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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Behavioral responses to handling and restraint in dehorned and polled cattle.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 1999 | No Comments
Castration at 3 days of age temporarily slows growth of pigs.
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Welfare implications of sheep ear tags.
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The influence of feeding and handling on the development of the human-animal interactions in young cattle.
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The way in which an animal responds to humans and handling has important welfare and production consequences for both the animals and the stockperson. The aim of this study was to determine the relative importance of physical contact (gentle handling) and the provision of food on the development of the positive associations between young cattle and humans. A total of 40 Danish Friesian calves were used. From day 3 to 17 of age the calves were either: fed by humans and handled (stroke); fed by humans but not handled; fed without visual contact with humans and handled; or fed without visual contact with humans and not handled. Observations during the handing and feeding treatments revealed that calves fed with a human present performed more bunting behaviour but less play behaviour than those handled but not fed. The approach behaviour of each calf to an unknown person was assessed at day 3, 17, 32, and 62 in both their home pen and in an arena. In the home pen, handling had no effect on latency to interact with the person, but at days 17, 32, and 62 calves fed by humans were quicker to interact with the person than those fed without a human present. When tested in the arena, no consistent significant treatment effects were found at any age in latencies to approach or interact with the person. In a third test, the approach behaviour towards a person when social companions were present was assessed. With the human present only, time spent within 1 m of the person did not differ with age or treatment. But when two other calves were present, latency to approach the person increased and the time spent near the person decreased with age. It is concluded that feeding has a greater influence on the responses of young calves towards humans than handling. However, this appears to be limited to the location in which the feeding took place. Despite receiving no additional handling, calves hat were fed without a human present readily approached and interacted with an unknown person and spent a large proportion of time near the person in the arena tests, suggesting that handling in the first 2 days after birth may be very important in the development of the subsequent interactions between humans and cattle.
The effect of cow-calf separation in dairy cattle on animal behaviour.
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Foot lesions in finishing pigs and their associations with the type of floor.
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Physiological responses of sheep during long road journeys involving ferry crossings.
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Danger to pigs due to crushing can be reduced by the use of a simulated udder.
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Sows that lie on their young, pig ‘crushing’, is a significant cause of pig mortality in current production systems. Although mortality rates of pigs in farrowing crates are lower than mortality rates of pigs in pens, loss due to crushing is still estimated to be between 4.8 and 18%. During the first few days after parturition, pigs are highly attracted to the odor of their dam’s udder. Thus, this research was designed to move the pigs away from the sow by competing with the sow’s udder using a ‘simulated’ udder. Fifteen Yorkshire x Landrace sows and their litters (average 11.4 pigs per litter) were assigned to either a control or an experimental group. The control group had access to a heat lamp, whereas the experimental group had a simulated udder in the crate. Data were collected using video cameras for a 3-d duration at the initiation of farrowing. When a sow stood, data were recorded by 1-min scan samples to record the number of pigs using either the heat lamp or the simulated udder. In addition, stillborn pigs, pig crushing, and death by other means also were recorded. Results indicated that from 12 to 72 h postpartum, excluding 24 to 36 h postpartum, the estimated probability that pigs were in a safe area (simulated udder or heat lamp) was higher for the experimental group than for the control group. During 24 to 36-h period, it was more probable to find pigs on a simulated udder than under only a heat lamp. Stillborn pigs, pig crushing, and death by other means were not different between treatments. The simulated udder drew pigs away from the sow’s udder better than heat lamps alone. Considering these findings, mortality of pigs due to crushing may be decreased substantially using a simulated udder. These results are promising, but further refinement should be done, including improved udder design and investigation of the attractiveness of various stimuli.