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Social housing improves dairy calves' performance in two cognitive tests
Charlotte Gaillard1, Rebecca K Meagher1, Marina A G von Keyserlingk1
1Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Individual housing impairs cognitive performance in young dairy calves. Pair-housed calves demonstrated better reversal learning and novel object recognition compared to individually housed calves, highlighting the importance of social housing for calf development.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Cognitive science
- Animal welfare
Background:
- Early social housing benefits cognitive development in laboratory animals.
- Pre-weaned dairy calves are typically housed individually, with limited research on the impact on cognitive function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of individual versus social housing on cognitive performance in Holstein dairy calves.
- To assess reversal learning and novel object recognition in relation to housing conditions.
Main Methods:
- Holstein calves were housed individually (n=8) or in pairs (n=10).
- Cognitive performance was assessed using a Y-maze for reversal learning and novel object recognition tasks starting at 3 weeks of age.
Main Results:
- Individually housed calves showed poorer performance in the reversal learning task compared to pair-housed calves.
- Pair-housed calves exhibited declining exploration of novel objects with repeated testing, unlike individually housed calves.
Conclusions:
- Individual housing negatively impacts cognitive performance in dairy calves.
- Social housing appears crucial for optimal cognitive development and adaptive behavior in young dairy animals.
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