Perier Nadège, de Boyer des Roches Alice, Bak Jensen Margit, Proudfoot Kathryn
Université de Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Marcy L'Etoile F-69280, France.
Université Clermont, Auvergne, INRA, VetAgro Sup, UMR Herbivores, Saint-Genès-Champanelle 63122, France.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Aug 30;9(9):634. doi: 10.3390/ani9090634.
Behaviour is commonly used to detect sickness in animals, but the impact of sickness on lying and maternal behaviours around parturition is not well understood. The objective was to assess the effects of sickness on the lying and grooming behaviours of dairy cows in the first 24 h after giving birth. Cows were categorized as 'sick' (n = 8) if they had at least one rectal temperature ≥39.1 °C and one clinical sign of illness (mastitis, pneumonia or an unknown infection) within 24 h of calving. These cows were match-paired for parity with cows that had no rectal temperature ≥39.1 °C and no clinical signs of illness up to 3 d after calving (n = 8; 'not sick'). The duration and latency of cow behaviours (standing, lying, lying bouts, lying close to calf, and grooming of the calf) and calf behaviours (standing and lying) were recorded for 24 h post-partum. We found no differences in the behaviour of sick and not sick cows and their calves post-calving, except that sick cows took longer to lie down near their calf after calving compared to those without illness. Cows may be more motivated to groom and spend time with their calf than to express sickness behaviours immediately after giving birth.
行为通常用于检测动物是否生病，但疾病对分娩前后躺卧和母性行为的影响尚未得到充分了解。目的是评估疾病对奶牛产后头24小时内躺卧和舔舐行为的影响。如果奶牛在产犊后24小时内至少有一次直肠温度≥39.1°C且有一项疾病临床症状（乳腺炎、肺炎或不明感染），则被归类为“生病”（n = 8）。这些奶牛与产犊后3天内直肠温度<39.1°C且无疾病临床症状的奶牛（n = 8；“未生病”）按胎次进行匹配配对。记录产后24小时内奶牛行为（站立、躺卧、躺卧时间段、靠近小牛躺卧以及舔舐小牛）和小牛行为（站立和躺卧）的持续时间和潜伏期。我们发现，产后生病和未生病的奶牛及其小牛的行为没有差异，只是生病的奶牛在产犊后比未生病的奶牛花更长时间靠近小牛躺卧。与立即表现出生病行为相比，奶牛可能更有动力舔舐小牛并与小牛待在一起。
