Facteurs motivant le changement de tétines chez le veau (Bos taurus)

• Main Author: Gaboury, Chantal Linda
• Other Authors: Festa-Bianchet, Marco
• Language: English
• Published: Université de Sherbrooke 1999
• Online Access: http://savoirs.usherbrooke.ca/handle/11143/4463

During a nursing, dairy calves switch from one test to another. It has been suggested that teat-switching occurs when there is a decrease in milk-flow rate from the udder. I tested this hypothesis using a feeding apparatus equipped with 2 artificial teats. When milk flowed at a constant, extremely slow flow rate (0.041/min), calves teat-switched 4 times as often compared to the control (baseline : once/min at 0.661/min). When milk flow was suddenly reduced from baseline to extremely slow or nil , calves responded by switching teats 8-9 times as frequently compared to when milk was not reduced. An additional finding was that, regardless of the treatment, calves butted at a much higher frequency during the first 30 seconds of the meal (ex: baseline : 6 teat-switches/min). The results suggest that calves are sensitive to changes in milk-flow rate and that they respond to a constant or sudden decrease in flow rate by switching teats.