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 amount of milk, milk flow and access to a rubber teat on cross-sucking and non-nutritive sucking in dairy calves.

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Cross-sucking, i.e. when a calf is sucking on any body part of another calf, is a problem in artificially raised calves. Cross-sucking may lead to health and welfare problems for the exposed calf and cause inflammation of penis, navel or scrotum, or may lead to hairless body parts. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of different amounts of milk, flow rate of milk, and access to a teat after milk intake on non-nutritive sucking on an empty teat and on cross-sucking on other calves in Bos taurus dairy calves. An additional aim was to test if calves prefer to perform non-nutritive sucking on a teat with the taste of milk or on a clean teat. First experiment involved 11 groups of three calves during gradual decrease from 5 to 2.5 and 1 to 0 l of whole milk per meal twice daily. Milk flow was either 0.5 or 1 l/min, and the teat buckets were either left or removed after milk intake. When the calves were fed with 5 l of milk, non-nutritive sucking and cross-sucking decreased, compared to 1 and 2.5 l. Removing the empty teat after milk intake increased the cross sucking. Slow milk flow reduced non-nutritive sucking after milk intake, but did not influence cross-sucking. Duration of recorded milk intake was similar with fast flow and 5 l of milk, compared to slow flow and 2.5 l of milk. The latter combination increased non-nutritive sucking and cross-sucking, suggesting that amount of milk is more important than duration of milk intake. The second experiment was carried out on 12 individually kept calves. The calves received 2.5 l of milk either in an open bucket, in a rubber teat bucket, or half/half in both buckets. When not used for feeding, the open bucket and the teat bucket were filled and emptied again to make them ‘tasty’ with some drops of milk. The tasty teat bucket was either removed or present after milk intake. The calves had always access to a second clean teat bucket. Source of milk had no influence on recorded behaviour after milk intake. The tasty teat was sucked for twice as long as the clean one when both teats were present. When the tasty teat was removed, the calves increased sucking on the clean teat, but decreased total time spent sucking. We conclude that a high amount of milk and the presence of the teat bucket after milk intake reduces cross-sucking, and that a clean teat is less effective in encouraging calves to suck than a teat with taste of milk.

Consistency of side choice in the milking parlour by Holstein-Friesian cows and its relationship with their reactivity and milk yield.

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Dairy cows often have to choose which of two sides to enter in the milking parlour. Some sows are very consistent in this choice, and it is common to assume that these cows are more disturbed are being milked in their non-preferred side. Such disturbance might involve significantly poor welfare. In order to assess this assumption, we studied the behaviour and milk yield of dairy cows and their relationships with side preference in the milking parlour. The study was carried out at Cambridge University Farm, in a two-sided tandem milking parlour. The data collection followed the daily management routine. We recorded the side chosen by each caw (left or right) during 40 milking sessions. Data from 70 cows, which were present in at least 25 milking sessions, were included in the statistical analysis. Cows reactivity (CR) during premilking udder preparation, time spent fitting the milking cluster (FT), milk yield (MY) and duration of milking (DM) were measured. There was evident individual variation in the consistency of side choice. Individual differences were also found in CR, FT, MY and DM; although these variables were not significantly affected by the side or the interaction between animals and side. The comparison between left and right side means of these variables did not show significant differences. We concluded that there is no evidence that the cows were discomforted or stressed when milked in the non-preferred side of the milking parlour.

Plumage condition and health of aviary-kept hens fed mash or crumbled pellets.

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Although aviary systems for laying hens provide the freedom of movement advocated for good welfare, there are concerns for the general health and plumage conditions of birds kept in these larger social groups. In this study the authors addressed two management factors that may affect the incidence of problems in these systems, those of genetic strain and feed form. Hens of two different hybrid strains, both representing crosses of Rhode Island Red and Leghorn, were kept in groups of approximately 270 birds in aviary pens (3 x 5.8 m). Pens were fed either mash or pellet forms of the same diet. Thus, a 2 x 2 factorial of hybrid and feed type, with three replications per treatment combination was formed. Diet had little effect on plumage condition, general health or tonic immobility (measure of fear). The only significant effect of diet was on the occurrence of bumble foot (a condition of the feet), with it being more common when fed mash. The genetic hybrids differed in a number of traits including general health, cannibalism, salpingitis, and coccidiosis. However, each hybrid performed better in some of these traits than the other. The results suggest that genotype is an important consideration in managing hens in aviary systems.

