PMWS-Related but Diet-Induced Colitis – a

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2002 | No Comments

Poor intestinal function is detrimental to grower pigs. With the upcoming antibiotic ban, there needs to be alternate methods to control intestinal disease. Finish floor diarrhea can be a difficult diagnostic challenge. It typically involves environmental factors, feed and water related factors, the piga

Use of cool perches by broiler chickens

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Broilers under commercial conditions might experience relatively high temperatures during summer and leg disorders year round that may be partially alleviated by providing them with access to cooled perches. It is unknown, however, how perch temperature and factors such as height and position of the perch affect perch use. Furthermore little is known regarding gender effects. Eight thousand 1 day old, mixed-sex broilers were used in this experiment. The birds were exposed to three perch treatments to determine preferences for water-cooled perches over ambient temperature perches and preferences for height, location, and temperature section of the perch. The experimental treatments were as follows: 1) three cool perches 15 cm above the floor (Cool 15), 2) three ambient perches 7.5 cm off the floor (Ambient 7.5), 3) three ambient perches 15 cm high (Ambient 15), and 4) control chambers with no perches. Total number of birds perching, their positions, and temperature section within the perch were recorded. The results of this study indicate a strong preference for high perches as birds grow. The cooler sections of the perch were utilized more than warmer sections within the cool treatments. Females showed a stronger tendency to perch than males, particularly within the cool treatment. The higher perch use could be one of the reasons for higher eviscerated body weight found in females with access to cool perches. Differences in mean body weight were not affected. However, potential effects of perch access in final body weights needs to be further investigated.

Responses of dairy cows and calves to each other's vocalisations after early separation.

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A common management practice in commercial dairy herds is to separate the calf from the cow the day after birth. After the cow and her calf have been separated they both vocalize, but what is yet to be determined is if after only being together for one day can the cow and calf recognize each other’s vocalisations and whether they respond to the calls made following the separation. Immediately following birth, 12 Holstein cow-calf pairs were moved into a single pen. Approximately 24h after birth the cow-calf pair was separated, the cow remained in the pen, while the calves were moved into individual pens in another building. The calls made by the cow and calf in the 24h period following the separation were recorded and strung together in a sequence to be played back to the animals 24h after separation. The cows and calves were also played white noise. The cows showed a stronger response to the calf vocalisations when compared the white noise. The heart rate of the cows was elevated after hearing the recording of their calf. The cows also responded by increasing the movement of their ears and heads. The cows could also distinguish between their calf and a strange calf as, they would move their heads less when their calf’s called was played compared to a strange calf’s call. The calves responded to the cows’ vocalisations, in contrast to their response to white noise, with increased head movements and fewer ear flicks. When the calf’s mother’s call was played, the calves responded with an increased heart rate, increased ear movements and decreased head movements, versus the responses to strange cow calls. The general inability of the cows and calves to definitely differentiate between the mother/offspring versus unknown animal calls may be due to the lack of time spent together which would have prevented them from learning one another’s calls. However, past research has shown that cows and their calves are able to identify individuals through auditory clues at a very early age.

Behavior and physiologic response of mares to short term isolation

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The behavioural and physiological responses of horses to six hours of isolation was examined. The horses were removed from established pasture herds. The responses of the isolated mares was compared with mares that were transported and then returned to the herd, or moved to an isolated pasture with a companion. The mares were observed the day before the isolation procedures to determine the alterations in behaviour during isolation. The plasma cortisol, white blood cell count, neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio and hematocrit were measured the morning before isolation and in the morning and afternoon on the day of isolation. The heart rate of the mares was monitored continuously during isolation and the day before isolation. Phyohemagglutinin (PHA) was administered the day of isolation. The intradermal response was measured 18 hours following the injection. Mares that were isolated on a pasture with or without a companion significantly increased the amount of time they spent standing alert, while only the mares isolated with a companion decreased the amount of time they spent grazing. The mares that were isolated urinated, rolled and whinnied more than expected and autogroomed less than expected, while the transported mares urinated, rolled and whinnied less than expected and autogroomed more than expected. Mares that were isolated with a companion defecated less than what was expected, while the mares that were transported or isolated alone defecated more than what was expected. The isolated mares and those with a companion were increasingly agitated the day of isolation. The plasma cortisol concentrations and hematocrit rose in all the treatment groups the day of isolation. The peak cortisol concentration was recorded the morning of isolation. The white blood cell count increased in the mares that were transported, while the neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio increased in the isolated mares the day of isolation. The results illustrated that the mares responded both behavioural and physiologically to the isolation from the herd. However, the effects were minimal and short in duration. There does not appear to be a difference in how the mares respond to isolation when they are alone or with a companion, hence it was not possible to determine if it was isolation, the new environment or separation from the herd that caused the behavioural and physiological changes.

