Influence of breed and early management on ease of handling and open-field behaviour of cattle

Responsiveness of domesticated goats towards various stressors following long-term cognitive test exposure

Current evidence suggests that frequent exposure to situations in which captive animals can solve cognitive tasks may have positive effects on stress responsiveness and thus on welfare. However, confounding factors often hamper the interpretation of study results. In this study, we used human-presented object-choice tests (in form of visual discrimination and reversal learning tests and a cognitive test battery), to assess the effect of long-term cognitive stimulation (44 sessions over 4-5 months) on behavioural and cardiac responses of female domestic goats in subsequent stress tests. To disentangle whether cognitive stimulation per se or the reward associated with the human-animal interaction required for testing was affecting the stress responsiveness, we conditioned three treatment groups: goats that were isolated for participation in human-presented cognitive tests and rewarded with food ('Cognitive', COG treatment), goats that were isolated as for the test exposure and rewarded with food by the experimenter without being administered the object-choice tests ('Positive', POS treatment), and goats that were isolated in the same test room but neither received a reward nor were administered the tests ('Isolation', ISO treatment). All treatment groups were subsequently tested in four stress tests: a novel arena test, a novel object test, a novel human test, and a weighing test in which goats had to enter and exit a scale cage. All treatment groups weretested at the same two research sites, each using two selection lines, namely dwarf goats, not selected for production traits, and dairy goats, selected for high productivity. Analysing the data with principal component analysis and linear mixed-effects models, we did not find evidence that cognitive testing per se (COG-POS contrast) reduces stress responsiveness of goats in subsequent stress tests. However, for dwarf goats but not for dairy goats, we found support for an effect of reward-associated human-animal interactions (POS-ISO contrast) at least for some stress test measures. Our results highlight the need to consider ontogenetic and genetic variation when assessing stress responsiveness and when interacting with goats.

Providing an Outdoor Exercise Area Affects Tie-Stall Cow Reactivity and Human-Cow Relations

Confinement and restriction of movement are a reality for most dairy cows. Providing outdoor access is one method to increase movement opportunities. However, leading cows to an outdoor exercise area increases their exposure to manipulations different from those of an indoor housing system. These situations have the potential to induce fear reactions, which can lead to injuries for the cow and danger or economic losses for the farmer. Our aim was to evaluate the development of the human-cow relationship and general reactivity of cows after a 12-week period of outdoor access provision in winter, summer and fall. A total of 16 cows in the winter, 16 in the summer, and 15 in the fall were enrolled in the study and either allocated to the treatment (Out) or stayed in the tiestall (NonOut). A human reactivity test and suddenness test were performed before and after the 12-week treatment period. In winter and to a lesser extent in fall, Out cows had a better human reaction score compared to NonOut cows, suggesting that cows with outdoor access during the winter associated human approaches with positive events. Conversely, no difference in the human reaction score was found between treatments during the summer. For summer and fall, Out cows did, however, show a decrease in their reaction score to the suddenness test compared to NonOut cows. The results of the human reactivity test in the summer suggested that cows with outdoor access did not associate the manipulation with a positive event. Interestingly, this result is not due to the cows being more frightened, since the suddenness test suggested that the Out cows were less fearful than NonOut cows. The way in which cows were led to the outdoor area could explain the differences in cow responses. Here, summer cows faced greater movement restrictions during trips to the outdoor area than in the winter, which may have been negatively perceived by the cows. We conclude that, besides the provision of outdoor access, the manner in which cows are handled during these events may have significant impacts on their reactions and could facilitate future handling.

The Power of a Positive Human-Animal Relationship for Animal Welfare

Domestic animals often seek and enjoy interacting with humans. Positive human-animal relationships can elicit positive emotions and other positive welfare outcomes. Nevertheless, our understanding of the underlying processes that govern the positive perception of humans by animals is incomplete. We cover the potential mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of positive human-animal relationships from the perspective of the animal. This encompasses habituation, associative learning, and possibly attachment or bonding based on communication and social cognition. We review the indicators from the literature to assess a positive human-animal relationship. We operationally define this positive relationship as the animal showing voluntary approach and spatial proximity (seeking) and signs of anticipation, pleasure, relaxation, or other indicators of a rewarding experience from interacting with the human. For research, we recommend accounting for the baseline human-animal relationship in the animal's everyday life, and incorporating a control treatment rather than only comparing positive to negative interaction treatments. Furthermore, animal characteristics, such as previous experience, genetics, and individual predisposition, as well as contextual characteristics related to the social and physical environment, may modulate the perception of humans by animals. The human-animal relationship is also influenced by human characteristics, such as the person's familiarity to the animal, attitudes, skills, and knowledge. We highlight implications for current practices and suggest simple solutions, such as paying attention to the animal's behavioral response to humans and providing choice and control to the animal in terms of when and how to interact with humans. Practical applications to achieve a positive perception of humans could be better utilized, such as by incorporating training principles, while keeping in mind trust and safety of both partners. Overall, there is growing evidence in the scientific literature that a positive human-animal relationship can bring intrinsic rewards to the animals and thereby benefit animal welfare. Further research is needed on the underlying processes to establish an effective positive human-animal relationship, especially in regard to the type, frequency, and length of human interaction necessary. In particular, the importance of providing animals with a sense of agency over their interactions with humans remains poorly understood.

