THE ASSESSMENT BY AVOIDANCE TEST OF THE HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP IN DAIRY CALVES

The positive effect of a good human-animal relationship was demonstrated on the production, health, behavior and mental state of farm animals, especially when positive interactions take place in the early stages of life. The on-farm management system in dairy farms can potentially have influence on the relation between people and calves, given the different schedule of the daily procedures. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative assessment of the human-animal relationship in dairy calves in farms with tie-stalls and loose housing based on the results of avoidance testing. A number of 146 dairy calves (in three different age categories) were assessed in five farms during the cold season. A standardized technique of human avoidance test was used, awarding scores depending on the individual avoidance distance of the observer by the calves. The results were statistically processed with the SPSS software. The youngest calves (up to two months old) had the highest scores within the standardized avoidance test, meaning less avoidance toward the observer. When the tie-stall farms were compared with the loose farms, no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) was found regarding the human-related behavior of the calves. The assessment of the calves’ behavioral response toward humans using the avoidance testing showed that in this study the human-animal relationship was not influenced by the housing system, most probably because the management of the calves was similar in all the five farms.