Cows Have Personalities, Too

Remember the class bully whom everybody feared and disliked, and didn’t do well in school? Or the sweet cheerleader who got along with everyone, and sailed through one achievement after the next?

Research is proving that, just like your high-school classmates, cows have distinct personalities.  Anyone who works with cows regularly is bound to have “favorite” and “least favorite” animals based on their dispositions. Those personality traits appear to influence behaviors that can affect their health, well-being, and productivity.

On a recent episode of the “Dairy at Guelph” podcast, Professor of Animal Biosciences Dr. Trevor DeVries described the work he and his team at the University of Guelph have been doing to tease out the intricacies between cattle personality, behavior, and adaptation to automated milking systems (AMS).

With approximately 20% of all Canadian dairy farms now milking with robots, DeVries said cows’ ability to adapt to and embrace those systems is becoming increasingly important.

When it comes to human personalities, DeVries said, “you and I might think, ‘we’re just like our parents.’ There are things that are impressed upon you when you are young that are going to carry through.” He noted there might also be genetics that are driving behavior differences.

Through their research, DeVries and his team sought to classify cows according to their behavior by measuring their individual responses to novel objects and people. They then observed how cows with different personality classifications behaved using the AMS.

One interesting finding was that timid and fearful cows tended to not use their entire feed allowance in the robot – either because they didn’t visit as frequently, did not put their heads down to trigger feed allocation, or both.

That finding alone is a critical element, because DeVries said a unique benefit of robotic milking systems is the ability to precisely deliver customized rations to individual cows, based on factors such as parity, production level, and stage of lactation.

Feeding more accurately can lead to environmental impacts due to less waste, nutrient excretion, and gas expulsion. Delivering more energy to early lactation cows could potentially prevent metabolic problems and boost lactation performance. And strategically dialing rations down at dry-off could protect udder health and improve cow welfare.

Those nutritional benefits could be optimized by cows who readily embrace the robot.

DeVries acknowledged that assessing individual personalities is not practical on-farm, but his team is using the personality information to drive both “nurture and nature” decision-making, with the goal of creating a larger population of cows whose personalities correspond positively to robot use.

“We may be able to set up management systems early in life that might shape cows’ personality or behavior,” said DeVries. He noted other researchers are exploring whether early life exposure to technologies like automated milk feeders influence calves to use AMS systems more readily when they become adults.

In terms of heritability of behavior traits, DeVries cited recently published data from his team that examined the behavior profiles of cows and their female offspring. “It’s very preliminary work, but we did detect some positive associations between the behavior profiles of those two groups of cows,” shared DeVries.

He noted that, just as temperament in the milking parlor has been used as a selection tool for years, other behaviors may be prioritized to create the cows with personalities that are best suited to robotic milking.

For more on herd health, read:     

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• Liver Biopsies Can Reveal Nutrition-Health Links

• 6 On-Farm Priorities to Help Drive Success This Year

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