Temperament of the dairy cow relates to her maternal behaviour in a pasture-based extended suckling system

Abstract

Cow-calf rearing is gaining interest in dairy systems as an alternative to calf separation soon after birth. One commonly articulated benefit of these ‘extended suckling’ systems is that they allow expression of highly motivated maternal behaviours. The quality of maternal expression is subject to natural variation, however, and could be influenced by the temperamental characteristics of the dam. This study assessed the relationship between cow temperamental characteristics and expression of maternal behaviours in a pasture-based extended suckling system. Sixteen dairy cows (Bos taurus) underwent social isolation, novel object and novel human tests at 4 months of pregnancy. A principal components analysis (PCA) was used to determine associations between cow responses in these tests. After parturition, the cows entered an extended suckling system (half-day contact) until calves were weaned. Cow-calf interactions at pasture were video recorded for 4 consecutive hours (∼09:00 AM – 1:00 PM) at weeks 3, 6 and 9 post-partum. These data were used to calculate a maternal behaviour score for cows by subtracting the frequency of “negative” maternal behaviours (i.e., agonistic behaviour delivered to own calf, rejecting own calf suckling attempt and rejecting attempted contact by own calf) from the frequency of “positive” maternal behaviours (i.e., nursing own calf, affiliative behaviour delivered to own calf and proximity to own calf). A Pearson correlation was then used to assess the relationship between factors scores and maternal scores. Three behavioural traits were identified from the PCA: boldness, anxiety and sociability. In general, cows delivered more affiliative behaviour to their calves than to other calves and to cows and nursed their own calf more than other calves. The maternal behaviour score varied (mean ± SD, 33 ± 13.4, minimum = 9, maximum = 49). Cows with higher loadings for boldness had a lower maternal behaviour score (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between maternal behaviour score and anxiety or sociability (p > 0.05). The lower maternal behaviour score of bold cows in this study might be influenced by their prioritisation of foraging and exploration over interactions with their calves. Despite the long-standing practice of calf separation soon after birth, the current study demonstrates that maternal abilities of pasture-based dairy dams persist. We conclude that cow temperamental characteristics are related to how the cows interacted with their calves.