Origins and domestication
Cattle evolved into about 260 different breeds, types and varieties in different parts of world such as the Buffalo in North America and the Yak in China. Wild ancestors of today's cattle e.g. the Auroch, were hunted for meat. Early humans feared and respected the early cattle for the shape of their crescent-shaped horns, which they considered had religious significance.
Cattle were domesticated for milk and meat and finding ways to castrate and dehorn cattle greatly aided domestication. Cattle also provide hides for clothing and other sophisticated products used in pharmaceuticals. Cattle (oxen and buffalo) still provide power in the developing world as well as dung
used for cooking and building. Cattle are also a measure of human wealth in parts of world, e.g. the Masai in Africa and in India they also have major religious significance.
Senses in cattle
Sight
Cattle have a well-developed eye that sees some colour but not as much as humans and they generally avoid bright light if given preference.
The position of each eye allows very wide peripheral vision along the side that alerts the cow to movement, which is then investigated using binocular vision.
A good side view is useful for watching where other animals are during grazing with head down. So cattle have nearly 360° vision as they move around when grazing.
Using two eyes, the cow has a much narrower binocular vision (about 25-50°).
We exploit the wide peripheral vision when moving stock using their "point of balance" just behind the shoulder and in the centre of their head.
Cattle have a narrow blind spot at the rear where they are vulnerable, so they move a lot to keep checking it out.
A cow's eyes are designed to see down rather than up and when alarmed it will raise its head to investigate.
A bull in fight response uses one eye to watch you, but its also getting his head ready for sideways swipe at same time.
It has been accepted for a long time that cattle are colour blind or have a restricted colour range. The source of this statement is never quoted so has grown into folklore. Recent work by AgResearch at Ruakura training cows to follow yellow signs has been very successful so cattle can see colours. Cattle
can also recognise the colour of peoples' clothing, especially if they are strangers who inflict pain or fear on them (e.g. vets).
Cattle can recognise different people from their shape. They can also count, and associate more than one person with pain or stress of injections or forced handling.
Hearing
Cattle are sensitive to high frequency sounds which people cannot hear.
These high frequency sounds can increase arousal and low tones are more relaxing for cattle.
Music is regularly used in milking parlours to provide cows with a familiar background noise. It is no more than that and is useful in drowning out other sudden sound that may be stressful.
Smell
Cattle have a better sense of smell than people.
The smell of blood can cause great panic and is very obvious when cattle see others slaughtered.
It's also seen when cattle pass paddocks treated with blood and bone fertiliser but for some unknown reason, this panic is not consistent.
Cattle remember smells, e.g. when an operator who smokes has caused given them injections. When they smell the next smoker they remember the pain and react accordingly.
Touch
Cows have a very sensitive skin and can shake flies off from localised areas.
Cows respond to touch and use it as an important form of communication among each other. You see it where mutual grooming is important in cattle, especially in mature animals.
Dams lick and groom their calves right up to weaning.
Touch is important to warn cows at close quarters where you are when they cannot see you - e.g. when milking.
One really bad experience by cattle will put them off all people for a considerable time till a positive human/animal bond is restored. They remember bad experiences for a long time.
Sleep
Adult cattle do actually sleep but only for very short intervals.
The sleeping pose is with all four legs tucked underneath themselves and head turned to face the rear.
Cattle must be well settled and comfortable before they will sleep. This has big implications for housed stock and design of cubicles so they have enough room for comfort and to avoid injury.
If animals are disturbed at night, they will sleep more during the day.
Communication
Cattle use a range of body signals to communicate with each other.
They use their heads to bunt others out of the way. So we talk about the 'bunt order' in cattle and 'peck order' in birds.
Their eyes have a key role and use "eyes down" to show submission, and "eyes up" to show confidence when moving into a group.
Cows on heat use mounting behaviour to signal to other cows and the bull.
Bulls use at least 5 signals with their heads:
Normal relaxed position.
Friendly approach before grooming by another cow.
Threat approach - watching you with one eye and snorting.
Submissive avoidance - pretending not to look.
Withdrawal from conflict with head toss, snort and voiding faeces.
Tail. It is raised high in play or great panic.
The female's tail also slightly raised in heat and mild panic.
Cattle daily routine
Cattle digest fibrous feed in their three fore stomachs (rumen, reticulum, omasum) and then the abomasum, which is the true gastric stomach.
Digestion of fibre produces carbon dioxide, methane which is belched up or ammonia which is absorbed in the blood.
Cattle divide their day into periods of:
Grazing - taking in feed using their prehensile (grasping) tongue and bottom teeth. Feed goes into the rumen via the abomasum (honey comb bag) where heavy objects collect.
Chewing. The feed is chewed, formed into a bolus with saliva (100 litres/day) and swallowed.
Rumination. Here feed is given time to ferment in the large rumen.
Regurgitation. This is where the bolus is belched up again for a second mastication of 300 chews.
Swallowing feed again into the omasum (the bible) for final grinding.
Then passing into the abomasum for gastric digestion.
