The effects of environmental enrichment on some welfare indicators in fattening cattle, housed at different stocking densities

The effects of environmental enrichment were assessed at different stocking densities on fattening cattle welfare. The study included four groups of heifers observed during four-month final commercial fattening. The heifers were housed in non-enriched and enriched environments at low (n = 14; 4.5 m2/animal) and high (n = 19; 3.3 m2/animal) stocking density. Environmental enrichment consisted of a grooming brush and salt blocks. Heifer welfare was assessed using selected indicators from the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for cattle. The study results showed that the heifers housed at high stocking density used environmental enrichment materials significantly more frequently as compared with heifers housed at low stocking density (P<0.05), whereas there was no difference in their use of particular enrichment materials. The effect of environmental enrichment on heifer welfare was mainly manifested in a reduction in the expression of some forms of aggressive behaviour; therefore, this finding should encourage the use of enrichment materials such as those presented in this study which are commercially available, relatively inexpensive and simple to use.

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Stocking Density Affects Welfare Indicators in Horses Reared for Meat Production

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10061103 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1103 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Federica Raspa ◽

Martina Tarantola ◽

Domenico Bergero ◽

Claudio Bellino ◽

Chiara Maria Mastrazzo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Condition Score ◽

Stocking Density ◽

Standing Position ◽

Feeding Strategies ◽

Meat Production ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Welfare Indicators ◽

Condition Score ◽

Breeding Farms ◽

Tail Condition

Horses kept for meat production are reared in intensive breeding farms. We employed a checklist adapted from the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) assessment protocol. Our evaluation aims to assess whether welfare indicators are influenced by stocking densities (m2/horse) and feeding strategies applied. An analysis was carried out on the data obtained from 7 surveys conducted at a single horse farm designed for meat production. In each survey, the same 12 pens were assessed, but on each occasion, the horses in the pens had been changed as had the stocking densities. Briefly, 561 horses aged 16 ± 8 months (mean ± standard deviation) were evaluated. Two stocking density cut-off values (median and 75th percentile: 3.95 and 4.75 m2/horse, respectively) were applied to investigate the effect of stocking density on horse welfare. Data were analysed using Mann–Whitney U and Fisher’s exact tests (p < 0.05). When cut-off was set as the median percentile, lower stocking density was associated with improvements in body condition score (BCS), coat cleanliness and bedding quantity, less coughing, less resting in a standing position, and less feeding related to the greater space available at the feed bunk. When the 75th percentile cut-off was used, indicators that improved were coat cleanliness, bedding quantity and mane and tail condition, as well as less resting in standing position and less feeding related to the greater space available at the feed bunk. Accordingly, the use of two different stocking density cut-off values showed that the increase of space allowance affected specific welfare indicators. Further increment of space and/or changes in management regimes should be investigated to improve all the indicators. Moreover, results related to feeding indicated the need to intervene as starch intakes exceeded recommended safe levels, negatively affecting horse welfare.

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Effect of stocking density and use of environmental enrichment materials on the welfare and the performance of pigs in the growth and finishing phases

Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.5424/sjar/2020184-15946 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. e0504

Author(s):

Edilson D. Caldas ◽

André Michelon ◽

Luciana Foppa ◽

Sandra M. Simonelli ◽

Carlos R. Pierozan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Enrichment ◽

Stocking Density ◽

Daily Weight Gain ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Performance Variables ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Enriched Environments ◽

And Behavior ◽

Behavioral Frequencies ◽

Feed Conversion Rate

Aim of study: To evaluate the effects of stocking density and the use of environmental enrichment (EE) objects on the welfare and the performance of pigs in the growing and finishing phases.Area of study: The southern region of Brazil.Material and methods: A total of 240 pigs, 120 immunocastrated males and 120 females, with an initial weight of 22.38 ± 2.38 kg and mean age of 65 days, were submitted to two stocking densities conditions (0.85 and 1.28 m²pig) with and without EE for 117 days. The experimental design was a 2×2×2 factorial (two categories, two densities, and two EE conditions), with six replicates. Performance variables and behavior were evaluated.Main results: For stocking density, there was a significant difference in the finishing phase from 148 to 161 days of age for the final weight (FW), average daily weight gain (ADWG), and feed conversion rate (FCR). For the EE factor, there was no difference in any of the phases or in the overall period. In the overall period, the higher availability of space improved the results of FW (140.56 kg vs 136.63 kg), ADWG (1.005 kg vs 0.974 kg), and FCR (2.05 vs 2.10). There was no effect of EE, stocking densities, or their interaction on the frequency of different behaviors of the pigs in the growth and finishing phases.Research highlights: There was no effect of interactions between enriched environments, stocking densities, and sex for animal performance and behavioral frequencies; however, differences between the factors were observed separately. The higher availability of space improved the results of FW, ADWG, and FCR.

