Weaning strategies to improve productivity and animal welfare in zebu (Bos indicus) and water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

Agustín Orihuela; Daniel Mota-Rojas; Fabio Napolitano

doi:10.31893/jabb.20036

Keywords:

Abstract

Information on approaches to weaning zebu (Bos indicus) and water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves is scarce in proportion to studies of breeds of B. taurus cattle, whether dairy or beef. Little research has been done to test or validate methods evolved in cattle-ranching to these other species. Hence, expanding our understanding of appropriate, species-specific methods of weaning could support the development of approaches or strategies that have the potential to improve animal welfare and productive performance in temperate or tropical climes. This review focuses on traditional and current weaning strategies in an attempt to improve productivity and animal welfare for water buffaloes and zebus. For the case of the water buffalo, it examines common, routine weaning techniques and procedures as well as novel approaches, while for the zebu it discusses abrupt versus gradual and early versus late weaning as strategies and routines usually employed during this process. Finally, it analyses how new weaning techniques may reduce stress while enhancing productivity at the same time. These approaches include fence-line weaning, nose-flaps (plastic devices that prevent the calf from grabbing a teat to suckle), restricted suckling and a section on practical tips to decrease the stress induced by weaning in zebus. A better understanding of certain weaning techniques could, therefore, benefit calf welfare while simultaneously increasing cows’ reproductive performance. Unfortunately, data on such approaches is scant, so despite published findings, several key issues remain unsolved living room for additional studies.
References
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2. Abeygunawardena H, Dematawewa CMB (2004) Pre-pubertal and postpartum anestrus in tropical zebu cattle. Animal Reproduction Science 82-83:373-387.
3. Acevedo N, Hernández C, Orihuela A, Lidfors LM, Berg C (2005) Effect of restricted suckling or temporal weaning on some physiological and behavioural stress parameters in zebu cattle (Bos indicus). Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science 18:1176-1181.
4. Adams GD, Bush LJ, Horner JL, Staley TE (1985) Two methods for administering colostrum to newborn calves. Journal of Dairy Science 68:773-775.
5. Ali MA, El-khodery SA, El-Said WE (2015) Potential risk factors associated with ill-thrift in buffalo calves (Bubalus bubalis) raised at smallholder farms in Egypt. Journal of Advanced Research 6:601–607.
6. Arthington JD, Kalmbacher RS (2003). Effect of early weaning on the performance of three-year-old, first-calf beef heifers and calves reared in the subtropics. Journal of Animal Science 81:1136-1141.
7. Arthington JD, Minton JE (2004). The effect of early calf weaning on feed intake, growth, and postpartum interval in thin, Brahman-crossbred primiparous cows. Applied Animal Science 20:34-38.
8. Bastidas P, Troconiz J, Velarde O, Silva O (1984). Effect of restricted suckling on pregnancy rates and calf performance in Brahman cows. Theriogenology 21:289-294.
9. Bertoni A, Napolitano F, Mota-Rojas D, Sabia E, Alvarez-Macias A, Mora-Medina P, Morales-Canela DA, Berdugo J, Guerrero-Legarreta I (2020) Similarities and differences between river buffaloes and cattle: anatomical, physiological and productivity aspects. Journal of Buffalo Science 9: In press.
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11. Bharti PK, Dutt T, Patel M, Pandey HO (2015). Success rate, growth performance and feed efficiency of buffalo calves reared at different feeding programs under semi-intensive systems of rearing. Indian Journal of Animal Science 85:320–323.
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18. El-Fattah AA, Abd Rabo FHR, El-Dieb SM, El-Kashef HA (2012). Changes in Composition of Colostrum of Egyptian Buffaloes and Holstein Cows. BMC Veterinary Research, 5:8-19.
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35. Mahecha L, Giraldo D, Arroyave JF, Restrepo LF (2004) Silvopastoral systems as an alternative for early weaning of Zebu calves. Livestock Research for Rural Development 16:5.
36. Mingala CN, Gundran RS (2008) Assessment of water buffalo health and productivity in a communal management system in the Philippines. Tropical Animal Health and Production 40:61–68.
37. Monje AR, Hofer CC, Galli IO (1993) Destete precoz: efecto sobre los vientres, manejo de los terneros e impacto de la técnica sobre los sistemas de producción. Memorias Jornada de difusión técnica destete precoz en cría vacuna. INTA EEA C del Uruguay:13-38. (In Spanish)
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Orihuela, A., Mota-Rojas, D., & Napolitano, F. (2020). Weaning strategies to improve productivity and animal welfare in zebu (Bos indicus) and water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology, 8(4), 257–265. https://doi.org/10.31893/jabb.20036

