The development of behaviour the development of social behaviour in calves

Abstract

Friesian heifer calves, separated from their mothers on the first or second day after birth and reared in groups of three, interacted with one another by sniffing, licking and nuzzling from an early age. Mounting and competitive interactions such as butting and pushing increased in frequency after fifteen weeks but were still much less frequent than licking and sniffing. Calves which had been spatially isolated for eight months were put together in a field with group-reared animals of the same age and showed just as much licking and sniffing as did the group-reared calves. Isolation-reared calves initiated fewer competitive encounters than did group-reared, and were more likely to retreat if attacked or approached. In a rank-order based upon the results of such encounters, group-reared calves were higher than isolation-reared calves both at eight months and in the same herd one year later. This rank-order was not correlated with body weight. Calves which increased or decreased in rank between eight and twenty months showed a correspondingly high or low rate of weight gain. Mean frequency of association in pairs made up of a group-reared and an isolation-reared calf was less than that in pairs of two group-reared or two isolation-reared calves. The most frequent associations were those between two calves from the same rearing group or two isolation-reared calves from adjacent pens. It is concluded that rearing in spatial isolation for eight months has considerable effects on social behaviour and that some of these effects may be detrimental to animal production, especially if animals reared in different ways are mixed and there is competition for food. THE EFFECTS OF PEN CONDITIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CALF BEHAVIOUR A. WATERHOUSE Department of Zoology, University of Reading, Reading (Gt. Britain) ABSTRACT Fifty Friesian heifer calves were reared in individu: .ne of the five followingFifty Friesian heifer calves were reared in individu: .ne of the five following