Figure 1. Neonate calf being cleaned by its dam. Photo credit: Katherine Kennedy.
Figure 1. Neonate calf being cleaned by its dam. Photo credit: Katherine Kennedy.
Published: June 18, 2022
Unlike beef cattle - which give birth between April and June - dairy cattle do so year-round.
While conducting research on Johne's disease in Holstein Friesians near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta this week, I was lucky enough to observe a calving.
After giving birth, the dam removed amniotic fluid from the calf by licking, a behaviour that strengthens the cow-calf bond (Figure 1; Whalin et al., 2021).
Sometime later, the dam delivered her placenta and ate it. Researchers speculate that placentophagia ensures that predators are not alerted to the presence of the susceptible neonate (Edwards and Broom, 1982).
Literature Cited
Edward, S., & Broom, D. (1982). Behavioural interactions of dairy cows with their newborn calves and the effects of parity. Animal Behaviour, 30(2), 525-535. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(82)80065-1
Whalin, L., Weary, D., & von Keyserlingk, M. (2021). Understanding behavioural development of calves in natural settings to inform calf management. Animals (Basel), 11(8), 2446. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8388734/#:~:text=The%20mother%20vigorously%20licks%20the,reindeer%20(Rangifer%20tarandus%20L
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