Postpartum Stressors Cause a Reduction in Mechanical Brush Use in Dairy Cows.

ABSTRACT: Dairy cows are often subjected to multiple post-partum stressors but how these stressors impact cows' affective states remain poorly understood. Negative affective states are often associated with reduced expression of low-resilience behaviors, so we explored whether cows would reduce their use of a brush after calving. Before calving, cows were offered the opportunity to use a mechanical brush once a week for 10 min. In Experiment 1, we explored whether cows reduced their use of a mechanical brush after parturition (compared to prepartum values) when subjected to the myriad of stressors typically experienced by cows at this time. In Experiment 2, we assessed the effect of cow-calf separation. Results from Experiment 1 showed that cows displayed a reduced brush use following parturition co

SUBMITTER: Lecorps B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8614528 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature