Register      Login
Animal Production Science Animal Production Science Society
Food, fibre and pharmaceuticals from animals
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AN > AN24282
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 65(5)

The effect of pasture-based dam-rearing on attention bias after disbudding in dairy calves

Sandra Liliana Ospina Rios https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3279-8921 A * , Caroline Lee https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1900-635X B , Sarah Jane Andrewartha https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1973-9502 A and Megan Verdon https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3971-4161 A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Burnie, Tas 7320, Australia.

B CSIRO, Agriculture and Food, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

* Correspondence to: sandra.ospinarios@utas.edu.au

Handling Editor: Samuel Wilson

Animal Production Science 65, AN24282 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN24282
Submitted: 30 August 2024  Accepted: 19 February 2025  Published: 6 March 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Keeping cows and calves together promotes natural behaviours, improving calf growth and welfare. In other species, the dam’s presence reduces stress and improves offspring emotional affect when challenged. The impact of dam-rearing on calves’ ability to cope with painful procedures such as disbudding has not yet been investigated.

Aim

This study explored whether pasture-based dam-rearing influenced dairy calf behavioural responses indicative of affective state in an attention bias test (ABT) following disbudding.

Methods

Ten calves (Friesian, Friesian × Jersey) were separated from their dam at birth and group-reared indoors (commercial calves). Twelve calves remained with their dam at pasture (dam-reared calves). The calves underwent hot-iron disbudding at 6 weeks of age under sedation, local anaesthesia, and analgesic. The ABT was conducted 6 h post-disbudding, through exposing calves to a perceived threat for 10 s (i.e. a dog), and measuring their behavioural responses in the 3-min after threat removal. The effects of rearing treatment following disbudding were analysed using linear mixed models and Poisson regressions.

Key results

Commercial calves had more eating events in the 3-min following the dog’s removal (1.8 ± 1.99 vs 0.2 ± 0.60 eating events, P < 0.05), but there were no differences in attention or vigilance behaviour.

Conclusions

Under the conditions of this study, dam-rearing did not alter behavioural responses indicative of anxiety in an ABT. More research is recommended to fully elucidate whether affective experiences of calves are altered during painful husbandry procedures as a result of dam rearing versus commercial rearing systems.

Implications

The method of rearing did not affect negative affective states (i.e. anxiety) in a post-disbudding ABT. The stress from isolation, pain, or transportation may have influenced the results. Future methods should test calf affect without removing them from their treatment environment to better understand emotional experiences in dam-rearing systems.

Keywords: anxiety, cow–calf contact, dairy cattle behaviour, dam presence, emotional state, half-day contact, pastoral, pasture-based behavioural test, stressful events.

