Influence of vertical panels on use of space by domestic fowl.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments

In the wild, cover is used by animals to seek shelter from the elements, protection from predators and aggressive conspecifics and as a way to reduce inter-animal communication. Rearing environments for captive raised fowl often contain open areas that are lacking in complexity and that are greatly underused. As a result, use of space within pen-type enclosures is often not uniform. This paper investigates the effect of increased environmental complexity on the use of space by broilers. The experiment consisted of three cover treatments (mesh panel, frame panels and no cover) and three group sizes (80, 110 and 140). The vertical panels, constructed of PVC piping, were positioned in pen centers, while the pen centers in the no cover treatment were left empty. It was hypothesized that the provision of vertical panels to pen centers would attract birds into the central space and would lead to a more uniform distribution of birds. Using a grid-coordinate system set up in each pen, scan samples were taken on the use of space in each pen four times per day, 3 days per week from 5 to 44 days of age. Use of space in the central region for the two cover treatments was significantly higher than for the no cover treatment (P < 0.0001). The effect of cover treatment on the mean percentage of birds using the central space was influenced by age (P < 0.0001) and by group size (P < 0.05). Differences in the use of space between the frame and mesh treatment were only found during week 1. In the side, end and middle regions surrounding the panels, use of space was influenced by cover treatment and age (P < 0.0001). Over 80% of the use of pen center occurred at the ends and sides of the panels. These results support the hypothesis that the presence of vertical panels results in a more uniform distribution of birds within the pen by increasing the number of birds using the center.

Effects of two stall flooring systems on the behaviour of tied dairy cows.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

This study examined two types of flooring for dairy tie stalls. Cattle may be kept in tie stalls for several months of the year. In this study, 42 cows were housed in stalls having either conventional solid floors (concrete with a rubber mat and a small amount of bedding) or a newly developed slatted floor (matted front by rear third consisted of rubber slats). Animals were able to stand and lie down easily on both floors, without slipping. Cows on the rubber mats spent less time in the preparation stage of lying down, which the authors suggest indicates a greater degree of comfort in the new stalls.

Effects of milking frequency on lying down and getting up behaviour in dairy cows.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Milk yield per cow has increased dramatically during past decades in many countries. Several studies have shown that a more frequent milking will increase the milk yield. Besides a possible economic benefit of a higher milking frequency, there may be other advantages to the individual high-producing cow, such as increased lying comfort. Cows with filled udders may have greater difficulty in performing certain movements, such as lying down and getting up. The objective of this study was to investigate if cows milked twice per day have more difficulty lying down and getting up and spend less time lying than cows milked three times per day. Seventeen cows of the Swedish Red and White Cattle Breed were studied, seven of which were milked twice daily (2M) and ten were milked three times (3M) daily. They were kept in individual cubicles, that were closed in the rear end with a rope. They had free access to a mixture of silage, hay and concentrate. The individual cows were video-recorded for 24 h every fourth week, starting four weeks after calving for four times. The 2M cows stood significantly longer than the 3M cows during the 4 h before morning milking. The 2M cows also had a tendency for longer duration of standing rumination as well as significantly more bouts of standing rumination during these hours than 3M cows. The cows in the 3M group spent less time on the getting up movement during the 4 h before morning milking. The distribution of the lying bouts during these 4 h differed significantly between the groups where the 3M cows had fewer lying bouts shorter than 15 min and more lying bouts longer than 90 min. The results of this study indicate that milking three times a day contributes to increased comfort in high-producing dairy cows.

Critical control points for on-farm assessment of pig housing.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

This paper focuses on assessment of pig housing in Europe. Factors that are becoming more important in the assessment of pig housing include: the care of animals and the environment, health, product safety and consumer acceptance. It is likely that documentation and certification will be required as part of a quality assurance program based on international standards. Critical control points (CCP, based on the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Point concept) have already been defined for the food processing sector. In order to objectively assess pig housing based on scientific data, these CCP need to be defined. The ‘Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare Group’ in Germany have been working on the ‘Assessment of Animal Housing and Management according to Welfare and Environmental Criteria’. This group has established CCP and critical management points (CMP) for health, behaviour, management and environmental impact. The producer can use these criteria to assess his/her housing system. Further development is required so these criteria can be used by agencies interested in monitoring, evaluating and licensing housing systems (eg. government, consumer, or commodity groups).

An Experimental Infection With Classical Swine Fever Virus in Pregnant Sows: Transmission of the Virus, Course of the Disease, Antibody Response and Effect on Gestation

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

An experimental infection with classical swine fever (CSF) virus in 12 conventional gilts,
housed in a sow-box housing system, was conducted in order to evaluate horizontal transmission,
clinical, virological and serological response, and the effect on gestation. Two of the 12 gilts, of
which 10 were pregnant, were experimentally inoculated. They became viraemic for the A

COMMISSIONING LIVESTOCK BUILDINGS: THE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

IDENTIFICATION OF MULTIPLE CONSTITUTIVE AND INDUCIBLE HEPATIC CYTOCHROME P450 ENZYMES IN MARKET WEIGHT SWINE

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Processing of Pulses and Cereal Grains with Infrared Heat for Early Weaned Pigs

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Pollution of the environment has become one of the very serious problems in the world. Factors contributing to these problems are both natural causes and man created activities. As livestock production intensifies, air, water and soil pollution becomes a problem. Utilization of feedstuffs especially by young pigs is influenced by the presence of anti-nutritional factors and fiber. An ideal thermal treatment procedure should sufficiently inactivate anti-nutritional factors and increase the bioavailability of nutrients, especially the essential amino acids.
Micronizing or infra-red processing has been developed commercially for the heat treatment of bulk feeds to improve their nutritional worth.
The long term goal of this proposal was to establish infra-red processing as a viable technology for increasing the value of a variety of pulses and cereals as they would become more attractive to both domestic and export markets for human and livestock use. The study was divided into two parts.
1. Processing of Pulses with Infra-Red Lamps a

Successful Siting of New and Expanding Operations – A Saskatchewan Perspective

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

The Saskatchewan industry consists of 65 million arable acres of which 46 million are cultivated and less than one half are irrigated; one million cows, 600,000 calves which are exported for feeding, 1.4 million market pigs. Saskatchewan is clearly under-developed in livestock. From a regulatory point of viw, a pollution control program for intensive livestock operations have existed since 1971. Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) delivers the program, in co-operation with other government agencies. SAF is responsible for collecting, reviewing, and approving appplications under the act. All applications are subject to review by local, provincial and federal agencies

Long-Term Manure Impacts on soil Nutrient Status and Surface Water Quality

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

Manure increases the solubility of P in soils, whether applied once or repeatedly. Long-term application of manure often results in the build-up of soil P to the point that a critical degree of soil P saturation is reached. Although this is good in terms of crop yield potential, the risk of P transfer from soil to water bodies may increase. Areas characterized by a high density of confined livestock operations are more at risk than others. Several modes of transport can result in P transfer from soils to waters. Results from studies conducted in the Prairies indicate that the calcareous nature of the soils does not preclude the downward movement of P deep into the soil profile. Movement of P will probably be accentuated by irrigation or incidental flooding. Overland transport by wind and water probably dominates in the Prairies, but subsurface transfer by lateral flow or seepage may also contribute to the load of P reaching water bodies. Areas most at risk can be identified by the Phosphorus Index (PI).
However, the PIa