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The early behaviour of cow and calf in an individual calving pen
Contributor(s):: Jensen, Margit Bak
The aim was to investigate the early behaviour in dairy cows and their calves. Thirty-eight multiparous Danish Holstein Frisian cows and their calves were housed in individual calving pens during the first twelve days post-partum and their behaviour was observed during 24h on days 3, 7 and 11....
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Can sow pre-lying communication or good piglet condition prevent piglets from getting crushed?
Contributor(s):: Melišová, Michala, Illmann, Gudrun, Andersen, Inger Lise, Vasdal, Guro, Haman, Jiří
This study focused on the impact of sow–piglet communication during pre-lying behaviour and piglet condition on piglet location before the sow was lying down and on the incidence of piglet crushing. Eighteen loose-housed, Yorkshire×Norwegian Landrace sows and their litters were studied on Day 1...
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Breed differences in the expression of maternal care at parturition persist throughout the lactation period in sheep
Contributor(s):: Pickup, Helena E., Dwyer, Cathy M.
Maternal care plays an important role in the survival of offspring in mammals. In the ewe initial maternal care is expressed by nurturing the young and formation of an exclusive olfactory bond with the lamb. After the neonatal period, maternal care is associated with co-operation with sucking...
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Behaviour around the time of calving in dairy cows
Contributor(s):: Jensen, Margit Bak
The aim of this study was to investigate behavioural changes before and after calving in dairy cows in order to describe behavioural signs of imminent calving and of cows’ recovery after calving. Thirty-two multiparous Danish Holstein Frisian cows with an unassisted calving were studied from 96h...
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Early recognition of offspring vocalisation by mink mothers
Contributor(s):: Malmkvist, Jens
Mink deliver around the same time of year. Consequently, mink dams are exposed to other delivering dams and litters nearby in the same housing facility on farms. In addition, farmers often transfer kits between litters within the first week of life, as levelling large litters is believed to...
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What do maternal tests actually test?
Contributor(s):: Grimberg-Henrici, C. G. E., Czycholl, I., Burfeind, O., Krieter, J.
Several studies have used behavioural tests to characterise sows regarding their maternal performance. These studies have always chosen a selection of behavioural tests and the combination of tests varied between the studies. In the present study, 47 sows were tested in week 2 and 4 of lactation...
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Weaning and separation stress: maternal motivation decreases with litter age and litter size in farmed mink
Contributor(s):: Malmkvist, Jens, Sørensen, Dennis D., Larsen, Torben, Palme, Rupert, Hansen, Steffen W.
The optimal timing of separating the mink dam from the litter is suggested to be a balance between the partly conflicting needs of the mother and the kits. Early removal of the dam or partial removal of the litter may protect the dam against exhaustion. Little is, however, known about dam stress...
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The effect of permanent or temporary contact with the lamb and contact with males on the lambing to first ovulation interval in Saint Croix sheep
Contributor(s):: Orihuela, Agustín, Valdez, Daniela, Ungerfeld, Rodolfo
The effect of suckling and presence of the lamb, or ram, on the lambing to first ovulation interval in Saint Croix sheep was determined. Ten days after lambing 50 ewes and their lambs were assigned to three different suckling treatments: continuous suckling (CS), restricted suckling (RS),...
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Does housing influence maternal behaviour in sows?
Contributor(s):: Grimberg-Henrici, Charlotte G. E., Büttner, Kathrin, Meyer, Christian, Krieter, Joachim
Farrowing crates prevent sows during lactation from moving freely and interacting unrestrictedly with their piglets. The aim of this study was to compare sows during lactation in a group-housing system (GH; n=23) and sows in a conventional single-housing system (SH; n=24) with regard to their...
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Preference for the mother does not last long after weaning at 3 months of age in sheep
Contributor(s):: Ungerfeld, Rodolfo, Freitas-de-Melo, Aline, Nowak, Raymond, Lévy, Frederic
Ewes develop a strong selective bond with their offspring, which is set immediately after lambing and maintained until weaning, which in domestic sheep occurs when lambs are 4-5 months old. However, in productive systems lambs are weaned earlier, when they are 2-5 months old. The aim of this...
