Behavioural response of dairy cows with and without calf-contact to hair of own and alien calves presented in the milking parlour
Introduction
Dairy calf rearing systems, in which the calves are allowed to suckle their mothers and the cows are additionally milked, have both advantages and disadvantages (Johnsen et al., 2015). One of the challenges to overcome is a decreased milk yield during machine milking due to disturbed alveolar milk ejection, which, in turn, is caused by suppressed oxytocin release (Bar-Peled et al., 1995, De Passillé et al., 2008, Sandoval-Castro et al., 1999). The underlying mechanisms are not completely understood, but a lack of calf-associated stimuli during milking may play a role. The odour of the cow’s own young might be an especially strong stimulus. At least in ewes, olfaction is particularly important for the acceptance of the lamb at the udder (Alexander and Stevens, 1981, Alexander et al., 1983). Most scientific research on olfactory young recognition in farm ungulates has been done in ewes, but some studies have been conducted on goats and cattle as well. Olfactory selectivity is established through the prepartum rise of oestrogen, vaginocervical stimulation caused by fetus expulsion and the licking of the neonate, which, in turn, is elicited by an olfactory attraction towards amniotic fluid, and triggers further hormonal and neurophysiological processes in the mother (reviewed by Lévy and Keller, 2009 and Poindron et al., 2007). The influence of olfaction during the establishment of maternal selectivity was demonstrated by comparing intact goats or sheep with animals prenatally rendered anosmic. The latter were not attracted to amniotic fluid (Lévy et al., 1983) and did not form an exclusive bond with their own offspring, but also suckled alien young (ewes: Ferreira et al., 2000, Lévy et al., 1995, Poindron and Le Neindre, 1980; goats: Hernandez et al., 2002, Romeyer et al., 1994). Among anosmic goats, the oxytocin release was the same when suckling their own or an alien young, while intact goats showed a higher oxytocin release when suckling their own kid (Hernandez et al., 2002). Likewise, in beef cattle, anosmic mothers showed lower suckling-mediated inhibition of LH secretion than intact animals while suckling their own calf. This may lead to an earlier oestrus after calving among anosmic animals (Griffith and Williams, 1996).
If calf odour shall be used as a potential stimulus in the milking parlour, the first question that arises is how to present it in a way that is best perceived by the cow. In sheep, scent rather than pheromones is responsible for the development of a selective recognition of the lamb (reviewed by Kendrick et al., 1997). Odours of faeces or urine play a minor role in maternal recognition in ewes (Alexander and Stevens, 1981; [Alexander and Stevens, 1983]1982/83). The theory that lambs are “labelled” by their mother’s milk or saliva could not be substantiated (Alexander and Stevens, 1982/83; Lévy et al., 1991). Textile materials, with which animals were rubbed or which were worn by an animal or human, have been successfully used in fostering (beef cattle: Dunn et al., 1987; ewes: Martin et al., 1987) and discrimination tests (ewes: Alexander and Stevens, 1982/83; humans: Porter and Cernoch, 1983, Porter and Moore, 1981, Lundström et al., 2009; European storm petrel sea birds: Bonadonna and Sanz-Aguilar, 2012). Therefore, Barth et al. (2010) rubbed calves with cotton cloths, which were used to reproduce an olfactory stimulation in dairy cows in the milking parlour. However, neither behavioural responses were detected nor an increase in milk ejection achieved. It remained unclear whether the cows did not perceive the stimulus or merely did not react to it. Therefore, in this study we attempted to intensify the calf-odour of samples presented to cows in the milking parlour. A source of odour, which worked well in choice tests with ewes, was wool of different body regions (Alexander, 1978; Alexander and Stevens, 1982/83). For acceptance at the udder, the odour from the anogenital region of the lambs was most important (Alexander et al., 1983). Therefore, calf hair from the anogenital region and hind limbs was used as the source of odour in this study to elicit a behavioural response in cows during milking. As proffering each cow the hair of her own calf is too labour intensive for normal farm practices, the response to alien calf hair is of significant interest. This pilot study addressed the questions whether (i) cows behaviourally respond to small amounts of calf hair presented in the parlour (compared to a control without calf hair), (ii) responses are different to hair of the own calf or an alien calf, and whether (iii) cows with and without calf contact behave differently to the olfactory stimuli. The possible influence of olfactory stimulation on milk let-down was tested in another experiment, not presented here.
Section snippets
Animals, housing and treatment groups
The experiment was carried out at the Thünen Institute of Organic Farming in Trenthorst, Germany, during the winter housing period. In total, 40 dairy cows of two different breeds, German Red Pied (GRP; n = 20), a dual-purpose breed, and German Holstein black-and-white (GH; n = 20), were included in the study. The breeds were kept in two separate herds with respectively 45 and 48 cows in two identical sections of a loose housing stable. Maintaining a balance between breed and parity was an
Responsiveness in general
In 26% of trials (61 of 236), a reaction towards a stimulus could be observed and in 23% of trials (54 of 236), there was a reaction towards ‘own’ and/or ‘alien’. Of the 40 cows participating in the experiment, 26 (65%) responded at least once to any stimulus. Two cows only reacted to empty bags (‘no’). Thus, 60% of the cows responded to any stimulus with calf hair (‘own’ and/or ‘alien’) (Table 2). Frequencies of responses towards the three stimuli differed in responding animals without missing
Discussion
More than half of the cows (60%) reacted at least once to any of the olfactory calf-associated stimuli presented in the milking parlour during milking. However, with overt responses towards such stimuli during only approximately 23% of milkings, the response rate was, in general, rather low. Motivation for exploration may have been hampered in the normal milking situation, either due to fear elicited by handling at the baskets or by distraction through milking. In a specially equipped testing
Conclusions
Despite low response rates to the presented olfactory stimuli in general, we conclude that, at least, the responsive multiparous cows and ‘contact’ heifers were able to perceive the presented calf odour and preferred to sniff/lick those stimuli compared to a stimulus with ‘no’ odour. For conclusive results regarding possible effects of calf-contact, especially in heifers, and the cows’ ability to discriminate between olfactory samples from their own and alien calves, further investigations with
Acknowledgments
We express our thanks to Gabriele Kümmritz, Kerstin Hofmann, Jacqueline Felix and all persons who helped us in the cow dairy and laboratory of the Thünen Institute in Trenthorst, and to Christina von Roedern who helped with the English. We are also grateful to the University of Kassel for providing a dissertation scholarship.
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