Behaviour of cows and their calves in the periparturient period
A review
Keywords:
maternal behaviour, calving, separation, suckling, lickingAbstract
In beef cattle breeding, maternal traits of cows are of crucial importance. Among these traits belongs maternal care for the calf. In this article, authors introduce and evaluate publications concerning of periparturient behaviour of cows and their calves. Based on observation of many authors, most of the cows separate themselves from the group, and show an excited behaviour before delivery. Cows usually are in recumbent position during parturition. Placenta is consumed after its delivery. The connection between mother and calf is developed within a few minutes after birth. Cows start licking their calves in 1 hour. The first stand up of calves happens 1 or 2 hours after birth, based on data of different authors, while first successful suckle takes place in 2–6, or according to some results 8 hours after delivery. This is affected by udder conformation of cows (especially udder depth) as well as vitality of calf and maternal care. Most cows only kick their calves when they push the udder too strongly while trying to suck. In this article, results concerning of effects of periparturient circumstances on later production performance are described, too. By examples of different publications, effect of early weaning on behaviour of cows is introduced. Examining dairy cows, many authors experienced that early weaning caused no distress to cows, and that after a very early weaning, maternal behaviour patterns disappear in a short time, which means that connection between a calf and mother is kept by their continuous interaction, like in case of beef cattle.
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