Idling. The cow stands appearing to do nothing. It's time of rumen fermentation.
Resting - lying down.
Drinking. A milking cow drinks on average 70 litres of water per day.
Sleeping. The cow sleeps for short periods during the night.
Dairy cows have to spend at least 8 - 10 hours/day grazing to meet their nutritional needs.
They are driven by "metabolic hunger" or the need to eat to meet their genetic urge to lactate.
A cow makes between 30,000 - 40,000 grazing bites/day.
Modern dairy cows have been bred for this kind of life which many Welfarists are now questioning as being too stressful.
If cows don't eat enough, they use up body reserves and get thin. This then triggers problems like anoestrus (non cycling) and farmers use intra vaginal devices and inductions (abortions) to control their breeding activity, both of which have negative welfare images in the marketplace.
Milking effects on grazing routine
Non-lactating cattle and bulls have 3 main grazing periods from daybreak to mid morning, mid afternoon to half an hour after sunset, and then a shorter period about midnight.
Milking twice a day and removing cows from pasture has a large effect on cow behaviour e.g. long and slow milking routines force cows to graze into the night for an extra 1-4 hours.
Weather conditions will also force cows to change their grazing behaviour.
Feed intake. Getting dairy cows to eat more
The more a cow eats the more she produces, so having a permanently hungry cow is a legitimate aim of a herd manager.
So the first part of this challenge is to get the cow to take in a lot with each bite, so length of herbage is important for the cow to become satiated (feeling full) quickly, so she can lie down and digest her feed.
A cow metabolises more milk when resting than when standing or grazing.
Cows cannot eat short pasture very effectively and about 20cm is a good length for optimal intake.
"Social facilitation" is also important which is where one cow triggers off the behaviour of the group. So which cow causes and leads the change in behaviour, (e.g. resuming grazing after resting), is important.
We want the hungry high producers to get up first from resting and start a grazing spell again and not the low producers.
Offering new feed regularly during the day by moving the fence will always get cows to resume grazing as well as feeding small amounts of feed more often.
Feeding concentrates will also get more nutrients into the rumen, but this is generally not economic in NZ.
Using additives like molasses to improve palatability will also increase intake.
Cows don't like musty, mouldy or dusty feed, and these will reduce intake.
Cows
Cows will breed all year round in New Zealand latitudes and are not as affected by the day/night pattern (photoperiodicity) as sheep, goats and deer. But cows’ breeding activity may be reduced in the darker days of mid winter.
Cows start to cycle usually about 6 weeks after calving. They can show heat 3 weeks after calving but rarely conceive to this mating.
They may also show a “silent heat” with ovulation but no outward heat signs. More problems are seen in Holstein Friesians than Jerseys.
A cow ovulates a few hours after the end of standing heat, which has important implications for artificial insemination to ensure an effective pregnancy.
Puberty is about 6-9months of age but some heifer calves can show heat before that. This can be a hazard, as they can get pregnant as early as 4 months old and have to be aborted. It is not a good idea to let a yearling have a calf.
Cattle cycle every 21 days (range 18-24 days) if not mated, and are on heat for about 8 hours (range 2 -12 hours).
Signs of heat in the cow
Vocalise a lot.
Vaginal discharge - clear viscous fluid.
Walk around a lot to find other cows.
Cows form Sexually Active Groups (SAGs) of 3-5 cows.
Cows on heat mount other cows.
They stand to be mounted.
They "hold' their milk” and don't have a full "let down".
The cow is the only animal that shows this clearly defined persisting mounting behaviour, which is thought to have evolved to give visual signals to the bull.
But note that a cow that will stand for another cow will not immediately stand for the bull. This has a “teasing” effect on the bull and while challenging his libido concentrates his semen as excess accessory gland fluid dribbles off.
Heat detection methods
The most common (and cost effective) method of heat detection used in NZ dairy herds is tail paint.
The top of the cow's tail is painted with a thick paint, and when dry it is scuffed off indicating that another cow has mounted her. The traffic light colour sequence is best to use with tail paint.
Other methods are to use a range of adhesive devices that trigger colours or show scratch marks when rubbed by a mounting cow.
A "chin-ball harness" was developed to fit on the bull’s head and where a roller ball in a tank of paint left a mark on the cows back when the bull stood with his chin on the cow to test her stage of oestrus, when he mounted, and when he dropped back from mounting.
Birth
A cow may spend couple of hours seeking out a birth site, and going through the first stages when the calf moves into the birth canal and the water bag appears.
The next "delivery" stage where her waters burst and the calf appears should take about 15 minutes. If it's longer, then investigate what is going on or get help. The calf should be born in a diving position - front legs and head first. If not, you'll need to sort out the problem and may need professional help.
The final stage is passing of the afterbirth, which the cow may eat for hormonal benefit and removal from predators in wild.
Disturbance will upset and delay this pattern. It can have bad effects on the calf as it and the birth canal dries out and makes the process difficult.
