected 344 days of data and determined associations between recumbence and social, housing, management, and demographic factors. African elephants were recumbent less (2.1 hours/day, S.D. = 1.1) than Asian elephants (3.2 hours/day, S.D. = 1.5; P < 0.001). Nearly one-third of elephants were non-recumbent on at least one night, suggesting this is a common behavior. Multi-variable regression models for each species showed that substrate, space, and social variables had the strongest associations with recumbence. In the African model, elephants who spent any amount of time housed on all-hard substrate were recumbent 0.6 hours less per day than those who were never on all-hard substrate, and elephants who experienced an additional acre of outdoor space at night increased their recumbence by 0.48 hours per day. In the Asian model, elephants who spent any amount of time housed on all-soft substrate were recumbent 1.1 hours more per day more than those who were never on all-soft substrate, and elephants who spent any amount of time housed alone were recumbent 0.77 hours more per day than elephants who were never housed alone. Our results draw attention to the significant interspecific difference in the amount of recumbent rest and in the factors affecting recumbence; however, in both species, the influence of flooring substrate is notably important to recumbent rest, and by extension, zoo elephant welfare.

The issue of animal welfare, particularly in relation to legislation, involves philosophical, ethical, economic and political issues and is not just a matter for science. A scientific definition of welfare must address the concerns of the public, but is difficult to achieve because of a lack of consensus as to what good welfare involves. The assessment of animal welfare is best achieved using a mixture of design criteria (which specify what must be included in the environment) and performance criteria (which specify what the signs of good welfare are). The quality of stockmanship can have a major influence on animal welfare, and it should not be assumed that the method of housing is the major determinant of animal welfare. The validity of many of the proposed measures of welfare is difficult to determine because of a lack of understanding of the underlying biology. Measures of aversion are the best available measures of animal suffering caused by procedures of short duration, but whether they can be used to assess the effect of housing is uncertain. Consensus has not yet been reached on the issue of behavioral deprivation, but several measures of behavioral motivation can be used to determine if animals are frustrated, although none is free from criticism. Much abnormal, stereotyped behavior seems to reflect feeding rather than housing problems, and there is a lack of firm evidence that the level of stereotypic behavior correlates with the welfare of the animals. The method of housing can influence the animals' physiology, but this effect is not adequately described by measures of corticosteroids. Use of the term "stress" generates confusion. Production measures give some information about animal welfare but only if the causes of lowered production are known. Animal welfare is a complex phenomenon and one component of welfare should not be equated with the whole, nor should scientific assessment of welfare be considered a simple matter. Key words: Animal welfare, aversion, motivation, abnormal behavior, stress, stockmanship

The aim of this study was to describe the allogrooming behaviour of group-housed lactating cows (Bos taurus) as it relates to social dominance, friendship. parity and level of feeding competition. We measured the socio-negative (displacements at the feeder and in the lying stalls) and socio-positive interactions (allogrooming and preferential spatial associations) in six groups of eight dairy cows. This experimental model has been shown to be useful in investigating the effects of high social pressure in groups of cattle. The level of social competition was manipulated by halving the access to the feeder. Allogrooming was observed mostly at the feeder after fresh feed delivery and during the night between 12 and 2 a.m. Dominance rank had no effect on the expression of allogrooming. When competition between animals increased, allogrooming declined, especially in low-ranking, primiparous animals. In addition to its role in coat hygiene and potential role in reducing tension between animals competing for feed, we conclude that allogrooming may be a behaviour reflecting friendship in cows, because it is correlated to preferential associations between partners at the feeder. We suggest that primiparous cows are more susceptible to suffer from a lack of hygiene or socio-positive relationships when submitted to high competitive pressure, especially when they are mixed with more experienced animals that Could have better coping strategies in a high competition situation.