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Social and Behavioral Sciences
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
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Subjective Measures Of Temperament In Beef Heifers Are Reliable Indicators Of Physiological Stress And Indicate Acclimation To Repeated Handling, Jamie Parham
Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Associations between excitable temperament and many economically relevant traits have been established. In being heritable, temperament can be augmented through selection. Current methods to evaluate temperament in a production setting include numerous subjective and objective measurements, which some producers may find cumbersome to navigate. Those who utilize these methods may not do so efficiently if selection criteria are not indicative of an animal's response to stress, or initial evaluations are not strong indicators of future temperament. The objectives of this research were to develop a procedure for evaluation of calf behavior, indicative of physiological stress, and then determine whether stress …