The calf should be on its feet in 15-30 minutes and should start teat-seeking. It's vitally important that the calf gets colostrum and it needs at least 2 litres before 6 hours old.
The calf nuzzles the side of cow feeling for warm bare skin with teats. It can be very frustrating for calf, especially if their mother is a heifer as she may panic and turn to look at calf instead of standing still and encouraging suckling.
Inexperienced dams may even attack the calf and not stand still and nuzzle calf's tail area to encourage it to suck.
Bonding is very quick in cattle and takes only a few minutes. It is based first on smell and then on sight.
This can lead to problems of recording accurate parentage in large herds where groups of cows are synchronised to calve together. Staff have to make dam-calf Identification decisions that can be 13% wrong. Fortunately parentage can now be confirmed by DNA tests.
Most cows will not accept another calf after she has smelled and seen it unless you play other tricks on her (see later). But some cows will accept any alien calves.
The calf will follow the cow or any moving object a few hours after birth.
Calves often fall into drains during this early mothering period as they stagger about and can also fall on to the power fence and the constant shock on their wet body can kill them.
Cow calf relationship
When to remove a calf from her dairy cow mother is often debated as an animal welfare issue. The question is to find which system causes least stress on cow and calf.
The general practice is to remove the calf as soon as it has had sufficient colostrum, which may be a few hours after birth. It is argued that this is less stressful than removal at four days when milk can go to the factory. The cow's colostrum production is reduced to acceptable levels after 4 days.
In the wild, cattle are "lying out" species that hide their calves and suckle them at intervals during the day.
The cow and calf spend the night together, have an early morning suckle then the calf lies down while the cow goes off grazing.
An individual cow may graze close by her own calf and act as guardian of the crèche. If a calf bellows then its mother will return.
Around mid morning, one or two calves will call out and most cows will then return to suckle their calves.
The same pattern occurs in the afternoon. Then in the evening cows return to suckle and spend the night with their calves.
After 2-3 weeks, cows are more closely associated with their calves that will then follow their dams to graze and rest near them.
Social order in cows & calves
Cattle show a very clearly defined social order called a "bunt order" as they use their heads to sort it out.
If cattle are horned, then they have a big advantage over polled cows. This may cause problems in mixed groups in yards and at slaughter plants.
Horns bruise meat, damage hides and injure people and should be removed at birth with the hot cauterising iron and local anaesthetic, or genetically by using polled bulls.
Social order can be a very important issue in milking herds affecting cow flow.
It will be an issue with milking robot as dominant cows can block the flow through the unit.
Social order is also important with communally fed calves. There is a need to regularly draft calves to keep them of similar size and hence reduce bullying.
The social order developed in calves can last till they enter the herd.
Social facilitation is important when ad lib feeding as one calf can trigger feeding.
Group-fed calves are better socialised than those reared in isolation.
Calves can discriminate between objects, black versus white and large versus small.
Bulls
Bulls will mate all year round and do not show a "rut" like sheep, goats and deer.
Mounting and ejaculation are very quick in the bull. He grasps cow with his front legs and his whole weight is propelled forward on the cow at ejaculation.
This has safety implications for heifers mated by large stud bulls that can damage them. Heifers are best mated by smaller bulls.
A bull may serve a cow up to 3 times before she stops accepting him. In wild herds, the bull hangs around a cow for a day or both before and after mating.
On the farm he is generally allowed two services and is then separated. This is danger time, as the bull always wants one more mount, and tries to get back to the cow. The human in the way is at high risk of being pushed or charged.
Running one bull with 30-50 cows (dairy or beef) is normal practice, and the bull is changed regularly incase he is infertile.
Fighting among bulls is common during mating and injuries are common, e.g. to shoulder, legs, and penis.
In the wild Chillingham herd in UK, the king bull does all the mating until he is challenged by a young bull and they usually fight to the death for leadership.
Bulls are regularly reared in homosexual groups from 4-18months old so mounting and fighting behaviour is common, often leading to injury. This is especially the case with beef bulls.
Bull libido
Bulls may have to learn how to mate a cow, and this may take a few days to learn (and waste time) at the start of mating.
Libido testing can be done using the "Blockey test" where a cow is restrained in head bail and the number of mounts made by each bull is recorded.
This must be done under veterinary supervision to avoid injury to the cow, which must be changed regularly.
Farming bulls for beef
Farming bulls for beef is a major enterprise in New Zealand and provides lean export beef (grinding beef) for the USA hamburger trade.
Farmers run mainly Holstein Friesians, which are obtained as surplus bull calves from the dairy industry.
Bulls grow well and should average 1kg liveweight/day over their lives.
This is now a specialist enterprise where knowledge of animal behaviour pays dividends.
After about 12 months, bulls become territorial and fighting often increases. They dig holes to mark territory and wreck fences and gates during their activity periods.
Regular riding goes on and if one bull accepts this, he will be ridden regularly by others and can be injured. Bulls clearly prefer to ride rather than be ridden and will move away quickly from their assailants if they are strong to fight and then escape.
