Understanding Behavioural Development of Calves in Natural Settings to Inform Calf Management

Detecting play behaviour in weaned dairy calves using accelerometer data

This research paper describes a validation study evaluating the ability of IceTag accelerometers (Peacock Technology, UK) to detect play behaviour in weaned dairy calves. Play behaviour is commonly observed in young animals and is regarded as an indicator of positive welfare states. Eight Holstein Friesian calves aged three to five months old were monitored using leg-mounted accelerometers for 48 h. Data generated by accelerometers to quantify calf activity included step count, lying times and a proprietary measure of overall activity termed 'motion index' (MI). Calf behaviour was filmed continuously over the same 48-h period using closed circuit television cameras and analysed using one-zero sampling to identify the presence (1) or absence (0) of play within each 15-min time period. A positive correlation between MI and visually recorded play was found. Visual observations were compared with accelerometer-generated data and analysed using 2 × 2 contingency tables and classification and regression tree analysis. A MI value of ≥69 was established as the optimum threshold to detect play behaviour (sensitivity = 94.4%; specificity = 93.6%; balanced accuracy = 94.0%). The results of this study suggest that accelerometer-generated MI data have the potential to detect play behaviour in weaned dairy calves in a more time efficient manner than traditional visual observations.

Mother-Offspring Bonding after Calving in Water Buffalo and Other Ruminants: Sensory Pathways and Neuroendocrine Aspects

The cow-calf bonding is a process that must be developed within the first six hours after calving. Both the buffalo dam and the newborn calf receive a series of sensory cues during calving, including olfactory, tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli. These inputs are processed in the brain to develop an exclusive bond where the dam provides selective care to the filial newborn. The limbic system, sensory cortices, and maternal-related hormones such as oxytocin mediate this process. Due to the complex integration of the maternal response towards the newborn, this paper aims to review the development of the cow-calf bonding process in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) via the olfactory, tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli. It will also discuss the neuroendocrine factors motivating buffalo cows to care for the calf using examples in other ruminant species where dam-newborn bonding has been extensively studied.

Comparison of recovery of sheep, goats, and calves from reversible electrical head-only and head-to-body stunning for halal meat production

AIMS

To compare the recovery of lambs, goats, and calves from head-only (HO) or high-frequency head-to-body stunning and evaluate the complementary use of behaviour and electroencephalography (EEG) to assess return to consciousness after electrical stunning in these species.

METHODS

Six-month-old lambs, adult goats and calves (< 7 days old) were subjected to reversible head-only stunning (50 Hz, 1 A, 2 seconds) or reversible high-frequency head-to-body stunning (RHTB: HO followed by 2,000 Hz, 2 A, 4-second stun to body). Following stunning, behavioural recovery was assessed in 21 lambs, 22 goats, and 20 calves. Latencies to first perform behaviours (end of convulsions, head lift, attempt to right, successful righting, attempt to stand, successful standing) after stunning were scored from video recordings. Recovery of electrical brain activity indicative of consciousness was assessed using EEG in a separate cohort of minimally-anaesthetised lambs, goats and calves (n = 20 per species). EEG traces collected before and after stunning were classified as normal, epileptiform, isoelectric, or transitional activity. Following stunning, the duration of epileptiform and isoelectric activity combined (states of brain activity incompatible with conscious awareness) was calculated, as was latency to return of normal (pre-stun) EEG.

RESULTS

The RHTB stun was reversible in all three species, although one sheep failed to recover and was euthanised. Both methods caused tonic and clonic convulsions in all species. Behavioural recovery of sheep and calves was similar for both methods while goats took longer to recover from RHTB than HO stunning. There was no evidence of differences between methods in the duration of EEG incompatible with consciousness or the latency to recovery of normal EEG.

