A Novel Protocol to Assess Acclimation Rate in Bos taurus Heifers during Yard Weaning.

ABSTRACT: The speed with which animals acclimate to a new environment could be an important measure of ability to cope with management induced stress. This study developed a measure of acclimation rate in a group of 50 Bos taurus heifers during yard weaning over nine days. We recorded the time and order in which heifers moved through a novel funnel structure into a feeding yard daily. We hypothesised that addition of an obstacle at the entrance would increase the time it took heifers to move through the funnel, but that they would acclimate to the obstacle over a three-day period. The change in latency to move through could then be used as a measure of acclimation rate. We hypothesised that individuals which acclimated to obstacles at a faster rate might display favourable temperament as assessed by

SUBMITTER: Monk JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5946135 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature