This study was shortlisted for the 2024 Thesis of the Year Award and was completed as part of Clara Fernandez Dawson’s studies for a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture with Livestock Production from The University of Reading. 

Providing young cattle with environmental enrichment when they are housed indoors can improve animal welfare by reducing the incidence of behaviours associated with boredom. 

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of environmental enrichment on the behaviour and welfare of dairy and beef youngstock. In the UK, most dairy and beef youngstock are housed indoors over winter to protect them from harsh weather conditions and to provide them with a controlled ration when grass production and quality is poor. Although shelter from bad weather and adequate nutrient provision are important factors of animal welfare, lack of stimulation in indoor housing can cause youngstock to experience boredom and stress from not being able to express natural behaviours. These experiences negatively affect cattle welfare and sometimes cause animals to express unfavourable behaviours such as aggression, mounting and aimless standing, which can impact animal health and productivity. Providing youngstock with objects to interact with in their housing could positively impact their welfare by helping to limit boredom and stress. 

Seventy-two cattle, aged 11 – 16 months, were housed indoors at Sonning Farm, Berkshire. The youngstock were split into two groups, one group was provided with environmental enrichment consisting of static brushes, chains, salt licks and a hay net, the other group had no enrichment. Youngstock behaviour was observed and recorded for a total of nine hours, during a six-day sampling period. Researchers at The University of Reading measured the incidence of behaviours including aggression, standing, scratching, displacement, lying and grooming, as well as recording cattle coat cleanliness and body weight data. 

Youngstock provided with enrichment spent less time standing, mounting and grooming each other, and more time grooming themselves, compared to youngstock without enrichment. Levels of walking, aggression and displacement were similar between groups as was coat cleanliness and body weight. These results suggest that furnishing youngstock housing with enrichment can decrease the incidence of some behaviours that are associated with boredom and that the provision of enrichment has potential to improve youngstock welfare. Interestingly, animals in the enrichment group exhibited high levels of preference for interacting with the hay net and saltlick, compared to the chains and brushes, possibly indicating that enrichment with a nutritional component is favourable to youngstock.  

 

Summarised by Stefan Yerby, PhD researcher, The University of Glasgow