Injured or sick bulls will be ridden to death if left in the mob and have to be taken out. Rarely can you put them back, even after a few days as they are seen as strangers again. If returned to the mob then become a good target to ride again and upset the whole mob.
Mobs of beef bulls are less of a threat to neighbours' cows than is often imagined, as they seem to prefer their homosexual mates until they get a taste for female sex.
Successful bull farmers use a few tricks to keep them quiet.
Always keep them grazing. When they are idle or bored they play up.
Run them at low stocking rates to give plenty of personal and grazing space.
Try not to disturb them as they are very alert to changes.
Have at least one empty paddock between mobs of bulls.
Use shelterbelts so one mob cannot see the others grazing.
Run a donkey Jack with the mob or a horned Billy goat to discourage fighting.
Move them from a bike or horse with a good cattle dog and not on foot. Have help within reach.
Always be alert to the sound of their roaring. They use a high pitched confrontation roar when they see competitors or may have got out.
Don't graze bulls in paddocks near neighbours' cows unless the fence is very strong and electrified.
The young calf
Calves are very delicate animals; they are not robust small cows.
Their rearing system can have a big effect on subsequent behaviour.
It's vital that calf gets 2 Litres of colostrum (from dam or other newly-calved cow) before 6 hours old). Keep some colostrum in the freezer for emergencies.
There is a wide range of calf rearing systems where the main aim is to give the calf a good start and encourage it to become a ruminant.
A calf is born with a large abomasum (gastric stomach) and offering fibrous feed from birth (hay and meal) will encourage its rumen to grow and develop. This reduces the need for milk and lowers feeding costs.
When do calves become ruminants?
Calves start to chew hay and straw if provided in their pen a few days after birth, and if offered concentrates and good quality pasture they will be fully-functional ruminants by 3-4 weeks of age.
Getting calves to drink
Most calves are now reared using communal systems with a "calfeteria" allowing them individual feeding but run in a group environment.
Initially a calf wants to push upwards when sucking and bunts to stimulate milk flow from the udder.
To get the calf to suck on a “calfeteria”, let it suck your fingers and then lead it to teat to suck. Hold its head gently on the teat for a few seconds once on the teat.
If you use a bucket, let the calf suck your fingers and then press its head down into the bucket while sucking. Withdraw your fingers and keep its head in bucket. Initially it will gulp milk and choke - let it up for air!
Calves often want to continue suckling after their milk supply is finished. This "suckling reflex" encourages them to suck the ears, navels and teats of other calves. It can lead to problems so this vice must be discouraged.
Calves that suck other's teats may continue into adulthood and it can cause problems. How to stop it?
Make the calves work harder for their feed so the sucking urge runs out.
Tie them up after sucking till their mouths are dry.
Separate out the culprits as they will teach others.
Fit irritant device in the nose of sucker so others won't let them suck.
Provide dry palatable feed immediately after sucking.
A combination of wet and cold is the biggest killer of young calves or can be the reason for poor performance. Calves at pasture need shelter, either natural or artificial.
Fostering new calves on to nurse cows
Cows vary in their maternal instinct. If a cow is too determined not to take strange calves, don't bother with her as it will cost you too much time. She'll associate you with the calf and will soon learn not let it suck unless you are there or she is bailed up.
The easiest way is to have the strange calf to be fostered ready at birth, and cover it with the birth fluids from the cow. Make sure she licks and mothers both calves.
You can try the same trick using odours such as neatsfoot oil or perfume. They don't work as well, and certainly not as well as birth fluid. The oil will get the cow to at least lick the calf, and this may trigger maternal acceptance. The perfume may put her off. Cows' preferences in perfume are not known!
Remove her own calf at birth before she has smelled and licked it, and introduce the fostered calf (or calves) after rubbing them in birth fluids (collected in a bucket) or with the afterbirth.
Blindfold the cow while the alien calves are introduced to her but she may not like this idea.
Remove the cow's own calf after 2-3 days, and bail her up tight with some good strong alien hungry calves. Make sure she cannot get round to bunt them (dehorn the cow) and that she cannot kick them too violently.
While letting her suckle her own calf, introduce the alien calf and teach it to suck through her back legs (the cow's blind spot). It will end up with a dung cap but at least it will be well fed!
Put leather dog collars on the cow's own calf and the alien one, and tie them together with a short length of chain containing a swivel. When the cow lets her own calf suck, the foster one will be close too, and the cow will hopefully get used to having both suckling at the same time.
If her own calf has died, skin the dead calf and tie it over the new calf until she lets it suckle. This will vary from a day or so up to a week or more, when the skin starts to stink! This is mainly used in a beef herd where getting a cow in daily to suckle a calf is not practical.
A vaginal douche with iodine solution (5ml of veterinary iodine in 250ml water) used to be practiced and was sufficient to treat three cows. It seems to cause irritation of the vagina and stimulates straining and maternal instincts. It is not a welfare-friendly method so consult a veterinarian before use.
