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The provision of drinking water to veal calves for welfare purposes^1,2

F. Gottardo^*,3, S. Mattiello, G. Cozzi^*, E. Canali, E. Scanziani, L. Ravarotto, V. Ferrante, M. Verga and I. Andrighetto^*

^* Dipartimento di Scienze Zootecniche, Università degli Studi di Padova, Agripolis—35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy; and Istituto di Zootecnica, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, and and Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Igiene e Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy; and and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Agripolis—35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy

³ Correspondence:
phone: +39 049 8272620; fax: +39 049 8272669; E-mail:
flaviana.gottardo{at}unipd.it.

	Abstract

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Growth performance, behavior, physiology, forestomach development, abomasal lesions, and meat quality of veal calves fed a milk-replacer diet (No Water) were compared to those obtained from calves fed the same diet and provided with increasing amounts of drinking water (Water). Two groups of 69 Polish Friesian calves, balanced according to initial BW, were assigned to two water treatmenst in a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement that provided solid feed in addition to the milk-replacer diet (No solid feed, 250 g•calf^-1•d^-1 of wheat straw or the same amount of beet pulp), and the adoption of two housing systems (individual stall vs group pen). The fattening trial lasted 160 d, and calves received drinking water starting from the 2nd wk of the study. The amount of drinking water was progressively increased from 3 to 8 L•calf^-1•d^-1. Although not dehydrated, as shown by hematocrit and Na, K, and total protein hemoconcentration, calves consumed almost all the offered amount of water throughout the fattening period. Therefore, the water provided by the milk replacer alone, which ranged between 6 to 16 L•calf•d^-1, was not sufficient to satisfy the need of the animal. Drinking water did not affect the calves’ growth performance but it reduced nonnutritive oral behavior throughout the fattening period. Based on these results, drinking water did not cover a shortage in the calves’ water requirement but it played a role in environmental enrichment. Health status was similar between treatments, although water provision reduced the episodes of feed refusal. The measurement of chronic stress by ACTH challenge showed that the administration of drinking water would be advisable when calves are fed with small amounts of solid feed for well-being. Feces consistency and animal cleanliness were not affected by drinking water. At slaughter, forestomach development was similar between treatments, and drinking water did not affect the number of calves showing rumen hairballs and abomasal lesions. No differences in color and other meat quality traits were observed between Water and No Water calves. Despite the lack of direct effects on productive traits, when water was available, the calves drank it, and positive effects were noticed on their nonnutritive oral behaviors and chronic stress indicators.

Key Words: Animal Welfare • Behavior • Drinking Water • Growth • Meat Quality • Veal Calves

	Introduction

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According to the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purpose (1978), access to fresh water is one of the primary needs to guarantee animal welfare. A need is considered a fundamental requirement in the biology of the animal. When it is not satisfied, the consequence in either the short-term or the long-term will be poor welfare (Broom and Johnson, 1993).

Veal calves are fed a liquid diet based on a milk replacer, the daily intake of milk replacer varies from 6 to 20 L throughout the growing cycle. Under practical conditions in Europe, calves given liquid diets for veal production are not offered additional water for the entire fattening period (Roy, 1980). However, a recent study carried out by Ruis-Heutinck and van Reenen (2000) showed that when water is available, the intake by veal calves can be very high, suggesting that the milk replacer alone could be not sufficient to cover the calf’s need of water. The calf’s water requirement might be enhanced by the provision of solid feed in addition to the liquid diet, as set by the 97/2/EC Directive by the Council of Europe (EU Council, 1997). Partial water deprivation could lead to reduced feed intake, behavioral problems, physiological changes, and an increased concentration of urine and feces (Igbokwe, 1997; Kamphues, 2000). In the other hand, the production of more loose/wet feces and the increased manure volume from veal calves receiving water in addition to the milk replacer might worsen the cleanliness of the animals and increase the slipperiness of the floor. Other possible disadvantages due to the administration of drinking water may be related to water temperature or to the uncleanliness of the buckets, with a consequent increase of the risk of infections.

