J. Rushen

Behavioural indicators of cow comfort: activity and resting behaviour of dairy cows in two types of housing

We explored which aspects of dairy cow behaviour provide measures of cow comfort and how housing affects resting time. Following a crossover design, we observed the behaviour of eight lactating Holstein cows kept for three weeks in stalls believed to represent a contrast in comfort. Cows individually housed in large pens with a mattress flooring lay down 4.2u2002h d−1 longer than cows housed in tie-stalls on a concrete floor, while cows in tie-stalls stood idle (without eating) for longer. Cows stood up and lay down more often in the large pens and the duration of individual standing bouts was longer in tie-stalls. We found no differences in eating time and few differences in body, head or leg positions cows assumed while lying. There was little evidence of diurnal rhythm in activity. A lower frequency of standing and lying and an increase in the duration of lying bouts suggests that in tie-stalls cows are more reluctant to change position from lying to standing. The type of pen or stall in which cows are hou...

Preparturient variation in progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin and somatostatin in relation to nest building in sows

Abstract Progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin and somatostatin concentrations in the plasma of ten multiparous Swedish Landrace sows were measured during the last 72 h prepartum and related to nest-building behaviour. The beginning of nest building was determined when the sow started to take straw from the rack and to deposit it. Rooting, pawing and arranging straw, and taking and carrying straw were recorded as separate behaviour components. Nest building started within 24 h and peaked 6–12 h before parturition. Only prolactin concentrations 2 days before parturition were independently correlated with the nest-building onset. Prolactin levels started to increase before the nest-building onset and only reached maximum values after it, suggesting that it is the preparturient rise in prolactin concentration that initiates nest building. The duration of carrying and depositing straw correlated positively with progesterone concentrations and negatively with somatostatin concentrations 2 days before parturition. Nest building ceased within 4 h before parturition. Oxytocin concentration 8 h before parturition was related to the end of nest building. The results suggest that nest building in sows is under multiple hormonal control and that the beginning and end, and the different behaviour types are related to different parturient endocrine changes.

Nonnutritive sucking by the calf and postprandial secretion of insulin, CCK, and gastrin.

Early weaned calves were allowed to suck on a dry rubber teat after drinking milk, and samples of blood from the hepatic portal vein and from the jugular vein were assayed for insulin, CCK, and gastrin to determine if nonnutritive sucking affected digestive hormone secretion. Postprandial changes in concentrations of all hormones showed a biphasic response with an initial rapid increase, later followed by a slower increase. In the portal vein, peak postprandial concentrations of insulin and concentrations of CCK 60 min after the meal were higher when the calves could suck the teat after the meal. There was a positive correlation between the time spent sucking the teat and the increase in insulin and CCK concentrations. Nonnutritive sucking did not significantly increase gastrin concentrations, nor were concentrations of insulin and CCK in the jugular vein affected. The performance of normal appetitive feeding behavior can directly affect digestive hormone secretion even if nutrient intake is not affected. Deprivation of normal sucking behavior cannot be assumed to be inconsequential for the well being of calves.

Behavior of dairy calves after a low dose of bacterial endotoxin

The aim of this experiment was to better describe early behavioral responses of calves to illness to help improve early detection. We examined the behavior of calves after injections of very low doses of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Fifteen dairy calves of 2 ages (3 and 20 wk), housed in individual pens and fed milk and concentrates with free access to hay and water, were injected i.v. with 1 of 2 low doses (0.025 or 0.05 microg/kg of BW) of LPS before feed delivery with saline injections as a control using a crossover design. Fifteen calves showed an increased body temperature (>39.5 degrees C) lasting 2 to 8 h, with a maximum temperature of 40.59 +/- 0.52 degrees C attained 4.62 +/- 0.96 h after the LPS injection. Video recordings were used to measure durations of behaviors during a 4-h period when body temperatures were elevated. We found a decreased duration of rumination (LPS vs. saline 6.42 +/- 3.69 min vs. 24.57 +/- 6.64 min; P = 0.001) and hay eating (23.11 +/- 6.93 min vs. 31.52 +/- 7.54 min; P = 0.04), a decreased frequency of self-grooming (13.47 +/- 1.75 vs. 24.07 +/- 3.12; P = 0.008), and an increased duration of lying inactive (132.63 +/- 10.60 min vs. 104.39 +/- 12.63 min; P = 0.02). There was an increased bout frequency (P = 0.002) and mean bout duration (P = 0.005) of standing inactive. Changes in these behaviors may indicate the beginning of illness. Time spent lying down and amount of concentrate and milk consumed were not affected. There were no differences between the 2 doses and no interactions between LPS and the age of the calves. Very low doses of LPS seem promising to understand early development of sickness behaviors in dairy calves. However, the short duration of the effect and differences between calves in sensitivity to LPS must be considered as limitations to the effectiveness of this model.

Stress-induced hypoalgesia and opioid inhibition of pigs' responses to restraint

Pigs responses to physical restraint were examined in order to detect a stress-induced increase in endogenous opioid activity. Tail-flick latencies in response to a source of thermal energy were used to assess the sensitivity of pigs to pain. Restraining pigs for 15 min with a nose snare resulted in a temporary increase in tail-flick latencies that was apparent after 5 min, absent after 30 min and was blocked by naloxone. Tail-flick latencies were unaffected by IV ACTH injections and were not related to plasma cortisol concentrations. Naloxone increased the pigs vocalization during the restraint and prolonged the elevation of plasma cortisol levels that followed the restraint. The cortisol response to naloxone was larger than when the animals were not restrained. The results indicate a transient, opioid-based hypoalgesia following restraint stress that is not a result of ACTH or cortisol secretion. Endogenous opioids inhibit the pigs behavioral and pituitary-adrenocortical responses to the restraint stress.

Stereotypic behavior, endogenous opioids, and postfeeding hypoalgesia in pigs ☆

Tethered sows, some of which performed marked behavioral stereotypies after feeding, were injected IM with 1 mg/kg of naloxone 30 min before feeding (with 2 saline control days). Tail-flick latencies on a pain-sensitivity test were recorded before and after feeding. On control days, tail-flick latencies after feeding were longer than those before feeding, and this effect was abolished by naloxone pretreatment. Thus, there is an opioid-based hypoalgesia after feeding. However, sows with marked behavioral stereotypies had shorter tail-flick latencies after feeding. Thus, we have no evidence that performance of behavioral stereotypies results in increased opioid activity. Naloxone reduced the time spent in behavioral stereotypies by approximately 30% but this may be due to a reduction in time spent active. Naloxone increased the frequency and reduced the mean duration of bouts of chain manipulating, operating the drinker and rooting. We suggest that endogenous opioids are involved in the positive feedback that maintains the persistence of behavior and inhibits switching between different activities.

Automated monitoring of behavioural-based animal welfare indicators

On-farm scoring of behavioural indicators of animal welfare is challenging but the increasing availability of low cost technology now makes automated monitoring of animal behaviour feasible. We discuss some of the issues with using automated methods to measure animal behaviour within the context of assessing animal welfare. Automated feeders (eg for dairy calves) can help measure the degree that animals are hungry and have potential to identify sick animals even in group housing. Such equipment is best used for longitudinal studies of individual animals rather than making comparisons between farms. Devices attached to animals (eg accelerometers or GPS devices) can help measure the activity levels of animals with a high degree of accuracy and can easily be transported between farms, making them best suited for welfare assessment at the group level. Automated image analysis has great potential to assess movement within groups of animals, but following individual animals can be difficult. The techniques have been validated against traditional methods (eg direct observation). The accuracy of measures taken automatically varies between methods but can be increased by combining measures. Technological developments have provided us with a variety of tools that can be used to monitor behaviour automatically, and these have great potential to improve our ability to monitor animal welfare indicators on-farm. However, it is important that methods be developed to measure a wider range of behaviour patterns. Animal welfare assessment schemes should not place undue emphasis on behavioural indicators solely on the basis that they can be monitored automatically.

Effect of lameness on dairy cows' visits to automatic milking systems

Lameness is a major welfare problem for dairy cows and has important economic consequences. On-farm detection of lameness is difficult, and automated methods may be useful for early diagnoses. Lameness may reduce the efficiency of automated milking systems (AMS) if lame cows are less willing to visit the automatic milking unit voluntarily and poor attendance at milking units may help detect lameness. To determine whether a low frequency of visits in an AMS could serve as an indicator of lameness, data on the frequency of visits of 578 cows in 12 AMS on eight farms were collected. From each AMS, 22 cows (from a mean of 54 cows per AMS), were classified as either the 11 highest visitors or the 11 lowest visitors based on the total number of visits to the milking unit. These selected cows (n= 256) were videotaped while walking in a standard test area and their gait scored on a 5-point scale (1 = sound 5 = severely lame). Intra- and inter-observer reliability values between and within observers were high for ...

Comparison of hot-iron and freeze branding on cortisol levels and pain sensitivity in beef cattle

Thirty yearling (450–500u2002kg) heifers of mixed breeds (Hereford, Charolais, Angus and Shorthorn) were habituated to handling over a 14u2002±u20022u2002d period before branding and were fitted non-surgically with jugular catheters 1 before branding. On the day of branding, heifers were assigned to hot-iron brand (H), freeze brand (F), or control (C) treatments according to a predetermined randomized branding order (nu2002=u200210 per treatment). Blood samples were obtained at 20 and 0u2002min before and 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160 and 180u2002min after application of branding treatments. To detect stress-induced analgesia, each animals sensitivity to pain was assessed by measuring the time it took them to respond to a thermal energy source (laser) applied to their hind legs. Foot-lift latencies were obtained 0, 10, 20, 60 and 120u2002min after the treatments were imposed. Sensitivity to touch also was assessed 1 and 7u2002d after branding by placing pressure on the brand site and measuring the amount of movement by the animals. Both H...

Stereotypic behavior and heart rate in pigs

Heart rate responses to feeding of both loose-housed and tethered sows, some of which engaged in persistent behavioral stereotypies, were recorded telemetrically in order to determine if stereotypic behavior occurs in response to, and serves to reduce increased sympathetic nervous activity. Heart rates rose in response to feeding (after which stereotypic behavior is most common) and this was greater for tethered sows. This response was partly blocked by a beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist (carazolol), but not by naloxone, although the latter tended to lead to overall increases in heart rate. Thus long-term tethering of sows leads to greater sympathetic nervous responses to feeding. No consistent relationships were found between heart rate and the performance of stereotypic behavior. In Experiment 1, using sows tethered for 6-8 months, neither basal heart rates nor heart rates following naloxone or carazolol differed between high- and low-stereotyping sows. In Experiment 2, using sows tethered for 1-2 months, high-stereotyping sows had lower basal heart rates than low-stereotyping sows. Marked reductions in heart rate caused by a beta-adrenoreceptor blocker did not lead to any change in stereotypic behavior, and preventing stereotypic behavior led to a reduction not an increase in heart rates. The results suggest that stereotypies are performed in situations where heart rate is high, but they provide no evidence that stereotypies reduce this heart rate.