The Behaviour of New-Born Calves

Suckling behaviour begins 2-5 hours after birth and the mother must be standing. The calf vigorously butts the mother's udder with its head while suckling. It has been noted that heifers which had a difficult birth took longer to stand than cows that had already had several newborn animals. Experienced cows usually stand within one minute of the birth of the calf. The mother licks the young to stimulate breathing, circulation, urination and defecation. The cow is a ‘hider’ species, so the young are hidden near the birth site straight after birth and the afterbirth is eaten because it could attract predators.

Teat sucking by the calf is most intense soon after it stands up and it is common for suckling to occur first from a front teat. The distance maintained between the cow and calf increases steadily with time after calving but they keep in contact by vocalising. Within the first week of life, the calf begins to follow the cow, but for periods of the day, groups of newborn animals will be found lying together for much of the day while the cows are grazing. It is in the period before newborn animals are themselves grazing that ‘nurseries may form. There may be ‘guard’ cows left in charge and observations are reported from cows under extensive rangeland conditions. Fostering of newborn animals is possible if a group of newborn animals is placed with several nurse cows, but there is a large variation in the number of sucklings permitted by the cows.

A cow becomes restless 1–2 days before calving. If possible, she will leave the herd shortly before birth, finding a quiet place to calve. This is often not possible in most domestic contexts, so herd interference can occur at birth, and bonding may be disrupted.

If newborn animals are removed from their mothers immediately after weaning, they can be pre-conditioned. This involves handling quietly, early castration and dehorning to accustom them to human handling, making them quieter to handle as they age. They will suffer less stress than cattle that have had less frequent human contact. This is in comparison with newborn animals that are left with their mothers and learn behaviours to avoid humans.

Vision, olfactory and vocal senses are involved in cow and calf identification. Cows will groom their newborn animals, ‘labelling’ them as their own. New-born animals usually stand 45 minutes after birth and are suckling 2–5 hours later; the mother aids suckling by positioning her body for easier access. Between birth and 7 months, the mean duration of suckling time for newborn animals was seen to be 34 minutes, with the suckling frequency being 4.5 times per day. Weaning studies in Bos indicus have shown that heifer new-born animals are weaned at 8 months of age, whereas bull new-born animals are weaned at 11 months.

Twins may receive less grooming than single newborn animals. Cows will lick the urogenital/rectal areas to stimulate urination and defecation. Hormones regulate maternal behaviour.

At calving, cows should be allowed to seek isolation in a sheltered place, which will allow a dry and soft surface to lie on. Dairy newborn animals should be licked by their mothers, but the duration must be controlled so that newborn animals are able to suck.

The heritability of maternal behaviour is low in cattle, so it is difficult for farmers to select for good mothering ability in bloodlines.

Contact between the cow and her calf for a period as brief as 5 minutes postpartum results in a strong specific maternal bond.

Click here to view a video that explains the mother cow's love for her newborn.