The present study evaluated the response of veal calves to drinking water supply by measuring different welfare indicators and productive traits.

	Materials and Methods

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Animals, Treatments, and Management
We used 138 Polish Friesian male calves reared in two separate batches of 54 and 84 calves, respectively. The first batch was reared in summer and fall 1997 and the second in spring and summer 1998. Sixty-nine calves were provided with a growing daily amount of drinking water throughout the fattening period (Water), while the remaining received only the milk-replacer diet (No Water). The water treatment was evaluated in a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement that provided solid feed in addition to the milk-replacer diet (No solid feed, 250 g•calf^-1•d^-1 of wheat straw or the same amount of beet pulp), and the adoption of two housing systems (individual stall vs group pen) (Cozzi et al., 2002).

All the housing structures used in the study were located in the same building. The 24 individual wooden stalls (0.83 x 1.80 m) had slatted floors and lateral partitions allowing social contact between neighboring calves. The calves housed in individual stalls were not tethered. The group pens were also wooden with slatted floors, and they housed five calves each with a space allowance of 1.8 m²/calf. The floors of both housing systems were 40 cm higher than the barn floor to allow for waste accumulation throughout the fattening period. Environmental temperature and air pollution in the building were controlled by an extractor fan system, which automatically operated above 25°C and(or) 20 ppm of NH₃ concentration.

The milk replacer was delivered in two equal meals at 0730 and 1930, and the daily amount of milk powder and its concentration in the liquid diet were increased throughout the fattening period from 400 to 3,000 g•calf^-1•d^-1 and from 7 to 18.8%, respectively. A starter milk replacer containing 50% skim milk (CP = 21.5 ± 0.2% DM; ether extract = 20.3 ± 0.5% DM; ash = 7.1 ± 0.1% DM; iron = 55.4 ± 2.0 ppm) was fed in the first 30 d of the trial. In the following part of the fattening period, calves received a liquid diet obtained by mixing 36% of a milk replacer containing 50% skim milk (CP = 19.7 ± 0.3% DM; ether extract = 22.8 ± 1.5% DM; ash = 6.8 ± 0.1% DM; iron = 14.6 ± 0.6 ppm) and 64% of a skim-milk-free milk replacer (CP = 21.6 ± 0.1% DM; ether extract = 20.4 ± 0.5% DM; ash = 8.2 ± 0.1% DM; iron = 23.1 ± 0.4 ppm). All milk replacers were provided by Realvit Italia S.p.A. (Ghedi, Italy).

All the calves were bucket-fed the milk-replacer diet. The buckets had a maximum capacity of 20 L, and a nipple of 10 cm length. The group pens had individual feeding gates to restrain the animals during the meal, allowing the individual recording of milk intake.

Starting from the 2nd wk of the study, water and solid feeds (beet pulp: CP = 9.3 ± 0.8% DM; ether extract = 0.8 ± 0.1% DM; NDF = 47.0 ± 2.2% DM; iron = 217 ± 5.6 ppm; wheat straw: CP = 2.3 ± 0.3% DM; ether extract = 1.7 ± 0.1% DM; NDF = 85.5 ± 0.7% DM; iron = 79 ± 14.5 ppm) were delivered to the calves after the evening meal, and the amount of drinking water was progressively increased from 3 to 8 L•calf^-1•d^-1. The calves housed in the stalls received the individual daily amount of drinking water and solid feed in two separate buckets. In the group pens, the solid feed was administered within a common trough (2.5 x 0.4 m) located in the side of the pen opposite to the feeding gates, while the water was delivered in the milk buckets leaving open the feeding gates all the time.

Further specifications about the housing structures, milk replacers, and solid feed composition were extensively reported in a previous paper (Cozzi et al., 2002).

