Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves
Using levels of the stress hormone cortisol as an indicator for welfare is a common, but debated practice. In this observational study, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) of samples from 196 dairy calves from 7 to 302 days of age collected from 12 Swedish farms was determined using a commercially ava...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Animal Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2021.793558/full |
| _version_ | 1819176737629536256 |
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| author | Lena-Mari Tamminen Linda J. Keeling Anna Svensson Laurie Briot Ulf Emanuelson |
| author_facet | Lena-Mari Tamminen Linda J. Keeling Anna Svensson Laurie Briot Ulf Emanuelson |
| author_sort | Lena-Mari Tamminen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Using levels of the stress hormone cortisol as an indicator for welfare is a common, but debated practice. In this observational study, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) of samples from 196 dairy calves from 7 to 302 days of age collected from 12 Swedish farms was determined using a commercially available ELISA. An assessment of animal welfare, assessed using animal-based indicators, was performed on the day of sampling. First, methodological factors with the potential to impact HCC and the effect of age were analyzed using generalized additive models. This revealed a significant peak in hair cortisol in young calves (around 50 days of age) and an association between fecal contamination of hair samples and the level of cortisol extracted. Second, associations between welfare indicators and HCC were explored using cluster analysis and regularized regression. The results show a complex pattern, possibly related to different coping styles of the calves, and indicators of poor welfare were associated with both increased and decreased hair cortisol levels. High cortisol levels were associated with potential indicators of competition, while low cortisol levels were associated with the signs of poor health or a poor environment. When running the regularized regression analysis without the contaminated hair samples and with the contaminated samples (including a contamination score), the results did not change, indicating that it may be possible to use a contamination score to correct for contamination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:15:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a02ab97b0bad47618693e35f797f63ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-6225 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:15:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Animal Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-a02ab97b0bad47618693e35f797f63ed2022-12-21T18:12:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Animal Science2673-62252021-12-01210.3389/fanim.2021.793558793558Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy CalvesLena-Mari Tamminen0Linda J. Keeling1Anna Svensson2Laurie Briot3Ulf Emanuelson4Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SwedenAgroSup Dijon, Dijon, FranceDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SwedenUsing levels of the stress hormone cortisol as an indicator for welfare is a common, but debated practice. In this observational study, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) of samples from 196 dairy calves from 7 to 302 days of age collected from 12 Swedish farms was determined using a commercially available ELISA. An assessment of animal welfare, assessed using animal-based indicators, was performed on the day of sampling. First, methodological factors with the potential to impact HCC and the effect of age were analyzed using generalized additive models. This revealed a significant peak in hair cortisol in young calves (around 50 days of age) and an association between fecal contamination of hair samples and the level of cortisol extracted. Second, associations between welfare indicators and HCC were explored using cluster analysis and regularized regression. The results show a complex pattern, possibly related to different coping styles of the calves, and indicators of poor welfare were associated with both increased and decreased hair cortisol levels. High cortisol levels were associated with potential indicators of competition, while low cortisol levels were associated with the signs of poor health or a poor environment. When running the regularized regression analysis without the contaminated hair samples and with the contaminated samples (including a contamination score), the results did not change, indicating that it may be possible to use a contamination score to correct for contamination.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2021.793558/fullanimal welfarecattleHPA axisstresscoping |
| spellingShingle | Lena-Mari Tamminen Linda J. Keeling Anna Svensson Laurie Briot Ulf Emanuelson Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves Frontiers in Animal Science animal welfare cattle HPA axis stress coping |
| title | Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves |
| title_full | Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves |
| title_fullStr | Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves |
| title_short | Unraveling the Complexity to Observe Associations Between Welfare Indicators and Hair Cortisol Concentration in Dairy Calves |
| title_sort | unraveling the complexity to observe associations between welfare indicators and hair cortisol concentration in dairy calves |
| topic | animal welfare cattle HPA axis stress coping |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2021.793558/full |
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