A team from the University of British Columbia investigated personality traits in dairy cows from birth to adulthood and found that while they are pretty stable during the earlier and later stages of development, during puberty their behaviour becomes a little less predictable.
Researchers said their findings were relevant for the management of commercial dairy cattle, given that the personality of domesticated farm animals has been linked with productivity, health, and welfare.
The study found that calm cows consumed more feed, produced more milk, and had improved growth, compared to more reactive cows.
Personality traits were highly consistent during the earlier and later rearing periods, but not across the puberty period.
