Search

Separation of the cow and calf shortly after birth is a common practice on commercial dairy farms around the world, but there are emerging concerns about this practice among citizens and other stakeholders. Continuous improvement of on-farm management practices in collaboration with dairy sector stakeholders increases the likelihood that farming systems evolve in a way that is consistent with societal expectations. Few commercial dairy farms provide extended cow-calf contact, and there is little understanding of how dairy farmers view this practice. This study examined the views of New Zealand dairy farmers toward providing cow-calf contact, particularly the barriers to adopting such a system in a seasonal-calving pasture-based dairy system. Standard farm practice in New Zealand is to remove the calf from the cow around 24 h (but could be up to 48 h) after birth. These conventional farmers (n = 63) were randomly selected from the database of all dairy farmers in New Zealand and telephone-interviewed using a semistructured interview format. Their responses to questions about providing cow-calf contact (defined as contact beyond the standard practice of 48 h) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three major themes of concern were identified by these farmers about providing cow-calf contact as follows: (1) poor animal welfare, especially the risk of mastitis in the dam, inadequate colostrum for the calf, increased stress from delayed separation, and lack of shelter for calves while outdoors with the cow; (2) increased labor and stress on staff; and (3) system-level changes required, including infrastructure and herd management. Many of these concerns stemmed from challenges related to the nature of large-scale seasonal-calving pasture-based dairy systems, where a large number of calves are born in a short period of time and may be exposed to inclement weather in late winter in some areas. Several small-scale farmers (n = 4) providing cow-calf contact for longer than standard practice of 48 h were also interviewed; all permitted contact for at least 4 wk. These farmers also felt that animal welfare and health were important, and that this was promoted in their cow-calf contact systems. Concerns about colostrum and mastitis, for example, were not raised by these farmers, but they did agree that additional infrastructure and shelter were important considerations for cow-calf contact systems. Some conventional farmers expressed cognitive dissonance in that they theoretically preferred cow-calf contact but could not see it being realistic or practical to implement. Farmers currently providing longer cow-calf contact may be a useful resource for better understanding of how practical and economical cow-calf contact systems could be adopted on commercial pastoral dairy farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate the wider use of pain relief on-farm, practical ‘farmer friendly’ methods for administering pain relief are necessary. This proof of concept study evaluated the efficacy of rubber rings coated with local anaesthetic (LA, lignocaine) for providing pain relief in lambs castrated 4 weeks after birth. To eliminate any potential effects of blood sampling on behavioural responses to castration, the study was carried out in two parts, utilising different animals. In the first part of the study, behavioural responses were measured for 60 lambs ( n = 10 per treatment) randomly allocated to: (1) handling without castration (C), (2) castration with a normal rubber ring (R), (3) castration with a rubber ring coated with LA (RLA), (4) LA injected into the testes and scrotal neck 4 min before a normal ring was applied (LADR), (5) LA injected immediately prior to a normal ring being applied (LAIR), and (6) injection of LA without castration (LA). Total time lying and frequencies of pain-related behaviour (abnormal lying, activity, postural changes) were recorded by video during baseline (30 min) and 3 h post-treatment. In the second part of the study, cortisol responses were measured for 24 lambs ( n = 8 per treatment) allocated to one of three treatments: C, R or RLA as above. Blood samples were taken via jugular venipuncture at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min and analysed for plasma cortisol concentrations. In the first part, total time spent lying (%) was lower ( P < 0.01) for RLA and R compared to all other treatments. The frequencies of abnormal lying, activity and postural changes were higher ( P < 0.05) for RLA and R compared to C and LA. Abnormal lying was less frequent ( P < 0.05) for RLA (32.6 ± 3.4 mean ± SED) compared to R (50.7 ± 3.4 ± SED) within the first 20 min post-treatment. However, pain-related behavioural responses of RLA lambs were not reduced enough to achieve best practice levels of pain relief (i.e. LADR). In the second part, cortisol peaked 60 min after treatment for both RLA and R but was lower overall for RLA than R (4473.3 ± 431.2 vs. 5775.1 ± 431.2 mean AUC ± SEM, RLA and R respectively, P < 0.05). The lower cortisol and behavioural responses in the RLA lambs relative to R lambs indicate that the lignocaine-coated ring reduced the pain associated with castration to some degree. This technique has potential as a practical method for administering pain relief on-farm. Further development of the rings is required to achieve faster absorption into the tissue and improve pain alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Play behavior may be reduced during negative experiences (e.g. pain) and serve as an indicator of animal welfare. To test this, the effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and a local anesthetic (LA) on dairy calf play behavior and wound sensitivity of calves after hot-iron disbudding (DB) were examined. Forty-six calves were assigned to six treatments: Sham, LA+Sham, LA+NSAID+Sham, DB, LA+DB and LA+NSAID+DB. Play behaviors, including bucking and running, as well as head-related behaviors were measured during a 10min arena test 3 and 27h after disbudding. Calves were tested in pairs (one experimental animal+companion), and all calves played at least once during the experiment. Three hours after disbudding, Sham, LA+NSAID+Sham and LA+NSAID+DB calves spent more time playing during the test period than calves in the DB treatment (Sham: 46s/10min, LA+NSAID+Sham: 46s/10min, LA+NSAID+DB: 33s/10min vs. DB: 11s/10min; SED: 10s/10min). Calves in the LA+Sham treatment spent less time playing than Sham calves 3h after the procedure (LA+Sham: 18s/10min vs. Sham: 46s/10min; SED 10s/10min). Twenty-seven hours afterwards, effects of pain relief were seen, but were not consistent; some combinations of LA/NSAID/Sham treatments played more at this time, while others played less. There were no differences associated with disbudding 27h after treatment, nor were there differences in head-related behaviors at either time. Wound sensitivity, as determined using von Frey monofilaments, was unaffected by pain relief. The areas medial to the wounds were less sensitive in disbudded animals from 3 to 75h after the procedure, but locations lateral to the wound were more sensitive from 27h and up to 75h after the treatment. This is the first report that disbudding wounds may remain sensitive for at least 75h after the procedure. These results also indicate that both disbudding and injection of LA can suppress play behavior in the short-term and that the need for longer-term pain management for hot-iron cautery disbudding of young calves requires further investigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Our objective was to understand how body condition and shelter affected behavioural and physiological responses of dairy cattle during winter weather. Twenty non-lactating dairy cows were divided into two groups of 10. Within each group, five animals had a high body condition score (9 out of 10) and five had a relatively low condition score (4 out of 10). Each week, the groups were switched between an indoor and an outdoor pen for a total of six weeks. The outdoor pen was equipped with sprinklers and fans to simulate continuous winter weather. We measured time budgets (time spent lying, standing, eating) and changes in lying and standing posture in response to the indoor/outdoor treatments. In addition, we measured body temperature, skin thickness, faecal glucocorticoid metabolites, plasma cortisol, thyroxine (T4) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations. When cows were kept outside, they spent less time lying down, had higher cortisol, glucocorticoid, T4 and NEFA concentrations. They were also more likely to spend time in lying and standing postures that reduced the amount of surface area exposed to rain and wind when outside compared to when they were kept inside, suggesting that shelter provides benefits for dairy cows in winter conditions. While outside, thinner cows spent less time eating, particularly when temperatures became colder, had lower minimum body temperatures, were more likely to spend time lying in postures that reduced surface area exposed to rain and wind, and had lower NEFA concentrations compared to high-conditioned cows, indicating that body condition helps insulate cows exposed to winter weather. In conclusion, both shelter and body condition mitigates the effects of winter weather on dairy cows. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Sleep is important for animal welfare, but difficult to accurately identify in dairy cows. • Polysomnography is impractical and alternatives are needed for future research in this field. • REM sleep often occurs with the head resting, but this posture does not always indicate REM sleep. • Lying posture was not useful to identify sleep stages in cows. Quality sleep is important for physical health and welfare in animals. However, we know little about dairy cow sleep, and how much they need. Practical techniques are needed to monitor sleep in cows to determine how different management practices affect their sleep and their welfare. It is impractical to use 'gold standard' electrophysiological - polysomnography (PSG) to identify sleep in cows. Previous work suggests lying postures are useful to identify sleep stages in calves, but the reliability of lying behaviour to identify these sleep stages in adult cows is uncertain. We compared the lying postures of adult dairy cows (deep bedded on straw or in a pasture) with PSG, to determine if lying postures could be used to accurately identify rapid eye movement (REM) and the different stages of non-REM (NREM) sleep. Lying in the typical "sleep" posture with the head turned and resting on the flank identified approximately 70 % of REM sleep in outdoor managed cows but was less accurate in indoor housed cows that showed REM sleep in numerous postures. Lying with the head still and low did not identify stages of NREM sleep in either group. Using the tucked 'sleep posture' to estimate total sleep would be an over estimation of REM sleep, but also an underestimation of total sleep as this posture would omit most NREM sleep. Lying postures are not useful indicators of sleep stages in dairy cows and additional research is required to identify efficacious alternative techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]