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Lot-fed goats - the advantages of using an enriched environment

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea99119 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 473 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

M. Flint ◽

P. J. Murray

Keyword(s):

Weight Gain ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Environmental Enrichment ◽

Stocking Density ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Health Problems ◽

Average Weight ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Reducing Stress

By reducing the stress associated with high stocking density in a feedlot it is likely that goats will utilise their feed more efficiently and suffer fewer health problems. One possible method of reducing stress is to enrich the feedlot environment. In a feedlot of 160 castrated goats (average weight 24.6 ± 2.6 kg), 2 types of feedlot structures were compared; a typical feedlot and an ‘environmentally enriched’ feedlot, and goats stocked at 2 densities; a high stocking density (1667 goats/ha) and a relatively low stocking density (897 goats/ha). Over a 42-day period, environmental enrichment (old car/truck tyres and wooden railway sleepers to climb on and PVC piping to mouth and butt) increased weight gain by 83% (P = 0.04) and reduced the occurrence of inanition by 36%. Aggressive behaviour at the feed trough was reduced by 30% (P = 0.03) in pens of lower density when compared with pens of higher density. We conclude that lot feeding goats in environmentally enriched surroundings will increase feed conversion and reduce the number of non-eaters when compared with typically bare pen structures. Doubling in liveweight gain of goats within enriched feedlot surroundings when compared with typical structures shows promise as a cost effective, animal-welfare-orientated practice.

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Cognitive Enrichment in Piglet Rearing: An Approach to Enhance Animal Welfare and to Reduce Aggressive Behaviour

ISRN Veterinary Science ◽

10.1155/2013/389186 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lilia Thays Sonoda ◽

Michaela Fels ◽

Sally Rauterberg ◽

Stefano Viazzi ◽

Gunel Ismayilova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Environmental Enrichment ◽

Second Phase ◽

Feeding System ◽

Aggressive Interactions ◽

Suckling Piglets ◽

Cognitive Enrichment ◽

Enriched Environments ◽

The University ◽

Resident Intruder

It is known that pigs raised in enriched environments express less aggressive behaviour. For this reason, a new method of cognitive environmental enrichment was experimented at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany. In the first phase, 78 suckling piglets were trained to learn the link between a sound given by an electronic feeder and a feed reward in the form of chocolate candies during a period of 8 days. In the second phase, the same piglets were used in resident-intruder tests to verify the potential of the feeding system to interrupt aggressive behaviour. The analysis of all training rounds revealed that piglets learned the commands during 8 days of training and the interest of the piglets increased within training days (P<0.05). In the resident-intruder test, 79.5% of aggressive interactions were broken by feeder activation. In interactions where either the aggressor or the receiver reacted, a high number of fights were stopped (96.7% versus 93.1%) indicating that it was not relevant if the aggressor or the receiver responded to the feeder activation. We conclude that the electronic feeding system has the potential to be used as cognitive enrichment for piglets, being suitable for reducing aggressive behaviour in resident-intruder situations.

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Childhood phenotypic manifestations of genetic risk for anorexia nervosa in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

10.31234/osf.io/w57h9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ziada Ayorech ◽

Neil Martin Davies ◽

Hunna Watson ◽

Zeynep Yilmaz ◽

Martin Tesli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Genetic Risk ◽

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Eating Problems ◽

Future Studies ◽

Study Results

Anorexia nervosa (AN) polygenic liability has been associated with mental health traits, eating problems, and body mass index (BMI) in adolescence and adulthood, but little is known about its manifestations in early childhood. We explore AN polygenic score (PGS) associations with six childhood domains: BMI, eating problems, neurodevelopment, emotional problems, disruptive/aggressive behaviour, and temperament/personality in 15,205 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Results did not support associations between AN PGS and developmental phenotypes in girls. For boys, we observed an association between AN PGS and higher temperamental fussiness at 6 months, (b= 0.036 [95% CI=0.010,0.061]). Our results suggest that genetic risk for AN as indexed by the PGS has few observable manifestations in key neurodevelopmental domains in the first 8 years of life. Future studies with more powerful PGS that track children longer may aid in understanding how and when genetic risk for AN manifest developmentally.

