Temple Grandin

Behavioral agitation during handling of cattle is persistent over time

Abstract Cattle which become extremely behaviorally agitated during restraint and handling are dangerous to handlers and are more likely to become stressed. Fifty-three Gelbvich×Simmental×Charolais cross bulls and 102 steers were restrained for blood testing every 30 days in a squeeze chute (crush). At the same time they were also weighed in a single animal scale. Out of four consecutive restraint sessions. five (9%) of the bulls became extremely behaviorally agitated every time they were restrained. During three consecutive restraint sessions, six (6%) of the steers were always behaviorally agitated. Of the bulls, 13 (25%) were very calm and stood still in the squeeze chute. Of the steers. 40 (40%) were always very calm. The implications of the study are that behaviorally agitated behavior is very persistent over a series of handling and restraint sessions, and cattle which repeatedly become agitated during restraint should be culled. There was also a relationship between balking and temperament rating. Agitated bulls balked less during entry into the squeeze chute or scale. Cattle also balked less while entering the scale. This indicates that restraint in the squeeze chute was more aversive than the scale.

Bos indicus-cross feedlot cattle with excitable temperaments have tougher meat and a higher incidence of borderline dark cutters

Temperament ratings based on a numerical scale (chute score) were assessed during weighing and handling of cattle at a feedlot. Breeds studied included Braford, Red Brangus and Simbrah. Cattle were fed to a constant fat thickness of 9 to 13 mm (target = 11 mm) over the 12th rib as determined by periodic ultrasound measurements. Cattle were slaughtered in a commercial slaughter plant and stunned by captive bolt. Temperament rating had a significant effect on the incidence of borderline dark cutters which were downgraded by a USDA grader (P = 0.01). Temperament score also had a significant effect on tenderness (P < 0.001) as evaluated by Warner-Bratzler Shear (WBS) force at day 14 post mortem. The calmest animals which stood still when restrained in a hydraulic squeeze chute had a mean WBS force of 2.86 ± 11 kg and cattle which became highly agitated and struggled violently during restraint averaged 3.63 ± 19 kg. Forty percent of these cattle had WBS force values which were over 3.9 kg which is a threshold value for acceptability in food service establishments. These data show that cattle with the most excitable temperament ratings produce carcasses with tougher meat and a higher incidence of borderline dark cutters than cattle with calm temperament ratings.

An Inside View of Autism

I am a 44-year old autistic woman who has a successful international career designing livestock equipment. I completed my Ph.D. in Animal Science at the University of Illinois in Urbana and I am now an Assistant Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Early intervention at age 21/2 helped me overcome my handicap.

The feasibility of using vocalization scoring as an indicator of poor welfare during cattle slaughter

Abstract Vocalizations of cattle in six commercial slaughter plants were tabulated during handling in the forcing pen stunning box and single file race. Each animal was scored as being either a vocalizer or nonvocalizer. Vocalizations that occurred in the lairage pens were not counted. A total of 1125 animals were observed during normal operations and 112 cattle vocalized. All vocalizations, with the exception of two, occurred immediately after a stressful event such as electric prodding, slipping on the stunning box floor, missed captive bolt stuns, or excessive pressure exerted on the animals body by a restraining device powered by pneumatic cylinders. Electric prodding was associated with vocalization in 72 animals. In four plants, cattle were moved quietly at a walk in small groups, and electric prods were used only on cattle that refused to move. The percentages of cattle that vocalized in the stunning box, single file race and forcing pen in these four plants were 1.1%, 2.6%, 6.6% and 7.5%. Vocalizations were associated with slipping on the stunning box floor, excessive pressure from a powered tailgate and electric prodding when an animal balked because it saw a moving person up ahead. In two other plants, 90% and 76% of the cattle were prodded with an electric prod. When this excessive prod usage was stopped, vocalizations dropped from 32% to 12% of the cattle in the first plant, and from 12% to 3% in the second plant. The remaining vocalizations were due to missed stuns and excessive pressure from a restraining device. Vocalization scoring could be used as a simple method for detecting welfare problems that need to be corrected.

Human interaction and cortisol : Can human contact reduce stress for shelter dogs?

Animal shelters are an extremely stressful environment for a dog, most specifically due to social isolation and novel surroundings. The stress response of dogs housed in this environment may be alleviated through human interaction shortly after arrival. During their second day in a public animal shelter, adult stray dogs were either engaged in a human contact session or not. The session involved taking the dog into an outdoor enclosure, playing with the dog, grooming, petting and reviewing basic obedience commands. Each dog interacted with a human for approximately 45 min. Salivary cortisol levels were examined from each dog on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 9th day of housing. Animals that engaged in a human contact session had lower cortisol levels on day 3 than animals that did not. Breed type, sex and age did not have an effect on cortisol levels on any day measured. A human interaction session can be beneficial to both animal welfare and adoption procedures. The current study not only utilized the human contact session as a treatment to reduce stress but also as a resource for individual temperament/personality information that could be later used to facilitate compatible adoptions. Human interaction may be an effective means of reducing the cortisol response of dogs in the aversive shelter environment.

Auditing animal welfare at slaughter plants.

The OIE Welfare Standards on slaughter transport, and killing of animals for disease control are basic minimum standards that every country should follow. The OIE, European Union, and many private standards used by commercial industry have an emphasis on animal based outcome standards instead of engineering based standards. Numerical scoring is used by both private industry and some governments to access animal welfare at slaughter plants. Five variables are measured. They are: 1) Percentage of animals effectively stunned on the first attempt, 2) Percentage rendered insensible, 3) Percentage that vocalize (bellow, moo, squeal) during handling and stunning, 4) Percentage that fall during handling, and 5) Percentage moved with an electric goad. Each one of these critical control points measures the outcome of many problems. A good animal welfare auditing system also has standards that prohibit really bad practices such as dragging, dropping, throwing, puntilla, and hoisting live animals before ritual slaughter. On farm and transport problems that can be measured at the slaughter plant are: percentage of lame animals, percentage of thin animals, percentage of dirty animals, percentage with sores, bruises or lesions, death losses, morbidity, and percentage of birds with broken wings and legs.

The reluctance of cattle to change a learned choice may confound preference tests

Choice testing utilizing a Y-maze has been successfully used to test animal preferences. In this experiment, 12 female Angus×Hereford×Simmental×Charolais heifers were given a choice of walking through a squeeze chute (crush) or being restrained in a squeeze chute. The objective of the study was to determine if previously learned choices in a Y-maze would confound future choices. A start box led to two races in a Y configuration. There was a hydraulic squeeze chute at the end of each race. Animals that chose the right side were allowed to walk through the squeeze chute and animals that chose the left side were restrained in the squeeze chute for 30 s. During eight choice trials, the heifers had a definite preference for the ‘walk’ side. There were 64 walk choices and 32 ‘restraint’ choices. For six additional trials, the restraint and walk sides were switched. Walk choices dropped to 16 and restraint choices rose to 56. The resistance to switching effect was significant (P<0.01). Significantly more heifers vacillated (looked back and forth) at the decisionpoint after the sides were switched (P<0.01). The switch had been perceived by the animals. There is a tendency for cattle to resist changing a choice once they are accustomed to a treatment being associated with a specific side.

Observations of cattle behavior applied to the design of cattle-handling facilities.

