Early life access to hay does not affect later life oral behavior in feed restricted heifers

Dairy cattle are often raised in environments that lack natural feeding opportunities and perform abnormal repetitive behaviors (ARBs) as a result. Early life restriction can affect later life behavior. We evaluated whether access to hay in the milk-fed period would affect later-life behavior in heifers experiencing short-term feed restriction, and whether individuals were consistent in behavioral expression over time. We had 2 competing ideas about how this would unfold. First, being raised with hay, which reduced early life ARBs, could lead to fewer ARBs later in life. Alternatively, heifers that were raised without hay and performed more ARBs in early life may be more prepared for a later feed-restricted environment and could engage in fewer ARBs than those raised with hay. We studied 24 pair-housed Holstein heifers. As calves, they were fed milk and grain from 0-7 wk of age (Control) or given additional forage (Hay). Tongue rolling, tongue flicking, nonnutritive oral manipulation (N..., The methods are described in the associated research publication. , Please see the README file for these details.