[1] Abbas W, Bhatti SA, Khan MS, Saeed N, Warriach HM, Wynn P, McGil D (2017) Effect of weaning age and milk feeding volume on growth performance of Nili-Ravi buffalo calves. Italian Journal of Animal Science 16:490-499.

[2] Abeygunawardena H, Dematawewa CMB (2004) Pre-pubertal and postpartum anestrus in tropical zebu cattle. Animal Reproduction Science 82-83:373-387.

[3] Acevedo N, Hernández C, Orihuela A, Lidfors LM, Berg C (2005) Effect of restricted suckling or temporal weaning on some physiological and behavioural stress parameters in zebu cattle (Bos indicus). Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science 18:1176-1181.

[4] Adams GD, Bush LJ, Horner JL, Staley TE (1985) Two methods for administering colostrum to newborn calves. Journal of Dairy Science 68:773-775.

[5] Ali MA, El-khodery SA, El-Said WE (2015) Potential risk factors associated with ill-thrift in buffalo calves (Bubalus bubalis) raised at smallholder farms in Egypt. Journal of Advanced Research 6:601–607.

[6] Arthington JD, Kalmbacher RS (2003). Effect of early weaning on the performance of three-year-old, first-calf beef heifers and calves reared in the subtropics. Journal of Animal Science 81:1136-1141.

[7] Arthington JD, Minton JE (2004). The effect of early calf weaning on feed intake, growth, and postpartum interval in thin, Brahman-crossbred primiparous cows. Applied Animal Science 20:34-38.

[8] Bastidas P, Troconiz J, Velarde O, Silva O (1984). Effect of restricted suckling on pregnancy rates and calf performance in Brahman cows. Theriogenology 21:289-294.

[9] Bertoni A, Napolitano F, Mota-Rojas D, Sabia E, Alvarez-Macias A, Mora-Medina P, Morales-Canela DA, Berdugo J, Guerrero-Legarreta I (2020) Similarities and differences between river buffaloes and cattle: anatomical, physiological and productivity aspects. Journal of Buffalo Science 9: In press.

[10] Bertoni MA, Álvarez MAG, Mota-Rojas D (2019) Desempeño productivo de los búfalos y sus opciones de desarrollo en las regiones tropicales. Sociedades Rurales Producción y Medio Ambiente 38:59-80.

[11] Bharti PK, Dutt T, Patel M, Pandey HO (2015). Success rate, growth performance and feed efficiency of buffalo calves reared at different feeding programs under semi-intensive systems of rearing. Indian Journal of Animal Science 85:320–323.

[12] Carcedo-Orallo JA, Alonso-Toniolo A, Menajovsky-Barbiero JR, Álvarez-Verzeroli CF (2007) Effect of early weaned calves on the reproductive performance in heifers mating at two years old. Archivos Lationoamericanos de Producción Animal 16:13-17.

[13] Coppo JA (2007). Multivariate analysis about causes of growth delay in early weaned calves. Revista Veterinaria 18:37-45.

[14] De Martino L, Sibillo F, Faggiano A, Musco N, Tudisco R (2018) Influence of the number of milk replacer administrations on the in vivo performance of bovine and buffalo calves. Journal of Nutrition Ecology and Food Research 5:9-19.

[15] De Rosa G, Grasso F, Pisani M, Salese M, Serrapica M, Napolitano F (2017) Cross-sucking and inter-suckling in dairy buffaloes. Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level. 5-8 September, Ede, The Netherlands, 247.

[16] De Rosa G, Grasso F, Winckler C, Bilancione A, Pacelli C, Masucci F, Napolitano F (2015) Application of the Welfare Quality® protocol to dairy buffalo farms: prevalence and reliability of selected measures, Journal of Dairy Science 98:6886–6896.

