Better-fed calves are more motivated to play, pioneering study shows

New research has revealed dairy calves that are fed less complete tasks faster and remember more in pursuit of milk, but miss out on play. Calves that were given more food were more inclined to play. The study, led by the University of Bristol and published in Scientific Reports, sheds new light on how hungry animals sacrifice play and put finding food first.

source https://phys.org/news/2026-04-fed-calves-play.html