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Behavioral responses to artificial insemination and the effect of positive reinforcement training

Heinsius, Jennifer

Dairy cattle experience a variety of stressors associated with routine farm practices, including injections, pen movements, regrouping, and artificial insemination (AI). The first objective of this study was to assess the use of ear position and movement parameters in heifers before, during, and after their first exposure to the AI procedure. The second objective was to test whether heifers exposed to positive reinforcement training (PRT) displayed different ear positions and movement parameters during these 3 events. We tested 14 heifers (13 ± 0.7 mo old); 9 were trained using PRT (as part of another study) and 5 had no experience with PRT. Ear positions were recorded using 6 defined categories, and the frequency of each position was compared across periods relative to AI and between treatments. Ear axial and ear forward positions were more frequent before and after AI events than during AI (4.61 ± 0.93 vs. 0.33 ± 0.12 times/event, and 3.17 ± 0.61 vs. 0.42 ± 0.42 times/event, respectively). Another ear position, backward pinned, was observed less frequently before and after events than during AI (0.09 ± 0.06 vs. 3.58 ± 1.05 times/event). We found no effect of PRT on any ear position measured, and no effect of period relative to AI on any of the 4 movements assessed (leaning froward, backward, and steps taken with front legs and back legs). We conclude that heifers subjected to AI for the first time express distinct ear positions and suggest these are associated with negative emotional states. Further work is required to validate these responses and to determine the extent that they can be used to assess affective responses to this and other procedures.

Dataset

University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0445109

https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/T4LOS3

Dataverse