Calves’ Daily Gain, Feed Intake, Cleanliness, and Health Status
Calves ADG was calculated by weighing the animals for two consecutive days at the beginning and at the end of the experimental period, which lasted 160 d. Daily individual intake of milk replacer, solid feed, and drinking water were recorded for each calf kept in stalls, and for calves in groups these were estimated by dividing the total intake of the group by the number of animals. Milk replacer and total DM efficiency were calculated as daily gain/intake.

The evaluation of calves’ cleanliness and feces consistency and color was carried out at wk 3, 14, and 22 of the fattening period using a specific scale for each variable as reported by Cozzi et al. (2002).

The health status of the animals was monitored twice a day at meals by recording the number of feed refusal days, medical treatment days, and iron treatment days according to the protocol described by Cozzi et al. (2002).

We collected blood samples from all the calves at wk 3, 13, 18, and 23 by jugular venous puncture before the morning meal using K₃EDTA and heparinized vacutainer (Becton Dickinson Inson, Meylan Cedex, France). Plasma hemoglobin and iron concentration were then measured according to the procedures of Sigma (1984) and Siedel et al. (1984), respectively. Hematocrit, platelets, and differential WBC count were determined using an automatic cell counter, Cell-Dyn 3500R (Abbott, Abbott Park, IL). Sodium and K concentrations were measured only in blood samples collected from the second batch of calves, by a colorimetric assay using an automatic analyzer, Roche BM Hitachi 911 (Hitachi Medical Systems, Tarrytown, NY). In the same samples, total plasma protein concentration was measured as described by Koller (1984).

Calves’ Behavior
We performed direct observations at wk 2, 7, 13, 17, and 23 of the fattening period to monitor the development of the calves’ behavior. Observations were carried out using a scan sampling technique (a scan every 2 min; Martin and Bateson, 1993) and observing the calves 1 h before and 1 h after each meal. We observed the following behaviors: chewing, self-grooming, sniffing other calves, licking other calves, cross sucking (including urine drinking), tongue playing, tongue rolling, biting, sucking, and nibbling. A more detailed description of these behaviors was reported by Mattiello et al. (2002).

In addition to direct observations, videos of the calves’ behavior were made at wk 2, 7, 17, and 23. The calves’ behaviors were recorded for 20 h from 0830 to 1830 and from 2030 to 0630 (scan sampling every 4 min). The following general behavioral categories were observed from the videotapes: calf posture (standing or lying), contact bucket (licking, sniffing, biting, nibbling, sucking bucket), contact structures (licking, sniffing, biting, nibbling, sucking structures), contact feed trough (licking, sniffing, biting, nibbling, sucking feed trough), self-grooming, social contacts, and cross-sucking. For obvious reasons, cross-sucking could be analyzed only for group-housed calves. Further specifications about the video-recording system and behavioral categories were extensively reported by Mattiello et al. (2002).

ACTH Challenge
We carried out an ACTH challenge test at wk 20 of the fattening period to evaluate the level of chronic stress. We measured the plasma free cortisol levels after an intravenous injection of Synacthene (Novartis Pharma S.A., Rueil-Malmaison, France) following the procedure described by Veissier and Le Neindre (1988). The concentration of cortisol was measured on blood samples taken by jugular venous puncture at time 0, 30, and 180 min after injection. Each test was accompanied by a control test with saline injections and blood samplings at the same times post injection. Plasma free cortisol levels were determined by radio immunoassay (antibody produced by Cognié and Poulin, INRA Tours, France) without extraction of the corticoids. The detection limit was 0.02 ng/mL. Within- and between-assay coefficients of variation were 15 and 24% for low (4 ng/mL) and 6.6 and 13.7% for high (32 ng/mL) controls. More details about the protocol for ACTH challange were reported by Mattiello et al. (2002).