[17] Di Francesco S, Boccia L, Campanile G, Di Palo R, Vecchio D, Neglia G, Zicarelli L, Gasparrini B (2011) The effect of season on oocyte quality and developmental competence in Italian Mediterranean buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), Animal Reproduction Science 123:48–53.

[18] El-Fattah AA, Abd Rabo FHR, El-Dieb SM, El-Kashef HA (2012). Changes in Composition of Colostrum of Egyptian Buffaloes and Holstein Cows. BMC Veterinary Research, 5:8-19.

[19] Galindo-Gonzalez S, Arthington JD, Yelich JV, Hansen GR, Lamb GC, De Vries A (2007). Effects of cow parity on voluntary hay intake and performance responses to early weaning of beef calves. Livestock Science 110:148-153.

[20] Galli IO, Monje AR, Hofer CC (1995) Destete precoz: clave para nuevos sistemas de producción de carne vacuna en la Provincia de Corrientes, Ed. INTA Concepción del Uruguay (Argentina), 33 p. (In Spanish).

[21] Gleeson D, O'Brien B, Fallon RJ (2007) Feeding of cold whole milk once daily to calves in a group and its effect on calf performance, health, and labor input. International J of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine 5:97-104.

[22] Godden SM, Haines DM, Konkol K, Peterson J (2009). Improving passive transfer of immunoglobulins in calves. II: Interaction between feeding method and volume of colostrum fed. Journal of Dairy Science 92:1758–1764.

[23] Godden SM, Lombard JE, Woolums AR (2019) Colostrum Management for Dairy Calves. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 35:535–556.

[24] González-Lozano M, Mota-Rojas D, Orihuela A, Martínez-Burnes J, Di Francia A, Braghieri A, Berdugo J, Mora MP, Napolitano F (2020) Behavioral, physiological, and reproductive performance of buffalo cows during eutocic and dystocic parturitions. Applied Animal Science 36:407–22.

[25] Grasso F, Napolitano F, De Rosa G, Quarantelli T, Serpe L, Bordi A (1999). Effect of pen size on behavioral, endocrine and immune responses of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves. Journal of Animal Science 77:2039-2046.

[26] Haley DB, Bailey DW, Stookey JM (2005) The effects of weaning beef calves in two stages on their behavior and growth rate. Journal of Animal Science 83:2205–2214.

[27] Hersom MJ, Myer RO, Carter JN (2011) Influence on weaning weights of nursing beef cattle calves de-wormed 90 days prior to weaning. Livestock Science 136:270-272.

[28] Hopkins BA, Quigley JD (1997) Effects of method of colostrum feeding and colostrum supplementation on concentrations of immunoglobulin G in the serum of neonatal calves. Journal of Dairy Science 80, 979–983.

[29] Hötzel MJ, Ungerfeld R, Quintans G (2010) Behavioral responses of 6-month-old beef calves prevented from suckling: influence of dam´s milk yield. Animal Production Science 50:909-915.

[30] Kantharaja KJ, Tomar AKS, Nataraju OR, Naveen Kumar BT (2018) Early growth performance comparison of weaned and suckling Murrah buffalo calves under institutional situations. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences 7:723-733.

[31] Khoury FK, Ahmed IA, Ei-Shazly K (1967) Early Weaning in Cow and Water Buffalo Calves (Bos bubalus L.). I. Growth Rates, Efficiency of Feed Utilization, and Cost of Unit Gain. Journal of Dairy Science 50:1661-1666.

[32] Lateur-Rowet HJM, Breuink HJ (1983) The failure of the oesophageal groove reflex, when fluids are given with an oesophageal feeder to newborn and young calves. Veterinary Quarterly 5:68-74.

[33] Latham NR, Mason GJ (2008) Maternal deprivation and the development of stereotypic behavior. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 110:84–108.

[34] Lemcke B (2015) Weaning water buffalo calves - Recommended Practice for all Buffalo Producers. Agnote, J89:1-4.

[35] Mahecha L, Giraldo D, Arroyave JF, Restrepo LF (2004) Silvopastoral systems as an alternative for early weaning of Zebu calves. Livestock Research for Rural Development 16:5.