By Dr Clive Dalton
Cattle evolved into about 260 different breeds, types and varieties in different parts of world such as the Buffalo in North America and the Yak in China. Wild ancestors of today's cattle e.g. the Auroch, were hunted for meat. Early humans feared and respected the early cattle for the shape of their crescent-shaped horns, which they considered had religious significance.
Cattle were domesticated for milk and meat and finding ways to castrate and dehorn cattle greatly aided domestication. Cattle also provide hides for clothing and other sophisticated products used in pharmaceuticals. Cattle (oxen and buffalo) still provide power in the developing world as well as dung
used for cooking and building. Cattle are also a measure of human wealth in parts of world, e.g. the Masai in Africa and in India they also have major religious significance.
Senses in cattle
Sight
Cattle have a well-developed eye that sees some colour but not as much as humans and they generally avoid bright light if given preference.
The position of each eye allows very wide peripheral vision along the side that alerts the cow to movement, which is then investigated using binocular vision.
A good side view is useful for watching where other animals are during grazing with head down. So cattle have nearly 360° vision as they move around when grazing.
Using two eyes, the cow has a much narrower binocular vision (about 25-50°).
We exploit the wide peripheral vision when moving stock using their "point of balance" just behind the shoulder and in the centre of their head.
Cattle have a narrow blind spot at the rear where they are vulnerable, so they move a lot to keep checking it out.
A cow's eyes are designed to see down rather than up and when alarmed it will raise its head to investigate.
A bull in fight response uses one eye to watch you, but its also getting his head ready for sideways swipe at same time.
It has been accepted for a long time that cattle are colour blind or have a restricted colour range. The source of this statement is never quoted so has grown into folklore. Recent work by AgResearch at Ruakura training cows to follow yellow signs has been very successful so cattle can see colours. Cattle
can also recognise the colour of peoples' clothing, especially if they are strangers who inflict pain or fear on them (e.g. vets).
Cattle can recognise different people from their shape. They can also count, and associate more than one person with pain or stress of injections or forced handling.
Hearing
Cattle are sensitive to high frequency sounds which people cannot hear.
These high frequency sounds can increase arousal and low tones are more relaxing for cattle.
Music is regularly used in milking parlours to provide cows with a familiar background noise. It is no more than that and is useful in drowning out other sudden sound that may be stressful.
Smell
Cattle have a better sense of smell than people.
The smell of blood can cause great panic and is very obvious when cattle see others slaughtered.
It's also seen when cattle pass paddocks treated with blood and bone fertiliser but for some unknown reason, this panic is not consistent.
Cattle remember smells, e.g. when an operator who smokes has caused given them injections. When they smell the next smoker they remember the pain and react accordingly.
Touch
Cows have a very sensitive skin and can shake flies off from localised areas.
Cows respond to touch and use it as an important form of communication among each other. You see it where mutual grooming is important in cattle, especially in mature animals.
Dams lick and groom their calves right up to weaning.
Touch is important to warn cows at close quarters where you are when they cannot see you - e.g. when milking.
One really bad experience by cattle will put them off all people for a considerable time till a positive human/animal bond is restored. They remember bad experiences for a long time.
Sleep
Adult cattle do actually sleep but only for very short intervals.
The sleeping pose is with all four legs tucked underneath themselves and head turned to face the rear.
Cattle must be well settled and comfortable before they will sleep. This has big implications for housed stock and design of cubicles so they have enough room for comfort and to avoid injury.
If animals are disturbed at night, they will sleep more during the day.
Communication
Cattle use a range of body signals to communicate with each other.
They use their heads to bunt others out of the way. So we talk about the 'bunt order' in cattle and 'peck order' in birds.
Their eyes have a key role and use "eyes down" to show submission, and "eyes up" to show confidence when moving into a group.
Cows on heat use mounting behaviour to signal to other cows and the bull.
Bulls use at least 5 signals with their heads:
Normal relaxed position.
Friendly approach before grooming by another cow.
Threat approach - watching you with one eye and snorting.
Submissive avoidance - pretending not to look.
Withdrawal from conflict with head toss, snort and voiding faeces.
Tail. It is raised high in play or great panic.
The female's tail also slightly raised in heat and mild panic.
Cattle daily routine
Cattle digest fibrous feed in their three fore stomachs (rumen, reticulum, omasum) and then the abomasum, which is the true gastric stomach.
Digestion of fibre produces carbon dioxide, methane which is belched up or ammonia which is absorbed in the blood.
Cattle divide their day into periods of:
Grazing - taking in feed using their prehensile (grasping) tongue and bottom teeth. Feed goes into the rumen via the abomasum (honey comb bag) where heavy objects collect.
Chewing. The feed is chewed, formed into a bolus with saliva (100 litres/day) and swallowed.
Rumination. Here feed is given time to ferment in the large rumen.
Regurgitation. This is where the bolus is belched up again for a second mastication of 300 chews.
Swallowing feed again into the omasum (the bible) for final grinding.
Then passing into the abomasum for gastric digestion.
Idling. The cow stands appearing to do nothing. It's time of rumen fermentation.
Resting - lying down.
Drinking. A milking cow drinks on average 70 litres of water per day.
Sleeping. The cow sleeps for short periods during the night.
Dairy cows have to spend at least 8 - 10 hours/day grazing to meet their nutritional needs.
They are driven by "metabolic hunger" or the need to eat to meet their genetic urge to lactate.
A cow makes between 30,000 - 40,000 grazing bites/day.
Modern dairy cows have been bred for this kind of life which many Welfarists are now questioning as being too stressful.
If cows don't eat enough, they use up body reserves and get thin. This then triggers problems like anoestrus (non cycling) and farmers use intra vaginal devices and inductions (abortions) to control their breeding activity, both of which have negative welfare images in the marketplace.
Milking effects on grazing routine
Non-lactating cattle and bulls have 3 main grazing periods from daybreak to mid morning, mid afternoon to half an hour after sunset, and then a shorter period about midnight.
Milking twice a day and removing cows from pasture has a large effect on cow behaviour e.g. long and slow milking routines force cows to graze into the night for an extra 1-4 hours.
Weather conditions will also force cows to change their grazing behaviour.
Feed intake. Getting dairy cows to eat more
The more a cow eats the more she produces, so having a permanently hungry cow is a legitimate aim of a herd manager.
So the first part of this challenge is to get the cow to take in a lot with each bite, so length of herbage is important for the cow to become satiated (feeling full) quickly, so she can lie down and digest her feed.
A cow metabolises more milk when resting than when standing or grazing.
Cows cannot eat short pasture very effectively and about 20cm is a good length for optimal intake.
"Social facilitation" is also important which is where one cow triggers off the behaviour of the group. So which cow causes and leads the change in behaviour, (e.g. resuming grazing after resting), is important.
We want the hungry high producers to get up first from resting and start a grazing spell again and not the low producers.
Offering new feed regularly during the day by moving the fence will always get cows to resume grazing as well as feeding small amounts of feed more often.
Feeding concentrates will also get more nutrients into the rumen, but this is generally not economic in NZ.
Using additives like molasses to improve palatability will also increase intake.
Cows don't like musty, mouldy or dusty feed, and these will reduce intake.
Cows
Cows will breed all year round in New Zealand latitudes and are not as affected by the day/night pattern (photoperiodicity) as sheep, goats and deer. But cows’ breeding activity may be reduced in the darker days of mid winter.
Cows start to cycle usually about 6 weeks after calving. They can show heat 3 weeks after calving but rarely conceive to this mating.
They may also show a “silent heat” with ovulation but no outward heat signs. More problems are seen in Holstein Friesians than Jerseys.
A cow ovulates a few hours after the end of standing heat, which has important implications for artificial insemination to ensure an effective pregnancy.
Puberty is about 6-9months of age but some heifer calves can show heat before that. This can be a hazard, as they can get pregnant as early as 4 months old and have to be aborted. It is not a good idea to let a yearling have a calf.
Cattle cycle every 21 days (range 18-24 days) if not mated, and are on heat for about 8 hours (range 2 -12 hours).
Signs of heat in the cow
Vocalise a lot.
Vaginal discharge - clear viscous fluid.
Walk around a lot to find other cows.
Cows form Sexually Active Groups (SAGs) of 3-5 cows.
Cows on heat mount other cows.
They stand to be mounted.
They "hold' their milk” and don't have a full "let down".
The cow is the only animal that shows this clearly defined persisting mounting behaviour, which is thought to have evolved to give visual signals to the bull.
But note that a cow that will stand for another cow will not immediately stand for the bull. This has a “teasing” effect on the bull and while challenging his libido concentrates his semen as excess accessory gland fluid dribbles off.
Heat detection methods
The most common (and cost effective) method of heat detection used in NZ dairy herds is tail paint.
The top of the cow's tail is painted with a thick paint, and when dry it is scuffed off indicating that another cow has mounted her. The traffic light colour sequence is best to use with tail paint.
Other methods are to use a range of adhesive devices that trigger colours or show scratch marks when rubbed by a mounting cow.
A "chin-ball harness" was developed to fit on the bull’s head and where a roller ball in a tank of paint left a mark on the cows back when the bull stood with his chin on the cow to test her stage of oestrus, when he mounted, and when he dropped back from mounting.
Birth
A cow may spend couple of hours seeking out a birth site, and going through the first stages when the calf moves into the birth canal and the water bag appears.
The next "delivery" stage where her waters burst and the calf appears should take about 15 minutes. If it's longer, then investigate what is going on or get help. The calf should be born in a diving position - front legs and head first. If not, you'll need to sort out the problem and may need professional help.
The final stage is passing of the afterbirth, which the cow may eat for hormonal benefit and removal from predators in wild.
Disturbance will upset and delay this pattern. It can have bad effects on the calf as it and the birth canal dries out and makes the process difficult.
