Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows

Abstract Allowing dairy cattle to access pasture can promote natural behaviour and improve their health. However, the psychological benefits are poorly understood. We compared a cognitive indicator of emotion in cattle either with or without pasture access. In a crossover experiment, 29 Holstein–Fri...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Andrew Crump, Kirsty Jenkins, Emily J. Bethell, Conrad P. Ferris, Helen Kabboush, Jennifer Weller, Gareth Arnott
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/25451f7282f445babe21ad1f8b3228a9
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:25451f7282f445babe21ad1f8b3228a9
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:25451f7282f445babe21ad1f8b3228a92021-12-02T13:19:30ZOptimism and pasture access in dairy cows10.1038/s41598-021-84371-x2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/25451f7282f445babe21ad1f8b3228a92021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84371-xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Allowing dairy cattle to access pasture can promote natural behaviour and improve their health. However, the psychological benefits are poorly understood. We compared a cognitive indicator of emotion in cattle either with or without pasture access. In a crossover experiment, 29 Holstein–Friesian dairy cows had 18 days of overnight pasture access and 18 days of full-time indoor housing. To assess emotional wellbeing, we tested cows on a spatial judgement bias task. Subjects learnt to approach a rewarded bucket location, but not approach another, unrewarded bucket location. We then presented cows with three “probe” buckets intermediate between the trained locations. Approaching the probes reflected an expectation of reward under ambiguity—an “optimistic” judgement bias, suggesting positive emotional states. We analysed the data using linear mixed-effects models. There were no treatment differences in latency to approach the probe buckets, but cows approached the known rewarded bucket slower when they had pasture access than when they were indoors full-time. Our results indicate that, compared to cattle housed indoors, cattle with pasture access display less anticipatory behaviour towards a known reward. This reduced reward anticipation suggests that pasture is a more rewarding environment, which may induce more positive emotional states than full-time housing.Andrew CrumpKirsty JenkinsEmily J. BethellConrad P. FerrisHelen KabboushJennifer WellerGareth ArnottNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Andrew Crump Kirsty Jenkins Emily J. Bethell Conrad P. Ferris Helen Kabboush Jennifer Weller Gareth Arnott Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
description	Abstract Allowing dairy cattle to access pasture can promote natural behaviour and improve their health. However, the psychological benefits are poorly understood. We compared a cognitive indicator of emotion in cattle either with or without pasture access. In a crossover experiment, 29 Holstein–Friesian dairy cows had 18 days of overnight pasture access and 18 days of full-time indoor housing. To assess emotional wellbeing, we tested cows on a spatial judgement bias task. Subjects learnt to approach a rewarded bucket location, but not approach another, unrewarded bucket location. We then presented cows with three “probe” buckets intermediate between the trained locations. Approaching the probes reflected an expectation of reward under ambiguity—an “optimistic” judgement bias, suggesting positive emotional states. We analysed the data using linear mixed-effects models. There were no treatment differences in latency to approach the probe buckets, but cows approached the known rewarded bucket slower when they had pasture access than when they were indoors full-time. Our results indicate that, compared to cattle housed indoors, cattle with pasture access display less anticipatory behaviour towards a known reward. This reduced reward anticipation suggests that pasture is a more rewarding environment, which may induce more positive emotional states than full-time housing.
format	article
author	Andrew Crump Kirsty Jenkins Emily J. Bethell Conrad P. Ferris Helen Kabboush Jennifer Weller Gareth Arnott
author_facet	Andrew Crump Kirsty Jenkins Emily J. Bethell Conrad P. Ferris Helen Kabboush Jennifer Weller Gareth Arnott
author_sort	Andrew Crump
title	Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
title_short	Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
title_full	Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
title_fullStr	Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
title_full_unstemmed	Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
title_sort	optimism and pasture access in dairy cows
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/25451f7282f445babe21ad1f8b3228a9
work_keys_str_mv	AT andrewcrump optimismandpastureaccessindairycows AT kirstyjenkins optimismandpastureaccessindairycows AT emilyjbethell optimismandpastureaccessindairycows AT conradpferris optimismandpastureaccessindairycows AT helenkabboush optimismandpastureaccessindairycows AT jenniferweller optimismandpastureaccessindairycows AT garetharnott optimismandpastureaccessindairycows
_version_	1718393259017895936

Optimism and pasture access in dairy cows

Ejemplares similares