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Who's afraid of the big bad glove? Testing for fear and its correlates in mink
Contributor(s):: Meagher, Rebecca K., Duncan, Ian, Bechard, Allison, Mason, Georgia J.
Fear in farm animals is a welfare and economic concern. For Scandinavian mink, the “stick test” is common for assessing fearfulness: a spatula is inserted into the cage and minks’ immediate responses are noted. However, on Ontario farms, fearfulness in the stick test was very rare and aggressive...
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Validation of an algorithm for real-time measurement of sheep activity in confinement by recording movement within a commercial weighing crate
Contributor(s):: Horton, Brian J., Miller, Dale R.
This study reports a method of measuring sheep activity in confinement based on recording movement of sheep during weighing. The aim was to show that an algorithm to analyse continuous weight records could be used to measure activity quickly and efficiently using commercial weighing equipment and...
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Selection for temperament in sheep: Domain-general and context-specific traits
Contributor(s):: Beausoleil, Ngaio J., Blache, Dominique, Stafford, Kevin J., Mellor, David J., Noble, Alasdair D. L.
Sheep at the University of Western Australia have been selectively bred for behavioral responses to isolation and human presence in an arena test, resulting in the creation of two divergent lines: More Active (MA) and Less Active (LA). The aim of this study was to determine whether selection was...
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Reducing the incidence of net cage biting and the expression of escape-related behaviors in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) with feeding and cage enrichment
Contributor(s):: Zimmermann, Emily W., Purchase, Craig F., Fleming, Ian A.
The escape of fish from aquaculture is a persistent economic problem for farmers as well as an environmental problem that threatens wild fish population as a consequence of potential negative ecological and genetic interactions. Farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) cause significant damage by...
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Reactivity to humans and fearfulness tests: Field validation in Polish Cold Blood Horses
Contributor(s):: Górecka-Bruzda, Aleksandra, Jastrzębska, Ewa, Sosnowska, Zofia, Jaworski, Zbigniew, Jezierski, Tadeusz, Chruszczewski, Michał H.
The aim of the present paper was to examine in field conditions the feasibility of the experimentally developed behavioural tests for assessment of two temperamental traits of cold blood horses: fearfulness and reactivity to humans. The predictive, convergent and discriminant validity of the...
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Predictive validity of a method for evaluating temperament in young guide and service dogs
Contributor(s):: Duffy, Deborah L., Serpell, James A.
As part of a collaborative project involving five guide and service dog organizations in the USA (Canine Companions for Independence, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Leader Dogs for the Blind and The Seeing Eye), volunteer puppy raisers provided information about the...
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Measures of behavioural reactivity and their relationships with production traits in sheep: A review
Contributor(s):: Dodd, Cathy L., Pitchford, Wayne S., Hocking Edwards, Janelle E., Hazel, Susan J.
This paper defines the concept of temperament and discusses the use of behavioural reactivity testing in sheep. The range of behavioural tests used in sheep are categorised and the aspects of behaviour reflected by each type of test discussed. The activation of nervous and endocrine pathways is...
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Individual differences in calf defence patterns in Red Angus beef cows
Contributor(s):: Flörcke, Cornelia, Engle, Terry E., Grandin, Temple, Deesing, Mark J.
The objective of this study was to evaluate differences in individual calf defence behaviour patterns and maternal protective behaviour of beef cows 24h after calving. A single herd was observed on an extensive ranch in Colorado, USA. A total of 341 cow–calf pairs (95% Red Angus and 5%...
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The genetics of temperament in Merino sheep and relationships with lamb survival
Contributor(s):: Plush, Kate J., Hebart, Michelle L., Brien, Forbes D., Hynd, Philip I.
Investigations were made into the genetics of several temperament traits in Merino ewes, with particular emphasis on those aspects which might be associated with maternal behaviour at lambing and consequently, the postnatal survival of lambs. If a beneficial relationship between ewe temperament...
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Early rearing interacts with temperament and housing to influence the risk for motor stereotypy in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)
Contributor(s):: Vandeleest, Jessica J., McCowan, Brenda, Capitanio, John P.
