Investigations of maternal bonding in dairy cattle

Hudson, Susan J.; Mullord, M.M.

doi:10.1016/0304-3762(77)90008-6

Cited by 109 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…A large body of research has confirmed that mother cows and calves experience strong emotional bonds that form rapidly following birth and that the natural weaning process may take many months (von Keyserlingk & Weary, 2007). Mother-calf bonding is partly dependent upon the ability of the mother to be able to lick the calf for several hours after birth (Hudson & Mullord, 1977;Le Neindre & D'Hour, 1989).…”

Section: Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Psychology of Cows

Marino¹,

Allen²

2017

ABC

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-Domestic cows (Bos taurus) are consumed worldwide as beef and veal, kept as dairy product producers, employed as draft animals in labor, and are used for a long list of other products, including leather and manure. But despite global reliance on cows for thousands of years, most people's perception of them is as plodding herd animals with little individual personality and very simple social relationships or preferences. Yet, a review of the scientific literature on cow behavior points to more complex cognitive, emotional and social characteristics. Moreover, when cow behavior is addressed, it is almost entirely done within the framework of and applied to their use as food commodities. Therefore, there is relatively little attention to the study of cow intelligence, personality and sociality at a basic comparative level. In this review, we examine the current state of scientific knowledge about cows within an objective comparative framework, describing their cognitive, emotional, and social characteristics. Our aim is to provide a more veridical and objective current summary of cow psychology on its own terms and in ways which will facilitate better-informed comparisons with other animals. Moreover, an understanding of the capabilities and characteristics of domestic cows will, it is hoped, advance our understanding of who they are as individuals.

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Section: Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They stayed at one end of the paddock, vocalized continually, and displayed signs of high degrees of restlessness. After 24 hrs following separation, mother cows continued to show signs of distress, but could no longer recognize their own calves (Hudson & Mullord, 1977).…”

Section: Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychology of Cows

Marino¹,

Allen²

2017

ABC

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“…In the former case, parturient females will suckle only a specific individual, which they can reliably identify (usually the one they gave birth to), while in the latter case they will accept any newborn (of the same species) for nursing (for reviews see: Nowak et al, 2000;González-Mariscal and Poindron, 2002;Numan et al, 2006). Examples of selective nursing are sheep (Poindron and Le Neindre, 1980), goats (Poindron et al, 2006), and cattle (Hudson and Mullord, 1977) while non-selective nursing is observed in pigs (Jensen, 1986;Algers, 1993), rodents (Rosenblatt and Lehrman, 1963;Ebensperger et al, 2006), and cats (Rosenblatt et al, 1985(Rosenblatt et al, , 1962. Regarding rabbits we know, from everyday breeding practices in the laboratory (González-Mariscal et al, 2000) and on the farm (Lebas, 1984;Lukefahr, 1992;2004), that mothers will readily nurse kits from litters other than their own.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

González‐Mariscal¹,

Gallegos²

2010

World rabbit sci.

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ABSTRACT:We investigated the capacity of New Zealand White female rabbits to nurse their litter in a nest different from their own (i.e., from another female, in a box containing synthetic or male hair, or in a new box containing part of the original nest material). In females that nursed in their own nest across lactation days 1-3 (one nest-condition) the mere addition of any of the above boxes (without pups) across days 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 provoked an increase in the latency to enter their own nest for nursing (0.05±0 vs. 2±1 min; P<0.01; Group 1A). In the two-nest condition females took a longer time to enter any box for nursing than they did to enter their own. These differences were significant only for the synthetic nest (4±1.5 min; P<0.05). When the two-nest condition began on lactation day 1 (Group 1B) the latency to enter significantly increased only with the male nest (8±4 vs. 1±0 min, own nest; P<0.05). The time inside the nest box devoted to nursing was practically the same under all conditions and within the normal duration (ca. 3 min). Milk production rose steadily across the days of observation, regardless of the type of nest-box the litter was placed in. We also explored the effect of using alien kits, rather than the female's own, on the rabbit's capacity to nurse them in any of the above nest types (Group 2). The only differences between Group 2 and Group 1B were: a) on day 1 females nursing an alien litter produced less milk (48±5 g) than the two groups nursing their own (69±5, 75±8 g; P<0.02); b) the latency to enter the male nest was smaller in Group 2 (2±2 vs. 8±4 min; P<0.05). These results show that, although able to distinguish among different nest types, rabbits can nurse their own or alien kits in several environments. These findings can be useful in small farm rabbit husbandry practices for facing the problems of kit death or nest deterioration in early lactation.

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“…An extreme level of maternal protectiveness, to the point of being nervous, may lead to higher relative frequency of calf mortality (Holroyd, 1987). In dairy cows that were allowed five minutes of bonding time with their newborn calf followed by cow-calf separation, dams would recognise their own calf and start vigorous licking if re-introduced after a period of up to five hours (Hudson and Mullord, 1977). In the same study, a separation period of 24 hours was associated with dams being distressed and lacking the ability to recognise their calf (Hudson and Mullord, 1977 (Brody, 1956).…”

Section: Maternal Behaviour and Milk Deliverymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In dairy cows that were allowed five minutes of bonding time with their newborn calf followed by cow-calf separation, dams would recognise their own calf and start vigorous licking if re-introduced after a period of up to five hours (Hudson and Mullord, 1977). In the same study, a separation period of 24 hours was associated with dams being distressed and lacking the ability to recognise their calf (Hudson and Mullord, 1977 (Brody, 1956). Therefore, high temperatures may lead to cows leaving their calves for longer duration or more frequently to travel to water.…”

Section: Maternal Behaviour and Milk Deliverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dehydration as a risk factor for calf mortality in northern Australia

Muller¹

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It is estimated that approximately one million calves die in Australia every year, with the majority unexplained. This thesis reviews losses associated with dehydration-mediated mortality during neonatal life, when there is highest risk of mortality, and reports three studies of neonatal calf dehydration.For 12 neonatal Brahman calves at Spyglass research site (northern forest land type, Queensland), variation in hydration status was investigated (Experiment 1). Change in live-weight from birth was used as the primary measure of hydration. Half of this cohort had low live weight gain between birth and day 3 of life (p = 0.01) compared to calves growing at 0.95±0.24 kg/day from birth. Low growth and associated reduced plasma protein (p = 0.04) in 6 calves indicated reduced colostrum, milk uptake and therefore reduced body fluid replenishment compared to other calves. This positions them at high risk of mortality under adverse environmental conditions. Urea space was tested as a measure of body water; however, percentage body water estimates were unrealistically elevated (> 80% of live weight) and therefore not representative of actual calf percentage body water.Descriptive analysis of risk factors for calf mortality was conducted for 478 and 378 tropically adapted newborn calves, respectively at Spyglass and Brian Pastures (southern forest land type, central Queensland) research sites (Experiment 2). The incidence risk of neonatal mortality in the southern forest of Queensland and northern forest of Queensland was 3.1% and 4.7%, respectively. Some risk factors and the percentage of calves exposed to high mortality risk included: dam body condition score ≤2 (8%), birth weight ≤28 kg (18%), low birth vigour (2%), large udder size (1%), at least two large teats (2%) and poor maternal protectiveness (5%). The low proportion of cows in poor body condition and good nutritional management limited the opportunity for dehydration-mediated neonatal mortality. There were no cases of prolonged heat stress around calving at the level previously associated with foetal and calf mortality. Experiment 2 indicates that low calf mortality may be achieved in any country type, provided that a low proportion of calves are exposed to high risk of mortality. A simple mechanistic model was developed to describe milk uptake volumes and ambient temperature (heat stress) impacts on neonatal hydration. This model provided clarification for the possible risk of dehydration mediated mortality across breeding herds of northern Australia.This thesis demonstrated variation in milk delivery, modelled that low milk delivery is associated with dehydration-mediated mortality and demonstrated that risk of mortality is low at a herd level when the risk factors associated with reduced milk delivery have low frequency.3

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Investigations of maternal bonding in dairy cattle

Cited by 109 publications

References 6 publications

The Psychology of Cows

The Psychology of Cows

New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

Dehydration as a risk factor for calf mortality in northern Australia

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