CONCLUSIONS

Head-to-body stunning as applied here produced a reversible electrical stun in lambs, adult goats and young calves, although the benefits in terms of meat quality and operator safety are uncertain. Goats took longer to recover behaviourally from head-to-body stunning, possibly due to disrupted motor function, but there was no indication that post-stun unconsciousness lasted longer than following head-only stunning in any species. The normal behaviour for the animals' developmental age should be considered when deciding on behavioural indicators of recovery. The minimal anaesthesia model provided excellent quality EEG data that was valuable for interpretation of the behavioural responses.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

For the purposes of pre-slaughter stunning of sheep, goats and young calves, recovery appears comparable between the two methods, with all but 1/63 animals in the behaviour study recovering normal function.

Characterizing social networks and influence of early-life social housing in weaned heifers on pasture

Dairy cattle are gregarious animals that are commonly managed in social groups, yet group-level social dynamics remain underexplored in weaned heifers. We characterized activity and social networks after weaned heifers had been raised in social groups on pasture for approximately 2 mo and examined effects of preweaning social housing. Holstein heifers raised in individual pens (n = 17) or paired pens (n = 20; 10 pens of 2) were mingled between treatments and grouped (10-11 heifers/group; total of 4 groups observed) on pasture following weaning (8.8 ± 0.4 wk of age; mean ± standard deviation). When heifers were 17.8 ± 1.0 (mean ± standard deviation) wk of age, we conducted live observation over a period of 5 d (6 h/observation day; morning: 0800 to 1100 h and afternoon: 1200 to 1500 h) for a total of 30 h observation/group. Using instantaneous scans at 10 min intervals, we recorded behavior (feeding, lying, or standing) and social proximity (<3 body lengths of another heifer, with neighbor identity noted) of all heifers. Duration of lying and feeding did not differ between previous housing treatments, but heifers reared in pairs stood for longer in the morning than previously individually housed heifers (30% vs. 24% of scans; standard error = 0.03). Networks of different behaviors showed limited correlation, with some variability between groups. Centrality in social networks was minimally affected by preweaning social housing, although previously pair-housed calves had greater strength (sum of an individual's edge weights) and eigenvector centrality (sum of the centralities of an individual's connections) in the lying social network for one group. Preweaning pair assignment was correlated with network structure for lying and standing networks for some groups. These results suggest that preweaning social housing may subtly affect activity and social behavior longer-term, but that behavior may be most subject to current social context.

Quantification of play behaviour in calves using automated ultra-wideband location data and its association with age, weaning and health status

Play behaviour can act as an indicator of positive animal welfare. Previous attempts to predict play behaviour in farmed calves are limited because of the classification methods used, which lead to overestimation, and the short time periods that calves are observed. The study aimed to automatically classify and quantify play behaviour in farmed calves using location data from ultra-wide band sensors and to investigate factors associated with play behaviour. Location data were collected from 46 calves in three cohorts for a period of 18 weeks. Behavioural observations from video footage were merged with location data to obtain a total of 101.36 h of labelled data. An AdaBoost ensemble learning algorithm was implemented to classify play behaviour. To account for overestimation, generally seen in low-prevalence behaviours, an adjusted count technique was applied to the outputs of the classifier. Two generalized linear mixed models were fitted to investigate factors (e.g. age, health) associated with duration of play and number of play instances per day. Our algorithm identified play behaviour with > 94% accuracy when evaluated on the test set with no animals used for training, and 16% overestimation, which was computed based on the predicted number of samples of play versus the number of samples labelled as play on the test set. The instances and duration of play behaviour per day significantly decreased with age and sickness, whilst play behaviour significantly increased during and after weaning. The instances of play also significantly decreased as mean temperature increased. We suggest that the quantification method that we used could be used to detect and monitor other low prevalence behaviours (e.g. social grooming) from location data, including indicators of positive welfare.

