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Quantifying Social Motivation in Mice Using Operant Conditioning
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Calves are socially motivated.

Thomas Ede1, Daniel M Weary1, Marina A G von Keyserlingk1

  • 1Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.

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|November 7, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Young dairy calves are motivated to seek social interaction. Studies show calves will push open gates to access a pen with a companion animal, demonstrating their social needs.

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Area of Science:

  • Animal Behavior
  • Veterinary Science
  • Animal Husbandry

Background:

  • Individual housing is common for young dairy calves.
  • Lack of social contact can negatively affect calf development and performance.
  • The motivation of young calves to seek companionship is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the motivation of young dairy calves to seek social contact.
  • To quantify the effort young calves exert to access a social partner.

Main Methods:

  • Ten Holstein bull calves were housed individually with access to two side pens via push gates.
  • One pen contained a same-sex companion calf; the other was empty.
  • The weight of the push gate was incrementally increased to measure the calves' motivation.

Main Results:

  • Calves consistently pushed higher maximum weights for access to the pen with a social partner compared to the empty pen.
  • Calves demonstrated increased frequency of gate pushing towards the companion pen.
  • All calves initiated gate pushing within the first three days of the study.

Conclusions:

  • Young dairy calves possess a significant social motivation.
  • Providing social contact for calves can be beneficial for their well-being and development.
  • These findings suggest that housing systems should consider opportunities for social interaction.