Mette S. Herskin

Dairy cows’ fear of people: social learning, milk yield and behaviour at milking

We examined the effects of the presence of an unfamiliar, a gentle or an aversive handler during milking on behaviour and milk yield, and whether cows can learn to approach or avoid a handler by observing the neighbouring cows responses. In Experiment 1, Danish Friesian cows (n=16) were treated gently (offering hay and concentrates) by one handler and aversively (hit every 15s on the head with the hand) by another handler for six periods of 2min each. The two handlers wore different coloured overalls, and each cow received either gentle or aversive treatment in the first week and the other treatment the following week. All cows kept a longer distance to the aversive than to the gentle handler in a 1min test after treatment. Milk yield and residual milk did not differ when the aversive or the gentle handler was standing in front of the cow during milking, although the cows moved their legs and tail less when the aversive handler was present. When an unfamiliar person was standing in front of the cows during milking, behaviour and milk yield did not differ from control milkings. Cows and heifers (n=10) that had observed their neighbours receiving gentle treatment by one handler and aversive treatment from another handler did not differ in the distance they kept from these two handlers. In Experiment 2, cows (n=15) that had observed the neighbours receiving a gentle treatment (eight times for 2min) kept a shorter distance to that handler after treatment of their neighbours, and the distance they kept was correlated with the distance kept by the neighbouring cows. This suggests that responses of observer cows may be affected by the responses of the cows being treated. The cows rapidly learned to avoid an aversive handler, but although the cows showed clear avoidance response to the aversive handler there was no effect on milk yield when the aversive handler was present at milking.

Effects of acute stressors on nociception, adrenocortical responses and behavior of dairy cows.

Effects of acute stressors on behavioral, adrenocortical and nociceptive responses were examined in 24 dairy cows kept in tie stalls, using 15 min of social isolation in novel surroundings (ISOL), fixation by the head in the home stall (FIX) and the provision of novel neighbors/stall (NEIGH) as acute stressors as well as a control treatment (CON). Each cow was exposed to one treatment daily in a balanced order. All stressors led to signs of hypoalgesia as indicated by slower (P=0.01) and reduced responses (P<0.10) toward nociceptive laser stimulation after exposure to the acute stressors. ISOL, however, had stronger effects than FIX or NEIGH. ISOL or FIX led to increased plasma concentration of cortisol (P<0.001), whereas NEIGH or CON did not. The behavioral responses were affected by treatments as well, as shown by decreased rumination for all stressors (P<0.001) and a gradual increase in active avoidance from CON to NEIGH to FIX (P<0.001). Furthermore, exposure to NEIGH led to increased exploration (P<0.001), aggression (P<0.10) and self-grooming behavior (P<0.10) compared with the CON treatment. The results suggest that nociceptive changes are part of responses toward acute stress in dairy cows. The nociceptive changes, however, were not direct reflections of the adrenocortical or behavioral responses toward the acute stressors. Therefore, quantification of nociceptive changes, in combination with behavioral and physiological registrations, can be one way to broaden the range of biological systems, considered for the study of animals under stress, and thereby extend the understanding of responses toward acute stress in dairy cows.

A general reaction pattern across situations in prepubertal gilts

Abstract In order to elucidate whether consistency exists in the reactions of gilts to various challenging situations, 56 prepubertal crossbred Landrace/Yorkshire gilts were subjected to a Food Competition Test, an Open Field Test, a Human Test and a Social Test. The undisturbed behaviour was video recorded in the home pen before the tests were performed. Factor analysis on open field data revealed five factors, selected by the criterium of the eigenvalue being bigger than one: (1) immobility, (2) exploratory locomotion, (3) non-exploratory locomotion, (4) object exploration, and (5) central position in the test arena. Factor analysis on Human Test data resulted in five factors: (1) exploration, (2) inactivity, (3) vocalisation, (4) immobility, and (5) escape. Significant correlations were found between the Open Field Test and the Human Test, between the Human Test and the Social Test and between the Food Competition Test and the Human Test. Only a tendency to a correlation was found between the Open Field Test and the Social Test. In conclusion in this investigation the gilts showed a general reactivity which was consistent across non-social situations and also tended to be so in a social situation with an unknown pig. Future investigations of relations between social and non-social situation, should focus on social contexts where the individuality of the animal can be tested, to prevent interference form group dynamics, and compare this measure with reactivity in non-social situations.

Sickness behavior in dairy cows during Escherichia coli mastitis.