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

The complexity experienced in early life can affect trait development of individuals, including sociability and fearfulness. The modern dairy calf's rearing environment often lacks environmental and social complexity. This study examined the effects of early-life, non-maternal adult contact and access to a physically complex environment on the responses of dairy heifers to several stressors, including restraint, social isolation, and novelty at 18 months of age. From the age of 2-13 weeks, 60 dairy heifers (Bos taurus) were reared according to one of three treatments applied to 20 calves each: (1) Hand-reared at pasture in groups of ten, with three unrelated dry cows (+S); (2) Hand-reared at pasture in groups of ten (-S); or (3) Hand-reared in sheds in groups of 10-12 as a commercial control (CC). At 13 weeks, all treatment groups were mixed and managed at pasture as a single herd. At 18 months, the responses of 50 heifers to restraint in a crush, social isolation and a novel object were observed (+S = 16, -S = 17, CC = 17). Treatment did not influence responses to restraint or social isolation, but influenced some indicators of fearfulness during exposure to a novel object. Six +S heifers interacted with the novel object compared to 0 -S and one CC, and CC heifers spent around 50% more time in vigilance than +S or -S heifers. Dairy heifers provided with early-life social enrichment in the form of non-maternal adult contact may have reduced fear of novelty. The implications for lifelong ability to adapt to novel situations, such as entry into the milking herd, should be assessed.

The effect of a hiding space on the behaviour and heart rate variability of dairy calves during temporary separation from the dam

In natural settings, newborn calves hide for several days before joining the herd. It is unclear whether dairy calves housed indoors would show similar hiding behaviour. This study aimed to describe the use of an artificial hide provided to calves during temporary separation from the dam and assess the effect it has on lying and sleep-like behaviour, as well as heart rate variability (HRV). Twenty-eight cow-calf pairs were randomly assigned to having a hide (n = 14), or no hide (n = 14). Hide use (n = 14), as well as lying and sleep-like behaviour (n = 28), were recorded continuously via video camera during the first hour after the dam was removed for morning milking on day three to seven. Heart rate and R-R intervals were recorded using Polar equine monitors for a subsample of 12 calves (n = 6 per treatment) on day six. Descriptive statistics were calculated for hide use. Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were used to evaluate whether having a hide affected lying and sleep-like behaviours as well as HRV. Hide use decreased over days and was highly variable between calves. Lying behaviour did not differ between treatments. Duration of sleep-like behaviour was higher for calves without a hide compared to those with a hide. Calves with a hide tended to show signs of higher HRV and parasympathetic activity compared to calves without a hide. Results suggest that providing a hiding space to young calves may be beneficial during periods when the cow is removed from the pen for milking.

Behavioral activity patterns but not hair cortisol concentrations explain steers' transition-related stress in the first 6 wk in the feedlot

Stress during the transition of beef steers from ranch to feedlot may depend on steer source and preconditioning. The interplay between physiological and behavioral patterns of preconditioned (PC) and auction-derived (AD) steers, particularly after commingling, is poorly understood. Our objective was to evaluate whether hair cortisol (HC) concentrations were related to the health and performance of PC and AD steers and study behavioral activities after commingling over 6 wk in a feedlot. Steers, sourced either from ranch (PC, n = 250) or local auction (AD, n = 250), were assigned into 1 of 5 pens, 100% PC (100PC); 75% PC 25% AD (75PC); 50% PC 50% AD (50PC); 25% PC 75% AD (25PC), and 100% AD (0PC), each pen containing 100 steers. Pen was the experimental unit and individual steers were the observational unit where physiological and behavioral changes were measured. The study subsampled 225 steers (PC = 113 and AD = 112) which were equipped with CowManager ear tags to record behaviors. On day 40, hair samples from each steer were collected by clipping hair close to the skin. Data were analyzed using multiple linear, logistic regression, or multilevel negative binomial regression models depending on the outcomes. There was no difference in HC concentrations (day 40) between PC and AD steers (P = 0.66), and no association with Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD)-related morbidity (P = 0.08) or average daily gain (ADG) (P = 0.44). After adjusting for source and commingling effects, HC concentrations did not affect time spent eating (P = 0.83), ruminating (P = 0.20), active (P = 0.89), or non-active (P = 0.32). PC steers spent more time eating and ruminating over weeks 1 to 4 (P < 0.01) and weeks 1 to 3, respectively (P < 0.05), and more time being active over weeks 1 and 2 compared to AD steers (P < 0.001), but less time being non-active than AD steers on weeks 1 to 3 (P < 0.001). Steers in 100PC and 50PC pens spent more time eating than steers in 0PC (P < 0.001), whereas steers in 25PC spent less time eating than steers in 0PC (P < 0.001). Steers in 0PC spent the most time being not active (P < 0.01). In conclusion, preconditioned steers spent more time eating, ruminating, and being active and less time being not active over the first 3 wk in the feedlot, regardless of commingling. The HC concentrations did not identify potentially lower stress related to ranch transfer and were neither associated with BRD-related morbidity nor ADG.

