Abstract
The behaviors associated with domestic cattle such as maternal care are quite similar to those behaviors observed in wild ungulates. These behaviors allow the cow to bond with her calf, protect and provide it with nourishment and ultimately reduce the bond at weaning. Although maternal behavior is an important factor influencing the survival and early development of the newborn calf, Zebu type cows around calving have not been studied extensively. Herein, we consider the four main aspects of maternal behavior in cattle and particularly Bos indicus cows and calves. Firstly, we provide a brief description of the behavior of cows around parturition and the behavior of the first stages of the calves’ lives. In the second part, the protective behavior of the mother is analyzed. Subsequently, examples of animal welfare implications followed by an analysis of some factors that affect calf survival, including mother experience and weather conditions, are discussed, and in the last part, reproduction along with some peculiarities of reproductive behavior, and the wellbeing of mother and calves are examined. We concluded that knowledge of maternal behavior of Zebu type cows around calving and interactions with calves might contribute to an enhanced reproductive efficiency of the mother and the welfare of the calf.
Subject
General Veterinary,Animal Science and Zoology
Reference103 articles.
1. Parturient behaviour and placental characteristics of Bos indicus cows;Mukasa-Mugerwa;Rev. d’Élevage Médecine Vétérinaire Pays Trop.,1990
2. From classic ethology to modern neuroethology: Overcoming the three biases in social behavior research;Zilkha;Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.,2016
3. La Evolución y la Conservación de la Biodiversidad;Almansa,2012
4. Review: passive immunity in beef-suckler calves
5. Changes in the suckling behaviour of beef calves at 1 month and 4 months of age and effect on cow production variables;Kour;Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.,2021
Cited by
2 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献