Effects of yard weaning and human contact compared to paddock weaning on the liveweight gain and stress reactivity of beef cattle

Cranston LMRamsay BASchoorl J-AAJStayton KMGreaves AShanks RDvan Kampen CJCockrem JFBeausoleil NJMorris STSneddon NWHickson RE2024-08-082024-08-082023-09-03Cranston LM, Ramsay BA, Schoorl JAAJ, Stayton KM, Greaves A, Shanks RD, van Kampen CJ, Cockrem JF, Beausoleil NJ, Morris ST, Sneddon NW, Hickson RE. (2023). Effects of yard weaning and human contact compared to paddock weaning on the liveweight gain and stress reactivity of beef cattle. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. Latest Articles. (pp. 1-14).0028-8233https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/71241In New Zealand beef herds, calves undergo ‘paddock weaning’ by separating calves and cows into different paddocks. Anecdotal evidence indicates ‘yard weaning’ whereby calves are yarded and receive regular human contact during weaning may improve long-term stress reactivity and growth rates. Calves were allocated to one of three treatments for seven days post-separation from dams: paddock weaned with minimal human interaction (PN), paddock weaned with daily human interaction (PV), yard weaned with daily human interaction (YV). Calf liveweight, behavioural and physiological measures of stress reactivity and faecal corticosterone concentration were measured. Until day seven, YV calves lost less liveweight than PV or PN calves (0.5 kg vs. 3.5 and 4.8 kg P < 0.05). On day seven, PN calves had a 23% greater heart rate compared to YV calves and a greater faecal corticosterone concentration than PV and YV calves (in cohort 2 only) (P < 0.05). This indicates, regular non-aversive human contact during weaning may reduce stress associated with the weaning process itself and reduced stress reactivity to subsequent handling and restraint. However, this effect was transient with no consistent longer-term benefits over traditional paddock weaning, in terms of growth or stress reactivity to human handling.(c) 2023 The Author/sCC BY-NC-ND 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Beef calvesweaningtemperamentﬂight scorehuman contactheart ratecorticosteroneEffects of yard weaning and human contact compared to paddock weaning on the liveweight gain and stress reactivity of beef cattleJournal article10.1080/00288233.2023.22527551175-8775journal-article1-14