Consistency of temperament traits and their relationships with milk yield in lactating primiparous F1 Holstein - Gyr cows

Marçal-Pedroza, Maria Guilhermina; Campos, M. M.; Pereira, L. G. R.; Machado, F. S.; Tomich, T. R.; Costa, Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da; Sant’Anna, Aline Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2019.104881

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These studies, together with our results, support the idea that a calm or investigative personality trait may have a positive influence on daily grazing and lying behavior patterns. Although our study showed that calm and investigative cows produced more milk, another study using similar tests (restraint in crush and response to novel object) failed to show a milk production benefit (Marçal-Pedroza et al, 2020). However, these authors did not consider other factors that can affect milk production such as group, age, breed, DIM, and climate variables, which our study accounted for in the model.…”

Section: Associations Between Personality Traits and Daily Behavior P...contrasting

confidence: 68%

Toward on-farm measurement of personality traits and their relationships to behavior and productivity of grazing dairy cattle

Neave

Zobel

Thoday

et al. 2022

Journal of Dairy Science

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There is growing evidence that animal personality is linked to a range of productivity traits in farm animals, including dairy cattle. To date, the methodology for assessing personality traits of dairy cattle is time consuming and often requires a test arena, which limits the opportunity for commercial farms to use personality traits of dairy cattle for individualized management. This study investigated whether personality traits of pastured dairy cattle, scored in short behavioral tests, are associated with daily behavioral patterns and milk production. Cows (n = 87) were exposed twice to each of 5 behavioral tests, where their responses to novel or putatively stressful situations were scored on an ordinal scale for investigative and reactive behavior toward a novel object and a novel human after exiting the milking parlor, response to restraint in a crush, avoidance distance from an approaching human in the paddock, and response to milking (step-kick behavior). Most behavior test scores were consistent over the 2 test repeats (using repeatability estimates, Mann-Whitney U test of difference between repeats, and Spearman rank correlation). Behavior test scores were subjected to a principal components analysis that revealed intertest relationships in 3 factors of correlated sets of test scores, interpreted as personality traits (fearful of humans, calm-investigative, and reactive to milking). Regression analyses determined how these traits were associated with daily grazing, ruminating, and lying behaviors, and milk production (after controlling for cow age, breed, lactation status, group, and climate variables). Cows that were more fearful of humans (high avoidance distance, reactive toward the novel human) had reduced lying time compared with cows that scored low on this trait. Cows that were more calm (during restraint) and investigative (toward the novel object) had greater grazing time, which likely contributed to their greater milk production compared with cows that scored low on this trait. Cows that were more reactive to milking produced less milk than cows that scored low on this trait. These results indicate that individual differences in daily behavior patterns and milk production of dairy cattle are associated with personality traits of cows, measured using several short behavioral tests. These methods may be useful for characterizing grazing dairy cattle on commercial farms, which could aid in understanding individual behavior patterns and provide opportunities for individualized management.

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Section: Associations Between Personality Traits and Daily Behavior P...contrasting

confidence: 68%

Toward on-farm measurement of personality traits and their relationships to behavior and productivity of grazing dairy cattle

Neave

Zobel

Thoday

et al. 2022

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…* Time to enter the chute, having the body completely inside the chute Adapted from[21] From working chute to exit Locomotion (LOC)1Calm (quiet tail, eyes and ears), walked slowly without problem or balkingAdapted from[19,22] 2 Calm (quiet tail, eyes and ears), walked slowly and balks sometimes 3 Calm (quiet tail, eyes and ears), walked fast without problem or balking 4Calm (quiet tail, eyes and ears), walked fast and balks sometimes 5Excited (restless tail, eyes and ears), walked slowly without problem or balking 6Excited (restless tail, eyes and ears), walked slowly and balks sometimes 7Excited (restless tail, eyes and ears), walked fast without problem or balking 8Excited (restless tail, eyes and ears), walked fast and balks sometimes A hard slap on the rump or tail twisting was required to induce the animal to exit 4The animal did not exit with the techniques described above Velocity (VEL_EXT)1Walking-Defined as a four-beat gait characterized by progression of the alternate lateral legs, i.e., each hoof takes off from and strikes the ground independently [20] 2…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Habituation Protocols Improve Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Beef Cattle Exposed to Students in an Animal Handling Class