Mask Use in Swine Barns Reduces Health Effects

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Swine producers are exposed to dusts and gases when working in barns. Studies have shown that these workers are at increased risk of developing respiratory symptoms, decreases in lung function levels and increases in airway reactions. Compared to no dust control, canola oil sprinkling can significantly reduce dust levels and resulted in lower health effects on healthy subjects when exposed to this environment (Senthilselvan et al. 1997). While engineering controls are in development in an attempt to reduce the dust and gas levels in this work environment, one method for reducing worker exposure to dusts is by having workers wear a disposable respirator (N-95 mask) during barn work activities. The objective of the study was to evaluate health effects related to wearing a disposable mask in a swine confinement unit. Twenty-one subjects between the ages of 18 and 35 years old were recruited to participate in the study. These subjects were male and pre-screening insured that all subjects were non-smokers, with no asthma or allergies and that they had no previous exposure to a swine barn environment. The subjectsa

AVERSION OF PIGS AND DOMESTIC FOWL TO ATMOSPHERIC AMMONIA

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Survival Rate May be Heritable

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An average 7% of piglets are stillborn and around 13% of live born piglets die before weaning, according to Dutch researchers, who add that genetics may be partly to blame. Half the variation in backfat is heritable, for example, and easy to measure. Survivability is more complicated. In 1993, the breeding company Topigs began collecting data to find if genetic differences in survival exist between families. The protocol includes individual identification of all piglets at birth, even stillborns. All piglets are weighed and cross fostering registered. The current data set includes records of 600,000 piglets. An analysis showed heritability of survival on a piglet basis was around 0.02, which can be considered very low.However, given the fact the chance variation is very high a

Day-time time budgets of pregnant mares housed in tie stalls: a comparison of draft versus light mares

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Large differences in the amount of time a confined animal engages in behavioural activities (time budgets) compared to feral or wild conspecifics has been used as a measure of poor welfare. In the present study, day-time (08.30-05.30 h) time budgets were generated from 55 light and 55 draft late pregnancy mares housed in tie stalls from ten pregnant mares’ urine (PMU) farms using continuous video recording. Equal numbers of light and draft mares were filmed on each farm during the months of February and early March. The actions recorded included eating, drinking, resting (standing and recumbent), standing active, and interactions between horses (aggressive and non-aggressive). In addition to this, the presence and duration of stereotypic behaviours such a cribbing, head bobbing, weaving, and wood/bar chewing were recorded. Light mares spent significantly more time feeding and significantly less time standing active and standing resting. However, the time budget of both groups fell within the range of previously published activity budgets of feral horses. Therefore, the differences noted may not be clinically relevant. Three light and two draft mares performed repetitive behaviours at a level that is considered stereotypic. However, there was no difference in the number of horses performing stereotypies between light and draft mares. Because of the overall low prevalence of stereotypies and the fact that time budgets were similar to free-range horses, we believe that the management practice of keeping large number of pregnant mares in tie stalls is rational and that the welfare of mares is sound.

The provision of drinking water to veal calves: II. Behavior, physiology, and abomasal damage.

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This study examined the impact that the addition of roughage in the form of wheat straw or beet pulp to the standard diet of milk replacer to veal calves. This study examined the impacts forage inclusion in the diet would have on stress and welfare. The control animals were only fed milk replacer. The control calves performed more abnormal oral behaviours around meal times. Initially calves fed solid fed, demonstrated more chewing behaviours but the control calves were chewing at the same level as calves given straw by week 13 and those given beet pulp by week 17. The frequency of cross-suckling was low, it was most commonly observed at meal times. However, the provision of roughage did not affect the performance of cross-suckling. Offering roughage did not impact self-grooming and was not related to rumen hairballs. The control animals spent more time in contact with the milk bucket, while wheat straw fed calves spent more time in contact with the feed trough. There were not any significant differences in the cortisol levels amongst the treatments. The beet pulp fed calves had higher white blood cell count, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and sodium levels and lower platelet counts, which may be due to the increase in iron intake. Calves that consumed either form of solid feed had a higher incidence of abomasal ulcers and erosion, but the effects were more prominent in the calves fed straw. Therefore, the two forms of roughage were able to satisfy the calves’ behavioural needs, but it still damaged the digestive tract. Therefore, more research is needed to discover a roughage source that improves the welfare of the animal without harming the digestive tract.

Behavioural, health and cortisol responses of young calves to tail docking using a rubber ring or docking iron.

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In some areas of the world, tail docking dairy cattle is a common procedure. The typical method is to use a rubber ring. The belief is that this procedure improves hygiene and reduces the risk of mastitis; however, this is not supported by scientific research. The current study was conducted to compare the responses of calves that were either tail docked using a rubber ring or a docking iron. A control group was also included, which were exposed to same restraint, but were not tail docked. The results indicated that tail grooming increased up to five days after the rubber ring was applied. The calves with the rubber ring also had a higher frequency and shorter bouts of standing and lying than the calves that were docked with an iron and the control group. Other than one hour after the rubber ring was applied, where these calves had a significantly higher cortisol concentration than the control group, cortisol responses and other behavioural responses of pain (including vocalizations) did not differ among the groups. There were no differences in behaviour between the control group and iron-docked group. Milk intake, weight gain, body temperature and feces score (degree of diarrhoea/blood) did not differ among the groups. In conclusion, using rubber rings for tail docking did not result in a greater behavioural and physiological response than docking with a docking iron. The authors point out that the long-term effects need to be investigated.