The early behaviour of cow and calf in an individual calving pen

The aim was to investigate the early behaviour in dairy cows and their calves. Thirty-eight multiparous Danish Holstein Frisian cows and their calves were housed in individual calving pens during the first twelve days post-partum and their behaviour was observed during 24 h on days 3, 7 and 11. Cows gradually reduced the time spent sniffing and licking their calves from 59 to 49 min over the days studied (P < 0.05). On the other hand, they increased the time spent sniffing and licking the neighbouring cow from less than half a minute on days 3 and 7 to 1 min on day 11 (P < 0.05). Calves increased the time spent sniffing and licking their dams’ head from 2 to 8 min over the days studied (P < 0.001). Furthermore, they increased the time spent performing locomotor play behaviour from 7 to 10 min (P < 0.05) and the time spent performing social play behaviour from 1.4 to 4 min over the days studied (P < 0.01). To test the effect of day after calving on cows’ behavioural priorities, the cows were tested on either day 4, 8 or 12 after calving by removing them from their pens during 3 h and subsequently reintroducing them. Behavioural observations during 3 h after reintroduction showed that cows tested on day 4 spent more time sniffing and licking their calves than cows tested on days 8 and 12. The decrease in maternal grooming, and the concurrent increase in social behaviour of the calf towards the dam, may illustrate the beginning of a gradual shift from the dam being the initiator of cow–calf contact to the calf being the initiator, while the increase in social behaviour of the cows towards the neighbouring cow on day 11 suggests an increased motivation to associate more with other cows at this stage after calving.