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A brief note on some possible factors involved in the reactions of horses to humans
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2002 | No Comments
The relationship horses have with humans is of the highest importance for their use. In the present study in order to investigate relationships of adult horses to humans, a simple evaluation test and scores based on observations was developed. The first reactions of 224 adult horses to the presence of an experimenter were observed and scored. All the horses belonged to the same riding school, had the same general housing conditions and were all geldings. The evaluation was based on the horse’s posture. Individual differences that could be related to some extent to the breed but also to human factors emerged clearly. French saddlebreds showed more often friendly behaviour than Angloarabs, whereas thoroughbreds were more indifferent. It was clear that variations occur between groups of horses depending on different caretakers. In this school, one caretaker was responsible for the whole daily management of a group of horses and is probably a very important factor in their well-being. The effects of this daily relation to a human seemed to be involved in the reactions to a strange person. Further studies are required to investigate what, in practice, may be determinant.
An investigation into the effect of different protein and energy intakes on model tail chewing behaviour of growing pigs.
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It is not well understood why tail biting develops among pigs. Some research has studied environmental factors. This study focused on investigating the effect of nutritional factors. Twenty-four pigs were used to test the effects of low protein, low energy or standard diets on their chewing behaviour and preference for blood. Pigs were housed individually. Two tail models were positioned at the front of each pen at certain times during the experiment, so that chewing behavour could be recorded for six weeks. The tail models were sections of sash cord and one was soaked in pig’s blood and the other in deionized water. Blood samples from each pig were collected at slaughter to be analyzed for free tryptophan concentrations. Pigs on the low energy and low protein diets had similar weight gain, which was significantly lower than those on the standard diet. The preference scores did not differ among the treatments. However, there was a positive correlation between tryptophan concentration and preference scores during the last week for pigs on the low protein diet. The positive correlation could have resulted because the low protein intake resulted in high tryptophan and serotonin concentrations which then acted on the brain as a signal that the body needs more protein. Low protein diets did not result in differences in total chewing or preference for chewing blood-soaked tail models. Reduced weight gain or low protein content in the diet may contribute to the development of tail biting. However, these factors may not reliably predict which pigs will tail bite.
The relationship between attitudes, personal characteristics and behaviour of stockpeople and subsequent behaviour and production of dairy cows.
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Thirty small, family-run dairy farms in which cows were housed in cubicle sheds were studied in order to determine the relationship between attitudes and personal characteristics of stockpeople, their interactions with cows, behaviour of cows during milking towards humans, and average milk yield. A questionnaire was given to the stockpeople to assess several components of the stockperson’s attitude (beliefs, emotions, and behavioural intentions) towards characteristics of cows and to behaviour towards cows. A self-report inventory assessed personal characteristics. The behaviour of stockpeople was strongly correlated with the behaviour of cows and moderately to milk yield. Cows avoided humans less if the stockpeople behaved more positively towards the cows in the milking parlour. The cows stepped/kicked more during milking and had a lower milk yield if the stockperson made moderate use of the hand, moderately loud vocalizations, and gentle use of a stick (neutral interactions). Attitudes and personal characteristics were found to be important determinants of stockperson-cow interactions and production success. Many stockperson attitude components were correlated to stockperson behaviour and to the cows’ milk yield. Personal characteristics were related to the attitudes and the behaviour of stockpeople. For example, stockpeople who were high on agreeableness used more positive interactions and less neutral ones, while pessimists were low on positive attitudes to cows. Conclusions stated that there was a strong influence of a stockperson’s attitude and personal characteristics on the behaviour of the stockperson and on the cow’s fear of humans, behaviour, and milk yield. Milk yield appears to be lower on farms where stockpeople have negative attitudes towards interacting with cows during milking and use more neutral behaviours. By initially identifying the main attitude components responsible for positive and negative behaviour, new measures of attitude and personal characteristics created were proven to be good predictors of stockperson behaviour. Use of such measures as predictors provides the possibility to improve human-animal interactions on small dairy farms by changing the relevant attitudes and behaviour of the stockpeople. Consequently, animal welfare and production may be improved.
