SEARCH
Industry Partners
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:
Behaviour of the domestic fowl in the presence of vertical panels.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments
Environmental complexity is thought to influence time budgets. In this study, additional protective areas were created by adding vertical panels to the centre of the pen. There were cover treatments studied which consisted of cover frames with mesh and cover frames without mesh. Pens containing no covers served as controls. Two groups sizes were also studied (80 and 110). The chickens spent most of their time resting (64% of their time budget). Resting was higher in that had panels. The presence of panels and the age of the birds influenced the time spent moving and standing. Feeding and drinking were not influenced by the presence of panels. Foraging was greater in pens without panels. Group size affected preening and dust bathing behaviour. Activity budgets were influenced by the provision of pen enrichments.
Effects of amount of milk, milk flow and access to a rubber teat on cross-sucking and non-nutritive sucking in dairy calves.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
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.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
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.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
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
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
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.
Effects of density on perching behaviour of broiler chickens.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Management factors, including the provision of perches, have been explored as to their ability to improve the health and welfare of domestic fowl. Exercise through perching has been suggested as a way to reduce the impact of leg problems in broiler chickens. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of density (10, 15, and 20 birds/m2) and perch design on the frequency of perch utilization. Four perch treatments were used in the experiment: control (no perches), horizontal (three horizontal perches), angled (three 10o angled perches), or mixed angle (one horizontal, one 10o angled, and one 20o angled perch). Perching frequency was significantly higher when birds were raised at stocking densities of 15 or 20 birds/m2 compared to 10 birds/m2. The birds used the horizontal perches the most, followed by 10o angled and mixed angle perch treatments. In general, perches closest to the hallway or outside of the house were used more than perches in the middle of the pen. It seems that broilers may be too heavy and inactive to use perches to a degree that it will benefit them, particularly in regards to leg problems. The higher use of perches at high densities suggests that social factors, such as social facilitation also have an effect on perch use.
Early age thermal conditioning and a dual feeding program for male broiler challenged by heat stress
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
At 5 days of age, one group of male broiler chicks was exposed to thermal conditioning (38 A?C, 42 % humidity for 24 hours) while the other group was not. From 11 to 41 days of age, temperature was diurnally cyclic: 26 A?C (1600 to 0900 h) and 30 A?C (0900 to 1600 h). From day 19, diets were control or dual feeding of a high protein fraction (1600 to 0900 h) and an energy-rich fraction (0900 to 1600 h). Growth and feed efficiency were slightly enhanced by thermal conditioning (+ 4 %) and slightly reduced by dual feeding (- 4 %). During the thermal challenge, mortality was reduced by both factors. Prior to the thermal challenge period, thermal conditioning always reduced body temperature. During the thermal challenge period, body temperature was reduced by thermal conditioning and by dual feeding. Body temperature measurements taken at 32 days of age gave an estimation of the ability of the chickens to cope with heat stress 2 days later. For thermal conditioned chicks fed a control grower diet, pectoral mass was increased. The liver and gizzard were significantly heavier for thermal conditioned and non-conditioned chicks on a dual feeding program. This suggests that thermal conditioning at 5 days of age induces a consistent metabolic change in broiler males. The dual feeding program may have induced transitory effects on heat production during the heat stress.
The development of intersuckling in dairy calves around weaning.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
A common problem found in dairy herds is intersuckling, which is defined as juvenile or adult cattle sucking the udder of other cows within the herd. Intersuckling can cause udder health problems in the recipients. The cause is unknown, as are management methods that may prevent this behavioural problem. This study attempted to determine if intersuckling continues after in weaning in calves that demonstrated intersuckling behaviour prior to weaning. It also looked into whether the development of intersuckling is associated with feeding management during weaning. One week prior to weaning and weeks 1, 5 and 9 after weaning, the suckling and feeding behaviour of the calves was observed on 10 different farms. The average age at weaning was 21 weeks. The adequacy of the diets was based on the energy concentration. It was found that 92% of the calves were observed intersuckling prior to weaning. However, the rates amongst the calves were quite variable, ranging from 0 to 24.7 bouts/day. Intersuckling was also seen after weaning and the calves that demonstrated a higher amount of intersuckling prior to weaning were more likely to continue performing this behaviour after weaning. Intersuckling occurred most frequently around feeding time. As feeding duration increased or the energy content of the diet decreased, the rate of intersuckling increased. Calves who had restricted access to feed exhibited the more intersuckling behaviours. Therefore, this study found that intersuckling does occur prior to weaning and preventing the continuation of this behaviour after weaning is possible if the calves are fed a diet that complements with the calves physiological transition from a milk based to a forage/concentrate based diet.
