Responses of horses to trailer design, duration, and floor area during commercial transportation to slaughter.

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Animal welfare and intensive production of turkey broilers.

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The effect of stress, applied immediately before stunning, on pork quality.

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A study was conducted to determine the effects of a short period of additional stress applied just prior to stunning, on the subsequent meat quality of slaughtered pigs (113 boars, 85 gilts). Pigs were brought to the stunning pen as same-sex pairs. One pig was stunned immediately, while the other was forced around the pen, with the occasional use of an electric prod, for an additional minute before stunning. The additional time and handling in the stunning area was sufficiently stressful to induce meat quality problems in the carcasses (lower pH, greater rigor, water holding capacity). There was a significant stress x sex interaction, with females being more responsive to stress than the males.

Maximum loading density of loose horses.

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Turkeys prefer fluorescent light with supplementary ultraviolet radiation.

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Poor rearing conditions and social stress in pigs: repeated social challenge and the effect on behavioural and physiological responses to stressors.

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Rearing environment may potentially have an impact on pig’s responses to stress. To determine the effects of rearing environment on pigs, the behavioural and physiological responses to various stressors were compared between female pigs raised in a standard farrowing crate (poor) or in a group of free-ranging sows with her piglets (enriched). When the pigs reached 14-17 weeks-of-age, their behaviour was analyzed in multiple social confrontations (an intruder pig was introduced to a resident’s home pen). When the pigs reached adult age (between 38-45 weeks old) they were behaviours were analyzed when they received an electric shock, presented with a novel object and more resident/intruder tests. The level of injuries sustained and the changes in salivary cortisol were recorded before and after the resident intruder test. Salivary cortisol samples were also taken before and after the pigs underwent the electric shock test. The results found demonstrable differences in aggressive behaviour between residents and intruders, but this was only seen in pigs raised in the enriched environment. Pigs reared in the poor environment inflicted more lesions on one another in the social encounter tests. These results indicate that raising pigs in a poor environment may negatively impact the development of the pigs’ social skills, which would lead to difficulties in establishing a dominance hierarchy, as seen in this study. The negative effects of a poor rearing environment when the pigs are young lasts into adulthood based on their reactions to electric shock, a novel object and resident/intruder tests. Therefore, pigs behaviour can be shaped by the rearing environment and those raised in an enriched environment demonstrated more avoidance behaviours, which is useful in social and non-social encounters.

The influence of different feeding arrangements and food type on competition at feeding in pregnant sows.

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This study looked at aggression in sows when feeding and how it was influenced by the size of partitions and type of food, wet or dry. Six groups of six sows were each put through various combinations of feeder partitions and wet and dry food. Also each sow in groups of sows were ranked 1 to 6 depending on dominance over the other sows in the group. Sows were each given a week to get used to the feeding set up and then were held for 9 days in each system. At 9:00am each sow was fed 2.5kgs of either dry or wet feed ( 1:6 water to feed ratio). The sows were video taped for an hour, fifteen minutes of feeding and then for 45 minutes afterwards. The video tapes were viewed and researchers took note of times sows bit each other and where they were bit ( head, shoulder, vulva). Also it was noted when pigs left the feeder voluntarily or if they were forced to leave by another sow. The results of the compiled data showed that full length body partitions were the most effective in reducing aggression and biting to the head and shoulders, but full body partitions saw increased biting of the vulva. Wet feed reduced aggression compared to dry feed, possibly because portions were larger and sows were full and didn’t have reason to fight, or because all the sows finished eating at the same time there was less competition for feed. The most aggression was found in the fifteen minutes of feeding, aggression was reduced significantly in the 45 minutes following the feeding period. It was found that sows ranked in the 3rd and 4th spot of dominance suffered the most bites and aggression from other sows. Pigs who were ranked 5th and 6th were bitten less but this can be explained because they spent less time at the feeder. Full body partitions were the most effective but lock ins at the back of the stall could be incorporated to reduce vulva biting. Shoulder length partitions along with wet feed were found to be as effective in reducing aggression as full body partitions.

To see this complete article please go to: http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/applan/home

Domestic turkeys are not averse to compact fluorescent lighting.

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Adaptation to tethering in yearling dairy heifers assessed by the used of lying down behaviour.

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The lying down behaviour of 48 dairy heifers was studied while they were tethered for different lengths of time. Heifers were tethered in stalls with concrete flooring either for the entire experimental period (which lasted 24 days), or the last 10 days or the last 3 days of the experiment. In the control treatment, heifers were housed straw-bedded pens. Behavioural observations were recorded for 24 hours at the end of the experiment. Heifers that were tethered for 3 days had longer latencies to lie down, they lied down less and took longer to lie down. The number of lying down interruptions was higher for heifers tethered for 3 and 10 days compared to the control treatment. The heifers tethered for 24 days were in between (did not differ from the control or 3 and 10 day treatments). The results indicate that initial tethering causes the most problems in lying down behaviour for heifers. The results do not indicate that complete adaptation occurs (at least not during the 24 days of this study).

Travel sickness and meat quality in pigs.

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