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Affective states can be inferred from responses to ambiguous and threatening stimuli, using Judgement Bias Tasks (JBTs) and Attention Bias Tasks (ABTs). We investigated the separate and interactive effects of personality and housing conditions on dairy cattle affective states. We assessed personality in 48 heifers using Open-Field, Novel-Object and Runway tests. Personality effects on responses to the JBT and to the ABT were examined when heifers were housed under reference conditions. Heifers were subsequently housed under positive or negative conditions, and housing effects on animal responses in both tasks were investigated while controlling for personality. A Principal Component Analysis revealed three personality traits labelled Activity, Fearfulness and Sociability. Under reference conditions, personality influenced heifers’ responses to the JBT and to the ABT, therefore questioning the tasks’ generalizability across individuals. Against expectations, housing did not influence responses to the  JBT and heifers in the negative conditions looked at the threat later than heifers in the positive or reference conditions. More research is warranted to confirm the validity and the repeatability of the JBT and of the ABT as appropriate measures of affective states in dairy cows.

Early cow-calf separation prevents much of cows’ natural maternal behaviour. Early separation is thought to prevent the development of a cow-calf bond. To assess this bond, we measured motivation of dairy cows to reunite with their calf. To vary the degree of bonding, some cows were allowed continued contact with their calf and others were separated from their calf soon after birth, following standard practice on most farms. Among cows allowed continued contact, some were able to suckle their calf and others were prevented from suckling (by covering the cow’s udder with an udder net). Cows were habituated to the weighted-gate apparatus before calving by daily training with the (un-weighted) gate. After calving, cow willingness to use the gate was assessed by determining if she would push open the gate to access to her own calf. Testing occurred once daily, with weight on the gate gradually increased. After passing through the gate, the dam’s calf-directed behaviour was recorded. Suckled cows pushed a greater maximum weight (45.8 ± 7.8 kg) than separated cows (21.6 ± 6.7 kg) and non-suckled cows (24.3 ± 4.5 kg), with no differences between separated and non-suckled cows. Once reunited, latency to make nose contact and duration of licking did not differ between treatments. We conclude that motivation for calf contact is greater for cows that are suckled.

Tail biting in pigs is a widespread problem in intensive pig farming. The tendency to develop this damaging behaviour has been suggested to relate to serotonergic functioning and personality characteristics of pigs. We investigated whether tail biting in pigs can be associated with blood serotonin and with their behavioural and physiological responses to novelty. Pigs (n = 480) were born in conventional farrowing pens and after weaning at four weeks of age they were either housed barren (B) or in straw-enriched (E) pens. Individual pigs were exposed to a back test and novel environment test before weaning, and after weaning to a novel object (i.e. bucket) test in an unfamiliar arena. A Principal Component Analysis on behaviours during the tests and salivary cortisol (novel object test only) revealed five factors for both housing systems, labeled 'Early life exploration', 'Near bucket', 'Cortisol', 'Vocalizations & standing alert', and 'Back test activity'. Blood samples were taken at 8, 9 and 22 weeks of age to determine blood platelet serotonin. In different phases of life, pigs were classified as tail biter/non-tail biter based on tail biting behaviour, and as victim/non-victim based on tail wounds. A combination of both classifications resulted in four pig types: biters, victims, biter/victims, and neutrals. Generally, only in phases of life during which pigs were classified as tail biters, they seemed to have lower blood platelet serotonin storage and higher blood platelet uptake velocities. Victims also seemed to have lower blood serotonin storage. Additionally, in B housing, tail biters seemed to consistently have lower scores of the factor 'Near bucket', possibly indicating a higher fearfulness in tail biters. Further research is needed to elucidate the nature of the relationship between peripheral 5-HT, fearfulness and tail biting, and to develop successful strategies and interventions to prevent and reduce tail biting.

