Influence of Maternal Contact on Hormonal, Growth, and Behavioral Responses of Murrah Buffalo Calves in Winter

Aims: The study was conducted to reveal the effect of calf-mother contact and ameliorative measures on cortisol, growth rate and behaviour of Murrah Buffalo calves during the winter season.

Place and Duration of Study: Livestock Research Centre (LRC) of ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, India and between November 2021 to February 2022.

Methodology: A total of 21 advanced-pregnant Murrah buffaloes were carefully chosen and the buffalo-calf pairs were divided into three treatment groups, each consisting of 7 pairs. In the first group (T0), the Murrah buffalo mothers were permitted to nurse their calves with colostrum and later milk twice a day. In the second group (T1), the buffalo mothers had direct contact with their calves during the first five days, allowing free-choice colostrum suckling. Afterward, they were housed near their calves, separated by a fence line. These buffalo mothers were allowed to nurse their calves twice a day, following a similar routine as the T0 group. In the third group (T2), all conditions were similar to those of the T1 group, a notable distinction was that the calves in the T2 group were provided with halogen lights in the shed.

Results: Minimum temperature in T2 shed was significantly (p <0.05) higher than that in T0 and T1 shed. The mean cortisol level of T1 (6.64±0.71 ng/mL) and T2 (6.21±0.67 ng/mL) was significantly lower (P<0.05) as compared to T0 (7.88±0.70 ng/mL) group of calves. The findings indicated that within the experimental calf groups, both T2 and T1 exhibited higher (P<0.05) average daily gain (ADG) compared to the T0 group basis every week. Moreover, calves in T2 and T1 spent significantly (P<0.05) more time resting, eating, and engaging in rumination compared to the calves in the T0 group.

Conclusion: The findings show that offering fenceline mother-calf contact can reduces stress and enhances growth, behavior, and welfare of calves more effectively than calves with restricted contact during winter season.