Similarity in Temporal Movement Patterns in Laying Hens Increases with Time and Social Association.

We explored the relationship between social associations and individual activity patterns in domestic hens. Out of 1420 laying hens, 421 hens were equipped with RFID tags attached to RFID-specific leg bands (leg bands from Company Roxan, Selkirk, Scotland) to continuously track their change in location across four different areas (one indoor and three outdoor areas). Using a combination of social network analysis for quantifying social relationships and dynamic time warping for characterizing the movement patterns of hens, we found that hens were consistent in their individual variation in temporal activity and maintained stable social relationships in terms of preferred association partners. In addition to being consistent, social associations correlated with movement patterns and this correlation strengthened over the period of observation, suggesting that the animals aligned their activity patterns with those of their social affiliates. These results demonstrate the importance of social relationships when considering the expression of individual behaviour. Notably, differences in temporal patterns emerge despite rather homogeneous rearing conditions, same environment, and low genetic diversity. Thus, while variation in behavioural phenotypes can be observed across isolated individuals, this study shows that the social environment within a group can shape and enhance variation in general movement patterns of individual animals

Behavior of childhood eye conditions in the Cienfuegos province. 2019

Background: In pediatric ages, the early diagnosis of any ophthalmic disease is of great relevance, since, if they remain untreated, vision damage will be irreversible, and the consequences, for life.Objective: to describe the behavior of eye conditions in pediatric patients.Methods: an observational, descriptive study was carried out at the Paquito González Cueto Pediatric University Hospital in Cienfuegos. All the patients attended (N = 1404) during the year 2019 were included in the research. The variables: age, sex, ophthalmological diagnosis, type of treatment, and municipality of origin were studied.Results: 51% of patients were female. The most represented ages were those of the group from 4 to 8 years, for 35.4%. Ametropia and strabismus were the most frequent ophthalmological conditions, in 36.4 and 22.7% of cases, respectively. The most performed treatment was optical correction (40.3%), and the municipality of Cienfuegos, the most observed place of residence.Conclusion: eye conditions do not have a marked preference for any sex, although girls attended more during the period studied. The group from 4 to 8 years old, the beginning stage of school life, was the most received in consultation, especially because of ametropia and strabismus; which also explains the greater use of optical correction.</p

Keel bone fractures are associated with individual mobility of laying hens in an aviary system

Keel bone fractures (KBF) in laying hens have been shown to cause pain and impair mobility under experimental conditions. However, it is not known how KBF relates to the mobility of individual hens housed in aviary systems. For the current study, 120 focal hens (60 Lohmann Brown (LB) and 60 Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL)) were kept in six identical pens equipped with a commercially relevant aviary system (20 LSL focal hens + 205 LB or 20 LB focal hens + 205 LSL per pen, respectively). Data on hen mobility were recorded at 21, 24, 27, 31, 35, 39, 44, 48, 52, 57 and 61 weeks of age. Infrared receivers were attached to the legs of focal hens. They recorded zone-specific codes between five zones (litter, lower tier, nest boxes, top tier, and wintergarden) at a frequency of 1 Hz for six consecutive days per week of age. At the end of each data collection period, hens were radiographed to assess keel bone fracture severity. Data were analysed using (generalized) linear mixed effect models. With increasing KBF severity, LB hens spent more time in the top tier (p = 0.005) and less time in the litter zone (p < 0.0001) and in the lower tier (p = 0.001). Independent of KBF, LB hens spent less time in the wintergarden (p = 0.011) and in the lower tier (p = 0.002) and more time in the top tier (p = 0.009) with increasing age. The likelihood of crossing more than one zone within a movement (e.g., jumping from the top tier to the litter directly) increased with increasing KBF severity (p = 0.036). Lohmann Selected Leghorn hens spent most time in the nest box zone and top tier and had few transitions between zones. With increasing age, LSL hens spent less time in the nest box zone (p = 0.018) and more time in the top tier (p = 0.006). Irrespective of strain, hens crossed fewer zones with increasing age (LB: p = 0.009, LSL: p = 0.002). Our findings indicate that hens having KBF prioritized paths among the upper tiers (i.e., mostly between nest box zone and top tier) over paths among the mid and lower tiers (i.e., between litter, lower tier and nest box zone). We conclude that behavioural adaptation to pain, the accessibility of resources as well as social factors might be important mechanisms driving individual mobility in response to KBF

Influenza aviar. Oportunidades de mejora del sistema de vigilancia activa basado en riesgo en Cuba

El perfeccionamiento continuo de la vigilancia y el control de la influenza aviar (IA) son prioridades a nivel mundial debido a la permanencia de esta amenaza a escala global. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue identificar oportunidades de mejora en el sistema de vigilancia activa de la IA establecido en Cuba. Mediante análisis geoespacial multicriterio se mapeó con resolución de 1 km2. Adicionalmente, se tuvo en cuenta la existencia de zonas de contigüidad entre granjas avícolas (&lt; 3 km) donde pudiera verse favorecida la difusión del agente causal en caso de introducción. Como resultado, se identificaron áreas con muy alto riesgo de ocurrencia, ya sea por exposición o difusión que, en ocasiones, se favoreció por la contigüidad entre granjas avícolas comerciales. A partir de estos hallazgos se logró refinar el criterio preexistente para la selección de granjas a ser investigadas durante la vigilancia activa, lo cual pudiera mejorar la capacidad de detección de casos positivos. La precisión y el manejo del riesgo de difusión son de gran importancia porque suele ser el principal determinante de la magnitud de la epidemia. Se concluye que existen áreas estratégicas y de marcada importancia hacia donde se deben dirigir, prioritariamente, los principales recursos para fortalecer la bioseguridad y la vigilancia encaminada a la alerta rápida

Influenza aviar. Oportunidades de mejora del sistema de vigilancia activa basado en riesgo en Cuba

El perfeccionamiento continuo de la vigilancia y el control de la influenza aviar (IA) son prioridades a nivel mundial debido a la permanencia de esta amenaza a escala global. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue identificar oportunidades de mejora en el sistema de vigilancia activa de la IA establecido en Cuba. Mediante análisis geoespacial multicriterio se mapeó con resolución de 1 km2. Adicionalmente, se tuvo en cuenta la existencia de zonas de contigüidad entre granjas avícolas (&lt; 3 km) donde pudiera verse favorecida la difusión del agente causal en caso de introducción. Como resultado, se identificaron áreas con muy alto riesgo de ocurrencia, ya sea por exposición o difusión que, en ocasiones, se favoreció por la contigüidad entre granjas avícolas comerciales. A partir de estos hallazgos se logró refinar el criterio preexistente para la selección de granjas a ser investigadas durante la vigilancia activa, lo cual pudiera mejorar la capacidad de detección de casos positivos. La precisión y el manejo del riesgo de difusión son de gran importancia porque suele ser el principal determinante de la magnitud de la epidemia. Se concluye que existen áreas estratégicas y de marcada importancia hacia donde se deben dirigir, prioritariamente, los principales recursos para fortalecer la bioseguridad y la vigilancia encaminada a la alerta rápida