Effects of isolation on the behaviour, live-weight gain, adrenal capacity and immune responses of weaned red deer hind calves

At weaning at 3 months of age (week 1), 30 red deer hind calves were housed in six groups of five animals at a stocking density of 1.5 m² per head and maintained in these groups for 4 weeks. At the start of week 5, all calves were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA). Fifteen calves, from three groups, selected at random, were transferred to individual pens which restricted visual and tactile contact with others (ISO) while the remaining animals were kept in their groups (GP). The behaviour, food intake, live-weight gain, antibody and lymphocyte responses in vitro to OVA and lymphocyte responses in vitro to the non-specific mitogen, concanavalin A (ConA), of all calves were assessed in each of weeks 5 to 9. Isolated calves had a lower mean live-weight gain than GP calves (P < 0.001), although there were no differences in food intake. Significantly more time was spent lying (P < 0.001) but less time feeding (P < 0.05) and self-grooming (P < 0.001) by ISO than by GP calves. There was no significant difference between ISO and GP calves in the cortisol response to an ACTH challenge test (10 i.u.) at week 11. Lymphocyte responses and antibody titres to OVA were lower in GP than in ISO calves at weeks 7 (P < 0.05) and 8 (P < 0.05), respectively. In contrast, GP calves had greater lymphocyte responses to the non-specific mitogen, ConA, in weeks 7 (P < 0.05) and 10 (P < 0.001) but not in week 9 compared with ISO calves. Differences in lymphocyte stimulation were attributed to the non-specific mitogenic nature of ConA. Factors such as agonistic interactions evident in group housing may have compromised the antibody and lymphocyte responses to OVA by GP calves but conversely the lack of social contact may have also suppressed behavioural activity in ISO calves.