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Mounting behaviour in finishing pigs: Stable individual differences are not due to dominance or stage of sexual development
Contributor(s):: Hintze, Sara, Scott, Desiree, Turner, Simon, Meddle, Simone L., D’Eath, Richard B.
Every year around 100 million male piglets are castrated in the EU, usually without anaesthesia or post-operative analgesia. This surgical intervention is painful and stressful. Several main players within the pig industry have voluntarily agreed to end the practice of surgical pig castration in...
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Foraging Performance, Prosociality, and Kin Presence Do Not Predict Lifetime Reproductive Success in Batek Hunter-Gatherers
Contributor(s):: Kraft, Thomas S., Venkataraman, Vivek V., Tacey, Ivan, Dominy, Nathaniel J., Endicott, Kirk M.
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Dog breed differences in visual communication with humans
Contributor(s):: Konno, A., Romero, T., Inoue-Murayama, M., Saito, A., Hasegawa, T.
Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have developed a close relationship with humans through the process of domestication. In human-dog interactions, eye contact is a key element of relationship initiation and maintenance. Previous studies have suggested that canine ability to produce human-directed...
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Positive and negative gestational handling influences placental traits and mother-offspring behavior in dairy goats
Contributor(s):: Baxter, E. M., Mulligan, J., Hall, S. A., Donbavand, J. E., Palme, R., Aldujaili, E., Zanella, A. J., Dwyer, C. M.
Dairy animals are subjected to a number of potential stressors throughout their lives, including daily interactions with humans. The quality of these interactions may have direct consequences for the animal undergoing the experience, but if such events occur during gestation it may also affect...
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A prospective exploration of farm, farmer, and animal characteristics in human-animal relationships: an epidemiological survey
Contributor(s):: Roches, A. de B. des, Veissier, I., Boivin, X., Gilot-Fromont, E., Mounier, L.
Human-animal relationships are essential for dairy farming. They affect work comfort and efficiency, as well as milk production. A poor human-animal relationship can result in stress and accidents to both animals and caretakers and needs to be improved. However, many studies have demonstrated the...
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Space allowance during gestation and early maternal separation: effects on the fear response and social motivation of lambs
Contributor(s):: Averos, X., Marchewka, J., Beltran de Heredia, I., Zanella, A. J., Ruiz, R., Estevez, I.
A common prenatal stressor in lambs is early maternal separation, which may be aggravated by spatial restriction of ewes during pregnancy. They may influence lambs' development and coping abilities. The aim of this study was to determine how space allowance provided to ewes during pregnancy and...
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Young Blond d'Aquitaine, Angus and Limousin bulls differ in emotional reactivity: relationships with animal traits, stress reactions at slaughter and post-mortem muscle metabolism
Contributor(s):: Bourguet, C., Deiss, V., Boissy, A., Terlouw, E. M. C.
The present study investigated relationships between reactivity during tests, stress reactions at slaughter and animal traits in young Blond d'Aquitaine (BA), Limousin (LI) and Angus (AN) bulls. Behavioural and physiological reactivity of animals was evaluated during rearing using a "Human test"...
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Effect of pre- and post-partum sow activity on maternal behaviour and piglet weight gain 24 h after birth
Contributor(s):: Illmann, G., Chaloupkova, H., Neuhauserova, K.
Within the 24 h prior to parturition sows are active and motivated to perform nest-building behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate: (i) whether pre-partum activity (e.g. nesting and postural changes) could predict maternal behaviour 24 h post-partum (pp) and weight gain 24 h pp, and...
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The influence of neonatal environment on piglet play behaviour and post-weaning social and cognitive development
Contributor(s):: Martin, J. E., Ison, S. H., Baxter, E. M.
Research has shown that the domestic pig is highly playful throughout its development and that play is an important aspect of social and cognitive development. Therefore, the neonatal environment is fundamental to successful stimulation of play in neonatal pigs, which could have indirect and...
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Effects of mother versus artificial rearing during the first 12 weeks of life on challenge responses of dairy cows
Contributor(s):: Wagner, K., Seitner, D., Barth, K., Palme, R., Futschik, A., Waiblinger, S.