Long-distance transport and associated fasting of unweaned calves have the potential to compromise the animals’ welfare. This observational study aimed to determine how transport and fasting durations impacted the physiology and health of 115 transported calves in three transport groups; IRE ( n  = 20, mean age 29.8d; short road transport (~ 29 h incl. resting time) and short feed deprivation (~ 11 h)), INT ( n  = 65, mean age 24.9d; long road/ferry transport (~ 79 h incl. resting times) and long feed deprivation (~ 28 h and 25 h)), and NLD ( n  = 30, mean age 17.7d; short road transport (~ 28 h incl. resting time) and long feed deprivation (> 18 h)). All calves travelled through an assembly centre. Each calf was blood sampled (arrival at destination farm, 1-week and 3-weeks post-arrival), health scored (arrival, 1, 3, 7, 8, 20d post-arrival) and weighed (farm/mart of origin [IRE and INT only], arrival, and 3-weeks post-arrival). (Generalised) linear mixed models were used to analyse differences in blood variables, weight, and health scores on arrival and during recovery (all other timepoints). Despite differing transport durations, both INT and NLD calves exhibited glucose, beta-hydroxy-butyrate, non-esterified-fatty-acids and sodium levels outside reference limits upon arrival, which were different from values observed in IRE calves ( p  < 0.05). Lactate and potassium were above reference range for INT calves on arrival, and higher than in IRE and NLD groups ( p  < 0.05). One- and three-weeks post arrival, most variables returned to within reference ranges, and differences between groups were minimal and not clearly associated with either transport duration or fasting during transport. Health scores did not differ between transport groups at arrival, and differences were minimal during the three-week recovery period. INT calves lost more weight during the journey than IRE calves ( p  < 0.01), while INT and NLD calves gained similar weight in the 3-weeks post-arrival, but less than IRE calves (both p  < 0.01). Overall, changes in the physiological status of calves post transport appeared to relate more to the duration of feed deprivation than to the duration of transport, except for potassium and lactate (muscle fatigue), which were impacted more for INT calves. Most variables showed clear signs of recovery to within reference levels for all groups within three weeks. Minimizing the duration of feed deprivation during transport should be a key consideration for the dairy industry to reduce the impact of transport on calf welfare.

Prolonged cow-calf contact (CCC) could potentially improve dairy calf welfare. However, it is currently unknown how different types of CCC affect animals' biological functions. We evaluated health and performance parameters of dairy calves and their dams, where calves: (i) had no contact with their dam (NC), in which the calf was removed from the dam directly after birth ( n = 10); (ii) were allowed to have partial contact (PC) with their dam, in which the calf was housed in a calf pen adjacent to the cow area allowing physical contact on the initiative of the dam but no suckling ( n = 18); (iii) were allowed to have full contact (FC) with their dam, including suckling, in which calves were housed together with their dams in a free-stall barn ( n = 20). Throughout the first 7 weeks postpartum, data were collected on the health status, fecal microbiota, hematological profile, immune and hormonal parameters, and growth rates of calves, and on the health status, metabolic responses, and performance of dams. Overall, FC calves had more health issues ( P = 0.02) and a tendency for higher antibiotic usage ( P = 0.0 7) than NC calves. Additionally, FC calves showed elevated levels of erythrocytes, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and leukocytes on day 49 compared to NC calves ( P < 0.001). Calf fecal microbiota changed over time, and we found preliminary evidence that fecal microbiota is affected by the type of CCC, as reflected by differences in relative abundances of taxa including Lactobacillus in FC calves compared to NC and PC calves except on days 7 and 66. The FC calves had a greater average daily gain in body weight than NC and PC calves ( P = 0.002). Cow health was not affected by the type of CCC, although in the first 7 weeks of lactation FC cows had a lower machine-gained milk yield accompanied by a lower fat percentage than NC and PC cows ( P < 0.001). These results indicate that full contact posed a challenge for calf health, presumably because the housing conditions of FC calves in this experimental context were suboptimal. Secondly, ad libitum suckling leads to higher weight gains and negatively affected milk fat content besides machine-gained yields. More research into strategies to improve cow-calf housing and management in CCC systems is warranted.

This study aimed to establish baseline variables for calves transported by road and ferry from Ireland to the Netherlands and to investigate the effect of journey [two comparable journeys in April (J1) and May (J2) 2022] and source [source farm or mart (SF/MA)] on these variables. A total of 66 calves from the SF/MA were transported from Ireland to commercial veal farms in the Netherlands. Blood samples were collected at the SF/MA, assembly center (Ireland), lairage (France), and on arrival on the veal farm (Netherlands). They were analyzed for indicator variables related to energy balance, hydration/electrolytes, physical/muscular stress, immunity, and inflammation [glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), potassium, sodium, magnesium, chloride, urea, haematocrit, total protein, creatine kinase, L-lactate, cortisol, white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte counts, serum amyloid-A, and haptoglobin]. Health variables eye and nose discharge, skin tent (a measure of dehydration), and navel inflammation were scored by a trained observer, and calves were weighed at every blood-sampling time point. All blood variables and body weight changed significantly ( P < 0.05) during transport, most notably between the assembly center and lairage. Reference ranges were available for 18 variables; 11 of these variables exceeded the reference ranges at the lairage, whilst 10 variables exceeded the reference ranges on arrival at the veal farm. However, health variables did not change during transport. A journey-to-journey comparison indicated much variation; 18 out of 25 variables differed significantly on at least one time point. In total, J1 calves experienced a more severe change in BHB, potassium, strong-ion-difference, L-lactate, and eye and nose discharge than J2 calves. The source of calves also affected their physiology; 12 out of 25 variables studied differed significantly, all of which were confined to the first time point. Specifically, MA calves had elevated levels of NEFA, urea, haematocrit, L-lactate, cortisol, white blood cell, neutrophil, and monocyte counts and lower levels of corrected chloride and lymphocyte count. Overall, calves in this study showed a generalized physiological disturbance beyond reference limits during long-distance transport, but no animal died during transport or for 3 weeks post-arrival.