Emotional Transfer in Human-Horse Interaction: New Perspectives on Equine Assisted Interventions

Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) include all therapeutic interventions aimed at improving human wellbeing through the involvement of horses. Due to the prominent emotional involvement traditionally characterizing their relation with humans, horses developed sophisticated communicative skills, which fostered their ability to respond to human emotional states. In this review, we hypothesize that the proximate causation of successful interventions could be human-animal mutual coordination, through which the subjects bodily and, most importantly, emotionally come into contact. We propose that detecting emotions of other individuals and developing the capacity to fine-tune one's own emotional states accordingly (emotional transfer mechanism), could represent the key engine triggering the positive effects of EAIs. We provide a comprehensive analysis of horses' socio-emotional competences according to recent literature and we propose a multidisciplinary approach to investigate this inter-specific match. By considering human and horse as a unique coupling system during the interaction, it would be possible to objectively measure the degree of coordination through the analysis of physiological variables of both human and animal. Merging the state of art on human-horse relationship with the application of novel methodologies, could help to improve standardized protocols for animal assisted interventions, with particular regard to the emotional states of subjects involved.

Assessing and Enhancing the Welfare of Animals with Equivocal and Reliable Cues

Simple Summary

Actions of human caretakers influence the experience of animals under their care, in zoos and elsewhere. These animals often learn to associate stimuli—sights, smells, sounds—with desirable outcomes such as feedings, training sessions, or other positive experiences. Here, we propose that a conscientious approach to providing reliable cues about daily events and observing animal behavior in response to both reliable and uncertain cues can help caretakers support and assess animal welfare.

Abstract

The actions of human caretakers strongly influence animals living under human care. Here, we consider how intentional and unintentional signals provided by caretakers can inform our assessment of animals’ well-being as well as help to support it. Our aim is to assist in further developing techniques to learn animals’ affective state from their behavior and to provide simple suggestions for how animal caretakers’ behavior can support animal welfare. We suggest that anticipatory behavior towards expected rewards is related to decision-making behavior as viewed through the cognitive bias lens. By considering the predictions of the theories associated with anticipatory behavior and cognitive bias, we propose to use specific cues to probe the cumulative affective state of animals. Additionally, our commentary draws on the logic of reward sensitivity and judgement bias theories to develop a framework that suggests how reliable and equivocal signals may influence animals’ affective states. Application of this framework may be useful in supporting the welfare of animals in human care.

Suitability of traits related to aggression and handleability for integration into pig breeding programmes: Genetic parameters and comparison between Gaussian and binary trait specifications

Changes in husbandry systems as well as consumers' increasing demands for animal welfare lead to increasing importance of traits such as handleability and aggressiveness in pigs. However, before using such novel traits for selection decisions, information on genetic parameters for these traits for the specific population is required. Therefore, weight gain and behaviour-related traits were recorded in 1004 pigs (814 Pietrain x German Landrace crossbred, 190 German Landrace purebred) at different ages. Behaviour indicators and tests were assessed and conducted, respectively under commercial farm conditions and included scoring of skin lesions (twice) and behaviour during backtests (twice), injections (once), handling (twice) and weighing (three times). Since behaviour scores often exhibit suboptimal statistical properties for parametric analyses, variance components were estimated using an animal model assuming a normal (Gaussian, GA; all traits) and additionally a binary distribution of variables (BI; using a logit-link function for all behaviour traits). Heritabilities for behavioural traits ranged from 0.02 ± 0.04 (finishing pig handling test; BI) to 0.36 ± 0.08 (backtest 2; GA) suggesting that some of the traits are potentially useful for genetic selection (e.g. finishing pig weighing test: h2 (GA) = 0.20 ± 0.07). Only minor differences were observed for results from binary and Gaussian analyses of the same traits suggesting that either approach might yield valid results. However, four-fold cross-validation using correlations between breeding values of a sub-set of animals for the sample trait finishing pig weighing score indicated slight superiority of the logit model (r = 0.85 ± 0.04 vs. r = 0.77 ± 0.03). Generally, only weak to moderate associations were found between behavioural reactions to the same test at different ages (rp ≤ 0.11 for weighing at different ages; rp = 0.30 but rg (GA) = 0.84 ± 0.11 for the backtests) as well as between reactions to different tests. Therefore, for inclusion of behaviour traits into breeding programmes, and considering high labour input required for some tests such as the backtest, it is recommended to assess behaviour during situations that are relevant and identical to practical conditions, while the use of indicator traits generally does not appear to be a very promising alternative.

A protocol of human animal interaction to habituate young sheep and goats for behavioural studies

Animal habituation is key to obtain reliable data on behavioural studies but detailed procedures to achieve it are scarce. This study designed a set of actions to habituate sheep and goats to human observers. Pelibuey sheep (n = 15) and Criollo goats (n = 10) were classified as (a) avoider, flight from human interaction, or (b) follower, seek human interaction. Habituation was measured by the reduction of flight distance by avoiders, or number of followers in the presence of observers. The habituation protocol consisted of a gradually increased series of five manoeuvres, either challenge (for avoiders) or evasion (for seekers), performed first inside a pen and subsequently in a grass paddock. Habituation was considered successful when animals could be observed from a 1-m distance without flight or following the observer. In the pen, habituation took 12 and 13 days for sheep and goats, respectively. Meanwhile, in the grass paddock habituation took 10 days, for both species. The number of challenge and evasion series was negatively correlated with the flight distance in sheep and with the number of followers in goats. This protocol is simple and practical to implement and enables animal habituation for behavioural studies.

