Behaviour of Limousin Calves in the First Hours of Life as a Factor in Their Further Growth and Development

The behaviour of calves related to suckling in the first hours after birth is critically important for colostrum absorption, immunity formation and further growth, which directly affects their future productivity. The aim of our research was to study the relationship between the characteristics of calves' suckling behaviour in the first two hours of life and their growth and development indicators in the future, taking into account the age of the mother cows and the time of day of birth. The research was conducted on Limousin bull calves at TzOV ‘Lvivske’ in the Lviv region. It was found that the behaviour of calves in the first two hours of life depended on the time of day of their birth and the age of their mother. Calves born at noon to first-calf heifers were slightly weaker than their peers born in the morning and evening to older mothers. They began suckling much later, suckling for a shorter period of time, and were observed to suckle less frequently during the first two hours and with a lower frequency of suckling movements during the first 30 seconds. Among the studied indicators of calf behaviour related to suckling, the age of the mother only influenced the onset of suckling (P < 0.001). Calves born at noon were characterised by a lower live weight compared to their peers born in the morning and evening throughout the entire rearing period. In addition, in most cases, there was a significant (P < 0.05–0.001) dependence of live weight at all ages on the age of the mothers. Cows with their first calving usually produced calves with lower live weight compared to animals obtained from older cows. In subsequent age periods, these animals were also characterised by lower growth intensity.