Predictive models for disease detection in group-housed preweaning dairy calves using data collected from automated milk feeders

In the United States, dairy calves are typically housed individually due to the perception of reduced risk of spreading infectious diseases between calves and the ability to monitor health on an individual calf basis. However, automated milk feeders (AMF) can provide individual monitoring of group-housed calves while allowing them to express more natural feeding behaviors and interact with each other. Research has shown that feeding behaviors recorded by AMF can be a helpful screening tool for detecting disease in dairy calves. Altogether, there is an opportunity to use the data from AMF to create a more robust and efficient model to predict disease, reducing the need for visual observation. Therefore, the objective of this observational study was to predict disease in preweaning dairy calves using AMF feeding behavior data and machine learning (ML) algorithms. This study was conducted on a dairy farm located in the Upper Midwest United States and visited weekly from July 2018 to May 2019. During farm visits, AMF data and calves' treatment records were collected, and calves were visually health-scored for attitude, ear position, ocular discharge, nasal discharge, hide dirtiness, and cough score. The final datasets used for the analyses consisted of 740 and 741 calves, with 1,007 (healthy = 594 and sick = 413) and 1,044 (healthy = 560 and sick = 484) observations (health events) for Data 1 and Data 2, respectively. Data 1 included only the weekly calf health scores observed by research personnel, whereas Data 2 included primarily daily calf treatment records by farm staff in addition to weekly health scores. Calf visit-level feeding behaviors from AMF data included milk intake (mL/d), drinking speed (mL/min), visit duration (min), rewarded (with milk being offered) and unrewarded (without milk) visits (number per d), and the interval between visits (min). Three approaches were used to predict health status: generalized linear model, random forest, and gradient boosting machine. A total of 16 models were built using different combinations of behavior parameters, including the number of rewarded visits, number of unrewarded visits, visit duration, the interval between visits, intake, intake divided by rewarded visits, drinking speed, and drinking speed divided by rewarded visits, and also calf age at the sick day as predictor variables. Of all algorithms, random forest and gradient boosting had the best performance predicting the health status of dairy calves. The results indicated that weekly health scores were not enough to predict calf health status. However, daily treatment records and AMF data were sufficient for creating predictive algorithms (e.g., F1-scores of 0.775 and 0.784 for random forest and gradient boosting, Data 2). This study suggests that ML was effective in determining the specific visit-level feeding behaviors that can be used to predict disease in group-housed preweaning dairy calves. Implementing these ML algorithms could reduce the need for visual calf observation on farms, minimizing labor time and improving calf health.

Evaluation of behavior in veal calves fed milk containing different levels of hempseed cake (Cannabis sativa L.)

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect on behavioral patterns of veal calves fed with increasing levels of hempseed cake (HSC) diluted in the milk replacer. In total, 48 Belgian Blue veal calves (12 females and 36 males), with a body weight (BW) of 62.0 kg and age of 42.6 days, were offered the same type and quantity of solid and liquid feed two times a day but randomly assigned to one of the three different HSC inclusion levels: 0% (CTR), 3% (T3), and 6% (T6). The study lasted for 6 months until slaughter. During this time, their behavior was recorded using video cameras provided with a surveillance system. The results indicated that HSC had negligible effect on calves' behavior and that calves, in general, spend most of their time resting and ruminating as they normally do with conventional diets. Hempseed cake inclusion (T3 and T6) increased (P < 0.05) the appetite for solid food and licking behavior during the late afternoon. T3 female calves increased (P < 0.05) their movement in the late afternoon. Male calves decreased (P < 0.05) their positive interaction, movement, and cross-sucking in the late afternoon as the inclusion of HSC increased. The inclusion of HSC into veal calves' diet did not negatively affect the animal's behavior; therefore, it can be suggested as a novel ingredient.