The consequences of mastitis in terms of dairy cow behavior are relatively unknown. Future assessment of dairy cow welfare during mastitis will be facilitated by knowledge about the potential of mastitis to induce sickness behavior. Our aim was to examine behavior of dairy cows in the period from 2 d before (d -2 and -1) to 3 d (d 0, 1, and 2) after experimental intramammary challenge with Escherichia coli. Effects of experimentally induced mastitis on behavior were examined in 20 primiparous Danish Holstein-Friesian cows, all 3 to 6 wk after calving and kept in tie stalls. After evening milking on d 0, each cow received an intramammary infusion with 20 to 40 cfu of E. coli in 1 healthy front quarter. Paraclinical and bacteriological examinations were conducted to confirm infection. Half of the cows were subjected to liver and udder biopsies twice during the trial. Behavior was video-recorded on 5 consecutive days, d -2 to +2 after challenge when the cows were not disturbed by humans. The behavior of the animals was compared among all days. Infection with E. coli altered the behavior of the dairy cows. Time spent feeding was lower in the initial 24 h after infection compared with that on the other days (16.6±1.1, 16.5±1.0, 13.2±1.2, 18.1±1.1, and 16.0±0.8% of time for d -2, -1, 0, 1, and 2, respectively). The duration of standing idle increased on d 0 compared with that on the control days and d 1 and 2 (29.4±2.6, 28.0±2.3, 39.1±2.6, 31.4±3.8, and 25.9±2.6% of time for d -2, -1, 0, 1 and 2, respectively). The frequency of self-grooming behavior per hour decreased in the initial 24h compared with that on d -2, -1, and 2 (4.1±0.8, 5.4±1.9, 3.2±0.6, 3.6±0.6, and 4.8±1.0 for d -2, -1, 0, 1, and 2, respectively). Likewise, duration of rumination and frequency of turning the head against the udder decreased in the first days after infection (rumination: 32.2±1.6, 34.8±1.8, 27.9±1.7, 30.0±2.6, and 34.8±1.7% of time; and frequency of turning head: 0.6±0.1, 0.6±0.1, 0.3±0.1, 0.3±0.1, and 0.6±0.1 per hour for d -2, -1, 0, 1 and 2, respectively). The cows subjected to biopsies showed an overall decreased lying time during the entire observation period (36.3±1.5 vs. 46.1±2.2% of time) but not directly related to the period after the biopsies. Dairy cows show classic signs of illness behavior in the hours after intramammary challenge with E. coli. This knowledge can be useful for the development of welfare assessment protocols, early disease detection, and for future work aimed at understanding the behavioral needs of dairy cows suffering from mastitis.

Road transport of farm animals: effects of journey duration on animal welfare

Transport of farm animals gives rise to concern about their welfare. Specific attention has been given to the duration of animal transport, and maximum journey durations are used in legislation that seek to minimise any negative impact of transport on animal welfare. This paper reviews the relatively few scientific investigations into effects of transport duration on animal welfare in cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and poultry. From the available literature, we attempt to distinguish between aspects, which will impair welfare on journeys of any duration, such as those associated with loading, and those aspects that may be exacerbated by journey time. We identify four aspects of animal transport, which have increasing impact on welfare as transport duration increases. These relate to (i) the physiological and clinical state of the animal before transport; and - during transport - to (ii) feeding and watering; (iii) rest and (iv) thermal environment. It is thus not journey duration per se but these associated negative aspects that are the cause of compromised welfare. We suggest that with a few exceptions, transport of long duration is possible in terms of animal welfare provided that these four issues can be dealt with for the species and the age group of the animals that are transported.

Nociceptive responses to thermal and mechanical stimulations in awake pigs

Porcine skin exhibits a high degree of homology to human skin, and the pig has recently been used as a cutaneous pain model. However, before the full potential of this novel in vivo cutaneous pain model can be achieved, several methodological aspects related to the management of awake animal studies in a large species require further examination. This manuscript describes the initial development of a porcine model of cutaneous nociception and focuses on interactions between the sensory modality, body size and the anatomical location of the stimulation site.

