Stressful events can set calves back in terms of health, immunity, feed intake, growth, and maturity. Learning why and how some calves navigate life challenges better than others can provide clues into how to support individual animals to achieve better welfare and performance, particularly with the aid of precision livestock technologies.
A study conducted at the University of Kentucky, published recently in the Journal of Dairy Science, explored the connections between calf personality and response to stressors. Specifically, the researchers sought to quantify individual variation in feeding behavior and activity in response to diarrhea, dehorning, and weaning; and to investigate whether personality traits might be related to the variation and magnitude of change in behavior in calves.
The authors noted that animal personality is closely tied to coping styles, which are differences in behavioral and physiological responses to stressors. Resilient animals are able to maintain normal behavior and physiological patterns, or recover more quickly, despite a challenge.
They said animals with high resilience show less variation and deviation in behaviors, and thus are believed to have better “whole-of-life” welfare and productivity.
In the study, 49 Holstein calves were enrolled, starting at 4 days of age. All calves were raised in a common management system and nutrition program.
Each calf was evaluated with a series of personality tests, during which they were assessed for their individual degree of three factors: fearful, active, and explorative.
Their behaviors then were monitored as they proceeded through three common calfhood stressors: diarrhea, dehorning, and weaning. Nutritional behavior was measured via an automated calf feeder that also dispensed starter grain. Physical activity was assessed using leg accelerometers.
They found that each personality trait had significant association with change in behavior surrounding each of the stressors evaluated, but these associations depended on the type of stressor.
For example, calves that were highly fearful dropped off more in milk intake and drinking speed following a bout of diarrhea than the least fearful calves. And highly active calves had the greatest resilience through weaning, as evidenced by fewer unrewarded visits to the autofeeder and greater consumption of starter grain.
The authors said the study highlights the potential to use precision livestock technology to identify animals who do well or poorly during a stressor like weaning, and to connect those behaviors with personality.
They noted the importance of recognizing that calf behavior and welfare cannot be painted with a broad brush, and that future research and management recommendations should take into account the differences in individual calf personalities. Further research also could explore husbandry methods to help make calves more resilient.
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