Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions
Abstract Concerns for farm animal welfare have led to the use of environmental enrichment to stimulate natural behaviours and promote positive emotions. In cattle, the provision of brushes is sometimes recommended but their use in calves and the effects they may have are not well established. The us...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88129-7 |
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| author | Francesca Occhiuto Jorge A. Vázquez-Diosdado Matthew Thomas Emma R. Gayner Andrew J. King Jasmeet Kaler |
| author_facet | Francesca Occhiuto Jorge A. Vázquez-Diosdado Matthew Thomas Emma R. Gayner Andrew J. King Jasmeet Kaler |
| author_sort | Francesca Occhiuto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Concerns for farm animal welfare have led to the use of environmental enrichment to stimulate natural behaviours and promote positive emotions. In cattle, the provision of brushes is sometimes recommended but their use in calves and the effects they may have are not well established. The use of precision technologies enables the collection of detailed behavioural data that can be used as welfare indicators. Here we use ultra-wideband location sensors to measure activity and play, along with automatic milk feeders to measure feeding. We assessed the effects of stationary brushes on the behaviour of 226 dairy calves for up to 72 days. Half of the calves had access to the brushes for half of the experimental period. Using a mixed-effects linear model we showed that when brushes were present calves had significantly higher activity, fed slower, had fewer interruptions in their meals and spent less time around the feeder, suggesting reduced competition. Furthermore, calves that had access to brushes during the trial were more active and playful, even on days when the brushes were not available, compared to the control group. This finding indicates for the first time that enrichment may have a lasting effect on calf behaviour and welfare. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac2e37c814ee4e7d92cfa8877fa74f2b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac2e37c814ee4e7d92cfa8877fa74f2b2025-02-09T12:31:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-011511910.1038/s41598-025-88129-7Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptionsFrancesca Occhiuto0Jorge A. Vázquez-Diosdado1Matthew Thomas2Emma R. Gayner3Andrew J. King4Jasmeet Kaler5School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of NottinghamSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of NottinghamSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of NottinghamSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of NottinghamDepartment of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea UniversitySchool of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of NottinghamAbstract Concerns for farm animal welfare have led to the use of environmental enrichment to stimulate natural behaviours and promote positive emotions. In cattle, the provision of brushes is sometimes recommended but their use in calves and the effects they may have are not well established. The use of precision technologies enables the collection of detailed behavioural data that can be used as welfare indicators. Here we use ultra-wideband location sensors to measure activity and play, along with automatic milk feeders to measure feeding. We assessed the effects of stationary brushes on the behaviour of 226 dairy calves for up to 72 days. Half of the calves had access to the brushes for half of the experimental period. Using a mixed-effects linear model we showed that when brushes were present calves had significantly higher activity, fed slower, had fewer interruptions in their meals and spent less time around the feeder, suggesting reduced competition. Furthermore, calves that had access to brushes during the trial were more active and playful, even on days when the brushes were not available, compared to the control group. This finding indicates for the first time that enrichment may have a lasting effect on calf behaviour and welfare.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88129-7 |
| spellingShingle | Francesca Occhiuto Jorge A. Vázquez-Diosdado Matthew Thomas Emma R. Gayner Andrew J. King Jasmeet Kaler Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions Scientific Reports |
| title | Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions |
| title_full | Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions |
| title_fullStr | Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions |
| title_short | Dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active, playful and have fewer feeding interruptions |
| title_sort | dairy calves provided with environmental enrichment are more active playful and have fewer feeding interruptions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88129-7 |
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