Graduate Student Literature Review: Temperament, personality, and coping style in dairy cattle—Understanding individual variation in response to challenges and management strategies

Abstract

The study of animal behavior inevitably involves variation, both within and between individuals in a study population. In recent years, the perception of this variation has shifted from being regarded as noise in data to being a valuable source of information on the distinct behavioral repertoires of individuals. These behavioral repertoires have been studied in the form of temperament, as well as the more complex forms of personality traits and coping styles. Despite being distinct and unique frameworks for understanding variation in behavior, these terms are often used interchangeably in the literature. In agricultural animals, all of these frameworks may help to explain why some animals thrive and others struggle under different management conditions or when faced with certain challenges. On farms, dairy cows often face challenges in their social, feeding, and milking environments. For example, cows may be frequently regrouped or experience varying levels of competition for different resources, such as feed, lying space, or access to a milking robot. Cows will also experience several ration changes over the course of a lactation cycle. As more producers transition to automated milking systems, cows may experience a change in milking system, as well as further challenges posed by concentrate feeding strategies and milking permissions within these systems. Dairy calves may face challenges associated with weaning, social grouping, and introduction to new feeds and feeding systems. A considerable amount of research in recent years has advanced the knowledge of associations between dairy cow personality traits and how cows respond to challenges of changes in management. This review summarizes and synthesizes the definitions and methods of assessing animal temperament, personality, and coping styles, as well as the current knowledge base and gaps in research of these concepts as they relate to dairy cattle behavior, production, and management practices.