A note on behavioral responses to brief cow-calf separation and reunion in cattle (Bos indicus)

Temporal weaning is a common practice to reduce the calving interval. Behavioral responses of calves to short-term separation and subsequent reunion with their mothers were measured. Twenty-seven zebu-type cow-calf pairs were assigned to 1 of 3 groups. Calves in the first group were separated from their dams for 72 hours (FC) using a fence. Calves in this group had some contact with their mothers through the fence. In the second group, calves were removed for 72 hours with no sensorial contact with their mothers (NC). The third group (CO) was used as a control group, in which calves were not separated from their mothers. After the 72-hour period, calves were reunited with their dams. Results show that FC and NC induced significant (P<0.05) increases in walking, butting, urinating, and vocalizing and concurrently reduced (P<0.05) the time that calves spent eating when compared with CO calves. The number of calves grooming and lying down was reduced in the FC calves but was not affected by the NC treatment. Vocalizations/calf/hour rose from 0.9 ± 0.12 in the CO group to 10.5 ± 1.5 in FC and 9.3 ± 0.72 in NC calves (1033% and 1166% increase, respectively), with day 2 showing the greatest disparity among groups and the highest value for FC calves. With the exception of suckling, which increased 861% and 886% in NC and FC calves, respectively, all variables decreased (P<0.05) below the CO levels the day the calves and cows were reunited, regardless of treatment. It was concluded that (1) temporal weaning induces severe psychological stress in cattle, and preventing any sensorial contact between mother and young within this period resulted in a less stressful situation in zebu-type calves, and (2) calf-cow reunion reduced behavioral signs associated with stress and induced calves to suckle and remain standing close to their mothers.

Keywords: zebu cattle, behavior, calves, temporal weaning, calf removal, animal welfare