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Short communication: Rising and lying behavior of heifers before and after alimentary oligofructose overload

D. B. Niss^*, M. S. Herskin^*,1, A. M. Danscher and M. B. Thoefner

^* The University of Aarhus, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition, Research Center Foulum, PO Box 50, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Large Animal Sciences, Medicine & Surgery, Hoejbakkegaards Allé 5, DK-2630 Taastrup, Denmark

¹ Corresponding author: MetteS.Herskin{at}agrsci.dk

The aim of this experiment was to describe the rising and lying behavior of heifers in the first 5 d after alimentary oligofructose overload to 1) acquire information about consequences of this experimental disease model in terms of animal behavior; and 2) contribute to the evaluation of the influence of disease on cattle welfare. Eight tethered Holstein-Friesian heifers were used and their behavior was observed for 10.5 ± 2.7 hours of light per day. Occurrence of rising and lying behavior and parts thereof were recorded. Clinical and physiological examinations were conducted throughout to confirm presence of ruminal acidosis and lameness. The duration of pre-lying intention movements were increased on d 3 after oligofructose overload compared with d –1 [28 (20 to 40) vs. 13 (10 to 16) s, respectively], and the duration of the total lying sequence was increased on d 1 and 3 compared with the control day [27 (22 to 33) and 36 (25 to 48) vs. 17 (13 to 21) s, respectively]. The frequency and duration of getting up did not differ between days. These results suggest that disease induced by oligofructose overload (i.e., ruminal acidosis and lameness) can affect lying behavior in heifers as shown by increased duration of lying intentions and difficulty in lying down, which may indicate that lying motivation was thwarted, possibly by pain or discomfort.

Key Words: rising behavior • oligofructose • lameness • ruminal acidosis