Long-term effects of good handling practices during the pre-weaning period of crossbred dairy heifer calves

The aim of this study was to determine whether applying good practices of handling during the pre-weaning period have long-term effects on behavioral and physiological indicators, health status, and average daily gain (ADG) of crossbred Bos taurus × Bos indicus heifer calves. During the pre-weaning period, 98 crossbred of Holstein × Gir heifer calves were allotted into three treatments: (1) good practices of handling + brushing (GPB; n = 25), (2) good practices of handling (GP; n = 25), and (3) control (n = 48). Every 2 months, four evaluation periods (EV₁ to EV₄) were conducted to record data. Behavioral indicators comprised time to drive (TD), flight speed (FS), flight distance (FD), and composite reactivity score (CRS). Physiological indicators of acute stress during handling comprised respiratory and heart rates. Health status comprised data regarding occurrence of most common diseases (i.e., pneumonia and anaplasmosis). Collected data were analyzed by using a linear mixed model for repeated measures, Tukey's test, and chi-squared procedures. Treatment influenced (P < 0.05) TD, FS, and FD but not CRS (P = 0.78). From EV₁ to EV₃, the control calves had the lowest TD. The GPB group had lower FS than the control but did not differ from GP. The GPB group had lower FD means than the other two groups in EV₂, EV₃, and EV₄. No differences (P > 0.05) due to treatment were observed on heart and respiratory rates, ADG, or occurrence of pneumonia and anaplasmosis. It was concluded that adoption of good practices of handling during pre-weaning period may lead to long-term positive effects.

The farmers’ influence on calves’ behaviour, health and production of a veal unit

Although veal production is a highly standardized system, there still remains considerable variability in productivity between units. This variability might be due to the farmers working on these units, through differences in stockmanship, work attitudes or behaviour, which in turn may affect animals’ fear responses, productivity and health. A survey was conducted on 50 commercial farms affiliated to the same veal company. All units had calves housed in individual crates, a similar number of crates, and the same diets and management advice. Data were collected on: building and general farm characteristics, farmers’ backgrounds and their attitudes towards their work and calves, farmers’ behaviour with the calves, calves’ reactivity to people, and disease level of the calves. Productivity results (growth rates, food efficiency and mortality) were used to classify veal units as ‘high producing’ (no. = 24) v. ‘moderate producing’ (no. = 26). Calves were less reactive to people in units where the farmer behaved sympathetically and where there were several stockpersons working. The disease level was lower in units where the farmer had a positive attitude towards the sensitivity of the calves to contact and towards the importance of cleaning. Productivity of the veal unit was associated with the health of the calves but not with their reactivity to people.

It is suggested that the farmer can have an influence on the success of the veal unit mainly through his/her ability to control the health of the calves and that a positive attitude towards animals and towards work (specifically cleaning actions) can improve the accuracy of surveillance and care of the animals. Moreover, through his/her behaviour with the calves and his/her ability to control their health, the farmer can play an important rôle in assuring calves’ welfare.

Genetics of cattle temperament and its impact on livestock production and breeding – a review

Abstract. Cattle temperament, which describes individual behaviour differences with regard to a stressor or environmental challenge, is known for its impact on working safety, adaptability to new housing conditions, animal productivity and for evaluation of animal welfare. However, successful use of temperament in animal breeding and husbandry to improve keeping conditions in general or animal welfare in particular, requires the availability of informative and reproducible phenotypes and knowledge about the genetic modulation of these traits. However, the knowledge about genetic influences on cattle temperament is still limited. In this review, an outline is given for the interdependence between production systems and temperament as well as for the phenotyping of cattle temperament based on both behaviour tests and observations of behaviour under production conditions. In addition, the use of temperament as a selection criterion is discussed.

Influence of testosterone on the docility of German Simmental and Charolais heifers during behavior tests

In beef cows, docility is important for animal welfare reasons, the farmer's and veterinarian's safety as well as for economic reasons. The hormone testosterone is often mentioned in the context with aggressions and docility. The present study tested the hypothesis that higher testosterone levels in beef cows are associated with more aggressive behavior and lower docility during behavior tests. German Simmental (beef) (n=21) and Charolais heifers (n=20) were subjected with one repetition to a chute test as well as a separation and restraint test. Heart rate, thermal images of the eye, saliva cortisol as well as saliva testosterone were collected along with behavioral parameters during the tests. For all physiological and most of the behavioral parameters significant breed differences were detected. Charolais heifers (0.10 ± 0.01 ng/ml saliva) had considerably higher testosterone levels compared with Simmental heifers (0.04 ± 0.01 ng/ml; P=0.0001). Interestingly, the Charolais heifers expressed a higher docility, so across breeds higher levels of testosterone are associated with higher docility. However, all the parameters presumably linked to stress (heart rate, eye temperature, cortisol levels) generally showed stronger correlations to behavior traits than testosterone (e.g., trait "time in corner" - testosterone: r=0.25 vs. cortisol: r=-0.43 (Fisher's r-to-z: P=0.0985); eye temperature: r=-0.65; (P=0.0005); heart rate: r=-0.60 (P=0.003)). Eye temperature correlated with both heart rate (r=0.68) and cortisol levels (r=0.62; both P<0.0001). Therefore, eye temperature more so than testosterone appears to be a suitable indicator of stress, and as such also an, albeit incomplete, indicator of docility in cattle.