Effects of an oral dose of acetyl salicylate at tail docking on the behaviour of lambs ages three to six weeks.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
A pilot trial and an experiment were carried out to investigate the effectiveness of providing analgesia for docking lambs’ tails in reducing discomfort behaviour. In the pilot trial, an elastrator ring was applied to the restrained lamb’s tail and the lamb was given either an oral dose of aspirin dissolved in water or an oral dose of water prior to release. The posture of the lambs given aspirin changed between sternal recumbency and standing less frequently than the posture of lambs given just water. This effect was significant from 10 to 20 minutes post-treatment. In the experiment, the lambs were given one of two docking treatments (application of the elastrator plus aspirin dissolved in water or application of the elastrator plus water) or one of two control treatments (restraint plus aspirin dissolved in water or restraint plus water). Three quarters of the postures used to assess discomfort changed for docked lambs within the hour after tail docking, and marked changes in the postures over time were also observed. Postures and activities were considered ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’ (typical of docked lambs). The mean frequency of abnormal postures was 3.5 % for control lambs and 22.6 % for docked lambs. The mean frequency of abnormal activities was 5.2 % for control lambs and 19.3 % for docked lambs. Two of the activities seen in docked lambs were similar to those seen in control lambs when aspirin had been given. However, provision of aspirin was associated with increased levels of some activities/postures. These effects were minor compared with the effects of docking, and there was no indication of effective analgesia. Behavioural effects indicative of pain were observed immediately and did not subside fully within one hour when elastrator tail docking rings were applied. Even though there appeared to be an analgesic effect of aspirin in the pilot trial, further experimentation did not substantiate this effect.
Chemical, physical, and environmental properties of pelleted newpaper compared to wheat straw and wood shavings as bedding for horses.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Different types of bedding have different properties including differences in water-holding capacity, littering effects, airborne dust particles, and combustion potential. Temperature and humidity can change the qualities of bedding material, affecting the microbial ecology of clean and soiled bedding as well as the surrounding environment. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage can develop as a result of organic particulate matter, such as bedding dust, forage-residing fungi, and molds. Therefore, horses are sensitive to organic particulate matter. The objective of this study was to compare the chemical, physical, and environmental properties of pelleted newspaper (PN), straw (S), and wood shavings (WS) as bedding material for horses. Horses were individually housed in boxstalls, where four types of bedding were tested: two types of PN (0.32 and 0.64 x 2.54 cm), S and WS. In the first experiment, only feces were cleaned daily in order to challenge the each material’s properties, and additional bedding was added as needed. In the second experiment, PN (0.32 x 2.54 cm), S and WS were also tested, but in this experiment feces and wet spots were removed every day and new bedding was added to an amount that was similar to the amount added in commercial conditions. The results indicated that the amount of clean bedding that needed to be added varied depending on the type of bedding material (S>WS>PN). Due to the higher water-holding capacity of PN and WS, less replacement bedding was required. More bedding (of all tested) was required during the autumn compared to the summer. The bedding environment was also influenced by type of material and season. PN had the greatest increase in pH and S had the lowest increase in pH. Stalls bedded with PN had higher concentrations of breathable NH3N during the autumn. The used PN with higher pH and less ventilation during the autumn contributed to the poor air quality. The number and species of microorganisms found in the breathing zone, nasal cavity and on the leg of the horse were affected by the season, type of bedding and duration of its use. The amount of dust also varied with type of bedding and duration of use. PN and WS resulted in more dust than S. The results indicate that bedding materials need to be managed based on the type of material and season of year.