Towards an evaluation of the quality of the cow maternal interactions with the calf in the early hours postpartum.

Nowadays, in dairy farms, the most common practice in the cow-calf management is the early separation right after birth or within the 24h after parturition. The concern about the welfare of both cows and calves is however leading to a growing interest in alternatives to this practice, the so called "cow-calf contact systems". This thesis aims at evaluating the quality of the interactions between the cow and its calf in the first four hours postpartum using a convenience sample of 8 dams of the Pezzata Rossa Italiana breed . Behavioral data were recorded using the Istantaneous Sampling technique with intervals of 30 seconds between each scan. Results showed that cows provide strong maternal care to its calf right after parturition, mainly expressed by the grooming behavior. Although the frequency of affiliative behaviors decreased during time, agonistic behaviors were not recorded, suggesting that even if cows progressively diminish the time dedicated to the calf, the quality of this interactions remains positive. Time of no contact with the calf was spent in activities such as resting, sniffing the litter and eating, that are common behaviors and suggest the absence of distress when the calf is still nearby.