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Cattle behaviour
This chapter discusses the details of cattle behaviour (in other words, what cattle do) such as the relative importance of the five body senses, the various ways stock communicate with each other and their keepers and behavioural problems arising from clashes with their environment.
The main points of this chapter
- Of the five senses cattle possess, sight is the most dominant. Hearing and smell also play important roles in how cows assess their environment.
- As a prey species, cattle have an inherent fear of unfamiliar objects, situations, smells, sudden movements and noises. As well they can experience fearfulness in situations where they are solitary or isolated. Understanding this is critical to managing them in a low stress manner.
- Cattle are less expressive of pain and injury than humans. Therefore, behavioural indicators of pain that cattle do express are subtle. An animal experiencing pain has compromised welfare, and consequences to their health and productivity are also likely.
- The presence of stereotypic behaviours indicate that a cow is in a compromised welfare state, and is feeling frustrated at the inability to behave naturally. In cattle, oral stereotypies, which relate to nutritional and foraging deficits, and ambulatory stereotypies, the result of restricted movement, are common.
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- The intensification of cattle housing, feeding and management contributes to behavioural problems not seen in grazing animals. Frustrations lead to some cows engaging in often repetitive and pointless (stereotyped) behaviour that can be interpreted as a reflection of reduced activity, hence restricted normal behaviour, in intensively managed housing systems.
- Tongue rolling and bar chewing are two classic stereotype behaviour problems. Nymphomania, silent heats and extreme aggression towards humans are other behavioural problems in intensively managed cattle.
- Feeding vices can be attributed to boredom following a too rapid satisfying of their nutritional needs. These include dropping feed, feed throwing and water lapping.
- The behaviours of cows will change in response to the situations they are in and the handling they experience, resulting in an increased or decreased frequency of common behaviours.
- The behaviour of the cow handler has an enormous impact on cow behaviour, welfare and performance. Negative behaviours produce more fearful cows. Positive behaviour will lead to a relaxed herd of cows that are easier to handle.
- A good handler with a considerate, calm and positive attitude towards cows can lead to 20% higher milk yields over a handler with a poor attitude.
The behaviour of domestic cattle has evolved over a long time, initially in response to their domestication as discussed in the previous chapter, but more recently in response to more subtle changes in their handling, feeding and herd management as they have become more exposed to the intensive practices of modern day dairy and beef cattle farming.
4.1 The development of cow behaviour
The behaviour of cattle is determined by instinct, sensory perception and experience. Instinctual behaviours refer to those that the cow is naturally motivated to perform. Sensory behaviours are those that are the result of something heard/seen/smelt/felt in the environment. Examples of these different types of behaviour include:
● (^) Instinct or innate, fully developed and complete at first appearance; suckling and standing at birth, those rhythmical behaviours fundamental to the life process (such as breathing and defecation) and freezing or baulking in response to an unfamiliar noise or object. Baulking is when the animal flinches and ceases movement, that is, it is resisting what it is being led to do.
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improve the animal’s welfare. The fact that these behaviours exist in the first place, however, are indicative of a welfare issue that needs to be addressed. The behaviour of domesticated stock seems to be more flexible than their wild ancestors and could include the capacity to develop such stereotypies as part of their coping mechanisms in our modern day, and often less animal friendly, production systems. Cattle are social animals. Forming a herd reduces the risk of predation by leaving large areas of grazing land open and reducing the chance of a predator seeing an individual animal or picking up its trail. In addition, predation is reduced by the rapid flight of large numbers of animals in random directions thereby confusing the predator. Also the opportunity of members of a herd learning survival tactics is increased through social facilitation. Cattle are animals that fear novelty but become accepting of a routine. They have good memories and stock with previous experience of gentle handling will be easier to deal with than stock with a history of rough handling. A better understanding of natural behaviour will facilitate handling. Being prey animals, fear motivates them to be constantly vigilant in order to escape from predators. When cattle become agitated during handling, they are motivated by fear. Calm animals are then easier to handle. Fearful animals stick together making handling more difficult. If cattle become frightened, it can take 20 min for them to calm down. Although cattle are creatures of habit, gentle dairy cows can easily be prompted into movement that is dangerous to both the animal and handler by the use of unnecessary severe methods of handling (such as shouting and electric prods) and restraint. Attempts to force an animal to do something it does not want to do often end in failure and can cause the animal to become confused, disorientated, frightened or upset. Handling cattle requires them to be ‘outsmarted’ rather than be ‘outfought’ and they should be ‘outwaited’ rather than hurried. Most tests of will between the handler and the cows are won by the cow. Recent management practices that have improved comfort and wellbeing in dairy cows include:
● (^) raising calves in comfortable pens or shelters, including contact with other calves ● (^) providing exercise before calving ● (^) grooving or roughening polished, smooth concrete flooring to prevent slipping ● (^) making use of pasture or earthen exercise lots and removing slatted floors ● (^) eliminating stray voltage.