Slaughter Measurements and Meat Quality Evaluation
At the slaughterhouse, we weighed calves’ carcasses to calculate individual dressing percentage and then we graded them for conformation and fatness according to European grading scheme (OFIVAL, 1984). We weighed the empty forestomachs and the abomasum to assess their development and we counted the number of calves with hairballs in their rumen. The length of the papillae, the thickness of the mucosal epithelium, and the thickness of the keratinized layer of the mucosal epithelium were measured histologically on a tissue sample excised from the dorsal sac of each rumen, as reported by Cozzi et al. (2002). The rumens of the calves of the first batch were inspected to evaluate the consistency of the ruminal content and the color of the ruminal mucosa (Cozzi et al., 2002). Histological samples and samples from lesions or suspected lesions were collected from the abomasum of each calf as described by Mattiello et al. (2002). The abomasal lesions were classed as ulcers (presence of focal excavation of the mucosa due to necrosis and sloughing of the necrotic tissue; the excavation involved the whole thickness of the mucosa and reached the submucosa or the deeper layers of the abomasal wall), erosions (lesions similar to an ulcer, but characterized by a superficial involvement of the mucosa), or inflammations (presence of lymphocytes and plasma cells in the lamina propria of the mucosa).

A joint sample of the longissimus muscle was collected from the fifth to the ninth rib of the right-half carcass of each calf at 24 h after slaughter. The meat samples were vacuum packaged and stored at 2 to 4°C in a chilling room for 6 d and then were frozen and kept at -20°C until analysis. Meat chemical analysis considered pH, moisture, and intramuscular fat content measured as ether extract (AOAC, 1990). Total pigment content was measured as hematin on fresh meat samples as proposed by Hornsey (1956). The instrumental evaluation of meat color, cooking losses, and shear force was carried out according to the procedures reported by Cozzi et al. (2002). Sensory assessment of meat quality was carried out by a taste panel according to the guidelines of the AMSA (1978). The procedure for sample preparation and the scales adopted for sensory evaluation of meat tenderness, juiciness, and flavor were described by Cozzi et al. (2002).

Statistical Analysis
We transformed the behavioral data from the absolute frequencies of scans to percentages, and these values were then submitted to arcsin-root transformation (Martin and Bateson, 1993). According to Mattiello et al. (2002), some behaviors, which occurred with a low frequency, were grouped in more general behavioral categories, namely social contacts (sniffing/licking other calves) and nonnutritive oral behavior (tongue playing/rolling plus biting/sucking/nibbling bucket/structures). For ACTH challenge, we separately analyzed cortisol levels after ACTH and after saline injection. Furthermore, as cortisol concentration may have been affected by hemoconcentration in response to the lack of water, we also used the ratios between the cortisol level of the three samples after ACTH injection and the saline controls at 0 min (Ratio 0), 30 min (Ratio 30), and 180 min (Ratio 180) as variables for statistical analysis.

The normal distribution of all the variables included in the dataset was tested with the PROC UNIVARIATE of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) using the Shapiro-Wilk test. The tested variables that showed values of W > 0.80 were considered normal; therefore, they were submitted to a weighed ANOVA within PROC GLM. The calf was the unit for the animals housed in the individual stalls, whereas the group-mean was the unit for group-housed calves. Because the variance of a mean of n observations is ²/n, we used the number of observations per mean (five for group-housed calves and one for individually housed calves) as a weighing in the analysis, thus correcting the imbalance of the design. The model used for data processing of these variables was the following:

where Y_ijmlk = observation; µ = overall mean; B_i = effect of batch (block); S_j = effect of diet; H_m = effect of type of housing; W_l = effect of water provision; (SH)_jm = interaction of diet and type of housing; (SW)_jl = interaction of diet and water provision; (HW)_ml = interaction of type of housing and water provision; (SHW)_jml = interaction of diet, type of housing, and water provision; and e_ijmlk = random residual error. For the analysis of plasma Na, K, total protein concentration, consistency of the ruminal content, and the color of the ruminal mucosa, the batch was not included in the model, since data were available only from a single batch of calves. Batch effect was significant only for ACTH challenge data, so we carried out separate analysis for each batch.

