Investigating common management practices and natural behaviors of dairy cattle during the transition period.
Abstract
The management of dairy cattle during the transition period can vary greatly from farm to
farm. These management practices can have a lasting effect, influencing the dairy cows future
productivity, profitability, and their overall welfare. Additionally, some of those management
practices often used for dairy cows in the transition period may affect the ability to perform
natural behaviors which may induce additional stress. The public has questioned the common
practice of separating the calf from the dam shortly after birth. As a result of removing the calf
shortly after birth from the dam, it is not completely understood what natural and preferred
behaviors dairy cows and calves perform when kept together for extended periods of time. This
thesis addresses two main topics of dairy cows during the transition period: 1) the common
management practices of transition cows during the 60 d before to 30 d after calving, and 2)
maternal behaviors and interactions of cow-calf pairs on pasture during early life. Chapter 2
provides a background for the two topics of this thesis, cow-calf behavior, the behavioral and
health effects of cow calf separation, and management practices of dairy cows during the
transition period. Chapter 3 explores the natural behaviors of 2 cow-calf pairs kept on pasture
with a dynamic group of cows and calves during the first 2 wk of life. Both calves were observed
hiding within 8 h after calving and spent a majority of time on d 2 hiding and away from the rest
of the herd. Additionally, both calves stayed in proximity to their dam for the majority of d 1.
Both calves were observed suckling on d 2 and eating grass, hay, or mineral on d 2. These results
indicate that additional research is needed to understand the natural behaviors of cow-calf pairs
kept together for an extended period on time in a semi-natural environment. Chapter 4
investigates common management practices including specific pen design and management, cow-calf separation, and disease prevalence of dairy cows during the 60 d before and 30 d after
calving on Wisconsin and Minnesota dairy farms. The results indicated that many practices are
variable among farms and are often influenced by herd size and lactating cow housing.
Additionally, farms commonly entered dairy cows into new pens twice during the transition
period and allowed some cow-calf contact (CCC). The survey re-establishes the need for more
research focused on best management practices of transition cows. Despite the small number of
cow-calf pairs included in the study and the survey only focusing on Wisconsin and Minnesota
farms, both of these studies provide insight on dairy cows behavioral preferences and current
management practices as well as highlighting an important component of dairy cattle research
which needs further attention.
Subject
Dairy cattle--Research
Dairy cattle--Management
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/85717Type
Thesis
Description
M.S. Agriculture Education