When cows ruminate, they appear relaxed with their head down and their eyelids lowered. Resting cows prefer to lie on their chest, facing slightly uphill. Also, through cud chewing as well as mutual and self-grooming, aggression is reduced and there is little or no boredom. Females of dairy breeds on heat are reputed to mount more than those of beef breeds. It has been argued that this is the result of greater selection for this trait in
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systems where males are largely or completely absent (Chenoweth and Landaeta- Hernandez 1998). The widespread use of artificial insemination in dairy herds may have led to unplanned selection for cows showing overt oestrus behaviour because those showing weak signs of oestrus would be less easily identified and therefore inseminated. In feral cattle, herd social organisation usually takes the form of groups of mothers and offspring, and bachelor groups of bulls grazing separately. These groupings are related to the dominance of the stock within each one and so are often called social dominance groups. Dominant bulls join the cow herd when there are oestrous cows, which is their signal for mounting behaviour. In domesticated cattle these social dominance groups are replaced by groups of cows and growing cattle, usually divided into similar age and single sex groups after about 6 months of age. Bulls kept for reproduction may be solitary confined for much of their life, or they may run with the herd of cows or even be rotated between herds. These changes in social structure from the natural groupings and the intensive husbandry methods used, increase social tension. With growing male cattle or bulls, the stresses of close confinement may make them difficult to manage safely without danger to the stockperson, with castration used to improve their temperament by reducing aggression. As cattle handlers, it is important to understand both innate behaviours of cattle and how our actions can modify their responses. This chapter aims to outline both of these fundamental principles that have such an important impact on how cattle behave.
4.2 The five senses
4.2.1 Vision
Vision is the dominant sense in cattle and is responsible for about half of the sensory information they receive from their surroundings. Cattle have a 330° vision, of this visual area, they have binocular vision for a limited area in front of them. This is where they will have the clearest vision and ability to judge depth or distance. In order to get the best possible vision, cattle will lower their head and face the stimulus of interest front on. The rest of their visual field is monocular. This large monocular area is very good for detecting predators, but they cannot judge distance here well. Because of this poorer depth perception here, it is best to approach a cow from the side, but moving at a slow pace. This will not spook the cow and allow you to approach more closely than front on. The remaining area around the cow is referred to as the blind spot. This is the area directly behind the cow’s tail. If you approach the cow from her blind spot she
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aid odour sampling by allowing air to contact the roof of the mouth during inhalation. Bulls appear to increase their olfactory behaviour about four days before cows show signs of oestrus. The production and detection of pheromones is another way cattle seek out suitable stock for mating. For this reason, cows on heat spend much time sniffing and licking the anal and vaginal areas of other cows. Other pheromones convey fear. Cattle respond to pheromones produced in fearful situations by increasing their own physiological stress response and fear behaviours. Cattle are also sensitive to the odours of potential predators, like dogs, spending more time sniffing the air and in cautious movement. In comparison to humans, cattle are able to detect much smaller differences in odour concentration.
4.2.4 Taste
There are four primary tastes identifiable in cattle. These are:
● (^) sweetness (associated with energy supply) ● (^) saltiness (associated with electrolyte balance) ● (^) bitterness (assists to avoid toxins and tannins that reduce the nutritive value of
plants) ● (^) acidity (linked to pH balance).
The taste receptors are located in specific areas of the tongue, with differences between cattle and humans in their taste discrimination, sensitivity and location on the tongue. Cattle have two to three times as many taste buds as humans, and so are more sensitive to tastes. Cattle can be apprehensive when it comes to eating novel food – feed with unfamiliar tastes and smells. For example, they need artificial sweeteners to mask bitter tastes such as zinc in water.
4.2.5 Touch
Skin receptors are used to detect pressure, movement, temperature and some damaging pathological conditions such as inflammation. Humans have increased sensitivity in their fingertips whereas cattle often use their extended mouth as a sampling tool in exploratory situations. Cattle perceive extreme ambient temperatures, relative humidities and/or wind speed through thermoreceptors, skin dryness (particularly in the throat and nasal passages) and mechanoreceptors. They learn their comfort or thermoneutral zones, above and below which they must use physiological processes to sustain their core body temperatures. They then modify their behaviour accordingly, such as seeking cooler locations during hot weather to find more favourable microclimates. As the lower critical temperature of adult cows is −23°C, they are rarely affected by cold stress. Heat stress is a common problem, at 21°C cattle increase their respiration rate, and at 25°C, above which they reduce feed intake to reduce metabolic heat
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production from rumen fermentation. Breed differences also influence the susceptibility of cattle to heat loads. Factors like higher metabolic rate, greater amounts of body fat and thicker coats all increase the likelihood of cattle suffering from heat stress. These breed differences are important considerations in the tropics. Cattle can readily detect low-level electric current, which often exists in milking parlours where wet conditions and connection of machinery to their udders make cattle prone to stray voltage. As the resistance provided by humans is two to 10 times greater (depending on footwear), the level of current that will disturb cows is much lower than it is for humans.
4.3 Behavioural indicators of poor welfare
The intensification of cattle housing and dairy cattle management contributes to behavioural problems not seen in grazing animals. Restriction of normal behaviours due to the production systems imposed on them are most frequently at the root of behavioural problems in cattle. Cattle, as with other domesticated species, have fewer behavioural problems when left in their natural environment. Therefore, there is a concern that intensive management has resulted in the decline of the animal’s wellbeing. In some cases, the way that stock behave is the only clue that discomfort and distress are present. This can be even more subtle with tethered animals.
4.3.1 Pain and its detection
While pain detection is related to touch, we have included it here in a separate category because it is of major importance to cattle welfare. Cattle have similar mechanisms for sensing pain as humans do, with responses increasing with the magnitude and duration of the stimuli. Situations cattle are in can influence their responsiveness to pain. Pain is reduced in cattle kept with herd mates (known as conspecifics) and greater when cows are isolated. Being aware of this factor when conducting any painful husbandry practices is important. Cattle are less expressive of pain and injury than humans. This is an evolved mechanism, with it being disadvantageous for prey animals to express pain or weakness, as weakness makes them an easier target for predators (Phillips 2002). Therefore, the behavioural indicators of pain that cattle do express are subtle. An animal experiencing pain has compromised welfare, and consequences to their health and productivity are also likely. Common behavioural indicators are as follows:
● (^) Abnormal stance and gait. Stances indicating pain may include a tucked
abdomen and tail, hunched back or standing still for extended periods of time. Abnormal gait can include unusual walking patterns (e.g. walking backwards), or uneven weight bearing, as seen when a cow is suffering from lameness. ● (^) Unusual resting behaviours. Lying with legs in an unusual position and a
hesitation to rise when lying may indicate pain. Dog sitting may occur when
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surfaces or levels, and fences or wall types as consistent as possible will help to reduce fear. If cows become fearful in a new situation, try and allow them some time to familiarise themselves with the new environment before introducing further changes or other stressful procedures. Rushing cows when they are slow because of novelty (and so are fearful) will exacerbate the issue. ● (^) Cows will fear humans if handled poorly and they associate this poor handling
with the place where it occurred. Using the cows’ natural behaviour to guide handling and other interactions will minimise fear responses. ● (^) Fear can make handling and milking harder, more time consuming and more dangerous. It can also delay milk letdown (for up to 20 min) and reduce milk yields (by up to 20%). ● (^) Fear responses during movement make cows more prone to slipping, falling
and injuries (e.g. pelvic and hip injuries due to falling, hoof injuries during slipping leading to lameness, for example) and compromise their welfare.
Improved cow movement and milk yield are measurable benefits arising from ‘cow friendly’ facility design and stock handling practices.
4.3.3 Descriptors of cow behaviour
A wide variety of terms can be used to describe cow behaviour, such as the 20 used by Welfare Quality (2009) in their welfare assessment protocols. These are listed below in decreasing order of positive emotional state: Happy, content, positively occupied, friendly, relaxed, calm, active, sociable, playful, lively, inquisitive, uneasy, bored, indifferent, fearful, apathetic, frustrated, agitated, distressed, irritable. When describing antagonistic behaviours, Welfare Quality (2009) use the following descriptors:
● (^) head butting; which occurs with physical contact where one animal is butting,
hitting, thrusting, striking or pushing the other animal with forehead, horns or horn base with a forceful movement; the receiver does not give up its present position ● (^) displacement; which is physical contact where one animal is forcing the other
animal to give up its position ● (^) chasing; where one animal makes another animal move ● (^) fighting; where two animals push their heads against each other while planting their feet on the ground with both exerting force against each other ● (^) chasing-up; where one animal uses physical contact against a lying animal to make it rise.