Social housing improves dairy calves' performance in a competition test

On most dairy farms, calves are housed individually until weaning. However, depriving calves of an early social environment impairs behavioral development. We studied the effect of early-life social housing on calves' competitive skills. In this study, Holstein heifers were pseudorandomly assigned to either individual housing (n = 9) or pair housing (with a nonfocal companion, n = 9) at the age of 11 d. After 14 d of housing treatment, calves underwent a competition test for milk access against a group-reared calf; consisting of 2 test sessions per day for 5 d (session duration: 74.42 ± 2.29 s; mean ± standard error). Pair-housed calves performed better than individually housed calves: throughout the competition days, individually housed calves increased their latency to approach the milk bottle and decreased their time spent drinking in contrast to pair-housed calves, which exhibited stable latencies to reach the milk bottle and increased their time drinking. To control for the influence of personality on their competitive abilities, all calves were subjected to personality tests assessing boldness before being exposed to the housing treatment. Our findings indicate that calves assessed as bolder during the pretreatment personality test tended to approach the milk bottle faster. Our results provide additional evidence of the beneficial effects of social housing on dairy calves' behavioral development.

Strategies and Mechanisms of Thermal Compensation in Newborn Water Buffaloes

Hypothermia is one of the principal causes of perinatal mortality in water buffaloes and can range from 3% to 17.9%. In ruminants, factors affecting hypothermia in newborns may be of intrinsic (e.g., level of neurodevelopment, birth weight, vitality score, amount of brown fat, skin features) or extrinsic origin (e.g., maternal care, environmental conditions, colostrum consumption). When newborn buffaloes are exposed to cold stress, thermoregulatory mechanisms such as peripheral vasoconstriction and shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis are activated to prevent hypothermia. Due to the properties of infrared thermography (IRT), as a technique that detects vasomotor changes triggered by a reduction in body temperature, evaluating the central and peripheral regions in newborn buffaloes is possible. This review aims to analyze behavioral, physiological, and morphological strategies and colostrum consumption as thermal compensation mechanisms in newborn water buffalo to cope with environmental changes affecting thermoneutrality. In addition, the importance of monitoring by IRT to identify hypothermia states will be highlighted. Going deeper into these topics related to the water buffalo is essential because, in recent years, this species has become more popular and is being bred in more geographic areas.

Contact with Mature Cows and Access to Pasture during Early Life Shape Dairy Heifer Behaviour at Integration into the Milking Herd

This study aimed to determine the effects of early-life physical and social enrichment on the ability of dairy heifers to integrate into a herd of mature cows. Fifty heifer calves were reared from the ages of 2-13 weeks in one of three treatments: (1) Hand-reared and group-housed in sheds (CC); (2) Hand-reared and group-housed at pasture (-S); or (3) Hand-reared and group-housed at pasture, with 3 non-familial dry cows per group (+S). At 23 months of age, these heifers were introduced in groups to small herds of cows (Cows) at pasture. Social interactions were recorded continuously for two 1-h periods. Feeding, ruminating and resting behaviours of all animals and walking, standing and lying behaviours of 36 heifers only (+S = 14, -S = 13, CC = 9) were recorded for 48 h after mixing. Heifers that were managed as calves according to the CC treatment delivered less agonistic behaviour to other heifers after mixing than those reared in the +S or -S treatments (p = 0.002 and p = 0.041, respectively). On Day 2, +S heifers and cows spent the lowest proportion of time feeding (p = 0.961), with -S heifers spending significantly more time feeding than cows (p = 0.046), while CC heifers spent more time feeding than both +S heifers and cows (p = 0.027 and p < 0.002, respectively). Increasing the complexity of the early-life environment, particularly socially, may aid heifers in integrating into groups of multiparous cows later in life and shape their lifelong social experiences with same-age conspecifics.