Behavioral and hematological data were analyzed using the option repeated measurements, and the week of observation was considered as the repetition. For ACTH data we used the time of blood sampling (0, 30, and 180 min) as the repetition and we took Delta 0 as the starting point for the analysis of the interaction between time and all the other factors. Least squares means were used for presentation of the results. The experimental error was estimated by the pooled standard error of the mean (SEM). When interactions existed between water and other factors, we performed nonorthogonal contrasts using the PDIFF statement.

Wilcoxon two-sample test with the PROC NPAR1WAY was performed for variables, which did not show a Gaussian distribution, whereas the proportions data recorded to describe the number of calves with hairballs in the rumen or with lesions in the abomasum were compared by ² calculations.

	Results

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As described in a previous work of Cozzi et al. (2002), four calves of the second batch (three of the No Water and one of the Water treatment) were discarded from the trial because they had been sick since their arrival at the fattening unit. The disease, which was diagnosed as chronic pneumonia by veterinary inspection at the slaughterhouse, severely impaired their growth performances throughout the fattening period.

Growth Performance, Feed, and Water Intake
The calves consumed almost the entire volume of the offered drinking water throughout the fattening period, and the water intake was similar for both batches of calves (Table 1). On average, the total volume of water consumed by a calf as the sum of the drinking portion plus that given by the intake of milk replacer was above 20 L/d. Drinking water availability did not affect most of the growth parameters such as final live weight and ADG (Table 2). The intake of milk replacer and of solid feed did not differ between Water and No Water calves, consequently feed efficiency was similar between experimental treatments.

View larger version (10K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. Development of the frequency of nonnutritive oral behavior around the meals in calves with or without drinking water (lsmeans + SEM).

Cortisol levels in response to the presence of water showed no significant changes in batch 1, either after saline or after ACTH injection. In the second batch, a significant effect of water with solid feed was observed (F = 6.54, P < 0.01): the highest cortisol levels after ACTH injection were measured for calves fed straw or dried beet pulp without provision of drinking water (Figure 2). In this batch, a significant interaction between time and water was also observed (F = 7.78, P < 0.001). Differences in cortisol levels after ACTH challenge were significant at all stages of the test (0 min: F = 6.15, P < 0.05; 30 min: F = 18.39, P < 0.001; 180 min: F = 16.33, P < 0.001). In batch 2, significant differences in response to the administration of water were found also for cortisol levels after saline injection, but in this case cortisol levels were higher in Water calves (Water: 5.22 ng/mL, No Water: 3.25 ng/mL, SEM: 0.86, F = 7.62, P < 0.01).

View larger version (19K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 2. Cortisol levels (lsmeans + SEM) after ACTH injection in calves provided with or without drinking water under different feeding treatments.

Slaughter Measurements
At the slaughterhouse, no effects due to water provision were recorded for carcass weight, color, and dressing percentage as well as in forestomach and abomasum development. However, Water carcasses showed a better conformation than the No Water ones (Z = 4.14, P < 0.05, Table 5). The number of calves with hairballs was similar between treatments as well as the visual evaluation of consistency of ruminal content and ruminal mucosa pigmentation (Table 6). The histological examination of the rumen wall showed no difference in the thickness of mucosal epithelium and its keratinized layer. However, a significant diet and water interaction (F = 3.12, P < 0.05) was recorded for the length of the rumen papillae, which was increased by the provision of water only in calves fed wheat straw in addition to the liquid diet (Figure 3). No drinking water effect was observed on the incidence of abomasal lesions (Table 7).

View larger version (15K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 3. Length of the rumen papillae (lsmeans + SEM) in calves provided with or without drinking water under different feeding treatments. Different letters (x,y) indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

	Discussion

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It must be pointed out, however, that the blood indicators of dehydration measured in our study such as hematocrit, Na, K, and total protein were similar between water treatments, showing that calves that did not receive water were not dehydrated. This could explain why the provision of drinking water did not show any beneficial effect on calves growth performance. No differences in growth performance were also observed by Ruis-Heutinck and van Reenen (2000) when calves had ad libitum water availability. The lack of drinking water did not decrease the intake of solid feed. This is in contrast with Sekine et al. (1989), who reported that in growing calves hay intake was reduced by a partial restriction of drinking water. However, it must be pointed out that our calves consumed only a very limited amount of solid feed.