The calf should be on its feet in 15-30 minutes and should start teat-seeking. It's vitally important that the calf gets colostrum and it needs at least 2 litres before 6 hours old.
The calf nuzzles the side of cow feeling for warm bare skin with teats. It can be very frustrating for calf, especially if their mother is a heifer as she may panic and turn to look at calf instead of standing still and encouraging suckling.
Inexperienced dams may even attack the calf and not stand still and nuzzle calf's tail area to encourage it to suck.
Bonding is very quick in cattle and takes only a few minutes. It is based first on smell and then on sight.
This can lead to problems of recording accurate parentage in large herds where groups of cows are synchronised to calve together. Staff have to make dam-calf Identification decisions that can be 13% wrong. Fortunately parentage can now be confirmed by DNA tests.
Most cows will not accept another calf after she has smelled and seen it unless you play other tricks on her (see later). But some cows will accept any alien calves.
The calf will follow the cow or any moving object a few hours after birth.
Calves often fall into drains during this early mothering period as they stagger about and can also fall on to the power fence and the constant shock on their wet body can kill them.
Cow calf relationship
When to remove a calf from her dairy cow mother is often debated as an animal welfare issue. The question is to find which system causes least stress on cow and calf.
The general practice is to remove the calf as soon as it has had sufficient colostrum, which may be a few hours after birth. It is argued that this is less stressful than removal at four days when milk can go to the factory. The cow's colostrum production is reduced to acceptable levels after 4 days.
In the wild, cattle are "lying out" species that hide their calves and suckle them at intervals during the day.
The cow and calf spend the night together, have an early morning suckle then the calf lies down while the cow goes off grazing.
An individual cow may graze close by her own calf and act as guardian of the crèche. If a calf bellows then its mother will return.
Around mid morning, one or two calves will call out and most cows will then return to suckle their calves.
The same pattern occurs in the afternoon. Then in the evening cows return to suckle and spend the night with their calves.
After 2-3 weeks, cows are more closely associated with their calves that will then follow their dams to graze and rest near them.
Social order in cows & calves
Cattle show a very clearly defined social order called a "bunt order" as they use their heads to sort it out.
If cattle are horned, then they have a big advantage over polled cows. This may cause problems in mixed groups in yards and at slaughter plants.
Horns bruise meat, damage hides and injure people and should be removed at birth with the hot cauterising iron and local anaesthetic, or genetically by using polled bulls.
Social order can be a very important issue in milking herds affecting cow flow.
It will be an issue with milking robot as dominant cows can block the flow through the unit.
Social order is also important with communally fed calves. There is a need to regularly draft calves to keep them of similar size and hence reduce bullying.
The social order developed in calves can last till they enter the herd.
Social facilitation is important when ad lib feeding as one calf can trigger feeding.
Group-fed calves are better socialised than those reared in isolation.
Calves can discriminate between objects, black versus white and large versus small.
Bulls
Bulls will mate all year round and do not show a "rut" like sheep, goats and deer.
Mounting and ejaculation are very quick in the bull. He grasps cow with his front legs and his whole weight is propelled forward on the cow at ejaculation.
This has safety implications for heifers mated by large stud bulls that can damage them. Heifers are best mated by smaller bulls.
A bull may serve a cow up to 3 times before she stops accepting him. In wild herds, the bull hangs around a cow for a day or both before and after mating.
On the farm he is generally allowed two services and is then separated. This is danger time, as the bull always wants one more mount, and tries to get back to the cow. The human in the way is at high risk of being pushed or charged.
Running one bull with 30-50 cows (dairy or beef) is normal practice, and the bull is changed regularly incase he is infertile.
Fighting among bulls is common during mating and injuries are common, e.g. to shoulder, legs, and penis.
In the wild Chillingham herd in UK, the king bull does all the mating until he is challenged by a young bull and they usually fight to the death for leadership.
Bulls are regularly reared in homosexual groups from 4-18months old so mounting and fighting behaviour is common, often leading to injury. This is especially the case with beef bulls.
Bull libido
Bulls may have to learn how to mate a cow, and this may take a few days to learn (and waste time) at the start of mating.
Libido testing can be done using the "Blockey test" where a cow is restrained in head bail and the number of mounts made by each bull is recorded.
This must be done under veterinary supervision to avoid injury to the cow, which must be changed regularly.
Farming bulls for beef
Farming bulls for beef is a major enterprise in New Zealand and provides lean export beef (grinding beef) for the USA hamburger trade.
Farmers run mainly Holstein Friesians, which are obtained as surplus bull calves from the dairy industry.
Bulls grow well and should average 1kg liveweight/day over their lives.
This is now a specialist enterprise where knowledge of animal behaviour pays dividends.
After about 12 months, bulls become territorial and fighting often increases. They dig holes to mark territory and wreck fences and gates during their activity periods.
Regular riding goes on and if one bull accepts this, he will be ridden regularly by others and can be injured. Bulls clearly prefer to ride rather than be ridden and will move away quickly from their assailants if they are strong to fight and then escape.