Welfare of calves

This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission request on the welfare of calves as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. EFSA was asked to provide a description of common husbandry systems and related welfare consequences, as well as measures to prevent or mitigate the hazards leading to them. In addition, recommendations on three specific issues were requested: welfare of calves reared for white veal (space, group housing, requirements of iron and fibre); risk of limited cow–calf contact; and animal‐based measures (ABMs) to monitor on‐farm welfare in slaughterhouses. The methodology developed by EFSA to address similar requests was followed. Fifteen highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, with respiratory disorders, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour, gastroenteric disorders and group stress being the most frequent across husbandry systems. Recommendations to improve the welfare of calves include increasing space allowance, keeping calves in stable groups from an early age, ensuring good colostrum management and increasing the amounts of milk fed to dairy calves. In addition, calves should be provided with deformable lying surfaces, water via an open surface and long‐cut roughage in racks. Regarding specific recommendations for veal systems, calves should be kept in small groups (2–7 animals) within the first week of life, provided with ~ 20 m²/calf and fed on average 1 kg neutral detergent fibre (NDF) per day, preferably using long‐cut hay. Recommendations on cow–calf contact include keeping the calf with the dam for a minimum of 1 day post‐partum. Longer contact should progressively be implemented, but research is needed to guide this implementation in practice. The ABMs body condition, carcass condemnations, abomasal lesions, lung lesions, carcass colour and bursa swelling may be collected in slaughterhouses to monitor on‐farm welfare but should be complemented with behavioural ABMs collected on farm.

Dairy cow and calf behavior and productivity when maintained together on a pasture-based system

OBJECTIVE

We determined the impact of maintaining pasture-based dairy cows and calves together over 100 days on cow milk production, cow and calf behavior, and calf liveweight and carcass quality.

METHODS

Six Holstein-Friesian cows and their male calves were monitored for 106±8.6 days. Cows were temporarily separated twice a day for milking with calves remaining in the paddock. Cow and calf behaviors were recorded via scan sampling at 6 different timepoints, for the first 7 days and twice a week thereafter. Calves were weighed weekly and immediately processed for meat quality and rumen development analysis at 106±8.6 days. Daily cow milk yields were collected from enrollment until 109±8.6 days (3 days post-weaning).

RESULTS

The average daily gain of calves was 1.4±0.73 kg/d, with an average carcass dressing percentage of 59%. Calves had the greatest frequency of observed close proximity to cow and suckling in the first two weeks and decreased with experiment duration. During separation for milking, cow vocalizations and attempts to return to their calf decreased over time. Reticulorumen weight was on target for calf age, but as a proportion of total stomach weight was lower than industry averages of calves the same age due to the larger abomasum. Cows produced an average of 12±7.6 kg of milk yield per day over the 3-days before the calves were weaned and increased to mean of 31±8.3 kg/d the 3 days after weaning, indicating a consumption of close to 20 kg per calf per day.

CONCLUSION

The impact of a pasture-based cow-calf rearing system on cow and calf behavior and the potential for high levels of calf liveweight gain when provided ad-libitum milk and feed were determined. Further research is required to determine the practicality of replicating such systems with large herds and impact on reared calves post-weaning.

The development of sleep-like posture expression with age in female Holstein calves

Sleep plays an important role in cattle production and welfare. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the development of sleep-like posture (SLP) expression in dairy calves from birth to the first calving as an indicator of their sleep behavior. Fifteen female Holstein calves were subjected. Daily SLP was measured eight times (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 18 months and 23 months or 1 month before the first calving) using an accelerometer. Calves were kept in individual pens until weaning at 2.5 months old and then kept in the group. The daily SLP time decreased rapidly in early life; however, the rate of decrease gradually slowed and eventually reached a stable level of approximately 60 min/day after 12 months old. The daily SLP bout frequency showed the same change as the SLP time. In contrast, the averaged SLP bout duration slowly decreased with age. Longer daily SLP time during early life in female Holstein calves might be related to brain development. The individual expression of daily SLP time differs before and after weaning. Some external and/or internal factors associated with weaning may be involved SLP expression.

