Validity of behavioral indicators for beef cattle temperament

• Grant number: 12/09791-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 02, 2012
• End date: November 01, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Ecology of Domestic Animals and Ethology
• Principal Investigator: Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da Costa
• Grantee: Aline Cristina Sant'Anna
• Supervisor: Francisco Javier Manteca Vilanova
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the validity and the feasibility of the qualitative behavioral assessment method (QBA) as an indicator of beef cattle temperament on farms, additionally to evaluate the associations of different behavioral temperament indicators, including the quantitative test (QBA). Temperament assessment were carried out for 7400 males and females Nellore beef cattle, around 18 months of age, applying the flight speed test (speed at which the animal exit the crush after handling, in m/s), and visual scores for: 1) movement in the crush, 2) reactivity in the crush 3) temperament score, done in a pen of the coral. All visual scores ranged from 1 (best temperament) to 5 (worst temperament). In addition to quantitative indicators, the qualitative behavior assessment was also applied (N = 2230), using a list of behavioral descriptors. For each one of these terms there is an analogical visual scale, with 126 mm, in which the observer scored his qualitative assessment of the animal's expression. The minimum value represents absence of the expression and a maximum value represents the intense manifestation of it. For statistical analysis the Principal Component Analysis method (PROC PRINCOMP of SAS) will be used. In addition, other statistical methods will also be explored to evaluate the association of QBA with other indicators of temperament, logistic regression (PROC GENMOD) and analysis of variance (PROC MIXED and PROC GLIMIX SAS). (AU)