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Effects of human handling during early rearing on the behaviour of dairy calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

KE Schütz ,
M Hawke ,
JR Waas ,
LM McLeay ,
EAM Bokkers ,
CG van Reenen ,
JR Webster  and
M Stewart
KE Schütz*
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
M Hawke
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
JR Waas
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
LM McLeay
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
EAM Bokkers
Affiliation:
Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
CG van Reenen
Affiliation:
Livestock Research, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 65, 8200 AB, Lelystad, The Netherlands
JR Webster
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
M Stewart
Affiliation:
AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Research Centre, East Street, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
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Abstract

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We examined the effects of daily positive or negative human handling on the behaviour of Holstein-Friesian dairy calves (n = 20 calves per treatment, five calves per group). The response to humans and indicators of positive emotions were examined at four weeks of age. Calves that received positive handling approached a familiar handler within 1 min in 50% of the handling sessions compared to 17% of the sessions for negatively handled calves but showed no difference when approaching an unfamiliar person. Calves that received positive handling showed less avoidance behaviour in their home pen to an approaching unfamiliar person (score, positive: 3.7, negative: 2.8) but there was no treatment effect on flight distance when tested outside the home pen. Both treatment groups responded similarly to a novel object and performed the same amount of play behaviour. Calves that received positive handling interacted more with cow brushes than calves that received negative handling (positive: 9.9%, negative: 7.9% of the total time). At three months of age, avoidance behaviour was re-tested, this time including 20 control animals of the same breed and age, reared routinely on-farm. Controls showed more avoidance behaviour (positive: 1.5, negative: 1.0, control: 0.3) and had a greater flight distance (positive: 3.3 m, negative: 3.7 m, control: 4.9 m). The results confirm existing literature demonstrating that the quantity and quality of handling influence the response towards humans. Little evidence was found that the type of early handling influences behaviours indicative of positive emotions.

Keywords

animal welfarebehaviourdairy calvesflight distancehuman handlingpositive emotions
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 19 - 26
Copyright
© 2012 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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