| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, B.C., Canada
Departamento de Producción Agrícola y Animal, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, Mexico
borderas{at}interchange.ubc.ca
Abstract
The aim of this experiment was to better describe early behavioral responses of calves to illness to help improve early detection. We examined the behavior of calves following injections of very low doses of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Fifteen dairy calves of 2 ages (3 and 20 wk), housed in individual pens and fed milk and concentrates with free access to hay and water, were injected i.v. with 1 of 2 low doses (0.025 or 0.05 µg/kg) of LPS before feed delivery with saline injections as a control using a cross-over design. Fifteen calves showed an increased body temperature (> 39.5oC) lasting 2 to 8 h, with a maximum temperature of 40.59 ± 0.52oC attained 4.62 ± 0.96 h after the LPS injection. Video recordings were used to measure durations of behaviors during a 4-h period when body temperatures were elevated. We found a decreased duration of rumination (LPS vs. saline 6.42 ± 3.69 min vs. 24.57 ± 6.64 min; P = 0.001), and hay eating (23.11 ± 6.93 min vs. 31.52 ± 7.54 min; P = 0.04), a decreased frequency of self-grooming (13.47 ± 1.75 vs. 24.07 ± 3.12; P = 0.008), and an increased duration of lying inactive (132.63 ± 10.60 min vs. 104.39 ± 12.63 min; P = 0.02). There was an increased bout frequency (P = 0.002) and mean bout duration (P = 0.005) of standing inactive. Changes in these behaviors may indicate the beginning of illness. Time spent lying down and amount of concentrate and milk consumed were not affected. There were no differences between the 2 doses and no interactions between LPS and the age of the calves. Very low doses of LPS seem promising to understand early development of sickness behaviors in dairy calves. However, the short duration of the effect and differences between calves in sensitivity to LPS must be considered as limitations to the effectiveness of this model.
Key Words: dairy calf • endotoxin • lipopolysaccharide • sickness behavior • welfare
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. A. G. von Keyserlingk, J. Rushen, A. M. de Passille, and D. M. Weary Invited review: The welfare of dairy cattle--Key concepts and the role of science J Dairy Sci, September 1, 2009; 92(9): 4101 - 4111. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. F. Borderas, J. Rushen, M. A. G. von Keyserlingk, and A. M. B. de Passille Automated measurement of changes in feeding behavior of milk-fed calves associated with illness J Dairy Sci, September 1, 2009; 92(9): 4549 - 4554. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. B. Niss, M. S. Herskin, A. M. Danscher, and M. B. Thoefner Short communication: Rising and lying behavior of heifers before and after alimentary oligofructose overload J Dairy Sci, February 1, 2009; 92(2): 617 - 620. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
