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José Wavreille presents Poster 81 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 6: Free topics
EFFECTS OF TWO-STAGE WEANING ON CALF BEHAVIOUR
J. Wavreille 1 , P. Pochet 2 , E. Winance 2 , D. Cloet 1 , N. Bartiaux-Thill 1
153
Poster 81
1 Animal production and Nutrition Department, Walloon Agricultural Research Centre, Gembloux, Belgium
2 General Direction of Agriculture, Walloon Region Ministry of Belgium, Libramont, Belgium
Among suckling cattle, the calf and its mother vocalize repeatedly in the three to four days
following weaning. On the calf’s part, lowing shows a state of stress and indicates distress due to
the sudden cessation of suckling and contact with its mother. The aim of two-stage weaning is to
sever the bond between cow and calf without causing stress to the calf. The method involves
attaching an anti-sucking device (nose-flap) to the calf’s nose (stage 1) for four to seven days before
the physical separation from the mother (stage 2). The calves learn to stop suckling while remaining
in contact with the mother.
The behaviour of 2 x 5 calves aged about 6 months was compared in two-stage versus conventional
weaning, using pedometers and in situ observations of the calves before and after separation,
respectively during 7 days in pasture and 3 days in livestock buildings. The behaviour was observed
1 hour in the morning and afternoon (1 observation every 3 minutes). The data were analysed
according to a single fixed factor analysis of variance using Minitab’s GLM procedure 13.31.
The nose-flap was not wholly effective: some successful attempts of suckling were observed. The
calves fitted with a nose-flap spent significantly less time grazing (9% of the time compared with
18%; p