Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Abstract: No universal definition of animal welfare exists. However, an animal allowed \nexpression of natural, innate behaviours, showing good biological functioning and having a \npositive affective state is generally viewed as having a high level of welfare. Animal welfare \nchallenges exist across all countries and species. This thesis is focused on dairy calves and the \nimpact that management has on their level of welfare. \nOrganic production has several prerequisites which should allow for better animal \nwelfare than conventional production. The organic legislation generally has higher levels of \nminimal standards and the organic philosophy has a strong emphasis on the natural behaviour \napproach to animal welfare. Veterinarians have traditionally focused on the biological \nfunctioning approach to animal welfare and have been criticized for being sceptical towards \norganic farming. To investigate views on calf health and welfare in organic dairy production, \nand potential differing opinions between veterinarians and agricultural advisors, we sent out a \nquestionnaire to 400 large animal practitioners and 400 agricultural advisors. A total of 207 \nveterinarians (52%) and 215 agricultural advisors (54%) responded. The questionnaire \ncontained questions related to calf health and welfare in organic dairy production in Norway, \nas well as some questions comparing organic production with conventional. Results showed \nthat low calf mortality and adequate treatment of ill or injured animals were rated most \nfavourably for calves in organic dairy production. Body condition and growth received the \nleast favourable scores. The calf staying with its mother after birth was seen as the most \nimportant welfare advantage, while poor feed quality was seen as the most important welfare \nchallenge. Veterinarians and agricultural advisors generally considered health and welfare to \nbe equal for calves in organic and conventional dairy farming systems in Norway. The \nfindings suggest that management has a greater impact on calf welfare than production \nsystem. \nA major part of management is the handling of animals during routine procedures like \nmoving or milking. The way stockpeople handle their animals has a great impact on the \nhuman-animal relationship and hence the level of animal welfare. To study the effect of \nhandling style on animal behaviour and welfare, we applied Qualitative Behaviour \nAssessment. Qualitative Behaviour Assessment is a method in which an observer scores a list \nof descriptors, e.g. aggressive, sociable, content, tense, and happy, from minimum to \nmaximum based on his/her observed behaviours on a farm. One list of descriptors was completed for the calves, another list for the stockpeople. Principal component analysis \nclassified calf behaviour along two axes labelled positive/negative mood and high/low \narousal. The same method on stockperson behaviour revealed four distinct handling styles \ncalled calm/patient, positive interactions, dominating/aggressive, and insecure/nervous. While \nthe two former are viewed as positive, the two latter are viewed as negative. Using structural \nequation modelling, it was found that stockpeople with positive handling styles have calves \nwith higher levels of positive mood and vice versa. These results show the direct link between \nhuman and animal behaviour and emphasise the importance of good stockmanship and selfawareness \nin contact with animals to ensure good animal welfare. \nAlthough a positive human-animal relationship is established, many management \nprocedures are perceived as negative by the animals. One such procedure is the separation of \ncow and calf. In conventional dairy production the calf is usually separated from the cow \nimmediately after birth, while in organic dairy production separation occurs after three days in \nNorway and one day in Denmark and Sweden. Separation of a bonded cow-calf pair will \ninevitably be stressful to the animals. Research has therefore been aimed at designing \nalternative separation methods to reduce post-separation stress, especially for beef cattle. One \nalternative separation method is fence-line separation, which allows limited physical contact \nbetween the cow and calf after separation through and over a fence. Our results showed that \nfence-line separated calves performed less high-pitched (open mouthed) vocalizations \ncompared to calves separated by a solid wall. Fence-line separated calves also showed less \nalert behaviour like gazing and directing ears, head and neck in the direction of the cow. For \nthe cows no differences were discovered. These results suggest that physical contact with the \nmother after separation can reduce behavioural stress responses in the calf. \nEarly separation of cow and calf prevents suckling and milk needs to be artificially \nadministered to the calves. It is commonly believed that calves can only be fed 2-3 litres of \nmilk per meal. If higher amounts are given, milk can supposedly enter the rumen causing \nindigestion, diarrhoea and reduced growth. Unable to find the scientific basis for this belief, \nwe wanted to challenge it. Six Norwegian Red calves at around three weeks of age were, on \nthree test days, given unrestricted portions of warm, whole milk through a teat bottle with a \nrelatively small opening. The milk had a contrast agent, barium sulphate (BaSO4), added to it \nand abdominal radiographs were taken to see if the milk stayed in the abomasum or entered \nthe rumen. The calves drank high amounts of milk, the highest reaching 6.8 litres (13.2% of \nbody weight) in one meal. The radiographs showed that the abomasum has great capacity for \nexpansion. Regardless of intake, no milk in the rumen or abdominal pain or discomfort was observed in any of the calves. These results indicate that farmers can increase the milk meal \nsizes for their calves given that the warm whole milk is given through a teat with a relatively \nsmall opening. \nThrough different approaches and methods I have attempted to shed light on the \nimpact of management on calf welfare. Hopefully this knowledge will make a positive \ncontribution to dairy calf keeping nationally and internationally.
Source: BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway))
Author: Kristian Ellingsen
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2503706677