Bill E. Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Temperament and acclimation to human handling influence growth, health, and reproductive responses in Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle

Temperament in cattle is defined as the fear-related behavioral responses when exposed to human handling. Our group evaluates cattle temperament using 1) chute score on a 1 to 5 scale that increases according to excitable behavior during restraint in a squeeze chute, 2) exit velocity (speed of an animal exiting the squeeze chute), 3) exit score (dividing cattle according to exit velocity into quintiles using a 1 to 5 scale where 1=cattle in the slowest quintile and 5=cattle in the fastest quintile), and 4) temperament score (average of chute and exit scores). Subsequently, cattle are assigned a temperament type of adequate temperament (ADQ; temperament score≤3) or excitable temperament (EXC; temperament score>3). To assess the impacts of temperament on various beef production systems, our group associated these evaluation criteria with productive, reproductive, and health characteristics of Bos taurus and Bos indicus-influenced cattle. As expected, EXC cattle had greater plasma cortisol vs. ADQ cattle during handling, independent of breed type (B. indicus×B. taurus, P<0.01; B. taurus, P<0.01; B. indicus, P=0.04) or age (cows, P<0.01; heifers or steers, P<0.01). In regards to reproduction, EXC females had reduced annual pregnancy rates vs. ADQ cohorts across breed types (B. taurus, P=0.03; B. indicus, P=0.05). Moreover, B. taurus EXC cows also had decreased calving rate (P=0.04), weaning rate (P=0.09), and kilograms of calf weaned/cow exposed to breeding (P=0.08) vs. ADQ cohorts. In regards to feedlot cattle, B. indicus EXC steers had reduced ADG (P=0.02) and G:F (P=0.03) during a 109-d finishing period compared with ADQ cohorts. Bos taurus EXC cattle had reduced weaning BW (P=0.04), greater acute-phase protein response on feedlot entry (P≤0.05), impaired feedlot receiving ADG (P=0.05), and reduced carcass weight (P=0.07) vs. ADQ cohorts. Acclimating B. indicus×B. taurus or B. taurus heifers to human handling improved temperament (P≤0.02), reduced plasma cortisol (P<0.01), and hastened puberty attainment (P≤0.02). However, no benefits were observed when mature cows or feeder cattle were acclimated to human handling. In conclusion, temperament impacts productive, reproductive, and health characteristics of beef cattle independent of breed type. Hence, strategies to improve herd temperament are imperative for optimal production efficiency of beef operations based on B. taurus and B. indicus-influenced cattle.

Describing temperament in an ungulate: a multidimensional approach

Studies on animal temperament have often described temperament using a one-dimensional scale, whereas theoretical framework has recently suggested two or more dimensions using terms like “valence” or “arousal” to describe these dimensions. Yet, the valence or assessment of a situation is highly individual. The aim of this study was to provide support for the multidimensional framework with experimental data originating from an economically important species (Bos taurus). We tested 361 calves at 90 days post natum (dpn) in a novel-object test. Using a principal component analysis (PCA), we condensed numerous behaviours into fewer variables to describe temperament and correlated these variables with simultaneously measured heart rate variability (HRV) data. The PCA resulted in two behavioural dimensions (principal components, PC): novel-object-related (PC 1) and exploration-activity-related (PC 2). These PCs explained 58% of the variability in our data. The animals were distributed evenly within the two behavioural dimensions independent of their sex. Calves with different scores in these PCs differed significantly in HRV, and thus in the autonomous nervous system’s activity. Based on these combined behavioural and physiological data we described four distinct temperament types resulting from two behavioural dimensions: “neophobic/fearful – alert”, “interested – stressed”, “subdued/uninterested – calm”, and “neoophilic/outgoing – alert”. Additionally, 38 calves were tested at 90 and 197 dpn. Using the same PCA-model, they correlated significantly in PC 1 and tended to correlate in PC 2 between the two test ages. Of these calves, 42% expressed a similar behaviour pattern in both dimensions and 47% in one. No differences in temperament scores were found between sexes or breeds. In conclusion, we described distinct temperament types in calves based on behavioural and physiological measures emphasising the benefits of a multidimensional approach.