Age and growth factors in porcine full-thickness wound healing

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It has been recognized that the rate of cutaneous wound healing declines with age, yet the molecular processes that affect this decline remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to compare reepithelaization and contraction rates, and growth factor profiles in full-thickness wounds in swine of various ages. Multiple full-thickness excisional wounds were created on the dorsum of 24-month-old (n=2), 4-month-old (n=2)Yucatan Minigigs. The extent of reepitheliatization was shown to decrease with increasing age in a manner that was statistically significant among the 2-month-old (79%), 4-month-old (48%), and 24-month-old pigs (22%). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results showed that endogenous vascular endothelial growth factor concetrations in the 2 and 4 month old animals pecked on day 4, reaching levels of 482 pg/ml and 420 pg/.ml, respectively. In the 24-month-old pigs the vascular endothelial growth factor levels in the older pigs reached only 120 pg/ml, representing a four-fold decrease in concentration compared to the younger pigs. A comparison of platelet-derived growth factor-BB concentrations across the age groups showed similar patterns in the 2 and 4 month old pigs (peaks of 77 and 91 pg/ml on days 2 and 3, respectively), and levels in the 24-month-old were below the sensitivity level (31.5 pg/ml) of the assay. Transforming growth factor-b1 levels across the age groups did not differ in a manner that was stratistically significant, and all age groups peaked on day 9. Wound contaction showed no statistical differences among the age groups from days 3 to 9. On day 11, however, wound contraction in 2-month-old pigs was about 10% fraster than in 24-month-old pigs (p<0.05). These data suggest a possible new algorithm for treating wounds in aged skin, by which exogenous growth factors can be added to the wound microenvironment in doesse and at times that match the growth factor profiles observed in wounds made in younger skin.

AN INTELLIGENT ALARM FOR EARLY DETECTION OF SWINE EPIDEMICS BASED ON NEURAL NETWORKS

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Dietary lupins (Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus albus) can increase digesta retention in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs

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La sA

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Les agriculteurs d’aujourd’hui font partie de l’industrie de la production alimentaire et ils sont fiers de produire des aliments sains de haute qualitA

Public Involvement in the Siting of Large Scale Hog Facilities: Lessons for Pork Producers from Four Alberta Communities

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The recent increases in intesnive hog production in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba has corresponded to increased hostility and legal challenges within rual agrcultural communities over the siting of intenive facilties. Long expensive appeals to siting decisions suggest the need for public involvement in intensive livestock management. A 1998 study prepared an assessment of the socio-economic impact of hogs in Alberta. Their conclusions, recommended that pork producers strike a balance between the science-based aspecs of their plan and good neighbor policies, inclusing communication with surrounding neighbours, public awareness and solid environmental planning. Our research focuses on the public involvment in the siting of intesnive hog developments in Alberta, the rteasons for conflict, and the ways to minimize conflict through constructive public particiapation methods

Understanding the Soil-Lanscape: Implications for Managing Manure

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Introduction
Application of livestock manure to land has been conducted for centuries to increase agricultural productivity by providing nutrients and organic materials that improve overall soil tilth and fertility. Manure is a valuable source of crop nutrients and organic matter provided that it is used as a nutrient amendment based on sound agronomic principles. Soil and water quality deterioration following manure addition may occur when agronomic principles are not adhered to or when manure is simply disposed of as a waste on agricultural land. It is important for the land manager to understand the pros and cons of manure application to land as well as understand the limitations of the land base to which the manure is applied. One of the factors that influences the fate of manure applied to land is the variability of the soillandscape. Unfortunately, the variability of soils within a given landscape is generally not well appreciated and manure (or fertilizers) is applied uniformly across a given field with little consideration given to the variability in soil and hydrologic processes within the field. This paper presents the concept of the soil-landscape and describes how an understanding of this concept is important for managing manure on agricultural land. What is the a