In the present study, calves receiving water showed a good health status throughout the fattening period, reducing the feed refusal days significantly. Water availability did not lead to the excretion of looser feces; therefore, no consequent detrimental effect on calves’ body cleanliness was observed.

Despite the lack of effect on growth, when water was available, the calves drank it, and some effect was noted on other welfare indicators. Considering behavior, a lower level of nonnutritive oral behaviors was observed in calves provided with water. It is likely that drinking water represented an environmental enrichment, which was able to limit the arousal of stereotypies, such as tongue playing and tongue rolling, that we included in the nonnutritive oral behaviors. In some cases, the provision of additional stimuli may reduce abnormal behaviors associated with captive environments (Newberry, 1995). However, the higher frequency of behaviors such as biting, sucking, and nibbling the bucket (also recorded within the category of nonnutritive oral behaviors) in calves without water provision may be attributed to their drinking motivation. In fact, during the 20 h of videorecorded observations, the absence of drinking water seems to increase the time spent at the bucket, likely looking for water, in calves receiving beet pulp. We can hypothesize that drinking water is particularly needed when hygroscopic solid feed, such as dried beet pulp (Ramanzin et al., 1994), are given to the calves in addition to the liquid diet. In support of this finding, we observed the highest Na and hematocrit concentration in veal calves receiving 250 g•d^-1 of dried beet pulp (Mattiello et al., 2002).

Cortisol levels after ACTH injection in batch 2 showed a significant interaction between diet and water. The ACTH challenge was carried out in late summer for the second batch of calves during warm temperatures (23.2 ± 2.3°C), whereas for the first batch in November (9.5 ± 1.8°C). The higher cortisol levels observed in calves receiving solid feeds without drinking water in batch 2 might be related to the role of cortisol in the regulation of water metabolism (Tepperman and Tepperman, 1987). Cortisol concentration may be increased following a period of water deprivation (Igbokwe, 1997), especially if dehydration is enough to markedly reduce blood volume. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the lack of significant differences among the ratios between ACTH and saline cortisol levels (although this ratio was always higher in calves with no water provision) and by the significant differences among cortisol levels at time 0 following ACTH challenge. However, when looking at cortisol levels after saline injection, the results are the opposite, showing that calves receiving drinking water had higher cortisol levels than calves without water. Furthermore, the hypothesis of a higher level of hemoconcentration in No Water calves is not supported by any change among treatments in Na concentration, which is usually considered a reliable indicator of a state of dehydration (Igbokwe, 1997), as well as in other parameters of hemoconcentration, such as hematocrit, K, and total protein. Although we cannot exclude that the organism corrected the level of ions in the blood, in order to adjust the possible reduction of volume, our results suggest that the higher cortisol levels of No Water calves fed a small amount of solid feed in response to ACTH challenge can probably be interpreted as a higher activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis due to chronic stress (Broom, 1988), rather than a physiological response to dehydration. Moreover, other studies carried out on horses (Houpt et al., 2000), pigs (Parrott et al., 1988), and sheep (Abdelatif and Ahmed, 1994) showed a general decline rather than an increase of basal cortisol levels in response to water restriction. Chronic stress indicators and metabolic parameters seem to indicate that the provision of water affects the welfare of veal calves, receiving some source of roughage in addition to the milk replacer, especially in warm environmental conditions.

