Hay provision affects 24-h performance of normal and abnormal oral behaviors in dairy calves

Dairy calves often perform abnormal repetitive behaviors (ARBs) including tongue rolling and non-nutritive oral manipulation (NNOM) when opportunities to perform feeding behaviors are restricted. Many US dairy farms limit access to milk, a well-studied risk factor for ARBs. However, farms also commonly do not feed forage to young calves, and the motor patterns of oral ARBs resemble those necessary for acquiring and chewing solid feed. Our objective was to assess how access to hay from birth influenced time engaged in normal and abnormal oral behaviors across 24 h. Holstein heifer calves were housed individually on sand bedding and fed ad libitum water and grain (Control, n = 11) or given additional access to hay (Hay, n = 11) from birth. Calves were fed 5.7-8.4 L/d (step-up) milk replacer via a teat. At the start of step-down weaning (50 ± 1 d), all calves were given access to a total mixed ration (TMR). Feed and water intake were measured daily. Oral behaviors (eating, ruminating, suck..., See methods in associated publication., The following is also included in the README file associated with this Dryad entry.
Supplemental material:
The supplemental materials in this section are referenced in the corresponding paper, and provide additional information and context for the experiment’s design and results.
Tables and captions:

Supplemental Table 1. Modified Wisconsin Calf Health Scorecard. Rectal temperatures were recorded if a calf scored ³3 for these categories combined, excluding ocular discharge. Observers were trained to >80% reliability (Kendall’s W) using 40-photo tests for nasal discharge, ocular discharge, ear position, and feces. Cough, respiratory, and attitude were not prevalent enough for a test, and were rarely observed during the trial.

Supplemental Table 2. Behavior model outputs. These three tables reflect the model-predicted (preweaning) or raw (weaning) means, SE, and 95% CI for all oral behaviors scored, along with the model results.

Supplemental Table 3. Feed and ADG model outputs. The...

当采食行为实施机会受限之时，奶牛犊牛（dairy calves）常会表现出异常重复行为（abnormal repetitive behaviors, ARBs），包括卷舌动作与非营养性口腔操作（non-nutritive oral manipulation, NNOM）。美国多数奶牛场会限制犊牛的牛乳采食量，这是已被广泛研究的ARBs风险因素。但牧场通常也不会给幼年犊牛饲喂粗饲料，且口腔ARBs的运动模式与获取、咀嚼固体饲料所需的运动模式高度相似。
本研究旨在评估从出生起即可接触干草，对犊牛24小时内正常与异常口腔行为时长的影响。试验选用荷斯坦母犊牛，将其单栏饲养于沙土垫料栏舍中，对照组（n=11）犊牛自由采食饮水与精料，干草组（n=11）犊牛从出生起额外获得干草采食权。犊牛通过奶嘴饲喂5.7~8.4升/日的代乳粉，饲喂量采用逐步递增方案。在逐步断奶阶段开始时（日龄50±1d），为所有犊牛提供全混合日粮（total mixed ration, TMR）。每日记录采食量与饮水量。口腔行为（采食、反刍、吮吸……详见关联论文的方法学部分。）
本Dryad数据仓库条目的关联README文件中还包含以下内容：
补充材料：
本节补充材料已在对应论文中引用，可为试验设计与研究结果提供额外信息与背景支撑。
表格与图注：
补充表1 改良版威斯康星犊牛健康评分表（Modified Wisconsin Calf Health Scorecard）。若犊牛在除眼部分泌物外的其他类别总评分≥3，则需记录其直肠体温。研究人员通过针对鼻分泌物、眼部分泌物、耳部姿态与粪便的40张图片测试，对观察员进行培训，使其评分一致性（Kendall’s W）达到80%以上。咳嗽、呼吸系统症状与精神状态的出现频率过低，无法开展一致性测试，且在试验期间极少被观察到。
补充表2 行为模型输出结果。该三张表格涵盖了所有被评分口腔行为的模型预测值（断奶前）或原始值（断奶期）、标准误（standard error, SE）与95%置信区间（confidence interval, CI），同时包含模型分析结果。
补充表3 采食量与平均日增重（average daily gain, ADG）模型输出结果。[原文未完整展示]