Field observations were conducted while cattle were being handled in abattoirs, auction markets, yards on ranches, dipping vats and restraining chutes. Mature cattle and calves of many different breeds were observed under commercial conditions. A review of the literature and the observations indicated that cattle can be most efficiently handled in yards and races which have long narrow diagonal pens on a 60° angle. In yards designed by the author, cattle which are waiting to be sorted are held in a 3–3.5 m-wide curved race with an inside radius of 7.5–11 m. From the curved race, the animals can either be sorted into the diagonal pens, or they can be directed to the squeeze chute, dipping vat, or restraining chute at the abattoir. The handler works from a catwalk which is located along the inner radius of the race. This facilitates the movement of the animals because they will tend to circle around the handler in order to maintain visual contact. The curved holding race terminates in a round crowding pen which leads to a curved single file race. Cattle have 360° panoramic vision and poor depth perception. Sharp contrasts of light and dark should be avoided. Single file races, forcing pens, and other areas where cattle are crowded should have high solid fences. This prevents the animals from observing people, vehicles, and other distracting objects outside the facility.

Survey of Dairy Management Practices on One Hundred Thirteen North Central and Northeastern United States Dairies

The objective was to conduct a broad survey of dairy management practices that have an effect on animal well-being. Dairies were visited during the fall and winter of 2005 and 2006 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and New York. Data were collected on 113 dairies on colostrum feeding, dehorning, tail-docking, euthanasia methods, producer statements about welfare, use of specialized calf-raising farms (custom), level of satisfaction with calf-raising by producers, and cow behavior. Calves were raised by the owner on 50.4% of dairies; 30.1% were raised on custom farms during the milk-feeding period, 18.6% were custom raised after weaning, and 1% sold calves with the option to buy them back as first-lactation heifers. A total of 51.8% of producers were very satisfied with their current calf-raising methods. Three feedings of colostrum were fed to the calves on 23.9% of dairies, 2 feedings on 39.8% of farms, 1 feeding on 31.0% of farms, and colostrum replacement products were fed on 5.3% of farms. Many farms (61.9%) provided 3.8 L at first feeding. Calves were dehorned at different ages by various methods. By 8 wk, 34.5% of calves were dehorned. By 12 wk, 78.8% of calves were dehorned. The majority of calves were dehorned by hot iron (67.3%). The remainder were dehorned by gouging (8.8%), paste (9.7%), saw (3.5%), or unknown by calf owner (10.6%). Anesthetic use was reported by 12.4% of dairy owners and analgesia use by 1.8%. Tail-docking was observed on 82.3% of dairies. The most common reported docking time was pre- or postcalving (35.2%). The second most commonly reported time was d 1 (15.4%). Rubber band was the most common method (92.5%), followed by amputation (7.5%). Three dairies amputated precalving, 1 at 2 mo and 3 at d 1 or 2. Cow hygiene was the most common reason given to dock (73.5%), followed by parlor worker comfort (17.4%) and udder health (1.0%). Producers reported 2.0% of cows obviously lame. Gun was the preferred euthanasia method (85.7%), followed by i.v. euthanasia (8.0%), live pick-up (1.8%), and nondisclosure (3.5%). Most producers (77.9%) stated that cows were in an improved environment as compared with 20 yr ago, whereas 8.0% stated conditions were worse, and 14.2% were undecided. Dairies with higher percentages of cows that either approached or touched the observer had lower somatic cell counts. The survey results showed management practices that were important for animal welfare.

Cattle with hair whorl patterns above the eyes are more behaviorally agitated during restraint

Hair whorl position on the forehead may be of value in selecting breeding cattle for a calm temperament. A total of 1500 cattle weighing 180–360 kg were temperament rated on a four-point scale. Seventy-two percent of the cattle were European × British breed crosses and 28% were Zebu × dairy breed crosses from Mexico. Cattle with a round hair whorl located above the eyes became significantly more agitated while they were restrained in a squeeze chute (crush) compared to cattle with a hair whorl located either between the eyes or below the eyes. For both the Bos taurus and Bos indicus crossbreeds, animals with hair whorls located below the eyes were rated calmer. There is a positive linear relationship (P < 0.001) between cattle temperament while restrained in a squeeze chute and the location of facial hair whorls. The cattle observed in this study were extensively raised and had a large flight zone when approached by people. Casual observations indicate that the relationship between hair whorl position and temperament is most easily observed in cattle that do not have daily close contact with people.