Voland Laurianne, Ortiz-Chura Abimael, Tournayre Jeremy, Martin Bruno, Bouchon Matthieu, Nicolao Alessandra, Pomiès Dominique, Morgavi Diego P, Popova Milka
Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Herbivores, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France.
INRAE, UE Herbipôle, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 May 12;12:1548892. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1548892. eCollection 2025.
Separating calves from their mothers at birth is linked to calf welfare issues and disturbances in the mother-calf relationship. It can also disrupt the maturation of the digestive tract, affecting calf health. It has been demonstrated that separation at weaning allows for the optimal establishment of the ruminal microbiota, whereas separation at birth alters colonization dynamics. We postulated that 4 weeks of cow-calf contact, a potentially more socially acceptable, and economically pragmatic, management practice, would induce a similar development of ruminal microbiota to that observed with separation at weaning, thereby conferring benefits on calf health and growth.
We studied three groups of 14 cow-calf pairs (Holstein and Montbéliarde breeds) with different cow-calf separation times: 4 weeks of contact with the mother (Mixed group), immediate separation (at birth, Control group) and delayed separation at weaning (11 weeks, Dam group). Rumen microbial colonization was monitored in 9 calves per group at 3, 10, 13, and 20 weeks of age using a metataxonomic approach. Body weight, diarrhea and respiratory disease were recorded to assess the calves' overall health. Serum IgG concentrations were also monitored.
No differences were observed between the groups in diarrhea or IgG concentration. The incidence of respiratory disease was lower in calves that remained in contact with their dams until weaning. After separation, the Mixed group exhibited an increased average daily gain. The metataxonomic analysis demonstrated that as calves aged, there was an increase in richness, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the number of shared microbial species over time between all groups. Nevertheless, three discrete development pathways were identified in the rumen bacterial communities, as evidenced by the differences in beta diversity between the groups over time. Additionally, the presence of the mother had a favorable effect on the transfer of beneficial microbiota during the early stages of life. However, this was offset by the elevated detection of potential pathogens at a later age in the Dam group.
In this study, the rearing method exerted a profound and enduring influence on the gastrointestinal microbiota, with no discernible negative impact on health.
犊牛出生时即与母亲分离会引发犊牛福利问题，并干扰母婴关系。这还会扰乱消化道的成熟过程，影响犊牛健康。已有研究表明，断奶时分离有利于瘤胃微生物群的最佳建立，而出生时分离则会改变定植动态。我们推测，母牛与犊牛接触4周这种在社会层面可能更容易接受且在经济上更务实的管理方式，会使瘤胃微生物群的发育与断奶时分离的情况相似，从而对犊牛健康和生长有益。
我们研究了三组各14对母牛 - 犊牛（荷斯坦和蒙贝利亚尔品种），它们有不同的母牛 - 犊牛分离时间：与母亲接触4周（混合组）、立即分离（出生时，对照组）和断奶时延迟分离（11周，母本组）。在3、10、13和20周龄时，每组选取9头犊牛，采用宏分类学方法监测瘤胃微生物定植情况。记录体重、腹泻和呼吸道疾病情况以评估犊牛的整体健康状况。还监测了血清IgG浓度。
各组在腹泻或IgG浓度方面未观察到差异。与母亲一直接触到断奶的犊牛呼吸道疾病发病率较低。分离后，混合组的平均日增重有所增加。宏分类学分析表明，随着犊牛年龄增长，丰富度增加，所有组之间随时间共享微生物种类的数量也相应增加。然而，瘤胃细菌群落中确定了三种不同的发育途径，这从各组随时间的β多样性差异中得到证明。此外，母亲的存在对生命早期有益微生物群的转移有积极影响。然而，在母本组中，后期潜在病原体检测率升高抵消了这一影响。
在本研究中，饲养方法对胃肠道微生物群产生了深远而持久的影响，对健康没有明显负面影响。
