Influence of prior exposure to wood shavings on feather pecking, dustbathing and foraging in adult laying hens.

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It is believed that there is a period of high sensitivity in a chick’s life when they develop a preference for specific substrates. If there is not an appropriate substrate available during this sensitive time, the chicks may seek out alternative substrates that may not be appropriate. This study examined whether the preferences developed by chicks during the sensitive period continue into adulthood and affect the behaviour of laying hens. The duration of substrate exposure, changes in substrate, age at exposure and time lapse since exposure were examined. At various ages and lengths of time, the wire flooring was replaced with solid flooring covered with wood shavings, which resulted in 12 different treatment combinations. The adult hens that had never had exposure to wood shavings performed significantly more feather pecking than those from any other treatment combination. The minimal exposure length of 10 days was, therefore effective at reducing feather pecking. The flooring substrate was still important well into adulthood, as hens that were housed on wood shavings, ground pecked significantly more and feather pecked significantly less than hens that were housed on wire regardless of exposure during the rearing period. Subsequently the hens were provided with either wood shavings or straw, and once again previous experience did not affect their foraging behaviour, as the hens foraged on both. Dustbathing however, was performed the majority of the time on wood shavings and at age at which the hens had been introduced to wood shaving also affected this behaviour. The preference to dustbath on wood shavings as the hens had increasing exposure to straw may indicate a stable preference to dustbathe on wood shavings. In conclusion, the behaviour of the adult laying hens was quite flexible, however, the behavioural expression is dependent on the type of substrate available.

Quantifying aspects of young horses' temperament: consistency of behavioural variables

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Behavioural variation and physical ability will influence the performance of horses. All 41 horses in this study, of the same breed and age, were reared in the same housing and management conditions. Two behavioural tests were used to assess each horse’s temperament at 9, 10, 21, and 22 months of age. The tests included a novel object test and handling test. During the novel object test, an open umbrella was lowered from the ceiling. The handling test involved the horses being led across a bridge. The following data was collected during each test: locomotor activity, latency times, postural expressions, and vocalizations. There were positive correlations found among all variables collected during the handling tests and among all but two of the variables collected during the novel object test. A principal component analysis indicated that two possible temperamental traits were extracted from the data collected during the novel object test, which included ‘flightiness’ and ‘sensitiveness’; and two traits were extracted from data collected during the handling test, which included ‘patience’ and ‘willingness to perform’. There was some consistency found over time. The behavioural tests were useful in identifying individual variation and temperamental traits in young horses. However, consistency over time was not found for all the variables.

Identification of porcine Lhx3 and SF1 as candidate genes for QTL affecting growth and reproduction traits in swine

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The effect of duration and temperature of simulated transport on the performance of early-weaned piglets.

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The response and tolerance of early-weaned piglets to transport are not well documented. It is believed that the additive stress incurred by transporting early-weaned pigs predisposes them to increased disease risk and compromised performance. The objective of this work was to investigate the relationship between two primary transportation stressors, duration and temperature, and their effects on piglet performance. Prior to housing on flatdecks at 30 oC, transport was simulated by placing 17-d old weaned piglets into wooden boxes of dimensions 1.2 x 1.2 x 1.0 m (space allowance range 0.18 to 0.36 m2 / pig) with straw bedding. Tow trials were conducted. In each trial, 96 piglets were randomly mixed in groups of four and assigned to the following simulated transport duration: no transport (control), 6 h, 12 h and 24 h. Piglets undergoing transport simulation were kept at one of the following temperatures 20, 25, 30 and 35 oC. There was a significant interactive effect between transport duration and transport temperature upon live weight change in the first 24 h. The animals that incurred the greatest weight deficit after weaning relative to untransported control groups were predominantly either those that had been transported for 24 h at high temperature (35 and 30 oC) or those transported for 6 h at 20 oC and 35 oC. The effect of simulated transport was measurable for up to 5 d post transport. However, by 14 d post transport there was no detectable influence of transport treatment on feed consumption or weight gain. The study found pigs are able to recover and perform adequately in the early post-weaning period if extremes of transport duration and temperature are avoided.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

Tail biting in pigs.

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Tail biting is both a costly and welfare-reducing problems for grower/finisher pigs. This paper is a recent comprehensive review of papers on this topic. It covers the stages in the development of tail biting, how it can be assessed, and how it leads to associated problems of infection, disease, weight loss and death. Three theories are presented on its development: a learned behaviour; a normal behaviour that becomes excessive; and, a redirected behaviour (eg. exploration that becomes directed to the tail). Risk factors associated with the pigs themselves include: genetics, gender, age and weight, and health status. External risk factors include: rearing environment, rooting materials, indoor climate, outdoor climate, stocking density and herd size, floor type, feeding system, and food. Various treatments and preventative measures are discussed. Tail biting results in a reduction in the welfare of the bitten pig, but probably also indicates poor welfare in the biting pig as well.