Effect of suckling restriction with nose plates and premature weaning on postpartum anestrous interval in primiparous cows under range conditions

Quintans, G.; Vázquez, Andrés; Weigel, K A

doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2008.12.007

Cited by 38 publications

(39 citation statements)

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“…Our results showing minimal behavioural responses indicative of stress responses in the cows when the calves were prevented from sucking with the nose flaps may also be relevant for those using temporary sucking restriction regimes to induce ovulation in postpartum cows, as in some cases these involve preventing calves of the same age as in this study from sucking for a short period of time (e.g. Quintans et al, 2009;de Castro et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…As early weaning is done with the objective of advancing the first ovulation in postpartum cows under range conditions (Parfet et al, 1986;Quintans et al, 2009;Vaz and Lobato, 2010), the reduction of cows' stress may contribute positively to reproductive outcomes. Our results showing minimal behavioural responses indicative of stress responses in the cows when the calves were prevented from sucking with the nose flaps may also be relevant for those using temporary sucking restriction regimes to induce ovulation in postpartum cows, as in some cases these involve preventing calves of the same age as in this study from sucking for a short period of time (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main goal of early weaning in pasture based beef operations is to improve reproduction rates in the herd (Quintans et al, 2009), which positively contributes to the economic and environmental sustainability of the production system. However, there is extensive evidence that early weaning is detrimental to the young (see review by Newberry and Swanson, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the current demand for 'green, clean and ethical' products (Martin et al, 2004), the development of hormone-free management systems for animal breeding is required. In this context, suckling managements can be used to stimulate ovulation and consequently early pregnancy rate in beef cows (Quintans et al, 2009 and. In extensive grazing systems in which cows usually have a low body condition after calving due to the high dependence on native pastures, early weaning has been developed as an alternative that provided good results to farmers by advancing postpartum rebreeding and increasing pregnancy rates (Williams, 1990;Arthington and Kaimbacher, 2003;de Castro et al, 2006;Vaz and Lobato, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Minimizing cows’ stress when calves were early weaned using the two-step method with nose flaps

Ungerfeld¹,

Quintans

Hötzel

2016

Animal

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Early weaning may be used in beef cattle production to improve reproduction rates in range conditions. However, weaning causes a stress response in cows, which may be especially strong in early weaning management, as the bond between the cow and the calf is still strong. We hypothesized that weaning calves in two steps, with the aid of anti-sucking devices (nose flaps) would reduce the behavioural stress response in the cows separated from their calves 2 months after parturition. We compared the behaviour frequency and weight change in cows that were weaned abruptly, by separation of the calf on day 0 of the study, or in two steps, consisting of the use of anti-sucking nose flaps for 5 days before permanent separation; a third group was not weaned to serve as control. Thirty-six crossbred multiparous Aberdeen Angus × Hereford cows and their calves (n = 12/treatment) were managed in three paddocks with similar pasture availability, with four dyads from each treatment per paddock. Cows' behaviour was observed by direct visual instantaneous sampling, at 10 min intervals from days −3 to 11. Weaning the calves in two steps clearly attenuated the behavioural stress response observed in abruptly weaned cows, which included reductions in grazing and lying, and increases in pacing, walking and vocalizing. Our results corroborate those previously shown for cows nursing older calves, and indicate that step weaning can reduce the behavioural stress response of cows at weaning, even when the calf is weaned shortly after birth, when the bond between the cow and calf is still very strong.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Minimizing cows’ stress when calves were early weaned using the two-step method with nose flaps

Ungerfeld¹,

Quintans

Hötzel

2016

Animal

Self Cite

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“…According to Short et al (1990), prolonged suckling, nutritional deficiencies, climatic stress, parity, time of the year and management practices are the main determinants of the long calving interval. As suckling is one of the most important factors causing anestrus (Randel, 1990;Short et al, 1990), early weaning induces an earlier postpartum rebreeding (Quintans et al, 2009), with greater impact in primiparous cows (Galindo-Gonzalez et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral and physiological changes in early-weaned multiparous and primiparous beef cows

Ungerfeld

Hötzel

Scarsi

et al. 2011

Animal

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Early weaning is used to advance postpartum ovulation in beef cows, but triggers a stress response, affecting cows' and calves' welfare. Our aim was to compare the response to early weaning in multiparous and primiparous cows. Seventy-one days after birth, calves from 14 primiparous and 11 multiparous cows were weaned. Since birth, cow's body weight (BW), body condition (BC), milk yield and calves' BW were recorded. Basophil/neutrophil relationship, total protein and albumin concentrations were measured before and after weaning. The distance between each cow and its calf before weaning, as well as main behaviors of the cows before and after weaning were recorded using 10 min scan sampling. BW and BC were greater in multiparous than in primiparous cows ( P , 0.0001 for both). There was an interaction between parity ( P 5 0.004) and gender of the calf ( P 5 0.007): both BW and BC were greater in multiparous than primiparous cows, but multiparous cows with male calves had lower BW and BC than those with females ( P , 0.001 for both variables). Milk yield was greater in multiparous than in primiparous cows ( P 5 0.02), and there was an interaction, with greatest milk yield in multiparous cows that calved males ( P 5 0.02). Total protein blood concentration increased with time ( P , 0.0001), similarly in both groups. Albumin concentration profiles were similar despite parity, and decreased since 10 days after weaning ( P , 0.0001). Basophil/neutrophil ratio was not affected by parity, and increased the day of weaning, remaining high until day 10 ( P , 0.05). Frequency of standing decreased during the 2 days after weaning, with a greater decrease in multiparous than in primiparous cows ( P , 0.0001). Pacing increased after weaning ( P 5 0.001), but increased significantly more in multiparous cows ( P 5 0.006), with a significant time after weaning by parity interaction ( P 5 0.01) reflected in greater frequencies in multiparous cows in the 2 days. Walking increased with time ( P , 0.0001), and was more frequent in primiparous cows ( P 5 0.008). Ruminating, which was less frequent in multiparous cows ( P 5 0.014), decreased and remained low during the 3 days following weaning ( P , 0.0001), but there was a significant time by parity interaction ( P , 0.0001). The frequency of vocalizations increased dramatically after weaning ( P , 0.0001), and was greater in multiparous cows ( P 5 0.006), and decreased more slowly during the 2nd and 3rd days after weaning ( P 5 0.005) in these animals. In conclusion, behavioral changes induced by weaning were greater in multiparous than primiparous cows, indicating a more intense response to cow-calf separation in the multiparous animals.

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Reconciling the design of livestock production systems and the preservation of ecosystems

Blumetto¹,

Ruggia²,

Tiscornia³

2023

Sustainable Development and Pathways for Food Ecosystems

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Effect of suckling restriction with nose plates and premature weaning on postpartum anestrous interval in primiparous cows under range conditions

Cited by 38 publications

References 15 publications

Minimizing cows’ stress when calves were early weaned using the two-step method with nose flaps

Minimizing cows’ stress when calves were early weaned using the two-step method with nose flaps

Behavioral and physiological changes in early-weaned multiparous and primiparous beef cows

Reconciling the design of livestock production systems and the preservation of ecosystems

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