Decision support system for overall welfare assessment in pregnant sows B: Validation by expert opinion.
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This paper attempts to validate the computer based welfare assessment model for gestating sows SOWEL (SOw WELfare). This model was designed based on the needs of the sows. An overall welfare score can be calculated based on the strengths and weaknesses of specific housing system in terms of welfare. The model predicted welfare scores for 15 different housing systems (based on 20 different weighted factors) was compared with expert opinion generated via a written questionnaire. According to the scientific community tethered and stall housing systems are ‘low welfare’ housing systems. Mid-ranking housing systems were indoor group-housing systems and individual housing system when additional space and substrate was provided. The top five ranked housing systems all provided the sows access to the outdoors and provided them with some form of substrate (ie: straw). When the scientists’ ranking were compared with those generated by the model, the model’s rankings were quite similar to the scientists’. Some of the most important attributes identified by the scientists were: social contact, health and hygiene status, water availability, space per pen, foraging and bulk, food-related anxiety, rooting substrate, social stability and movement comfort. There tended to be a moderate amount of discrepancy between scientists on the relative importance each of these attributes has. Even so, the weighted factors in the model were similar to the factors listed above. Therefore, this illustrates the model’s capabilities and it is in agreement with the opinion of those in the scientific community.
Influence of increased environmental complexity on leg condition, performance, and level of fearfulness in broilers.
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The hypothesis was that increased distance between resources and stimulation of foraging behavior would improve physical activity of broiler chickens, even though the degree of environmental complexity was altered with the use of moving lights and scattered whole wheat in the litter. It was also thought that leg condition and performance would improve, and level of fearfulness would decrease with increased activity. One-day old males in groups of 45 were allocated to one of four treatments: 1) the barrier treatment, containing three barriers placed between the drinker line and the feeder, 2) the light treatment, consisting of brightly colored moving lights projected on the pen floor for four 1-hour periods per day throughout rearing, 3) the wheat treatment, in which wheat was dispersed on the floor from days 8 to 17 and 4) the control treatment, in which the birds were maintained under standard management. Mortality, body weight, feed conversion, and the duration of tonic immobility did not differ significantly among birds in any of the treatments. Fluctuating asymmetry, bone ash, tibial dyschondroplasia and bone breaking strength, which are all measures of bone quality, did not differ among birds in any of the treatments either. Higher gait scores, which are indicative of the presence or degree of lameness a bird is experiencing, were higher among birds in the light treatment than birds in the control and barrier treatments. Birds in the wheat treatment had higher gait scores than birds in the control treatment. The diameter of the tibia diaphysis was significantly increased with the provision of barriers, which is a promising result for further studies to improve leg condition.
A behavioural study of scrapie-affected sheep.
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Scrapie is one of a group of slow neurodegenerative diseases known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE’s). In the present study, the behaviour of 12 sheep, suspected having scrapie, and 12 clinically normal animals was observed over a 6-day period. Scrapie and control sheep were each divided into three groups of four animals. The sheep were housed in separate solid-walled pens in the same building. Behaviour was observed over 30 minute observation periods conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Seven of the scrapie animals were confirmed to have the disease following post-mortem examination and only their data were used for the analysis of scrapie group. Scrapie sheep spent significantly more time ingesting concentrate feed but less time feeding on hay than the controls. The frequency of mastication and bolus regurgitation were lower in scrapie than control sheep. Scrapie-affected animals spent less time standing than control sheep and were more likely to adopt an abnormal posture. Furthermore, Scrapie-affected animals spent more time in pruritic activities such as rubbing and self-biting than control animals. Social interaction was also reduced in scrapie-affected sheep. In conclusion, this study has shown that there are distinct behavioural differences between scrapie and non-scrapie sheep.
