Abstract
The use of an isolation box test (IBT) to characterize personality traits has been used in non-bovine species with success. We aimed to develop an IBT for dairy calves and determine if the behavioral responses to an IBT were associated with personality traits found from traditional tests (novel person, novel object, and a startle tests) and average daily gain (ADG; Kg/d) through weaning. Calf movement while in the IBT was measured via accelerometers attached to 5 locations on the exterior of the box. A total movement index (TMI) was calculated based on accelerometer readings during the IBT. We performed a principal component analysis on the traditional tests and identified 3 influential factors that we labeled as “fearful,” “bold,” and “active.” Calves were weighed biweekly to track liveweight ADG. Factor scores and ADG were regressed against TMI. A significant negative association was found between the TMI and the factor “active,” indicating the validity of IBT as a tool for assessing some personality traits of dairy calves. Furthermore, TMI had a positive association with ADG through the entire experimental period and thus has potential to help predict performance through weaning. IBT has potential to be used as a personality test in research scenarios. Further development is needed to produce an IBT that would be appropriate to measure animals' responses reliably in production settings. An automated test that can accommodate a wide range of ages and developing a computer learning model to interpret output from the IBT would be a possible option to do so.
Highlights
Personality expressed by animals, like other phenotypes, is a product of the interaction between the environment, experiences, and the genetics of the individual
We aimed to (1) characterize the distribution of individual behavioral responses in dairy calves measured using an isolation box test, (2) evaluate relationships between behaviors measured in an isolation box test and behavioral responses and personality traits derived from novel person, novel object, and startle tests, and (3) determine whether personality trait(s) derived from the isolation box test are related to growth through weaning
The study aims were to investigate the use of an isolation box test to characterize personality traits of dairy calves, to determine if behavioral measures from an isolation box test reflected personality traits measured with a novel person, novel object, and startle tests, and to identify potential relationships between measures of personality and average daily gain (ADG)
Summary
Personality expressed by animals, like other phenotypes, is a product of the interaction between the environment, experiences, and the genetics of the individual. Personality itself, refer to a broader range of traits expressed by an individual, we use this terminology throughout, which aligns with recent work in livestock (Koolhaas and Van Reenen, 2016; Neave et al, 2020). In cattle personality traits such as “fear” (Forkman et al, 2007), “boldness” (Foris et al, 2018), “exploratory” (Neave et al, 2020), “sociability” (Lecorps et al, 2018) and coping style in response to stress (Van Reenen et al, 2005) are related to stable individual characteristics that can be reliably measured
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