Short communication: Relationship between serum cortisol concentration and defensive behavioral responses of dairy cows exposed to natural infestation by stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans

The aim of this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of natural infestation by Stomoxys calcitrans on the behavioral and adrenocortical responses of dairy cattle. Twenty Holstein cows randomly selected were individually sprayed with insecticide once every 7 d, whereas no insecticide was applied to the other 20 animals. The average number of flies per cow was estimated daily, and the frequency of fly-avoidance behaviors was measured daily; plasma cortisol concentration was measured each morning. No flies were ever counted on the treated cows at any time during the experiment, whereas an average of 17.13 +/- 1.14 (+/- standard error) flies/d were recorded on untreated cows. Tail movement was the most frequent behavior displayed, with stamps or kicks showing the highest increment rate (41.2x) when fly population increased from zero to greater than 51 flies/cow. Cortisol concentration increased to a maximum of 56.81 +/- 39.53 ng/mL with 26 to 30 flies/cow per day. Coefficients of determination between the number of flies, cortisol concentration, tail movements, and stamps or kicks were 0.73, 0.78, and 0.81, respectively. The multiple correlation coefficient was 0.90, with 81% of the variation in cortisol concentration explainable by variation in the number of flies per cow and the frequency of fly-avoidance behaviors. It was concluded that plasma cortisol concentration is linearly related to a combination of the number of flies and the frequency of fly-dislodging behaviors, producing a maximum response before reaching maximum fly loads.