Dynamics of dairy calf rearing systems during the suckling period: a conceptual model

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17523/bia.2020.v77.e1465

Keywords:

cattle, dynamic systems, collective rearing, individual rearing, modeling

Abstract

Behavioral studies help to understand the needs of animals and serve as a basis to justify  welfare criteria on farms. This study used the system€™s dynamics to identify causal loops that influence the behavior of dairy calves during suckling when kept in different housing systems (individual or collective in the presence or absence of a tactile stimulus). The results showed that the conceptual model of dairy calf development consists of three subsystems : (a) subsystem of growth with three reinforcing loops linked to the weight of the calves; (b) subsystem of social development with two reinforcing loops associated with calf learning and two balancing loops associated with reactivity, and (c) subsystem of thermoregulation with three balancing loops associated with body temperature and one reinforcing loop associated with thermal stress. In conclusion, conceptual modeling provided additional information  on the behavior of dairy calves by making explicit the interconnections between the subsystems that comprise the overall calf development system.

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Published

2020-02-07

Issue

Section

ANIMAL BREEDING

How to Cite

Dynamics of dairy calf rearing systems during the suckling period: a conceptual model. (2020). Bulletin of Animal Husbandry, 77, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.17523/bia.2020.v77.e1465