Presentation Details
| Investigating changes in a valued activity as a novel indicator of weaning distress in dairy calves Blair F Wermuth, Blair C Downey. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA |
Abstract
Anhedonia is the loss of pleasure in previously valued activities and has been proposed as a measure of negative emotional states in non-human animals. In dairy cattle, reduced use of a grooming brush has been observed when experiencing stressors like regrouping, but this measure has not been explored in calves or their common stressors. Our objective was to investigate if grooming brush use changed in response to weaning, a known aversive experience for dairy calves. Twenty-five individually reared (industry standard) calves were enrolled at age d26 and given four stationary scrub brushes each. Calves were observed continuously (1200-1700) for brush use preweaning (PW; d35), after the first milk meal was removed (B1; d42 or d58), and once weaned (W; d66). There was no significant difference in brush usage, though calves showed a numeric decrease across weaning (PW: 3.0±0.5, B1: 1.9±0.3, W: 1.6±0.25 mean ±SE; p≥0.311). There was high individual variation between calves in daily performance (0.04-14.4min) and directional change in brush use over time. These results indicate that brush usage may not be a sensitive measure of weaning distress under these conditions.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
Content Locked. Log into a registered attendee account to access this presentation.