Precalving temperament and maternal defensiveness are independent traits but precalving fear may impact calf growth

Human safety can be compromised by the response of beef cows to handling or when defending their calf. However, little is known about how precalving temperament, postcalving defensiveness, and maternal care are related. The impacts of cow temperament on calf neonatal vigor and ADG are also unknown. Data were collected on 2 farms (Farm 1, n = 143, 1 parity; Farm 2, n = 237, 2 parities). Temperament was recorded before calving when restrained in a crush (crush score), on exit from the crush (flight speed), and when isolated with a handler. Defensiveness was recorded within 4 d after calving during handling of the calf. Maternal interactions with the calf and calf vigor were recorded for 3 h after calving (Farm 1 only) and ADG was measured over 7 mo. Crush score and flight speed were repeatable within a parity (range in repeatability 0.33 to 0.49; P < 0.001). Crush score (0.50; P < 0.001) and defensiveness (up to 0.71; P < 0.001) were repeatable across parities. Temperament and defensiveness were unrelated on Farm 1; on Farm 2 a fearful crush score was associated with heightened defensiveness as measured by vigorous movement during calf handling (P < 0.001). Temperament and defensiveness were unrelated to calving ease or the amount of maternal behavior shown to the calf. At Farm 1, cows that exited the crush quickly had calves with a lighter birth weight (P = 0.023) and those that were agitated when isolated had calves with a decreased ADG (P = 0.017). Defensiveness was unrelated to ADG and neither temperament nor defensiveness affected calf vigor. Cow precalving temperament and postcalving defensiveness are repeatable but appear to be independent traits, neither of which is related to maternal interactions with the neonatal calf. Reducing precalving fearfulness should not affect postcalving behavior and changing postcalving defensiveness should not affect other maternal care traits. Fearful cows may produce calves with decreased birth weight and ADG, which, if confirmed, suggests that cow fearfulness may have wider economic implications than previously realized.

Effects of feed deprivation on behavioral reactivity and physiological status in Holstein cattle

The present study evaluated whether feed deprivation can increase reactivity to stressful events, such as those that can occur at slaughter. Therefore, effects of 30 h of feed deprivation on behavior, including reactions to psychological stressors, and physiological status in cattle were determined. Sixteen Holstein cows (Exp. 1) and 32 Holstein heifers (Exp. 2) were either fed (FE) or 30-h feed deprived (FD). Throughout the first day of feed deprivation and during evening feed distribution to control animals, FD heifers and cows were more active than controls (P < 0.05). In Exp. 1, during a feeding test, in response to a sudden air blast arising from the bucket from which the cow was feeding, FD cows showed a longer latency to return to feed (P = 0.0002), spent less time in the bucket air blast zone (P = 0.008) and less time motionless (P = 0.03), and tended to withdraw over a longer distance (P = 0.07) than FE cows. In Exp. 2, during a reactivity test, FD heifers spent more (P = 0.0001) time motionless in response to social isolation than FE heifers. In Exp. 2, one-half of the FE and FD heifers were subjected to an additional physical and psychological stressor just before the reactivity test by driving them for 5 min through a labyrinth. Within heifers subjected to the additional stressor, FD heifers were less accepting of being detained (P = 0.05) and stroked (P = 0.003) by a familiar stockperson in a corner of the test arena. Compared with FE animals, FD heifers and FD cows had greater plasma cortisol concentrations (P < 0.05). Feed-deprived cows also had reduced β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations (P = 0.02) compared with FE cows. Thus, in cattle, FD influenced some of the classical indicators of energy metabolism and exacerbated reactivity to sudden events. In addition, when additional stressors were applied, FD cattle were more reluctant to accept handling. Results indicate that a multifactorial origin of stressors during the slaughter period may synergistically increase psychological stress of cattle.

Temperament in beef cattle: Methods of measurement and their relationship to production

Sebastian, T., Watts, J. M., Stookey, J. M., Buchanan, F. and Waldner, C. 2011. Temperament in beef cattle: methods of measurement and their relationship to production. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 91: 557–565. Temperament is an individual trait influencing an animal's behavioural response to handling. This characteristic likely modulates the response of the animal to environments and social situations, and is perhaps best viewed as a component of its personality. We assessed temperament using three objective measuring tools, to determine if correlations exist between these and a traditional subjective evaluation. The tools used were strain gauges, a “movement measuring device” (MMD), and a chute exit timer. Four hundred steers were used. Exit time was correlated with values recorded with the MMD and absolute strain forces, and MMD values were related to absolute strain forces. When the animals were classified as “calm” or “wild” based on their subjective scoring, these two groups differed in their mean exit times, MMD values and absolute strain forces. The three objective measures yielded statistically correlated results between tests and across repetitions, and therefore may quantify correlated aspects of a personality trait (i.e., temperament). The objective scores were related to the traditional subjective score, but they provide the advantage of eliminating observer bias and may offer better tools for temperament selection. Significant positive relationships of daily gain with subjective score and MMD values indicate that traditional subjective scoring techniques can be replaced with more repeatable objective measures when temperaments are assessed for performance studies.

A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses

Fear is arguably the most commonly investigated emotion in domestic animals. In the current review we attempt to establish the level of repeatability and validity found for fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry and horses. We focus the review on the three most common types of fear tests: the arena test (open field), the novel object test, and the restraint test. For some tests, e.g. tonic immobility in poultry, there is a good and broad literature on factors that affect the outcome of the test, the validity of the test and its age dependency. However, there are comparatively few of these well defined and validated tests and what is especially missing for most tests is information on the robustness, i.e., what aspects can be changed without affecting the validity of the tests. The relative absence of standardized tests hampers the development of applied ethology as a science.