Laboratory and zoo housed non-human primates sometimes exhibit abnormal behaviors that are thought to reflect reduced well-being. Previous research attempted to identify risk factors to aid in the prevention and treatment of these behaviors, and focused on demographic (e.g. sex or age) and...
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Consistency of flight speed and response to restraint in a crush in dairy cattle
Contributor(s):: Gibbons, Jenny M., Lawrence, Alistair B., Haskell, Marie J.
Flight speed (FS) is an objective measure of the behavioural response to handling procedures in beef cattle but to date there is no published work on dairy cattle. It is useful to determine whether there is consistency in FS in dairy cattle, and assess the relationship between FS and other...
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Behavioural and corticosterone responses to capture and confinement of wild blackbirds (Turdus merula)
Contributor(s):: Adams, Nigel J., Farnworth, Mark J., Rickett, Jennifer, Parker, Kevin A., Cockrem, John F.
Capture and temporary confinement of wild birds are integral parts of wildlife management practice and research used, for example, during translocation or reintroduction initiatives. We report here on the behavioural and stress hormone (corticosterone) responses of wild blackbirds (Turdus merula)...
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Attachment security in companion dogs: adaptation of Ainsworth's strange situation and classification procedures to dogs and their human caregivers
Contributor(s):: Solomon, J., Beetz, A., Schoberl, I., Gee, N., Kotrschal, K.
This exploratory study describes the development of a classification system for dogs' attachment security to caregivers that adheres closely to Ainsworth's seminal methodology. Fifty-nine adult dogs and caregivers participated in a mildly threatening laboratory encounter with a stranger (TS) and...
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It's all about the sex, or is it? Humans, horses and temperament
Contributor(s):: Fenner, K., Caspar, G., Hyde, M., Henshall, C., Dhand, N., Probyn-Rapsey, F., Dashper, K., McLean, A., McGreevy, P.
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Predictive Models of Assistance Dog Training Outcomes Using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire and a Standardized Temperament Evaluation
Contributor(s):: Bray, E. E., Levy, K. M., Kennedy, B. S., Duffy, D. L., Serpell, J. A., MacLean, E. L.
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Personality is associated with feeding behavior and performance in dairy calves
Contributor(s):: Neave, H. W., Costa, J. H. C., Weary, D. M., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G.
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Subjective methods to quantify temperament in beef cattle are insensitive to the number and biases of observers
Contributor(s):: Parham, Jamie T., Tanner, Amy E., Wahlberg, Mark L., Grandin, Temple, Lewis, Ronald M.
Associations between excitable temperament and many economically relevant traits have been established, resulting in an increased focus on docility in breeding programs in cattle. Several methods have been proposed to quantify temperament during normal handling procedures, which appear to differ...
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Temperamental cattle acclimate more substantially to repeated handling
Contributor(s):: Parham, Jamie T., Tanner, Amy E., Barkley, Katharine, Pullen, Lyla, Wahlberg, Mark L., Swecker, William S., Lewis, Ronald M.
Temperament of cattle impacts efficiency of production systems, including animal well-being. In being heritable, temperament can be augmented through selection. Current methods to evaluate temperament in a production setting include chute score (CS), exit score (ES), and exit velocity (EV), which...
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Risk factors associated with stranger-directed aggression in domestic dogs
Contributor(s):: Flint, Hannah E., Coe, Jason B., Serpell, James A., Pearl, David L., Niel, Lee
Aggression in dogs is a safety concern both for humans and animals, and can lead to decreased animal welfare in affected dogs due to potential abuse, neglect, relinquishment or euthanasia. We examined risk factors associated with stranger-directed aggression in dogs using the previously...
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Inter- and intra-observer reliability of different methods for recording temperament in beef and dairy calves
Contributor(s):: Vogt, Anina, Aditia, Edit Lesa, Schlechter, Imke, Schütze, Susanne, Geburt, Katrin, Gauly, Matthias, König von Borstel, Uta
Breeding of cattle with docile temperament can simplify routine practices and enhance welfare of cattle in common production systems. The aim of the study was to compare and validate some aspects of assessment methods for temperament traits in cattle for their potential use in breeding...
