Social proximity in dairy calves is affected by differences in pessimism.

ABSTRACT: Negative social interactions have been extensively studied in dairy cattle, but little is known about the establishment of positive (preferential) relationships. Adult dairy cows are known to spend more time at close proximity to specific social partners, indicating that they establish stronger bonds with these animals, but few studies have explored what happens in socially housed calves. In this study, we explored whether calves that spent their entire life in the same social group established social preferences (i.e. pairs of individuals that interact more) that are stable over time (two 48-h periods, separated by three days), across two types of behavior (standing and lying) and across contexts (change in environment and housing design). When housed in an open pack, calves showed consis

SUBMITTER: Lecorps B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6821061 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature