Evaluation of behavior in veal calves fed milk containing different levels of hempseed cake (Cannabis sativa L.)

Sheyla Arango; Nadia Guzzo; V Trabacchin; Emiliano Raffrenato; Cristina Sartori; Lucia Bailoni

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1295949

Evaluation of behavior in veal calves fed milk containing different levels of hempseed cake (Cannabis sativa L.)

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Dec 20:10:1295949. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1295949. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Sheyla Arango¹, Nadia Guzzo¹, V Trabacchin¹, Emiliano Raffrenato¹, Cristina Sartori², Lucia Bailoni¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA), University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy.
² Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Legnaro, Italy.

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect on behavioral patterns of veal calves fed with increasing levels of hempseed cake (HSC) diluted in the milk replacer. In total, 48 Belgian Blue veal calves (12 females and 36 males), with a body weight (BW) of 62.0 kg and age of 42.6 days, were offered the same type and quantity of solid and liquid feed two times a day but randomly assigned to one of the three different HSC inclusion levels: 0% (CTR), 3% (T3), and 6% (T6). The study lasted for 6 months until slaughter. During this time, their behavior was recorded using video cameras provided with a surveillance system. The results indicated that HSC had negligible effect on calves' behavior and that calves, in general, spend most of their time resting and ruminating as they normally do with conventional diets. Hempseed cake inclusion (T3 and T6) increased (P < 0.05) the appetite for solid food and licking behavior during the late afternoon. T3 female calves increased (P < 0.05) their movement in the late afternoon. Male calves decreased (P < 0.05) their positive interaction, movement, and cross-sucking in the late afternoon as the inclusion of HSC increased. The inclusion of HSC into veal calves' diet did not negatively affect the animal's behavior; therefore, it can be suggested as a novel ingredient.

Keywords: animal behavior; calves; hemp; hempseed cake; nutrition.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by a Ph.D. grant from Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo (CARIPARO), by the project Produce hemp in the food and agro industrial chain (Veneto Region—Rural Development Programme 2014–2020), and also by the University of Padova (STARS-stg2019) under the STARS Grants program Gentrait.