We investigated the effects of mother versus artificial rearing on the responses to a social and a non-social challenge in adulthood. Rearing of treatment groups only differed during the first 12 weeks of life. Artificially reared animals were separated from their mothers within 24 h after birth...
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Effects of prepartum housing environment on abnormal behaviour, the farrowing process, and interactions with circulating oxytocin in sows
Contributor(s):: Yun, JinHyeon, Swan, K. M., Oliviero, C., Peltoniemi, O., Valros, A.
We evaluated the effects on sows of prepartum housing environment on bar-biting (BB) behaviour prior to parturition, farrowing duration from first to tenth piglets, litter size, and circulating oxytocin (OT) concentrations during birth of the first five piglets. A total of 35 sows, approximately...
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Relationships between pig welfare, productivity and farmer disposition
Contributor(s):: Jaaskelainen, T., Kauppinen, T., Vesala, K. M., Valros, A.
The aim of this study was, firstly, to investigate the connection between on-farm assessed welfare scores and production parameters for sows, and secondly, to examine how farmers perceive the connection between their disposition, animal welfare and productivity. We assessed environmental and...
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Can dogs alleviate the desolation created by having fewer children? An empirical study in the Japanese context
Contributor(s):: Kawata, Y.
Over the last several decades, in Japan, the young population (YP; less than 14 years old) has decreased whereas the number of registered dogs (RDs) has increased as a result of various socioeconomic factors. The total sum of YP and RD has remained virtually constant since the early 1990s. In...
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Canine scent detection of human cancers: a review of methods and accuracy
Contributor(s):: Moser, E., McCulloch, M.
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Utilization of matrix population models to assess a 3-year single treatment nonsurgical contraception program versus surgical sterilization in feral cat populations
Contributor(s):: Budke, C. M., Slater, M. R.
This study constructed matrix population models to explore feral cat population growth for a hypothetical population (a) in the absence of intervention; (b) with a traditional surgical sterilization-based trap, neuter, and return program; and (c) with a single treatment 3-year nonsurgical...
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Feeder use patterns in group-housed pregnant sows fed with an unprotected electronic sow feeder (Fitmix)
Contributor(s):: Chapinal, N., Ruiz-de-la-Torre, J. L., Cerisuelo, A., Baucells, M. D., Gasa, J., Manteca, X.
Previous studies on feeder use in group-housed pregnant sows focused on dynamic groups and protected electronic sow feeders (ESF). This study observed 60 pregnant sows, 1st to 8th parity - housed from Day 29 of pregnancy to 1 week before parturition in stable groups of 20 animals, 1 Fitmix feeder...
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Assessment: effects of porcine zona pellucida immunocontraception on oestrous cyclicity in feral horses
Contributor(s):: Powell, D. M., Monfort, S. L.
The following study used noninvasive faecal hormone monitoring to assess whether contraception with porcine zona pellucida (PZP) had an impact on oestrous cycle characteristics in a herd of feral horses living on Assateague Island, Maryland. The study assayed longitudinal faecal samples,...
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Production costs and animal welfare for four stylized hog production systems
Contributor(s):: Seibert, L., Norwood, F. B.
Nonhuman animal welfare is arguably the most contentious issue facing the hog industry. Animal advocacy groups influence the regulation of hog farms and induce some consumers to demand more humane pork products. Hog producers are understandably reluctant to improve animal well being unless the...
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Impact of zoo visitors on the fecal cortisol levels and behavior of an endangered species: Indian blackbuck ( Antelope cervicapra L.)
Contributor(s):: Thangavel, Rajagopal, Govindaraju, Archunan, Mahadevan, Sekar
This study investigated behavioral activities (resting, moving, aggressive, social, and reproductive behavior) and fecal cortisol levels in 8 individually identified adult male blackbucks during periods of varying levels of zoo visitors (zero, low, high, and extremely high zoo visitor density)....
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Current attitudes toward, and incidence of, sterilization of cats and dogs by caregivers (owners) in Auckland, New Zealand
Contributor(s):: McKay, S. A., Farnworth, M. J., Waran, N. K.
This study distributed a questionnaire to cat or dog caregivers (owners) throughout Auckland, New Zealand, to investigate the attitudes of human companions toward the sterilization of their cats and dogs and the degree to which this occurs relative to demographic information gathered. A total of...