[36] Mingala CN, Gundran RS (2008) Assessment of water buffalo health and productivity in a communal management system in the Philippines. Tropical Animal Health and Production 40:61–68.

[37] Monje AR, Hofer CC, Galli IO (1993) Destete precoz: efecto sobre los vientres, manejo de los terneros e impacto de la técnica sobre los sistemas de producción. Memorias Jornada de difusión técnica destete precoz en cría vacuna. INTA EEA C del Uruguay:13-38. (In Spanish)

[38] Mora-Medina P, Napolitano F, Mota-Rojas D, Berdugo-Gutiérrez J, Ruiz-Buitrago J, Guerrero-Legarreta I (2018) Imprinting, sucking and allosucking behaviors in Buffalo calves. Journal of Buffalo Science 7:49-57.

[39] Mota-Rojas D, De Rosa G, Mora-Medina P, Braghier A, Guerrero-Legarreta I, Napolitano F (2019) Invited review: Dairy buffalo behaviour and welfare from calving to milking. CAB Reviews 14:1-12.

[40] Mota-Rojas D, Napolitano F, Bertoni MA, Gómez-Prado J, Mora-Medina P, Monterrosa CR, Guerrero-Legarreta I (2020a). Thermal biology in river buffalo in the humid tropics: neurophysiological and behavioral responses. International Journal of Veterinary Science and Medicine 8: (Accepted).

[41] Mota-Rojas D, Martínez-Burnes J, Napolitano F, Domínguez MN, Guerrero-Legarreta I, Mora-Medina P, Ramírez NR, González LM (2020b). Invited review: Dystocia: Factors affecting parturition in domestic animals. CAB Reviews 15:1–14.

[42] Napolitano F, Pacelli C, Grasso F, Braghieri A, De Rosa G (2013). The behaviour and welfare of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in modern dairy enterprises. Animal 7:1704-13.

[43] Nicol A (1977). Beef cattle weaning methods. New Zealand Journal of Agriculture 134:17-18.

[44] Pérez-Torres L, Orihuela A, Corro M, Rubio I, Alonso MA, Galina CS (2016). Effects of separation time on behavioral and physiological characteristics of Brahman cows and their calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 179:17-22.

[45] Pérez-Torres LI, Orihuela A, Corro M, Rubio I, Cohen A, Galina CS (2014) Maternal protective behavior of zebu type cattle (Bos indicus) and its association with temperament. Journal of Animal Science 92:4694-4700.

[46] Pérez-Torres LI, Orihuela A, Galina CS, Rubio I, Corro M, Cohen A, Hernández A (2017). Effect of different periods of maternal deprivation on behavioral and cortisol responses at weaning and subsequent growth rate in zebu (Bos indicus) type cattle. Livestock Science 197:17-21.

[47] Pollard JC, Littlejohn RP (2000) Effects of management at weaning on behavior and weight gain of farmed red deer calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 67:151–157.

[48] Price EO, Harris JE, Borgwardt RE, Sween ML, Connor JM (2003) Fence-line contact of beef calves with their dams at weaning reduces the negative effects of separation on behavior and growth rate. Journal of Animal Science 81:116-121.

[49] Quintans G, Banchero G, Ungerfeld R (2008) Reducción del estrés del destete en terneros de razas carniceras: efecto del pretratamiento con tablilla nasal o alambrado por medio sobre el destete definitivo. First Congress of Latin America Region of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Montevideo, p. 44 (abstr.).

[50] Randel RD (1981). Effect of once daily suckling on postpartum interval and cow-calf performance of first calf Brahman x Hereford heifers. Journal of Animal Science 53:755-757.

[51] Reinhardt V, Reinhardt A (1981) Natural sucking performance and age of weaning in zebu cattle (Bos indicus). Journal of Agricultural Science Cambridge 96:309-313.

[52] Renner JE (1991) Los Terneros. Hemisferio Sur, Buenos Aires, 66 p.

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[54] Sartori R, Bastos MR, Baruselli PS, Gimenes LU, Ereno RL, Barros CM (2010) Physiological differences and implications to reproductive management of Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle in a tropical environment. Proceedings of the 8th international symposium on reproduction in domestic ruminants. Society of Reproduction and Fertility 67:4–22.

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