Effect of milkflow rate and presence of a floating nipple on abnormal sucking between dairy calves.

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

On most of the conventional dairy-farms in Sweden calves are separated from the cows immediately after birth and put individually in pens. They are usually fed milk replacer instead of the mothers milk. Most of the calves are not allowed to suck when ingesting their milk, instead they have to learn to drink from an open bucket. Studies have shown that problems occur when calves are housed together. The calves suck on each others ears, mouth, prepuce, scrotum, naval and other body parts, and this has been observed primarily among calves that are bucket fed. The aim of this study was to investigate if access to an artificial teat compared to an open bucket would decrease abnormal sucking in calves held in pairs, and if the calves would perform less abnormal sucking if they spent more time drinking or sucking the milk. In total 16 calves of Swedish Red and White cattle housed in pairs were used. The eight groups were given 2.5 l of whole milk per calf, twice a day in one of the following treatments; bucket with fast flow (control), bucket with slow flow, floating nipple with fast flow and floating nipple with slow flow. All groups were subjected to the four different treatments in a random balanced order. Two buckets were connected with a rubber pipe in order to control the milk flow. In the fast treatments, the milk poured from one bucket to the other in 40 s, and in the slow treatments the milk poured from one bucket to the other in 10 min. Each group had the treatment for 6 days before behavioural observations were done on day7. These were made by instantaneous recordings at 20 s intervals for 30 min, starting when the calves received their milk in the morning and afternoon. The number of recordings of abnormal sucking was lower than the control in all treatments. The lowest recording of abnormal sucking was found, when the calves had both a floating nipple and a slow flow. Sucking on other objects in the pen had the highest number of recordings, when they had a nipple and a fast flow, but the sucking on the empty nipple represented 95% of this category. The calves tended to lick and bite more on the bucket, the nipple and pen fittings in the two treatments with fast flow than in the slow treatment with nipple. It is concluded that both the performance of sucking and the time taken to ingest milk are important in order to decrease abnormal sucking between calves. In order to reduce abnormal sucking dairy calves should be allowed to suck the milk and the milk flow should be so low that the motivation to suck has vanished when the milk is finished.

A note on the effects of forward and rear-facing orientations on movement of horses during transport.

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Horses remain standing during transport and must maintain their balance during changes in velocity and direction. The result is that the animal frequently shifts its weight or moves slightly as the vehicle is in motion. It has been suggested that horses are better able to maintain their balance if they are facing backward, away from the direction of movement, in the vehicle. This study transported horses around a 14.4 km course that involved slowing, speeding up, stopping, various turns, and highway bumps. Twelve horses were transported, and each was tested in both a forward and rear-facing orientation. The animals were videotaped to determine the distance they moved in order to maintain balance. There was considerable variation in the amount of movement observed in each horse, ranging from 5 to 35 m. However, neither of the orientations resulted in a consistently larger or smaller amount of movement. It is concluded that orientation does not affect the horses’ ability to maintain balance during transport.

Toxicity of Ozonated Animal Manure to the House Fly, Musca domestica

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Activity, oral behaviour and slaughter data as welfare indicators in veal calves: A comparison of three housing systems.

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The three housing systems investigated for this study included: individual housing (calves are housed alone in crates), group housing (calves are housed alone for eight weeks and then in groups of five to seven, and Peter’s FarmA

Do beef cattle react consistently to different handling situations?