Factors associated with the prevalence of stereotypic behaviour amongst Thoroughbred horses passing through auctioneer sales
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The study attempted to determine if there was a relationship between stereotypy performance and sex, age and/or coat colour. It was also assessed whether the occurrence of one stereotypy was associated with the performance of another specific type of stereotypy. The performance of locomotor (boxwalking and weaving) and oral stereotypies were recorded from the sales declaration and information on returns from Thoroughbred horses that passed through five auctions. Overall, the stereotypies occurred at a rate of 5.1%. Stereotypies were more frequently observed in females, geldings and 2 a
Effect of nest design, passages, and hybrid on use of nest and production performance of layers in furnished cages
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The number of eggs laid and egg quality was compared between Hy-line White and Lohmann Select Leghorns that were housed in either furnished cages (equipped with nests, litter baths and perches) vs. conventional cages. In addition, 30, 50 or 100% of the bottom of the nest boxes were covered with Astro trufA
Effect of transport time on welfare and meat quality in pigs.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of transport duration on some welfare and meat quality parameters. One hundred and forty four pigs were used. Half of the animals were subjected to 15 min and the others to 3 h transport time. Blood from all animals was analyzed in order to detect stress-susceptible pigs and assess pre-slaughter stress. Meat quality parameters, such as pH, water holding capacity, grade, were measured or assessed. It was concluded that under normal Spanish commercial conditions, pigs subjected to short transport showed a more intense stress response and poor meat quality than pigs subjected moderately long transport when they were immediately slaughtered on arrival at the slaughterhouse. Transport of 3 h might have allowed the animals to adapt to transport conditions and then could act as a resting period like a lairage time. The effect of transport time on welfare and meat quality parameters was more important than genotype and sex. Nevertheless, from the point of view of blood enzyme activities, genetically stress susceptible females transported for 3 h were more sensitive to muscles damage.
Maternal presence limits the effects of early bottle feeding and petting on lambs' socialization to the stockperson
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Herbivores that are raised by their mother tend to be more fearful of humans than those that are reared artificially. In previous studies, the effect of the human behaviour has been confounded by the rearing and maternal environment. This experiment examined the socialization of the lamb to the stockperson when the lambs were petted and bottle fed by humans, early in life, in the presence or absence of the dam. From one day of age until seven weeks of age (weaning), the lambs were either reared individually in the presence of the dam and their twin was behind a grid (M0) or only in the presence of their twin behind the grid (M1). The dams were removed at weaning. Half of the M0 and M1 lambs received human contact until 6 days of age (H1), while the other lambs were not handled by humans and had no visual contact with humans during feeding and other husbandry duties (H0). The lamb’s response to the stockperson was measured during the initial period of human contact, while in the rearing pen (at 4 and 9 weeks of age) and in a test pen at 5 and 10 weeks of age. As well, the lamb’s response to a novel object was tested at 3 and 8 weeks of age and their preference for a stockperson or familiar conspecific was assessed at 6 and 11 weeks of age. Regardless of whether the dam was present, during periods of human contact the lamb remained in contact with the stockperson. Regardless of age, lambs that received human contact during rearing approached the stockperson more quickly and spent more time interacting with the stockperson, than those lambs that did not have human contact during rearing. More specifically, lambs reared with the dam and that received human contact approached the stockperson more readily than other lambs, even when they had to choose between the stockperson and a familiar conspecific. The lambs reared with the dam were more willing to approach the novel object at three weeks of age, than those reared away from the dam, but this difference was not evident after weaning. Thus, the results illustrated that the maternal environment affects the lambs’ ability to socialize with humans. The desire of lambs to remain close to the dam during rearing likely affects the development of other relationships made at an early age. However, the results bring to question how the contact and separation of the lamb from the ewe at an early age affects the lambs’ ability to socialize with humans, and how this improves their reaction to the stockperson.