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Prolonged nest building increase the reproductive outcome in American female mink
Contributor(s):: Schou, Toke Munk, Palme, Rupert, Malmkvist, Jens
The timing of the onset of maternal-related nest building in American mink is unknown, and it is expected that farmed mink are highly motivated to perform nest building during times with restricted access to nesting material on mink farms. Not fulfilled motivations due to thwarting can lead to...
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Nest-building behaviour and activity budgets of sows provided with different materials
Contributor(s):: Rosvold, Ellen Marie, Newberry, Ruth C., Framstad, Tore, Andersen, Inger-Lise
Domestic sows are still highly motivated to build a nest before farrowing. Many pig houses have slurry systems that do not allow use of long straw or other bulky materials that could block the drains, which provides an incentive to investigate the functionality of finer-grained materials for nest...
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Sow free farrowing behaviour: Experiential, seasonal and individual variation
Contributor(s):: King, Rebecca L., Baxter, Emma M., Matheson, Stephanie M., Edwards, Sandra A.
Although sow confinement at farrowing is inherently stressful, farrowing crates remain in widespread commercial use. Sows adapt to their environment, however adaptation may be counter-productive if the farrowing system changes. The current study observed the behaviour of second parity sows...
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Do sows respond to sibling competition at the udder Day 1 post-partum?
Contributor(s):: Illmann, Gudrun, Leszkowová, Iva, Šimečková, Marie
The aim of the present follow-up study was to assess sibling competition during nursing on Day 1 post-partum (i.e., 24 h after the end of parturition), as well as whether sows respond to increased sibling competition. A total of 19 healthy sows and their piglets were directly observed and video...
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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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Behaviour of pre-pubertal gilts and its relationship to farrowing behaviour in conventional farrowing crates and loose-housed pens
| Contributor(s):: Ison, S. H., Wood, C. M., Baxter, E. M.
Individual variation in the reproductive performance of sows has the potential for greater negative impacts in loose-farrowing systems. Therefore, the ability to select gilts that will perform well would be a major advantage. This study investigated the behaviour of gilts during pre-pubertal...
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Flight distance and reaction to fawn handling are greater in high- than in low-ranked pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus) females
| Contributor(s):: Ungerfeld, R., Morales-Pineyrua, J. T., Freitas-de-Melo, A.
The flight distance from humans and the reaction of the mother to human handling of their offspring are measures that can be used to assess the quality of the human-animal relationship which could vary according to animals' position in a group. The objective was to determine if the flight...
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Achieving optimum performance in a loose-housed farrowing system for sows: the effects of space and temperature
| Contributor(s):: Baxter, E. M., Adeleye, O. O., Jack, M. C., Farish, M., Ison, S. H., Edwards, S. A.
Piglet survival relies on interactive influences of the sow, her piglets and their environment. There are a number of design challenges in a loose-housed farrowing and lactation system to optimise this dynamic, including achieving farrowing in the desired location (i.e. a protected nest area)...
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Mother-young behaviours at lambing in grazing ewes: effects of lamb sex and food restriction in pregnancy
| Contributor(s):: Freitas-De-Melo, A., Ungerfeld, R., Hotzel, M. J., Abud, M. J., Alvarez-Oxiley, A., Orihuela, A., Damian, J. P., Perez-Clariget, R.
This study investigated whether the level of pasture allowance from before conception until late pregnancy affects ewe-lamb behaviours at birth, and if those behaviours differ according to the sex of the lambs. We performed two experiments, in which 96 ewes were assigned to one of two nutritional...
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Patterns of brain activation when mothers view their own child and dog: an fMRI study
| Contributor(s):: Stoeckel, L. E., Palley, L. S., Gollub, R. L., Niemi, S. M., Evins, A. E.
Neural substrates underlying the human-pet relationship are largely unknown. We examined fMRI brain activation patterns as mothers viewed images of their own child and dog and an unfamiliar child and dog. There was a common network of brain regions involved in emotion, reward, affiliation, visual...