Behavioral changes in freestall-housed dairy cows with naturally occurring clinical mastitis

Dairy cows exhibit classic signs of sickness behavior during mastitis. However, knowledge about the consequences of naturally occurring mastitis in freestall-housed dairy cows, milked in automatic milking systems, is lacking. The aim of the present study was to describe the behavior of dairy cows after diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of mastitis. In the days before and after antibiotic treatment, the milking behavior, feeding, and activity were examined in 30 mastitic and 30 control Danish Holstein-Friesian cows kept in freestalls and milked by an automatic milking system. Sickness behavior was evident in the mastitic dairy cows and local clinical signs in the udder as well as behavioral changes persisted beyond the 3 d of antibiotic treatment. In the days before diagnosis and treatment, feed intake was reduced compared with the control animals. Although reduced by the antibiotic treatment, this difference persisted until at least 10 d after diagnosis. Sick cows spent less time lying in the initial days after treatment, reversing to the level of the control cows within the 10 d posttreatment period. In the 48 h before antibiotic treatment, the mastitic cows showed increased restlessness during milking, as seen by a higher frequency of tripping and kicking. Mastitic cows continued to show increased kicking during milking even after the antibiotic treatment period. These results show that the behavioral changes induced by naturally occurring mastitis persisted beyond the days of antibiotic treatment, thereby calling for further investigation into management of mastitic dairy cows to optimize recovery and ensure animal welfare during the recovery period after clinical mastitis.

Decubital shoulder ulcers in sows: a review of classification, pain and welfare consequences.

Decubital shoulder ulcers are lesions on the shoulders of sows kept in production systems, reported to have a relatively high prevalence, and to some extent be comparable with human pressure ulcers. In sows, the ulcers are caused by pressure inflicted by the flooring, leading to oxygen deficiency in the skin and the underlying tissue. This paper reviews existing knowledge about decubital shoulder ulcers in sows, focusing on the pathogenesis, classification and consequences in terms of pain and animal welfare. On the basis of available human as well as animal literature, we describe the primary causal factors, underlying mechanisms, suggested direction of progression as well as temporal development. We review suggested scales for the classification of decubital shoulder ulcers, and argue that none of these are useful for the classification of decubital shoulder ulcers in live sows. The knowledge of the welfare consequences of decubital shoulder ulcers is limited. On the basis of the tissue structures that are involved, we assume that the development and presence of decubital shoulder ulcers in sows are a painful and prolonged condition. It is concluded that the extent of the welfare problem related to decubital shoulder ulcers cannot be fully determined until a valid ante-mortem classification system is available, and knowledge about the duration of the condition (including the various stages), as well as the possible consequences in terms of pain or discomfort have been established.

Effects of tail docking and docking length on neuroanatomical changes in healed tail tips of pigs

In pig production, piglets are tail docked at birth in order to prevent tail biting later in life. In order to examine the effects of tail docking and docking length on the formation of neuromas, we used 65 pigs and the following four treatments: intact tails (n=18); leaving 75% (n=17); leaving 50% (n=19); or leaving 25% (n=11) of the tail length on the pigs. The piglets were docked between day 2 and 4 after birth using a gas-heated apparatus, and were kept under conventional conditions until slaughter at 22 weeks of age, where tails were removed and examined macroscopically and histologically. The tail lengths and diameters differed at slaughter (lengths: 30.6±0.6; 24.9±0.4; 19.8±0.6; 8.7±0.6 cm; P<0.001; tail diameter: 0.5±0.03; 0.8±0.02; 1.0±0.03; 1.4±0.04 cm; P<0.001, respectively). Docking resulted in a higher proportion of tails with neuromas (64 v. 0%; P<0.001), number of neuromas per tail (1.0±0.2 v. 0; P<0.001) and size of neuromas (1023±592 v. 0 μm; P<0.001). The results show that tail docking piglets using hot-iron cautery causes formation of neuromas in the outermost part of the tail tip. The presence of neuromas might lead to altered nociceptive thresholds, which need to be confirmed in future studies.

Effects of percutaneous needle liver biopsy on dairy cow behaviour

In cattle, percutaneous needle liver biopsy is used for scientific examination of liver metabolism. The impact of the biopsy procedure is, however, poorly investigated. Our aim was to examine the behaviour of dairy cows during and after liver biopsy. Data were collected from 18 dry cows. Percutaneous needle liver biopsies (after administration of local anaesthesia (2% Procaine)) and blood samples were taken during restraining. During the control treatment, animals were restrained and blood sampled. During the biopsy procedure, cows showed increased restlessness (P=0.008), frequency of head shaking (P=0.016), and decreased rumination (P=0.064). After biopsies, tail pressing (P=0.016) and time spent perching (P=0.058) increased. Time spent upright (P=0.10) and number of leg movements (P=0.033) increased during the night as compared to controls. Thus, liver biopsy induced behavioural changes for up to 19 h--and particularly for behaviour previously associated with pain. Even though the exact welfare impact of percutaneous needle liver biopsies in cows is not known, and the magnitude of the behavioural changes was limited, pain always has negative effects on animal welfare. Therefore, if the present biopsy procedure--involving several biopsy passes--is to be used, improvement of the anaesthetic protocol as well as the inclusion of analgesics should be considered.