Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves
ABSTRACT: Surplus dairy calves are commonly transported long distances from dairy farms to calf-raising facilities and livestock auctions. Current calf transportation research mainly describes physiological changes resulting from transportation. However, few studies have described the effects of tra...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223003144 |
| _version_ | 1827787776933756928 |
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| author | A. Bajus D.L. Renaud H.M. Goetz M. Steele D. Kelton K.L. Proudfoot K.C. Creutzinger |
| author_facet | A. Bajus D.L. Renaud H.M. Goetz M. Steele D. Kelton K.L. Proudfoot K.C. Creutzinger |
| author_sort | A. Bajus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: Surplus dairy calves are commonly transported long distances from dairy farms to calf-raising facilities and livestock auctions. Current calf transportation research mainly describes physiological changes resulting from transportation. However, few studies have described the effects of transportation on calf behavior. The main objective of this study was to determine the effects of different durations of transportation (6, 12, and 16 h) on lying time and bouts in surplus dairy calves. A secondary objective of this study was to investigate whether calf age affected lying behavior around transportation. Surplus dairy calves (n = 175) were transported in 7 cohorts from 5 commercial dairy farms in Ontario to a single veal facility. On the day of transportation (d 0), calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: (1) 6 h (n = 60), (2) 12 h (n = 58), or (3) 16 h (n = 57) of continuous transportation by road. Calf lying and standing behaviors were recorded using HOBO data loggers (Hobo Pendant G Acceleration Data Logger, Onset Computer Corporation). Daily lying time (h/d) and bouts (no./d) were assessed from −1 to 3 d relative to transportation. The total time spent lying during transportation was assessed as the percentage of time lying (min lying/total min on the trailer × 100) from the time each calf was loaded onto the trailer until the time each calf was unloaded at the veal facility (n = 167). On the day of transportation (d 0), calves transported for 12 and 16 h spent less time lying (6 h: 17.1 h/d; 12 h: 15.9 h/d; 16 h: 15.0 h/d) and had more lying bouts (6 h: 21.9 bouts/d; 12 h: 25.8 bouts/d; 16 h: 29.8 bouts/d) compared with those transported for 6 h. On the day after transportation (d 1), calves transported for 16 h spent more time lying down than calves transported for 6 h (19.9 h/d vs. 18.8 h/d, respectively). In addition, during transportation, calves transported for 12 h and 16 h spent 5.8% and 7.6% more time lying down, respectively, than calves transported for 6 h. On each day relative to transportation (d −1 to 3), younger calves (2 to 5 d of age) spent a greater amount of time lying down than older calves (6 to 19 d of age) and, overall, had a greater number of lying bouts. The results of this study suggest that longer durations of transportation influence the lying behavior of surplus dairy calves, resulting in more fatigue during and after the journey and, therefore, potentially have negative implications for calf welfare. Additionally, longer durations of transportation may have greater influence on younger calves than older calves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:52:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1ba6ddfb08543f9af4d78cec9169804 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:52:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1ba6ddfb08543f9af4d78cec91698042023-10-21T04:21:40ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022023-11-011061179327941Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calvesA. Bajus0D.L. Renaud1H.M. Goetz2M. Steele3D. Kelton4K.L. Proudfoot5K.C. Creutzinger6Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1Department of Health Management and Companion Animals, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada C1A 4P3Department of Animal and Food Science, University of Wisconsin–River Falls, River Falls, WI 54022; Corresponding authorABSTRACT: Surplus dairy calves are commonly transported long distances from dairy farms to calf-raising facilities and livestock auctions. Current calf transportation research mainly describes physiological changes resulting from transportation. However, few studies have described the effects of transportation on calf behavior. The main objective of this study was to determine the effects of different durations of transportation (6, 12, and 16 h) on lying time and bouts in surplus dairy calves. A secondary objective of this study was to investigate whether calf age affected lying behavior around transportation. Surplus dairy calves (n = 175) were transported in 7 cohorts from 5 commercial dairy farms in Ontario to a single veal facility. On the day of transportation (d 0), calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: (1) 6 h (n = 60), (2) 12 h (n = 58), or (3) 16 h (n = 57) of continuous transportation by road. Calf lying and standing behaviors were recorded using HOBO data loggers (Hobo Pendant G Acceleration Data Logger, Onset Computer Corporation). Daily lying time (h/d) and bouts (no./d) were assessed from −1 to 3 d relative to transportation. The total time spent lying during transportation was assessed as the percentage of time lying (min lying/total min on the trailer × 100) from the time each calf was loaded onto the trailer until the time each calf was unloaded at the veal facility (n = 167). On the day of transportation (d 0), calves transported for 12 and 16 h spent less time lying (6 h: 17.1 h/d; 12 h: 15.9 h/d; 16 h: 15.0 h/d) and had more lying bouts (6 h: 21.9 bouts/d; 12 h: 25.8 bouts/d; 16 h: 29.8 bouts/d) compared with those transported for 6 h. On the day after transportation (d 1), calves transported for 16 h spent more time lying down than calves transported for 6 h (19.9 h/d vs. 18.8 h/d, respectively). In addition, during transportation, calves transported for 12 h and 16 h spent 5.8% and 7.6% more time lying down, respectively, than calves transported for 6 h. On each day relative to transportation (d −1 to 3), younger calves (2 to 5 d of age) spent a greater amount of time lying down than older calves (6 to 19 d of age) and, overall, had a greater number of lying bouts. The results of this study suggest that longer durations of transportation influence the lying behavior of surplus dairy calves, resulting in more fatigue during and after the journey and, therefore, potentially have negative implications for calf welfare. Additionally, longer durations of transportation may have greater influence on younger calves than older calves.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223003144surplus calvestransportationlying behaviorveal |
| spellingShingle | A. Bajus D.L. Renaud H.M. Goetz M. Steele D. Kelton K.L. Proudfoot K.C. Creutzinger Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves Journal of Dairy Science surplus calves transportation lying behavior veal |
| title | Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves |
| title_full | Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves |
| title_fullStr | Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves |
| title_short | Effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves |
| title_sort | effects of transportation duration on lying behavior in young surplus dairy calves |
| topic | surplus calves transportation lying behavior veal |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030223003144 |
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