The present study aimed to quantify calves' (Bos taurus) preference for long versus chopped hay and straw, and hay versus straw, using cross point analysis of double demand functions, in a context where energy intake was not a limiting factor. Nine calves, fed milk replacer and concentrate, were trained to work for roughage rewards from two simultaneously available panels. The cost (number of muzzle presses) required on the panels varied in each session (left panel/right panel): 7/35, 14/28, 21/21, 28/14, 35/7. Demand functions were estimated from the proportion of rewards achieved on one panel relative to the total number of rewards achieved in one session. Cross points (cp) were calculated as the cost at which an equal number of rewards was achieved from both panels. The deviation of the cp from the midpoint (here 21) indicates the strength of the preference. Calves showed a preference for long versus chopped hay (cp = 14.5; P = 0.004), and for hay versus straw (cp = 38.9; P = 0.004), both of which improve rumen function. Long hay may stimulate chewing more than chopped hay, and the preference for hay versus straw could be related to hedonic characteristics. No preference was found for chopped versus long straw (cp = 20.8; P = 0.910). These results could be used to improve the welfare of calves in production systems; for example, in systems where calves are fed hay along with high energy concentrate, providing long hay instead of chopped could promote roughage intake, rumen development, and rumination.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.742877.].

A large variety of clinical manifestation in individual pigs occurs after infection with pathogens involved in porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC). Some pigs are less prone to develop respiratory disease symptoms. The variation in clinical impact after infection and the recovery capacity of an individual animal are measures of its resilience. In this paper, we examined which ones of a range of animal-based factors (rectal temperature, body weight, skin lesion scores, behavior, natural antibody serum levels, serum levels of white blood cells, and type of T and granulocyte subsets) when measured prior to infection are related to disease severity. These animal-based factors and the interaction with housing regimen of the piglets (conventional or enriched) were modeled using linear regression to predict disease severity using a dataset acquired from a previous study using a well-established experimental coinfection model of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae . Both PRRSV and A. pleuropneumoniae are often involved in PRDC. Histological lung lesion score of each animal was used as a measure for PRDC severity after infection. Prior to infection, higher serum levels of lymphocytes (CD3 + ), naïve T helper (CD3 + CD4 + CD8 − ), CD8 + (as well as higher relative levels of CD8 + ), and memory T helper (CD3 + CD4 + CD8 + ) cells and higher relative levels of granulocytes (CD172 a ) were related to reduced disease severity in both housing systems. Raised serum concentrations of natural IgM antibodies binding to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) were also related to reduced disease severity after infection. Increased levels of skin lesions at the central body part (after weaning and before infection) were related to increased disease severity in conventional housing systems only. High resisters showed a lower histological lung lesion score, which appeared unrelated to sex. Body temperature, behavior, and growth prior to infections were influenced by housing regimen but could not explain the variation in lung lesion scores after infection. Raised basal lymphocyte counts and lower skin lesion scores are related to reduced disease severity independent of or dependent on housing system, respectively. In conclusion, our study identifies intrinsic animal-based measures using linear regression analysis that predicts resilience to infections in pigs.

Background Cognitive function might be affected by the subjects' emotional reactivity. We assessed whether behavior in different tests of emotional reactivity is correlated with performance in aversively motivated learning tasks, using four strains of rats generally considered to have a different emotional reactivity. Methods The performance of male Brown Norway, Lewis, Fischer 344, and Wistar Kyoto rats in open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM), and circular light-dark preference box (cLDB) tasks, which are believed to provide measures of emotional reactivity, was evaluated. Spatial working and reference memory were assessed in two aversively motivated learning and memory tasks: the standard and the \"repeated acquisition\" versions of the Morris water maze escape task, respectively. All rats were also tested in a passive avoidance task. At the end of the study, levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5 -hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and 5-HT turnover in the hippocampus and frontal cortex were determined. Results Strain differences showed a complex pattern across behavioral tests and serotonergic measures. Fischer 344 rats had the poorest performance in both versions of the Morris water escape task, whereas Brown Norway rats performed these tasks very well but the passive avoidance task poorly. Neither correlation analysis nor principal component analysis provided convincing support for the notion that OF, EPM, and cLDB tasks measure the same underlying trait. Conclusions Our findings do not support the hypothesis that the level of emotional reactivity modulates cognitive performance in aversively motivated tasks. Concepts such as \"emotional reactivity\" and \"learning and memory\" cannot adequately be tapped with only one behavioral test. Our results emphasize the need for multiple testing.