Temperament in preweanling horses: development of reactions to humans and novelty, and startle responses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development and the stability across situations and over time of three temperament traits in young foals: propensity to react to humans, propensity to react to novelty, and propensity to react to suddenness. In a comparative study, we examined the reactions of animals in three independent groups (N = 27) tested at 3, 12, and 24 weeks of age, respectively. We observed that human avoidance and novel object approach behaviors are quasi inexistent in the group tested at 3 weeks, but are more and more present in the groups tested at subsequent ages. In a longitudinal study, we tested 48 foals successively at 3, 6, 12, and 24 weeks of age. Since reactions appear progressively with time, no stability over time or across situations was found. However, once a foal manifests a behavioral reaction at a given age, it will always reproduce this reaction subsequently.

Choice of attractive conditions by beef cattle in a Y-maze just after release from restraint

To provide useful information on how to moderate posthandling stress, the attractiveness of different conditions to beef cattle just after release from restraint was determined. Angus heifers were individually allowed to enter a choice area after 2 min of restraint in a squeeze chute and to choose between 2 pens. After the heifer had chosen a pen, it could freely access both test pens and the choice area for a further 5 min. In Exp. 1, each heifer was given 1 of the following choices: a pen with 3 familiar heifers (PEERS) vs. a pen with a pile of hay on a metal rack (FOOD; n = 34); PEERS vs. the bare pen (BARE; n = 34); and FOOD vs. BARE (n = 35). When the choice combination was PEERS vs. BARE, more heifers chose PEERS (P < 0.05). When the choice combination was PEERS vs. FOOD, more heifers than expected tended to choose PEERS (P < 0.10), whereas FOOD and BARE did not differ. The latency to choose either pen was shorter if PEERS was 1 of the 2 choices (P < 0.01). After choosing, more heifers entered the PEERS pen than the FOOD (P < 0.05) or BARE (P < 0.01) pens. In Exp. 2, another 86 heifers were given 1 of the following choices: a pen with a familiar handler standing inside (STI) vs. a pen with a novel object (NO; n = 29); a pen with the handler standing outside the pen (STO) vs. NO (n = 29); a pen in which the handler was sitting inside (SI) vs. NO (n = 28). Fewer heifers chose the pen with the human (STI, STO, and SI; all P < 0.01). Except for the choice of STO vs. NO, the number of heifers that had voluntarily chosen either pen was larger than expected (STI and SI; both P < 0.01). The number of times in which the NO pen was entered was greater than the STI and STO (P < 0.01), although the number of times in which the SI and NO pens were entered was not different. More heifers avoided the human, particularly a standing human. In conclusion, just after handling with restraint, returning cattle to the group of peers and not approaching the cattle needlessly should moderate their stress.

Interplay between environmental and genetic factors in temperament/personality traits in horses (Equus caballus)

The aim of the present study was to broach the question of the relative influence of different genetic and environmental factors on different temperament/personality traits of horses (Equus caballus). The researchers submitted 702 horses to standardized experimental tests and investigated 9 factors, either genetic or environmental. Genetic factors, such as sire or breed, seemed to influence more neophobic reactions, whereas environmental factors, such as the type of work, seemed to play a more dominant role in reactions to social separation or learning abilities. Additive effects were evident, showing how environmental factors may modulate behavioral traits. This study constitutes a first step toward understanding the relative weights of genetic factors and how the environment may intervene in determining individual behavioral characteristics.

Influence of Sample Size and Experimenter on Reliability of Measures of Avoidance Distance in Dairy Cows

In the present study we evaluated the influence of different sample sizes and different experimenters on the reliability of measures of avoidance distance (AD) at farm level. On 29 dairy farms the AD of 55-100% of the cows was assessed by two different experimenters (E1 and E2). For both experimenters the herd median of AD (ADME) and the percentage of animals that could be touched (Touch%) were calculated. The reliability between experimenters was assessed by Spearman rank correlation coefficients. To assess the influence of sample size on reliability of AD, the tested animals were randomly divided into two halves (H1 and H2), and ADME and Touch% were calculated for both halves and correlated with each other, with total ADME and total Touch%, and with the behaviour of the milkers. All measures of AD were highly correlated between experimenters (ADME rs = 0.86; Touch% rs = 0.81). On farms with a higher value for ADME, however, some discrepancy was found between experimenters in ADME and Touch%. Smaller sample size reduced the number of significant correlations with milkers’ behaviour. AD of H1 and H2 correlated only moderately (rs = 0.38-0.43). In sum, smaller sample size reduced reliability and validity. Between-observer reliability of AD was relatively high, but there may be some observer influence. Further investigations are necessary to optimise the measures.