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The behavioural reactions of 245 Limousine heifers were evaluated in two tests: a docility test and a crush test. In the docility test, the animal’s behaviour was scored as a human tried to lead and maintain the animal in the corner of a pen for 30 seconds. In the crush test, the animal’s behaviour was monitored while it was socially isolated and restrained in a crush with its head in a head gate. Its behaviour was further monitored when it was exposed to a stationary human for 30 seconds and when a human stroked it on the forehead for 30 seconds. Findings indicated a sire effect for every part of both tests. The behavioural response of the heifers in the docility test was correlated to their response in the crush test. Alternatively, the sires’ behavioural reaction in the docility test was only correlated to the crush test when the human was present in motionless form, or when stroking the head of the animal. It was not correlated to the behaviour of the animal when it was in isolation. Finally, the crush test did not identify animals who acted aggressively in the docility test. Conclusions stated that there was a general reactivity of beef cattle to handling that appeared to be influenced by the sire of the heifer, but was regardless of whether the animal was restrained. The reactivity was suggested to be mainly a consequence of the animals’ reactions to humans.

Geophagia in horses: A short note on 13 cases

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Geophagia or more commonly called soil eating is quite common in most species, and has been seen in both wild and domesticated horse breeds. Often this is seen as an indicator of a nutritional deficiency in the diet or in other cases boredom. Based upon studies of the soils that various species consume, several theories have been developed about various soil components that may stimulate geophagia. This study examined the chemical components of the soil from 13 different locations in Australia where geophagia has been observed. The soil from the sites where geophagia took place has significantly higher concentrations of iron and copper, when compared to control soil samples. Hence, it may the iron and copper that stimulates geophagia in horses.

Behaviour of calves at introduction to nurse cows after the colostrum period.

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Most modern dairy herds are kept in systems that require calves to be housed individually fed milk from a bucket. Organic herds attempt to improve animal welfare by using suckling systems. The success of using a nurse cow is likely to depend on the calf’s sucking experience and the introduction procedure. The objective of this study was to learn more about the best procedure to use when introducing the calf to the nurse cow three days postpartum. The calf was either with its own mother or fed from a teat-bucket. The introduction period either lasted one or two days (where the calf and nurse cow were alone together before being introduced to a larger group of cows and calves). The results indicated that when calves were given the opportunity to suckle colostrum from their own mother, they suckled the nurse cow more often and for longer periods than calves fed from the teat bucket. The nurse cow was also licked and rubbed more by mothered calves. Less cross-suckling was observed by mothered calves compared to calves fed from a teat bucket.

Determination and Confirmation of Chloramphenicol Residues in Swine Muscle and Liver

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Association between plumage condition and fear and stress levels in five breeds of chickens.

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This study examined the relationships among three traits often used in welfare assessment in five breeds of laying hens (all Spanish breeds). The birds were housed in group pens containing 75 hens and 15 roosters. Plumage was assessed at 72 wk of age, and 120 birds were selected that represented poor (60) and perfect (60) feather condition. These birds were then tested for their tonic immobility response, in which a higher value represents increased fearfulness. They were also blood sampled and the ratio of heterophils to lymphocyte ratio determined. This ratio is indicative of stress and increased in stressed birds. There were breed differences in all traits, but the relationships among the traits were similar in all breeds. Hens with poor feather condition showed shorter tonic immobility (less fearful), but higher heterophil/lymphocyte ratios (more stressed) than did well feathered animals.

Assessing cow comfort: effects of two floor types and two tie stall designs on the behaviour of lactating dairy cows

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Two studies were conducted to test the effects of stall design on cow behaviour and comfort. In the first study 16 cows were housed in stalls with concrete floors or mattress flooring. When on mattress floors the cows spent 1.8 h more time lying each day. However, cows had fewer lying bouts on the concrete, but they were longer than for those on mattresses. Cows on mattresses stood up lay down more often than on concrete. Cows spent similar amounts of time eating and consumed similar amounts of feed on both surfaces. The data were interpreted to indicate that cows on concrete found it more difficult to change postures than did those on mattresses, and that the concrete was less comfortable. In the second study the cows were housed in stalls with either a narrow or wide front opening to the stall. Cows in the wide opening spent more time with their head in the manger area, a posture that was facilitated by the stall design. However, again there were no differences in eating time or consumption. It was concluded that mattresses were an effective means of improving cow comfort in lactating dairy cows.