Behavioural responses of 6-month-old beef calves prevented from suckling: influence of dam’s milk yield
M. J. Hötzel A D , R. Ungerfeld B and G. Quintans CA Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Departamento de Zootecnia e Desenvolvimento Rural, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
B Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Montevideo, Uruguay.
C Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, Treinta y Tres, Uruguay.
D Corresponding author. Email: mjhotzel@cca.ufsc.br
Animal Production Science 50(10) 909-915 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN09136
Submitted: 9 October 2009 Accepted: 23 May 2010 Published: 21 October 2010
Abstract
The objective of the present experiment was to compare the behavioural response of calves reared by cows of different milk yields to the prevention of suckling with the aid of nose-flaps that allowed the maintenance of social contact with the dam. Twenty Hereford or Hereford × Angus crossbred primiparous cows from a single herd remained with their calves suckling until the beginning of the experiment, in late summer–early autumn. Milk production was determined monthly during the lactation period and the pairs were selected according to the cows’ milk production, for higher or lower milk yield (HMY and LMY, respectively). On Day 0, suckling was prevented by placing a nose-flap anti-suckling device on each calf for 11 days. Calf behaviour was recorded from Day –3 to Day 5, using instantaneous sampling of individual animals in each group, and the calves were weighed monthly since birth, and on Days –8 and 11. Bodyweight profiles for HMY and LMY calves were similar until Day –8; from then on, up to Day 11, HMY calves lost weigh, whereas LMY calves gained weight. Suckling frequency before nose-flaps were fitted was similar for HMY and LMY calves. There was no relationship between the cow’s milk yield and the changes observed in behaviour. Apart from playing, all behaviours were affected by prevention of suckling. The distance between the calves and the dam, and the frequency of grazing and rumination, decreased after nose-flaps were placed, whereas vocalisations, suckling attempts, walking and standing increased. In conclusion, the behavioural responses to prevention of suckling did not differ between the 6-month-old calves reared by cows with high yields and those with low milk yields. The behavioural response of calves that were prevented from suckling but were kept with the dams indicates that the cessation of suckling contributes to the weaning distress of 6-month-old beef calves.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge Sebastián Selves, María Laura Núñez and Marcela Canabal for their help with behavioural recordings, and Juan Luis Acosta, Gustavo Pereira and Ignacio Velazco who helped with animal management. We received support from the 720 Program (Universidad de la República, Uruguay) and the UFSC Postgraduate Program in Agroecosystems (Brazil).
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