The blood formula showed only limited changes in response to the lack of water, supporting the view that the calves were not dehydrated. Not even the number of WBC, which may increase following water deprivation (Igbokwe, 1997), was affected by the absence of water in our calves. The only blood parameter which changed in response to water availability was platelets count, but no similar effect has been reported in other studies. Although no direct effect of water on platelet number is known, we may hypothesize that the intake of water caused a higher dilution of some nutritional factor, possibly contained in the milk replacer, which is responsible for the segregation of platelets in the spleen. The dilution of this factor in Water calves would be higher; therefore, they would have less platelets in the spleen and more circulating platelets. Platelets count in veal calf can be affected by plasma iron concentration, as shown by Cozzi et al. (2002) and Mattiello et al. (2002) comparing feeding treatments with different dietary iron bioavailability. However, in the present experiment, we found no difference in iron levels between treatments. According to Mandell (2000), a physiologic thrombocytosis may result from physical exercise, which mobilizes splenic and pulmonary platelets pools. We did not quantify exercise in the calves, but those receiving drinking water showed an increased muscle development, and their carcasses were graded with a better EUROP score at the slaughterhouse.

Previous studies on veal calves have shown the capacity of solid feed to promote forestomach development and to reduce the formation of hairballs (Morisse et al., 2000; Cozzi et al., 2002). Drinking water did not show any contribution to the improvement of these welfare traits. However, it seems that the provision of water can affect the development of rumen papillae, when calves receive a dried roughage rich in NDF, such as straw. Moisture is a limiting factor for microbial growth in the gastrointestinal tracts of herbivores (Van Soest, 1994), and water provision may be more critical when feeding a low digestible substrate in order to support carbohydrate fermentation and VFA production, which promote the development of the papillae. As pointed out by Kertz et al. (1984), in suckling calf, rumen cannot be adequately provided with water by milk intake because of the esophageal groove closure.

The administration of drinking water did not affect the number of animals with abomasal lesions. Several studies have been conducted to point out a relationship between abnormal oral behaviors and abomasal lesions, but no clear relation has been found yet (Wiepkema et al., 1987; Gottardo et al., 1999). In the present study, drinking water reduced nonnutritive oral behavior but did not affect the incidence of stomach-wall damage.

Among meat quality traits, color plays a key role for the marketability of veal meat, and in our previous study (Cozzi et al., 2002) it was the only parameter affected by the feeding plan varying according to the bioavailable iron provided by the diet. Drinking water did not modify meat color or the remaining quality traits measured instrumentally or by a taste panel.

	Implications

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A considerable amount of drinking water was consumed by the veal calves in addition to the milk replacer during the fattening period. Therefore we suggest that, in the European rearing conditions, the water provided by the milk replacer may not be sufficient to satisfy the needs of the animal. Calves deprived of drinking water were not dehydrated, and therefore drinking water did not cover a shortage in their water requirement; it acted more like an environmental enrichment preventing the arousal of nonnutritive oral behavior. The measurement of chronic stress indicators suggests that drinking water is particularly advisable when small amounts of solid feed are given to the calves for welfare purpose, especially during warm conditions. The provision of water reduces milk refusals and, in calves fed straw, it positively affects the development of rumen mucosa. There are no negative indications against the provision of drinking water considering calves’ growth performance, health status, and cleanliness.

	Footnotes

 
¹ Research carried out within the project "Chain management of veal calf welfare" financed by the European Commission, Directorate General for Agriculture, within the framework of the RTD contract FAIR 2049. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of its authors and in no way represents the views of the Commission or its services.

² We are grateful to all the partners of the project for their contribution to the discusison of the results. We thank Realvit S.p.A. for their technical support and the farm "F.lli Feltrin" Vedelago (TV), for their care in the management of the calves and for their friendly hospitality of the research team. For plasma cortisol analysis, we thank the Equipe Adaptation et Comportements Sociaux, Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores, INRA-Theix (France) and, especially, Isabelle Veissier, who helped us with the statistical analysis, discussion, and presentation of the final results. Finally, we acknowledge Lillian Gorbea for the correction of the English text.

Received for publication January 31, 2002. Accepted for publication April 29, 2002.

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