4.3.4 Stereotypic behaviours
Stereotypic behaviour is a term applied to repeated sequences of a behaviour that has no apparent purpose or benefit and is caused by the frustration of natural
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behaviour patterns or repeated attempts to deal with some problem (Mason and Rushen 2006). These are behaviours that have replaced natural ones that have been repressed by the artificial conditions of management. Compared to non-ruminant species such as poultry, cattle generally display fewer stereotypic behaviours when kept intensively. The more restrictive the management, the higher the frequency of their occurrence. Different species perform different stereotypies, and the type of stereotypic behaviour usually relates to the root cause. In cattle, these are usually oral stereotypies, which relate to nutritional and foraging deficits. Ambulatory stereotypies, the result of restricted movement, are also common. Tongue playing or rolling, bar biting, prepuce or scrotum biting and urine drinking are behaviours commonly referred to as stereotypies in cattle. Oral stereotypies are common in cattle when kept intensively because they no longer perform the long amounts of grazing and ruminating that they would when on pasture, which accounts for more than 9 h of their time budget naturally (Mason and Rushen 2006). With tongue rolling or tongue playing, the animal curls and uncurls the tongue inside or outside their mouth. After that, partial swallowing of the tongue and gulping of air may take place. In addition to this, object licking and bar biting are common. Bar biting consists of clamping the jaws around a bar and moving the head back and forth while chewing on the bar. Along with restricted grazing, ambulatory stereotypic behaviours develop as a result of tethering. Tethered cattle show pacing and swaying behaviours, suggesting frustrations with an inability to move. Swaying is particularly prevalent and has been reported in up to 20% of the tethered herd (Blaszak 2011). Research has shown that a combination of oral and ambulatory stereotypies have been found to occur in previously grazed cows that were then continuously tethered over many months (Albright and Arave 1997). These behaviours were linked to frustration resulting from a greatly reduced opportunity for activity (walking) along with reduced psychological and physiological contacts and the manipulation and processing of their feed. Environmental stimulation in the form of 1 h of exercise (e.g. loose in a pen area) each day can reduce incidences of bar biting in tethered cows, while tongue rolling ceases altogether following the transfer from tethering to loose housing or grazing. The provision of straw or hay, which increases chewing and ruminating time, is recommended to combat this. Such oral manipulation, tongue playing and non-nutritive sucking is also very apparent in veal calves that are individually stalled and only fed milk and concentrates. Feeding long hay reduces such abnormal behaviour in stall fed calves while they are absent altogether in calves suckled by their dams and grazed for 6 h per day (Albright and Arave 1997). Housing calves in pairs or small groups will also reduce the incidences of stereotypical behaviour, and address their other behavioural needs (see Chapter 3). Grandin and Deesing (1998) considered tongue rolling to be a relatively new abnormal behaviour and mainly apparent in intensively managed (generally lofted)
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front of than behind the animal. The flight zones of cows differ between individuals, and are influenced by things like environment, temperament, age and previous experience. The flight zone of a cow will also change depending on the situation they are in. Novel and stressful situations will increase the flight zone of the animal, as will unfamiliar people. As they become habituated or relaxed in a situation, the flight zone will reduce. The pace at which you enter the flight zone will also influence the cow’s behaviour. Rapidly moving into the flight zone will stimulate the flight response of cattle, whereas gentle movement will still cause the animal to move away, but it will do so more slowly. Figures 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 provide a graphical depiction of the flight zone and point of balance. Generally, the flight zone of loose housed cattle in large-scale commercial dairy herds is 3 to 5 m, although it could be smaller on smallholder farms where the stock are handled more frequently. Permanently tethering milking cows is also likely to reduce their flight zone because of their more frequent contact with people, and the animal knowing that it cannot move away. In intensive systems, the flight distance is by necessity reduced, compared with, for example, an open range. Dairy cattle have a smaller flight distance than beef cattle. This would have resulted from more frequent handling and interaction with people, on dairy farms compared to beef farms, and genetic selection for closer flight zones during the
Figure 4.1: Flight zone: the flight zone of a cow is an invisible boundary around the animal and is the minimum distance that the animal feels safe from you. Moving into the flight zone will cause the animal to move as it tries to re-establish this safe distance.
