Effect of tactile stimulation on the preference and usage of physical enrichment by crossbreed dairy calves

• Grant number: 23/00301-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: May 01, 2023
• End date: June 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Ecology of Domestic Animals and Ethology
• Principal Investigator: Lenira El Faro Zadra
• Grantee: Karolini Tenffen de Sousa
• Supervisor: Daniel Martin Weary
• Host Institution: Instituto de Zootecnia. Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). Nova Odessa , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of British Columbia, Vancouver (UBC), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/12148-1 - Effect of nutrition and tactile stimulation on performance, welfare and behavior of Gyr calves, BP.PD

Abstract

The purpose of Research Internship Abroad (BEPE) is for the postdoctoral student to carry out training in behavioral observation with Animal Welfare Program (AWP) researchers at the University of British Columbia. The AWP's team is coordinated by professor Daniel Weary and professor Marina von Keyserlingk, both are responsible for more than 500 publications on animal welfare, especially in dairy cattle. The skills and knowledge acquired during BEPE will help in the database analysis of current Brazilian projects. The focus of this proposal is to evaluate the behavior of F1 dairy Gyr x Holstein calves regarding the use of physical enrichment. The database that will be used in this proposal was not published in previous studies and covers videos that were recorded and stored. Eighteen calves were housed for 90 days in a collective pen with a rest area containing eight physical enrichments (two rubber balls, two hanging tires, two hanging chains, and two scratchers). To evaluate the effect of tactile enrichment on the behavior, nine calves received tactile stimulation for up to 4 minutes/calf/day, for the first 30 days of the experiment. The behaviors of playing (with other calf or with physical enrichment), walking, eating, visiting the automatic feeder, drinking, lying, idling, and cross-sucking (receiving and executing) will be assessed individually and continuously. Three periods will be analyzed: 1) At the end of tactile stimulation (days 33 and 34); 2) At the end of weaned (days 60 and 61); and 3) At the end of the experimental period (days 89 and 90). The Brazilian project is innovative and the opportunity to discuss the data with researchers who have extensive experience in behavioral assessment will be important so that we can detect behaviors that may be indicative of welfare and/or stress. (AU)