Welfare implications on management strategies for rearing dairy calves: A systematic review. Part 1-feeding management

Introduction

Calves are very susceptible to stress in the early stages of life, and it is necessary to ensure maximum welfare. Feeding management has been identified as a major risk factor for calf health and welfare at this stage. However, the management protocol for calf rearing and its impact on animal welfare is unclear. A systematic review of different management strategies for rearing dairy calves according to the three spheres of animal welfare was conducted using an electronic search strategy. In this review, management strategies were studied to identify scientific gaps, to know the welfare problems of these animals in order to prioritize actions and future research and to study the interpretive approach of this management from the three welfare spheres.

Methods

A protocol was used to analyze and extract information from the studies. Of the 1,783 publications screened, only 351 met the inclusion criteria for the management or welfare of calves' items.

Results

The publications identified in the search can be divided into two main groups feeding and socialization, based on the main topic of the publication. The main topics that emerged from the search in the feeding management group were milk replacer, colostrum, and weaning, divided into the three main areas of biological functioning and health, natural life and affective states or cognitive judgement.

Discussion

The main issues to be addressed were the different types of feed consumed by animals from birth to weaning and the weaning management. It has been found that the most researched issues are colostrum and solid starter feed management. Unresolved issues were highlighted, such as the lack of a clear protocol for the administration of milk replacers to reduce hunger and the best management of weaning to reduce stress.

Maternal Behavior in Beef Cattle: The Physiology, Assessment and Future Directions-A Review

Bovine maternal behavior is known to be influenced by a variety of factors including hormonal mediation, breed, age, parity, host genetics and general management practices. Following centuries of varying levels of domestication processes, the behavior of the bovine cow has altered from that of her original wild ungulate ancestors, although many maternal instincts have remained unchanged. The influence of maternal behavior on calf health and performance is of interest to cow-calf beef production operations, as in most instances, the cow is solely responsible for rearing the calf until weaning. However, investigating the magnitude of this influence is challenging, in part because objective measurement of behavioral traits is difficult, particularly in extensive settings. In recent years, while a number of remote monitoring devices have been developed that afford opportunities for objective measurement of behavioral traits in livestock, characterization of physiological mechanisms that underlie superior maternal behavior, including identification of potential biomarkers remains elusive in cattle. Hormonal profiles during the periparturient period have been shown to influence behavioral patterns in both current and future generations in other mammalian species and may provide insights into the physiology of bovine maternal behavior. Therefore, the aim of this review is to describe general characteristics of bovine maternal behavior and the factors known to influence it, including hormonal drivers, through which cross-reference to other species is made. Current methods of measuring and assessing behavior that may also be applicable to most production settings have also been reviewed. At present, there is no known hormonal assay that can be used to measure and/or reliably predict bovine maternal behavior post-calving or across generations. Being able to objectively assess superior maternal behavior, whether that be through remote monitoring, hormonal profiling or indirectly through measuring calf performance will be beneficial to livestock industries in the future.

Dairy Buffalo Behavior: Calving, Imprinting and Allosuckling

Maternal behavior, in water buffalo and other ruminants, is a set of patterns of a determined species, including calving, imprinting, and suckling. This behavior is mainly triggered by hormone concentration changes and their interactions with their respective receptors in the brain, particularly oxytocin. These chemical signals also influence mother-young bonding, a critical process for neonatal survival that develops during the first postpartum hours. Currently, dairy buffalo behavior during parturition has rarely been studied. For this reason, this review aims to analyze the existing scientific evidence regarding maternal behavior in water buffalo during calving. It will address the mechanisms of imprinting, maternal care, and allosuckling strategies that may influence the survival and health of calves.