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Figure 4.2: Blind spot: the cow cannot see you if you are in her blind spot. Sudden movement in this area will cause her to startle.
Figure 4.3: Point of balance: moving into an animal’s flight zone in front of this point of balance (in front of the shoulder), will cause the cow to move backwards. Moving into an animal’s flight zone from behind this point of balance will cause the cow to move forwards.
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each other. When they are calm, they keep their heads down so they can see where they are placing their feet. They only lift their heads when they become nervous. Since cows are creatures of habit, they like to learn exactly what is happening, what they have to do and when. So it is important to have patience to allow routines to develop, then rigidly stick to these routines. A group of cows moves like a flowing stream, so to prevent this stream from being interrupted, it is important to avoid obstacles, passageways with dead ends and things that make cows feel afraid.
4.5 Social behaviours
Cattle are social animals and have evolved to live in herds in a strategy to reduce the risk of predation. Grazing in open areas increases the risk of predation, and group living increases the likelihood of predator detection to compensate. Another protective element of herds – the rapid flight or stampede of large numbers of animals – confuses predators during attack. The opportunity of members of a herd learning survival tactics is also increased through social facilitation. Importantly, this evolution of social behaviour means that isolation is particularly stressful to cattle. Isolation can cause animals to be distressed and panic, increasing the likelihood of injury to both the individual and handler. The effect of isolation is additive or compounding, with animals being more stressed during husbandry procedures when isolated. Therefore, it is always best to keep several animals together during activities like veterinary treatment, artificial insemination or movement from one place to another.
4.5.1 Visual communication
Visual signs are one of the main methods used by cattle to communicate, particularly to indicate aggressive and reproductive states (discussed below). For tethered animals, the ability to express these methods of communication are limited, as a result, they will be more subtle than those in free moving cows. The signals of aggression displayed by bulls take the form of lowering of the head, drawing the chin towards the body and inclining the horns to the opponent, signalling their intention to charge by pawing the ground. In cows, the threat is less forceful and generally involves head swinging for aggressive displays and turning away as a submissive signal. The ability of tethered cattle to display submissive signals to dominant animals will be limited, and as a result, aggressive interactions should be monitored carefully, and cows moved if aggressive behaviours continue. The tail is an important signalling device in cattle. The tail will usually be held horizontal during defecation and urination. If, together with the head, it is elevated, this often indicates an exploratory situation to investigate the source of some stimulus. Tails are also elevated during oestrus display, fighting, threats,
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greetings, suckling and homosexual activities in both males and females. Conversely when the tail is held between the legs, this indicates the animal is cold or frightened or fearful. Lateral movements of the tail are often used for fly removal, but can be a response to more general cutaneous irritations such as rubbing or stimulation such as of vulva or penis during sexual behaviour. Tail wagging is also common when cattle are being irritated. Cows will wag their tail as a threat if they are about to kick. Tail wagging can also be performed in response to painful stimuli. Facial expressions are of less importance because the facial musculature is less well developed than in other species, and the distance between animals would often preclude the use of facial gestures as signals. Some obvious signals are present, however. The flehman response has already been discussed in relation to oestrus. Situations causing arousal (surprise, alarm, distress) will cause an increase in the size of the white of the eye surrounding the pupil. Conversely, cattle often perform routine behaviours, such as eating, ruminating or lying with their eyes half closed, which may be an indication of relaxation. Ear movement may also be involved in expressive behaviour, as they are in sheep, but this is yet to be researched. Ear postures will change in response to auditory signals, allowing the cow to locate the direction of a sound. Grooming is primarily a body care activity but it has additional benefits. Cattle groom each other (allogrooming), usually the head and neck region of animals that are of similar or slightly subordinate positions in the dominance order. They may groom each other to maintain dominance position, to reinforce family bonds and those between adult cattle. Abilities to allogroom and reinforce bonds is also limited in tethered animals. Providing the opportunity for animals to interact and perform these behaviours is important.
4.5.2 Vocal communication
Vocal communication is used in recognition, eliciting contact as well as greetings, threats and fear display. Certain types of calls are associated with specific behaviours or emotional states. With calves, the calls during isolation are of lower frequency and carry further than during branding, perhaps suggesting greater stress. As an animal becomes more excited or distressed, the duration, volume and pitch of the calls increase. Vocalisations have been categorised and calls fall into five ‘main syllables’ based on the mouth, tongue and nasal placement and the speed of air leaving the throat (Phillips 2002). Other classifications use amplitude, pitch, tonality and length to interpret the message of different calls. Calls change as the animal ages, and bulls tend to vocalise more than cows and steers. The frequency of vocalisations can be used as an indicator of cattle welfare in abattoirs and during handling. Vocalisations can also indicate pain. However, as yet, no specific meaning has been attributed to different calls.