References

Beaver A, Meagher RK, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM (2019) Invited review: a systematic review of the effects of early separation on dairy cow and calf health. Journal of Dairy Science 102, 5784-5810.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Bethell EJ, Holmes A, MacLarnon A, Semple S (2012) Evidence that emotion mediates social attention in rhesus macaques. PLoS ONE 7, e44387.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Brilot BO, Bateson M (2012) Water bathing alters threat perception in starlings. Biology Letters 8, 379-381.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Bučková K, Moravcsíková Á, Šárová R, Rajmon R, Špinka M (2022) Indication of social buffering in disbudded calves. Scientific Reports 12, 13348.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Bushby EV, Friel M, Goold C, Gray H, Smith L, Collins LM (2018) Factors influencing individual variation in farm animal cognition and how to account for these statistically. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 5 193.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Chen S, Tanaka S, Ogura S-I, Roh S, Sato S (2015) Effect of suckling systems on serum oxytocin and cortisol concentrations and behavior to a novel object in beef calves. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 28, 1662-1668.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Costa JHC, Cantor MC, Adderley NA, Neave HW (2019) Key animal welfare issues in commercially raised dairy calves: social environment, nutrition, and painful procedures. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 99, 649-660.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Culbert BM, Gilmour KM, Balshine S (2019) Social buffering of stress in a group-living fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286, 20191626.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Daros RR, Costa JHC, von Keyserlingk MAG, Hötzel MJ, Weary DM (2014) Separation from the dam causes negative judgement bias in dairy calves. PLoS ONE 9, e98429.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ede T, Lecorps B, von Keyserlingk MAG, Weary DM (2019) Calf aversion to hot-iron disbudding. Scientific Reports 9, 5344.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Edgar J, Held S, Paul E, Pettersson I, I’Anson Price R, Nicol C (2015) Social buffering in a bird. Animal Behaviour 105, 11-19.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Eicher SD (2001) Transportation of cattle in the dairy industry: current research and future directions. Journal of Dairy Science 84, E19-E23.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Faulkner PM, Weary DM (2000) Reducing pain after dehorning in dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 2037-2041.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Flower FC, Weary DM (2003) The effects of early separation on the dairy cow and calf. Animal Welfare 12, 339-348.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Friard O, Gamba M (2016) BORIS: a free, versatile open-source event-logging software for video/audio coding and live observations. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7(11), 1325-1330.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fröberg S, Lidfors L, Svennersten-Sjaunja K, Olsson I (2011) Performance of free suckling dairy calves in an automatic milking system and their behaviour at weaning. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A – Animal Science 61, 145-156.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Godden S (2008) Colostrum management for dairy calves. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 24, 19-39.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Graves FC, Hennessy MB (2000) Comparison of the effects of the mother and an unfamiliar adult female on cortisol and behavioral responses of pre- and postweaning guinea pigs. Developmental Psychobiology 36, 91-100.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Heinrich A, Duffield TF, Lissemore KD, Millman ST (2010) The effect of meloxicam on behavior and pain sensitivity of dairy calves following cautery dehorning with a local anesthetic. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 2450-2457.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Hennessy MB, Kaiser S, Sachser N (2009) Social buffering of the stress response: diversity, mechanisms, and functions. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 30, 470-482.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Hostinar CE, Johnson AE, Gunnar MR (2015) Early social deprivation and the social buffering of cortisol stress responses in late childhood: an experimental study. Developmental Psychology 51, 1597-1608.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Huber J, Arnholdt T, Möstl E, Gelfert CC, Drillich M (2013) Pain management with flunixin meglumine at dehorning of calves. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 132-140.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kiyokawa Y, Hennessy MB (2018) Comparative studies of social buffering: a consideration of approaches, terminology, and pitfalls. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 86, 131-141.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lee C, Verbeek E, Doyle R, Bateson M (2016) Attention bias to threat indicates anxiety differences in sheep. Biology Letters 12, 20150977.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lee C, Cafe LM, Robinson SL, Doyle RE, Lea JM, Small AH, Colditz IG (2018) Anxiety influences attention bias but not flight speed and crush score in beef cattle. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 205, 210-215.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McMeekan C, Stafford KJ, Mellor DJ, Bruce RA, Ward RN, Gregory NG (1999) Effects of a local anaesthetic and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic on the behavioural responses of calves to dehorning. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 47, 92-96.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Meagher RK, Beaver A, Weary DM, von Keyserlingk MAG (2019) Invited review: a systematic review of the effects of prolonged cow–calf contact on behavior, welfare, and productivity. Journal of Dairy Science 102, 5765-5783.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Mintline EM, Stewart M, Rogers AR, Cox NR, Verkerk GA, Stookey JM, Webster JR, Tucker CB (2013) Play behavior as an indicator of animal welfare: disbudding in dairy calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 144, 22-30.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Monk JE, Doyle RE, Colditz IG, Belson S, Cronin GM, Lee C (2018) Towards a more practical attention bias test to assess affective state in sheep. PLoS ONE 13, e0190404.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Monk JE, Campbell DLM, Lee C (2023) Future application of an attention bias test to assess affective states in sheep. Animal Production Science 63, 523-534.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Neave HW, Daros RR, Costa JHC, von Keyserlingk MA, Weary DM (2013) Pain and pessimism: dairy calves exhibit negative judgement bias following hot-iron disbudding. PLoS ONE 8, e80556.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ospina Rios SL, Lee C, Andrewartha SJ, Verdon M (2023) A pilot study on the feasibility of an extended suckling system for pasture-based dairies. Animals 13, 2571.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Roth BA, Barth K, Gygax L, Hillmann E (2009) Influence of artificial vs. mother-bonded rearing on sucking behaviour, health and weight gain in calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 119, 143-150.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Santo NK, König von Borstel U, Sirovnik J (2020) The influence of maternal contact on activity, emotionality and social competence in young dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Research 87, 138-143.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Stafford KJ, Mellor DJ (2005) Dehorning and disbudding distress and its alleviation in calves. The Veterinary Journal 169, 337-349.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Stafford KJ, Mellor DJ (2011) Addressing the pain associated with disbudding and dehorning in cattle. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135, 226-231.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stafford KJ, Mellor DJ, Todd SE, Ward RN, McMeekan CM (2003) The effect of different combinations of lignocaine, ketoprofen, xylazine and tolazoline on the acute cortisol response to dehorning in calves. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 51, 219-226.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Wagner K, Seitner D, Barth K, Palme R, Futschik A, Waiblinger S (2015) Effects of mother versus artificial rearing during the first 12 weeks of life on challenge responses of dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 164, 1-11.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Waiblinger S, Wagner K, Hillmann E, Barth K (2020) Play and social behaviour of calves with or without access to their dam and other cows. Journal of Dairy Research 87, 144-147.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Winslow JT, Noble PL, Lyons CK, Sterk SM, Insel TR (2003) Rearing effects on cerebrospinal fluid oxytocin concentration and social buffering in rhesus monkeys. Neuropsychopharmacology 28, 910-918.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |