The motivation-based calving facility: Social and cognitive factors influence isolation seeking behaviour of Holstein dairy cows at calving

Abstract

In order to improve animal welfare it is recommended that dairy farmers move calving cows from the herd to individual pens when calving is imminent. However, the practicality of moving cows has proven a challenge and may lead to disturbance of the cows rather than easing the process of calving. One solution may be to allow the cow to seek isolation prior to calving. This study examined whether pre-parturient dairy cows will isolate in an individual calving pen placed in a group calving setting and whether a closing gate in this individual calving pen will cause more cows to isolate prior to calving. Danish Holstein cows (n = 66) were housed in groups of six in a group pen with access to six individual calving pens connected to the group area. Cows were trained to use one of two isolation opportunities i.e. individual calving pens with functional closing gates (n = 35) allowing only one cow access at a time, or individual calving pens with permanently open gates allowing free cow traffic between group area and individual pen (n = 31). The response variables were calving site, calving behaviour and social behaviour. Unexpectedly, a functional gate did not facilitate isolation seeking, perhaps because the cows were not able to combine a learnt response with the motivation to isolate. Dominant cows had the highest chance of calving in an individual calving pen. If an alien calf was present in the group pen or any of the individual pens, cows were less likely to calve in an individual calving pen. Future studies should allow cows easy access to an individual calving pen and explore what motivates pre-parturient cows to seek isolation in order to facilitate voluntary use of individual calving pens.

Prepartum Maternal Behavior of Domesticated Cattle: A Comparison with Managed, Feral, and Wild Ungulates

“…Irrespectively, in a commercial livestock production environment, where females are surrounded by herd mates, hiding will often be difficult, especially if human activity and other disturbances are frequent. More work is needed to examine whether domestic females are aiming to avoid threats, and whether disturbance may cause artificial isolation opportunities to be less attractive [as suggested by Rørvang et al ( 63 )]. The level of disturbances can be high in commercial environments (i.e., from humans and conspecifics), and the use of an artificial hide by the cow may reduce her perceived ability to escape a potential threat; hence, some artificial hides may not provide an attractive birth site.…”

“…Maternally motivated cows kept in groups are inevitably affected by the odor cues in the birth fluids of other cows even before giving birth themselves, and this may be exacerbated when housing conditions prevent cows from avoiding these odors. In addition, the attractiveness of these odors may reduce the likelihood of a cow moving away to find a birth site elsewhere, which may make artificial hides less attractive ( 63 ). Based on the above, we suggest that olfactory cues need to be considered in future prepartum maternal behavior studies and are likely to influence the use of any calving facility provided.…”

“…Recently, we offered pregnant group housed cows an opportunity to select an individual pen as birth site. The presence of a newborn alien calf in the group pen reduced the likelihood of the cows using this opportunity ( 63 ), most likely because the newborn calf’s coat contained birth fluids. Hence, olfaction and odors are likely to be important for the onset and direction of maternal behavior also in cattle.…”

Current perspectives on the short- and long-term effects of conventional dairy calf raising systems: a comparison with the natural environment

“…Near to calving, seminaturally housed cattle will seek isolation from the herd ( Lidfors et al, 1994 ). This is similar to dairy cattle housed in confinement, though it is speculated that calving difficulty ( Rørvang et al, 2017 ) and social rank and personality ( Rørvang et al, 2018a ) influence access to calving in a private area. Cattle’s desire to seek social isolation prior to calving has been referred to in a “hider-follower” paradigm (as reviewed by Rørvang et al, 2018b ).…”

Dairy cow behaviour around calving: Its relationship with management practices and environmental conditions

“…In cattle, "maternal behaviour" is commonly used to describe the suite of behaviours expressed by the dam prior and after parturition that facilitate offspring survival and performance (Dwyer 2008, Chenoweth et al 2014. Activation of maternal behaviour is mediated by coordinated hormonal, neural and neuroendocrinal responses, in which hormones such as oestradiol, progesterone, prolactin, and oxytocin play a central role (Bridges 1984, Rosenblatt et al 1988. Furthermore, the expression of maternal behaviour is regulated by sensory stimuli (Rørvang et al 2018 a ) and experiential events over the female's lifetime (Bridges 2015).…”