Mother rearing of dairy calves: Reactions to isolation and to confrontation with an unfamiliar conspecific in a new environment
The aim of this study was to test the effects of mother rearing on behavioural and physiological stress reactions of calves in challenging situations. Thus, we compared mother-reared and artificially reared calves that were kept in the same group but with varying contact with adults. Mother-reared calves (Mother) were suckled and had unrestricted contact with […]
The effect of nursing on the cow–calf bond
Dairy calves are often separated from the cow soon after birth and prevented from nursing, but little is known about the effects of nursing on the development of the cow–calf bond. This study evaluated the effect of nursing on affiliative behaviours between the dam and her calf including allogrooming, proximity and latency to reunite after […]
Contact with cows during the young age increases social competence and lowers the cardiac stress reaction in dairy calves
Separating calf and cow within 24 h after birth is common practice in dairy farms. Some dairy farmers, however, practice a rearing system in which the calves are nursed by their dam or by foster cows. We investigated if dairy calves reared in such a system (calves with cow-contact) differ in their social behaviour and […]