The effect of confinement on motivation to exercise in young dairy calves

The objective of this research was to determine if confinement of 8-day-old calves for varying lengths of time is associated with an increase in motivation to perform locomotor behaviors. Holstein heifer and bull calves (N=48) were used in a factorial arrangement with two crossed factors. Factor A was housing with two levels (individual confinement versus group pens) and factor B was hours in confinement with four levels (6, 12, 24, and 48h). Individual confinement was in 1.06mx1.06m pens, while group pens had a 3.68mx6.09m outside run and a 3.68mx6.09m covered area that also contained a 3.68mx2.44m area bedded with wood shavings. The calves were placed on treatment when they were 8+/-2 days of age.At the end of the treatments, a blood sample was taken for plasma cortisol determination and lymphocyte counts and the calves were open-field tested for 5min.Walk, trot, distance traveled and behaviors performed while standing during the open-field test were higher in the calves kept in group pens (P=0.0003, 0.01, 0.04 and 0.04), but were not influenced by hours in treatment. Calves confined for 48h had greater incidences of kicking and falling (P=0.014 and 0.025). Lymphocyte count (P=0.029) was lower in the calves confined for 12h, but there was not a trend across hours in confinement that indicated a consistent effect. Housing or hours in treatment did not affect canter, buck, buck-kick, rear, stumble, vocalization and cortisol concentrations. The interaction between hours in treatment and housing was not significant for any of the variables tested.This study suggests that 2 days may not have been enough time for the effects of close confinement to influence motivation in young calves, or that calves averaging 8 days of age may be too young to display increased motivation for locomotor activity. Confinement of such young calves actually inhibits locomotor activity in open-field tests.

Behavioural characteristics of two dairy breeds of cows selected (Hérens) or not (Brune des Alpes) for fighting and dominance ability

Two breeds of dairy cattle, one selected for intra-specific fighting and dominance ability (Hérens, H), the other not selected for this behavioural trait (Brune des Alpes, BA), submitted to the same management techniques, were compared with respect to their social behaviour (dominance, agonistic behaviour, social tolerance, social motivation, social distance), fear reactions, ease of handling and physiological correlates.As expected, cows from the H breed were dominant over the BA cows, they were also less fearful either in response to novel objects or in surprise effect tests and had higher social distances at pasture.On the contrary, H cows were less aggressive in undisturbed groups and more tolerant in a food-competition test than BA cows. There were no differences between the two breeds either in aggressive acts in encounters with unfamiliar animals, or in persistence in conflict situations.Furthermore, H cows were less easy to handle in a standardised test, and tended to be less socially motivated than BA cows. Lastly, H cows had higher plasma testosterone levels, and tended to present a lower increase in plasma cortisol level after a surprise effect than BA cows.Thus, the breeders' selection for fighting and dominance ability in H breed appears to have led to several behavioural and hormonal changes.

Do beef cattle react consistently to different handling situations?

Beef cattle responses to handling depend partly on the genetic characteristics of the animals. However, the various methods used in order to assess these responses differ to a great extent. The purpose of this work is to study the relationship between two different situations extensively used to evaluate cattle reactions to handling. Moreover, the genetic variability of cattle responses to these two handling situations was investigated. Behavioural reactions of 245 Limousine heifers, from 10 sires, were evaluated both in a docility test and in a crush test. In the docility test, a human tried to lead and then to maintain the animal in the corner of a pen during 30 consecutive seconds, with a maximum duration of the test of 3.5min. A docility score summarised the animal's behavioural reactions to the test. The crush test procedure consisted of social isolation of the animal in a crush, with the head maintained in a head gate (5min), then exposure to a stationary human (30s), and finally stroking on the forehead (30s). An agitation index for each part of this test was computed from PCA analyses based on agitation behaviours. Sire effect was significant for every part of both tests (P<0.05). Heifers' behavioural responses to the docility test were significantly correlated with their responses to the crush test, when the animals were in isolation (r=0.29; P<0.001), when the human stood motionless in front of the animals (r=0.37; P<0.001), and when the human stroked them (r=0.28; P<0.001). Sires' behavioural reactions to the docility test (computed from their daughters' scores) were correlated with their reactions to the crush test only when the human was present, both when motionless (r=0.88; P<0.001) and when stroking the heifer (r=0.81; P<0.05). No relationship appeared between sires' behavioural reactions to the docility test and their responses to restraint in the crush when the human was absent (P=0.17). Furthermore, the crush test did not reveal the animals which presented aggressive reactions to handling in the docility test. The results exposed in this paper pointed out the existence of a general reactivity of beef cattle to handling, whether the animals are restrained or not, which appears influenced by the sire. Such reactivity is suggested to be mainly a consequence of the animals reactions to humans. The human environment needs to be precisely defined in the handling test procedures before using them as a selection criteria.

Reactions of calves to handling depend on housing condition and previous experience with humans

