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Cattle

Understanding the social behaviour of dairy cattle can benefit welfare and productivity

02 September 2020
Clinical
8 mins read
02 September 2020
Volume 25 · Issue 5
Figure 3. Example of additional outside space for dairy cattle.
Figure 3. Example of additional outside space for dairy cattle.

Abstract

Cattle are social animals, and an understanding of social associations and interactions is an important consideration when managing herds. Knowledge of this can facilitate positive welfare and productivity and it can also help to reduce the spread of disease. Social network analysis (SNA) is a tool that can be used to assess specific social interactions within cattle groups and help determine appropriate management actions in livestock enterprises. The aim of this review is to summarise how SNA can be used to study the social behaviour patterns of dairy cattle and highlight applications for this approach on dairy farms.

Many species of animal live in social groups, where complex relationships and structures form (Wey et al, 2008; Sueur et al, 2011). These social structures are an important attribute of an animal population (Whitehead, 2009), and the association patterns that occur will influence behavioural characteristics within social systems (Myers, 1983). Benefits of familiarity are gained from an individual's prior knowledge of a conspecific's behaviour, and in many social species it has been found that association patterns are non-random (Sueur et al, 2011), which suggests that animals generally prefer to associate with certain individuals.

The aim of this review is to summarise research based on how a tool called social network analysis (SNA) can be used to study the social behaviour patterns of dairy cattle. Applications based on the findings of such research are also discussed to facilitate enhanced management of dairy cattle, which can lead to increased welfare and productivity.

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social behaviour
social network analysis
cattle welfare
livestock productivity