Injured or sick bulls will be ridden to death if left in the mob and have to be taken out. Rarely can you put them back, even after a few days as they are seen as strangers again. If returned to the mob then become a good target to ride again and upset the whole mob.
Mobs of beef bulls are less of a threat to neighbours' cows than is often imagined, as they seem to prefer their homosexual mates until they get a taste for female sex.
Successful bull farmers use a few tricks to keep them quiet.
Always keep them grazing. When they are idle or bored they play up.
Run them at low stocking rates to give plenty of personal and grazing space.
Try not to disturb them as they are very alert to changes.
Have at least one empty paddock between mobs of bulls.
Use shelterbelts so one mob cannot see the others grazing.
Run a donkey Jack with the mob or a horned Billy goat to discourage fighting.
Move them from a bike or horse with a good cattle dog and not on foot. Have help within reach.
Always be alert to the sound of their roaring. They use a high pitched confrontation roar when they see competitors or may have got out.
Don't graze bulls in paddocks near neighbours' cows unless the fence is very strong and electrified.
The young calf
Calves are very delicate animals; they are not robust small cows.
Their rearing system can have a big effect on subsequent behaviour.
It's vital that calf gets 2 Litres of colostrum (from dam or other newly-calved cow) before 6 hours old). Keep some colostrum in the freezer for emergencies.
There is a wide range of calf rearing systems where the main aim is to give the calf a good start and encourage it to become a ruminant.
A calf is born with a large abomasum (gastric stomach) and offering fibrous feed from birth (hay and meal) will encourage its rumen to grow and develop. This reduces the need for milk and lowers feeding costs.
When do calves become ruminants?
Calves start to chew hay and straw if provided in their pen a few days after birth, and if offered concentrates and good quality pasture they will be fully-functional ruminants by 3-4 weeks of age.
Getting calves to drink
Most calves are now reared using communal systems with a "calfeteria" allowing them individual feeding but run in a group environment.
Initially a calf wants to push upwards when sucking and bunts to stimulate milk flow from the udder.
To get the calf to suck on a “calfeteria”, let it suck your fingers and then lead it to teat to suck. Hold its head gently on the teat for a few seconds once on the teat.
If you use a bucket, let the calf suck your fingers and then press its head down into the bucket while sucking. Withdraw your fingers and keep its head in bucket. Initially it will gulp milk and choke - let it up for air!
Calves often want to continue suckling after their milk supply is finished. This "suckling reflex" encourages them to suck the ears, navels and teats of other calves. It can lead to problems so this vice must be discouraged.
Calves that suck other's teats may continue into adulthood and it can cause problems. How to stop it?
Make the calves work harder for their feed so the sucking urge runs out.
Tie them up after sucking till their mouths are dry.
Separate out the culprits as they will teach others.
Fit irritant device in the nose of sucker so others won't let them suck.
Provide dry palatable feed immediately after sucking.
A combination of wet and cold is the biggest killer of young calves or can be the reason for poor performance. Calves at pasture need shelter, either natural or artificial.
Fostering new calves on to nurse cows
Cows vary in their maternal instinct. If a cow is too determined not to take strange calves, don't bother with her as it will cost you too much time. She'll associate you with the calf and will soon learn not let it suck unless you are there or she is bailed up.
The easiest way is to have the strange calf to be fostered ready at birth, and cover it with the birth fluids from the cow. Make sure she licks and mothers both calves.
You can try the same trick using odours such as neatsfoot oil or perfume. They don't work as well, and certainly not as well as birth fluid. The oil will get the cow to at least lick the calf, and this may trigger maternal acceptance. The perfume may put her off. Cows' preferences in perfume are not known!
Remove her own calf at birth before she has smelled and licked it, and introduce the fostered calf (or calves) after rubbing them in birth fluids (collected in a bucket) or with the afterbirth.
Blindfold the cow while the alien calves are introduced to her but she may not like this idea.
Remove the cow's own calf after 2-3 days, and bail her up tight with some good strong alien hungry calves. Make sure she cannot get round to bunt them (dehorn the cow) and that she cannot kick them too violently.
While letting her suckle her own calf, introduce the alien calf and teach it to suck through her back legs (the cow's blind spot). It will end up with a dung cap but at least it will be well fed!
Put leather dog collars on the cow's own calf and the alien one, and tie them together with a short length of chain containing a swivel. When the cow lets her own calf suck, the foster one will be close too, and the cow will hopefully get used to having both suckling at the same time.
If her own calf has died, skin the dead calf and tie it over the new calf until she lets it suckle. This will vary from a day or so up to a week or more, when the skin starts to stink! This is mainly used in a beef herd where getting a cow in daily to suckle a calf is not practical.
A vaginal douche with iodine solution (5ml of veterinary iodine in 250ml water) used to be practiced and was sufficient to treat three cows. It seems to cause irritation of the vagina and stimulates straining and maternal instincts. It is not a welfare-friendly method so consult a veterinarian before use.
By Dr Clive Dalton
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