Relationship between maternal protective behavior and milking reactivity of Girolando cows – A preliminary study

In order to ensure calves protection, cows usually present aggressive behavior towards humans just after calving, increasing the risk of labor accidents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between maternal protective behavior (MPB) just after calving and milking reactivity (MR) of Girolando cows. The study was held in a commercial dairy farm with twenty-six multiparous cows, by assessing the cows' reactions towards humans when handling their calves for navel disinfection and identification. MPB was composed by the sum of the following scores: i. displacement, measuring the displacement level of each cow (ranging from 1 = no displacement to 5 = constant displacement); ii. agitation, assessed the overall agitation of cows, scoring the head, ear and tail movements, ranging from 1 (absence of movements) to 3 (constant sudden movements); iii. aggressiveness, scoring the frequency of threatening and attacking behavior, from 1 (absence of aggressive behavior toward the handler) to 3 (constant display of aggressive behaviors). The MR score was applied during milking, being composed by the sum of two scores: i: reactivity during the pre-dipping procedure (RP), applied in the first contact of the stockperson with the cow; and ii. reactivity during milking (RM), assessed when attaching the teat-cups. Both RP and RM were recorded from 1 (cows that does not move any of the hind members) to 8 (extremely reactive cows, does not allow the attachment of milking cups and has to be tied). MR was obtained by the average of scores in the 2^nd, 3^th and 5^th days of lactation. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between MPB and MR was obtained. There was no significant correlation (r = -0.15, P > 0.05) between MPB and MR, indicating that the cows' reactions towards humans just after parturition has no relationship with their reactivity during milking. The cows' stile of protective behavior toward calf is not a good predictor of their reactivity inside the milking parlor, without the presence of their calves.