Ujita

Seekford

Kott

et al. 2021

Animals

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Our objective was to determine the impact of different habituation protocols on beef cattle behavior, physiology, and temperament in response to human handling. Beef heifers were exposed to three habituation strategies: (1) tactile stimulation (brushing) in the working chute for seven consecutive days (STI; n = 18); (2) passage through the working chute for seven consecutive days (CHU; n = 19) and; (3) no habituation (CON; n = 19). Individual heifer respiratory rate (RR; n/min), internal vaginal temperature (VAGT; °C), and blood cortisol were measured. Further, behavior parameters were observed to generate a behavior score, and heifer interaction with students and their behavioral responses were recorded. Habituation with STI and CHU resulted in improved numerical behavioral scores compared to CON, and greater (p ≤ 0.05) handling latencies. Vaginal temperature was decreased in STI compared to CHU and CONT (p ≤ 0.05). Cortisol concentration did not differ among treatments, but decreased (p ≤ 0.05) from the start of the experiment to 14 days after treatment initiation. Both habituation protocols showed benefits, but heifers that received the positive tactile stimulation in the chute had the greatest behavior improvements. Furthermore, these heifers responded more calmly during student-animal interactions in class, which is beneficial for the students’ and animals’ safety.

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“…Both individual and breed-level differences have been recognized as relevant dimensions to analyse temperament and natural history (micro-evolutionary process [ 35 ]). Some authors have found individual-level differences within a same breed [ 36 ], while others underline the effect of breed on temperament (i.e., [ 37 ]) and others have not (i.e., [ 38 ]). In any case, other variables such as the production system, human related characteristics and skills, and frequency of handling, can all have an influence on temperament traits beyond breed effects [ 6 , 39 , 40 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting Cattle Temperament in Beef Cow-Calf Systems: Insights from Farmers’ Perceptions about an Autochthonous Breed

Estévez-Moreno

Lama

Villarroel

et al. 2021

Animals

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Understanding temperament is an important part of cattle production since undesirable temperament may cause serious problems associated with aggression, maternal care, and human safety. However, little is known about how farmers define or assess temperament, especially in autochthonous cattle breeds. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of farmers about the temperament of the Pyrenean cattle breed with special attention to beef cow-calf systems in Spain. The methodology used to obtain the information was focus group discussions (FGD). Farmers defined temperament as a behavioural response to challenging situations imposed by human handling. Specific terms used were related to active or passive reactions to fear (e.g., “strong”, “aggressive”, “nervous”, “fearful”). The speed of response to stimuli was also important. Female temperament was thought to become more docile with age while bull temperament was more variable. Maternal aggressiveness was highlighted as a potential human safety problem, but also desirable in an extensively bred animal who may need to defend calves against predators. Anatomical characteristics were seen as unreliable predictors of temperament, while behavioural indicators were more widely used, such as “alertness”, which was a general trait of the breed, and “gaze”, which, when associated with an alert expression, suggests a potential threat. Sensory acuity, such as sight and smell, were thought to be related with temperament in some FGDs but there was no overall agreement as to whether different behavioural responses were due to differences in sensory acuity. The results from the study could be useful during training programs or in the development of new genetic selection schemes and evaluation protocols involving cattle temperament.

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Consistency of temperament traits and their relationships with milk yield in lactating primiparous F1 Holstein - Gyr cows

Cited by 32 publications

References 40 publications

Toward on-farm measurement of personality traits and their relationships to behavior and productivity of grazing dairy cattle

Toward on-farm measurement of personality traits and their relationships to behavior and productivity of grazing dairy cattle

Habituation Protocols Improve Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Beef Cattle Exposed to Students in an Animal Handling Class

Revisiting Cattle Temperament in Beef Cow-Calf Systems: Insights from Farmers’ Perceptions about an Autochthonous Breed

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