PROVIDING SOCIAL CONTACTS AND OBJECTS FOR NIBBLING MODERATES REACTIVITY AND ORAL BEHAVIORS IN VEAL CALVES

The aim of this work was to assess the role of social and physical enr ichment in the adaptation of veal calves to their environment. We comp ared calves housed in individual stalls that varied in the extent of c ontacts they allowed between neighbors (16 calves: open partitions; 16 calves: solid partitions; 32 calves: solid and extended partitions pr eventing all contact). All but 16 out of the 32 isolated calves were p rovided with a piece of tire and a chain, objects they could easily ni bble. We assessed time budget, behavioral reactions to a water throw, neuroendocrine responses to stress (ACTH challenge and catecholamine s ynthesis), health, and growth. Calves kept in isolation displayed more startled reactions (16 isolated calves vs 5 non-isolated calves were startled by the throw, P < .05). Calves without objects spent more tim e nibbling at the feeding grille (5 vs 3% time, P < .01), licking thei r lips and tongue-rolling (7 vs 4% time, P < .05). Social contacts and the provision of objects had no incidence on neuroendocrine measureme nts and growth. Contacts with neighbors resulted in a slight but nonsi gnificant rise in disease. Depriving calves of social contacts increas es behavioral reactivity, probably because there are no peer animals t hrough which reactions can be moderated, and the lack of adequate obje cts to nibble promotes self-directed activities.