Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T14:53:23.344Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Cortisol response of restricted suckling or artificially milk-feeding to a short-term emotional stressor in dairy calves and their dams

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

A Orihuela*
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Apartado Postal 5-78, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62051 México
C Hernández
Affiliation:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Environment and Health PO Box 234, SE-532 23, Skara, Sweden
*
* Contact for correspondence and request for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The present study examines the plasma cortisol reaction of suckling and non-suckling calves and their dams to short-term emotional stressors. Twenty six cow-calf pairs were randomly allocated into one of two treatments: restricted suckling (R) or artificially milk-fed (A). On the day of weaning, blood samples were taken to determine the basal cortisol level in the calves' home-pen. Immediately, calves from both groups were moved to an unfamiliar surrounding and isolated. After sampling cows were then moved to a trimming pen, and restrained for three hours. Higher cortisol concentrations were found in A-calves in comparison with R-calves starting 90 min post-isolation through until the end of the experiment (90 min later). A significant increase was detected 60 min post-isolation in A-calves, with highest values averaging 29.22 ± 7.27 ng ml–1, decreasing to basal levels 130 min later. In cows, no difference in serum cortisol concentration was found either between treatments or over time. It was concluded that calves allowed to suckle react to a short-term emotional stressor with less plasma cortisol concentration than artificially reared calves.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2007 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Acevedo, N, Hernández, C, Orihuela, A, Lidfors, LM and Berg, C 2005 Effect of restricted suckling or temporal weaning on some physiological and behavioural stress parameters in Zebu cattle (Bos indicus). Asian Australasian Journal of Animal Science 18: 11761181CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altman, DG 1991 Practical Statistics for Medical Research pp 191198. Chapman & Hall: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Björkstrand, E and Uvnäs-Moberg, K 1996 Central oxytocin increases food intake and daily weight gain in rats. Physiology and Behavior 59: 947952Google ScholarPubMed
Cook, CJ 1997 Oxytocin and prolactin suppress cortisol responses to acute stress in both lactating and non-lactating sheep. Journal of Dairy Research 64: 327339CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heinrichs, M, Meinlschmidt, G, Neumann, I, Wagner, S, Kirschbaum, C, Ehlert, U and Hellhammer, DH 2001 Effects of suckling on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to psychosocial stress in postpartum lactating women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 86: 47984804Google ScholarPubMed
Hernández, C, Orihuela, A, Fröberg, S and Lidfors, LM 2006 Effect of restricted suckling on physiological and behavioural stress measures in dual-purpose cattle in the tropics. Livestock Production Science 99: 2127CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopster, H, O'Connell, JM and Blokhuis, HJ 1995 Acute effects of cow-calf separation on heart rate, plasma cortisol and behaviour in multiparous dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 44: 18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jephcott, EH, McMillen, JC, Rushen, J, Hargreaves, A and Thurbum, GD 1986 Effect of electro-immobilization on ovine plasma concentration of β-endorphin/β-lipotrophin, cortisol and prolactin. Research in Veterinary Science 41: 371377CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johansson, B, Svennersten-Sjaunja, K and Uvnäs-Moberg, K 2000 Coordinating role of oxytocin on milkingrelated hormone release, behaviour and milk production in dairy cows – further demonstrated by different milking routines. In: Johansson B (ed) Effect of Milking and Feeding Routines on Milk Production, Hormone Release and Behaviour in Dairy Cattle. Academic dissertation no. 211, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SwedenGoogle Scholar
Krohn, CC, Foldager, J and Mogensen, L 1999 Long-term effect of colostrum feeding methods on behaviour in female dairy calves. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section A; Animal Science 49: 5764Google Scholar
Lay, DC Jr, Friend, TH, Bowers, CL, Grissom, KK and Jenkins, OC 1992 A comparative physiological and behavioral study of freeze and hot-iron branding using dairy cows. Journal of Animal Science 70: 11211126CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lay, DC Jr, Friend, TH, Randel, RD, Jenkins, OC, Neuendorff, DA, Kapp, GM, Bushong, DM 1996 Adrenocorticotropic hormone dose response and some physiological effects of transportation on pregnant Brahman cattle. Journal of Animal Science 74: 18061811CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Legros, JJ, Chiodera, P and Geenen, V 1988 Inhibitory action of exogenous oxytocin on plasma cortisol in normal human subjects: evidence of action at the adrenal level. Neuroendocrinology 48: 204206CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lidfors, LM 1993 Cross-sucking in group-housed dairy calves before and after weaning off milk. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 38: 1524CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupoli, B, Johansson, B, Uvnäs-Moberg, K and Svennersten-Sjaunja, K 2000 Effect of suckling on the release of oxytocin, prolactin, cortisol, gastrin, CCK, somatostatin and insulin in dairy cows and their calves. In: Johansson B. (ed) Effect of Milking and Feeding Routines on Milk Production, Hormone Release and Behaviour in Dairy Cattle. Academic dissertation no. 211, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SwedenCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupoli, B, Johansson, B, Uvnäs-Moberg, K and Svennersten-Sjaunja, K 2001 Effect of suckling on the release of oxytocin, prolactin, cortisol, gastrin, cholecystokinin, somatostatin and insulin in dairy cows and their calves. Journal of Dairy Research 68: 175187CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petersson, M, Alster, P, Lundeberg, T and Uvnäs-Moberg, K 1996a Oxytocin causes a long-term decrease of blood-pressure in female and male rats. Physiology and Behavior 60: 13111315CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petersson, M, Alster, P, Lundeberg, T and Uvnäs-Moberg, K 1996b Oxytocin increases nociceptive pain thresholds in a long-term perspective in female and male rats. Neuroscience 212: 8790Google Scholar
Uvnäs-Moberg, K, Alster, P, Petersson, M, Sohlström, A and Björkstrand, E 1998 Postnatal oxytocin injections cause sustained weight gain and increased nociceptive thresholds in male and female rats. Pediatric Research 43: 344348Google ScholarPubMed