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Environmental enrichment reduces aggression of pearl cichlid, Geophagus brasiliensis, during resident-intruder interactions

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/s1679-62252010000200011 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 329-332 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Vivian Oliveira Kadry ◽

Rodrigo Egydio Barreto

Keyword(s):

Habitat Complexity ◽

Environmental Enrichment ◽

Geophagus Brasiliensis ◽

Prior Residence ◽

Enriched Environments ◽

Enrichment Condition ◽

Resident Intruder

Among fishes, when residents and intruders fight, residents usually win, most likely because they value the residence more than intruders. We hypothesized that enriched environments increase the value of an area in dispute, causing a resident to more fiercely defend a resource-rich environment than a poor one. However, in the present study, intruder-resident tests with the pearl cichlid, Geophagus brasiliensis, showed environmental enrichment actually reduces aggression and can even lead to co-habitation without fighting. Additionally, in our experiments, the prior residence effect occurred irrespective of enrichment condition. Decreased visibility from increased habitat complexity reduces interactions between fish and consequently might explain the lower aggression observed herein.

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Navigating the iceberg: reducing the number of parameters within the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for dairy cows

animal ◽

10.1017/s1751731114002018 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. 1978-1986 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

C.A.E. Heath ◽

W.J. Browne ◽

S. Mullan ◽

D.C.J. Main

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cows ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Welfare Quality

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Test−Retest Reliability of the ‘Welfare Quality® Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Sows and Piglets’. Part 1. Assessment of the Welfare Principle of ‘Appropriate Behavior’

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9070398 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 398 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Friedrich ◽

Krieter ◽

Kemper ◽

Czycholl

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Correlation Coefficient ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Appropriate Behavior ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Smallest Detectable Change ◽

Welfare Quality ◽

Animal Welfare Assessment ◽

Test Retest Reliability

The present study’s aim was to assess the test−retest reliability (TRR) of the ‘Welfare Quality® animal welfare assessment protocol for sows and piglets’ focusing on the welfare principle ‘appropriate behavior’. TRR was calculated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), smallest detectable change (SDC), and limits of agreement (LoA). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for deeper analysis of the Qualitative Behavior Assessment (QBA). The study was conducted on thirteen farms in Northern Germany, which were visited five times by the same observer. Farm visits 1 (F1; day 0) were compared to farm visits 2 to 5 (F2–F5). The QBA indicated no TRR when applying the statistical parameters introduced above (e.g., ‘playful‘ (F1–F4) RS 0.08 ICC 0.00 SDC 0.50 LoA [−0.62, 0.38]). The PCA detected contradictory TRR. Acceptable TRR could be found for parts of the instantaneous scan sampling (e.g., negative social behavior (F1–F3) RS 0.45 ICC 0.37 SDC 0.02 LoA [−0.03, 0.02]). The human−animal relationship test solely achieved poor TRR, whereas scans for stereotypies showed sufficient TRR (e.g., floor licking (F1–F4) RS 0.63 ICC 0.52 SDC 0.05 LoA [−0.08, 0.04]). Concluding, the principle ‘appropriate behavior’ does not represent TRR and further investigation is needed before implementation on-farm.

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Evaluation of oral functions of the stomatognathic system according to the levels of asthma severity

Jornal da Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia ◽

10.1590/s2179-64912012000200005 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 119-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mariana San Jorge de Castro ◽

Adyléia Aparecida Dalbo Contrera Toro ◽

Eulália Sakano ◽

José Dirceu Ribeiro

Keyword(s):

Persistent Asthma ◽

Asthma Severity ◽

Control Group ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Structural Part ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Group I ◽

Study Results ◽

Children With Asthma ◽

Asthma Group

PURPOSE: To compare the orofacial functions (chewing, swallowing and speech) in children with asthma and healthy children. METHODS: A cross sectional study including 54 children of both genders with ages between 7 and 10 years was conducted. Twenty-seven of these subjects composed the experimental group, and were subdivided into two severity levels of asthma: Group I - mild intermittent and persistent asthma; Group II - persistent moderate to severe asthma. Twenty-seven healthy children were included in the control group (Group III). Speech-language pathology evaluation used the adapted Orofacial Myofunctional Assessment Protocol. Adaptation consisted in the exclusion of the structural part of the test, since this was not the aim of the study. The structural part was excluded because it was not the aim of this study. RESULTS: It was found alterations in oral functions, with significant differences between the three groups. These alterations showed no correlation with asthma severity, since the highest rate of alterations was found in Group I (mild asthma). CONCLUSION: Regardless of the severity level, children with asthma have altered patterns of chewing, swallowing and speech.

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