This study investigated the influence of stockperson's behaviour and housing conditions on calves' behavioural reactions to people, and behavioural and physiological reactions to handling and short transport. Sixty-four Finnish Ayrshire male calves were used; half of them were housed in individual pens, the other half were housed in group pens of two calves. In both housing conditions half of the calves received minimal contact from the stockperson, while the other half were stroked on their necks and shoulders for 90s a day, after milk meals. The effects of housing and contact with the stockperson on the responses of calves to people, either entering or approaching the pen, were studied. Furthermore, calves' behavioural and physiological (cortisol, heart rate) reactions to being loaded onto a truck, transported for 30min and unloaded were observed. When a person entered the home pen, calves housed by pairs took significantly more time to interact and interacted less frequently with the person than individually housed calves did (p<0.01). Calves that received additional contact interacted for longer time with the unfamiliar person than calves with minimal contact (p=0.02). When a person approached the front of the calves' pens, less withdrawal responses were shown by calves that had received additional contact (p<0.05) than those that had received minimal contact. When the calves were loaded onto the truck, it took more time and effort to load pair housed calves than individually housed calves (p<0.01) and less effort to load calves that had received additional contact (p<0.01) compared to those that had received minimal contact. During loading additional contact calves had lower heart rates (p<0.05) than those that had received minimal contact, while during transport pair housed calves had lower heart rates compared to individually housed ones (p<0.05). For all the observations performed, no interactions were found between housing conditions and human contact.It is concluded that, compared to calves housed individually, calves housed in pairs are less ready to approach humans and less easy to handle. Providing calves with regular positive contacts makes them less fearful of people and improves handling. Due to the greater difficulty in handling calves housed in groups, it is concluded that these animals need to have regular contact with humans.

The social environment influences the behavioural responses of beef cattle to handling

In cattle, a gregarious species, the social group influences individual stress responses to fear-eliciting situations. As handling can be stressful for farm animals, it can be hypothesised that social partners modify individual responses to handling. The present experiment investigated the effect of the presence or absence of social partners on behavioural reactions of beef calves in a handling test. At the age of 10 months, 38 calves from two breeds (Salers and Limousine) were individually subjected to the docility test, once while in visual contact with four familiar peers, and once in the absence of peers, following a crossover design. The docility test procedure included physical separation from peers (30 s; period 1), exposition to a stationary human (30 s; period 2), and handling by human (30 s-2.5 min, according to the success in handling; period 3). In absence of human (period 1), calves in visual contact with their peers spent more time motionless than when peers were totally absent (P<0.001). The social environment also influenced the duration of handling (period 3); the human required more time to successfully handle calves when peers were present (P<0.05). In conclusion, the presence of peers affects individual calves' reactions to the docility test.

The behavioural, physiological and immunological responses of lambs from two rearing systems and two genotypes to exposure to humans

The behavioural, physiological and immunological responses of lambs from two rearing systems and two genotypes to exposure to humans was assessed during and immediately after testing in an open-field arena. Ninety-six lambs of two genotypes (Scottish Blackface: BF and Texelx(Blue-faced LeicesterxScottish Blackface): T) were used. From birth to weaning one of two management regimes was applied: extensive (E), whereby animals were handled as little as possible or semi-intensive (I), in which lambs experienced a greater level of human exposure. Eight lambs from each of the four treatment groups received an antigenic challenge (Mycobacterium a. paratuberculosis) at 9 weeks of age to allow subsequent testing of immunological reactivity. At 1 and 3 weeks after weaning and 1 year later, lambs were tested in groups of four in a 4.5x4.5 m indoor arena, marked with gridlines at 0.75 m intervals. There were a number of occasions where testing revealed significant effects of genotype, management or their interaction, but in an approximately equal number of instances no significant effects of either genotype or management were observed. Genotype significantly influenced the number of squares occupied in the test arena over a 10-min period before the human entered (100.4 vs. 110.5; sed 2.70 for BF and T lambs, respectively, p<0.001). In relation to the number of new squares entered, there was a genotypexmanagement interaction: BFE lambs entered fewer squares than TE lambs but following semi-intensive management (I) BF lambs entered more squares than T lambs (p<0.05). When a human entered the arena after this 10-min period, while there was a gradual reduction in the number of animals which had not moved over the next 5 min, 66 animals had not moved within the allocated time. Also during this period, BF lambs stood facing the human for significantly longer than T lambs (p<0.05). At the time of arena testing, 12 lambs from each treatment group were fitted with heart-rate monitoring equipment. There were significant differences in heart rate in relation to period of testing, i.e. before (107.9) or after (112.3) the point at which the human entered the arena or when the lambs were walking in the presence of a moving human (126.3 b.p.m.; sed 2.15, p<0.001). When lambs were alone in the test arena, BF lambs had higher heart rates than T lambs (p<0.05). The heart rate of E lambs increased more than that of I lambs when the human entered the pen (9.4 vs. 0.3 b.p.m.; sed 3.95, respectively; p=0.05). Immediately following completion of the behavioural tests, blood samples were collected from subsets of lambs. Plasma cortisol concentrations of BF lambs were greater than those of T lambs (82.0 vs. 53.5 nmol/l; sed 10.18, p<0.01) but there was no effect of management. Blood samples collected from the lambs challenged with a novel antigen prior to weaning showed a genotype but not a management effect on both antibody and cell mediated immune responses, although there was a genotypexmanagement interaction. However, it should also be noted that there were no significant effects of either genotype or management on a number of the indices recorded: latency of lambs to move from the initial entry position in the absence or subsequent presence of a human; length of time one individual was separated from the other three; distance moved in a raceway before stopping; plasma beta-endorphin concentrations; heart rate in the presence of a human. Overall, these results suggest that although differences in responsiveness associated with specific genotypes of sheep can be detected in a test situation, the early life management regime may also have an effect. The results of this study caution against drawing conclusions between studies where different genotypes are employed.