Abstract
Simple SummaryIn beef cattle and other livestock species, temperament can be considered as their behavioral responses to human interaction. Temperament evaluation allows classifying cattle according to the level of responsiveness, from calm to excitable. Consistently across studies, beef females classified as more excitable have signs of increased stress response and are less fertile compared to cohorts with calmer temperament. Cattle temperament can be improved via genetic selection and acclimating young animals to human interaction and handling procedures.Temperament is often defined as the behavioral expression of animals in response to human interaction. Cattle temperament can be evaluated using an association of chute score and exit velocity, with cattle then classified as adequate or excitable temperament. To assess the impacts of temperament on various beef systems, these evaluation criteria were associated with productive and reproductive parameters of Bos taurus and B. indicus-influenced cattle. Consistently across studies, excitable cattle had greater plasma cortisol compared to animals with adequate temperament. Studies also reported that excitable beef females have poorer reproductive performance compared to calmer cohorts, including reduced annual pregnancy rates, decreased calving rate, weaning rate, and kg of calf weaned/cow exposed to breeding. Acclimating B. indicus × B. taurus or B. taurus heifers to human handling improved behavioral expression of temperament and hastened puberty attainment. However, similar benefits were not observed when mature cows were acclimated to human handling. Collectively, temperament of beef females measured via behavioral responses upon human handling impacts their reproductive and productive responses independent of breed type, and should be considered for optimal beef cattle production.
Highlights
Human temperament was first defined in ancient times
This review describes a series of research studies demonstrating the impacts of temperament on reproductive success and overall productivity of beef females
Research by our group was the first to document the importance of cattle temperament to overall production of cow-calf systems [30,31], and similar outcomes have since been reported by others [73,74]
Summary
Human temperament was first defined in ancient times. As the study of the human psych has evolved, so has the classification and understanding of temperament. Behaviors are one way to express temperament [2] and these expression—such as aggressiveness, nervousness, apathy, affection—are associated with various important traits of overall health and wellbeing for humans and animals. The evaluation of temperament relies mostly on their behavioral and phenotypical expressions [6]. Temperament in beef cattle has been measured and traditionally associated with their behavioral responses to human handling [7–10]. Temperament has significant consequences on growth, health, and reproduction [4] and has interested researchers for many decades [11–13], becoming even more relevant in recent years due to increasing societal concerns regarding animal welfare [14]
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