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appearance and their normal behaviour, which may be symptomatic of stress or illness. This topic has been covered in detail in a previous book written by the senior author and the reader is referred to Chapter 12 on Moran (2012b) for further details.
4.5.6 Social dynamics in free moving herds
Much of this section is specific to untethered, free moving dairy systems. As farms expand in herd size, these types of systems are likely to become more common. Creating awareness of these issues beforehand will allow expanding production systems to address them before they arise. In wild cattle, herd social organisation usually takes the form of groups of mothers and offspring, and bachelor groups of bulls grazing separately. These groupings are related to the dominance of the stock within each one, and so are often called social dominance groups. Dominant bulls can join the cow herd when there are cows displaying oestrus (or mounting behaviour). Depending on farm management systems, these social dominance groups are replaced by groups of cows and growing cattle, usually divided into similar age and single sex groups after about 6 months of age. In these extensive herds, bulls kept for reproduction may be solitarily confined for much of their life. These changes in social structure from the natural groupings and the intensive husbandry methods used can increase social tension. With growing male cattle or bulls, the stresses of close confinement may make them difficult to manage safely without danger to the stockperson. This is one of the main reasons castration is performed, to improve their temperament by reducing aggression. Within the herd, there is a dominance hierarchy. The hierarchy usually depends on the temperament of the animal, her age and her size. Aggressive (or agonistic) behaviours are one of the ways these hierarchies are established, and introducing new animals into the herd will likely lead to hierarchies needing to be re-established. It is important to give cattle enough space so subordinate individuals can avoid confrontation.
Herd size Herd size will influence the social dynamics. Herd sizes and space allowances are also not often a point of consideration on typical SHD farms in the tropics, often limited by land availability and affordability as well as knowledge. However, as smallholders become more experienced and competent, they may have greater opportunities to increase their farm and herd size. For example, there is also increasing interest in SHD farmers to combine their smaller herds in the one shed or use shared facilities, hence handling large numbers of stock may be of relevance; these cow colonies are further discussed in Section 9.2.3 in Chapter 9. In untethered systems, as herd size increases, the frequency of agonistic interactions increases as the result of increased competition for resources. Albright
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and Arave (1997) noted that the provision of 3.5 m of walking space per cow and at least one feeding space and one cubicle per cow could significantly reduce social stress, highlighting the importance of resource allocation in a changing herd. In addition to this, as the size of the herd increases, individual members have difficulty in remembering the social status of other members, leading to prolonged dominance-related aggression. In young calves where no dominance order has been formed, group size has little effect on the frequency of agonistic encounters (Albright and Arave 1997).
Mixing When cattle groups are mixed, a new dominance structure is created, usually within 24 to 72 h, depending on the degree of change in the group. Minor changes result in a doubling of aggression activity for about 24 h. Changes in the group structure may sometimes cause sufficient disruption to actually reduce feed intake and hence milk production. However, this can be quite variable, varying from 19% to zero reduced milk yields in eight different studies (Phillips 2002).
4.6 Cattle–human interactions
4.6.1 Temperament
A cow’s temperament is one of the key aspects of their personality in relation to their reaction to humans. It relates to fearfulness or reaction to fearful stimuli rather than aggression, which reflects the position in the dominance order. An animal’s temperament relates strongly to previous handling experiences (positive or negative) and handling frequency. There are also genetic differences, with variety between breeds and between sires within breeds. For example, Friesian cattle are more sensitive to sound and touch in auctions than beef breeds. Subjective scoring systems describing temperament as placid, docile, nervous or lively, correlate well with more objective measures of heart rate and breathing rate. Docile cows tend to produce more milk, this may be related to being more calm during milking and therefore having greater milk letdown. Some cattle react strongly to human presence, and can remember aversive handlers in the milking parlour thus leading to reduced milk production and poorer reproductive performance. Cattle usually improve their temperament and become less fearful with age, as this is associated with habituation, with the animal becoming more familiar with handling procedures and the environment. It is likely that handling experiences as a calf influence temperament, as bad handling during this critical period will render an animal nervous and hypersensitive to stress. Therefore, it is beneficial to positively condition calves to
