A forced lateralisation test for dairy cows and its relation to their behaviour

Dairy cows’ emotional state can sometimes be inferred from their behaviour, for example previous studies have suggested that those passing a novel person to the right are more likely to be anxious than those passing to the left. We undertook two studies of cow behaviour as they passed a novel person, to validate these behaviours as emotional indicators, in addition to determining correlations to other indices of emotional state. Cows passing to the right were more likely to have a raised or tucked tail, sniff the ground, walk slowly and a faster exit when put in a crush, compared with those passing to the left, which had their ears held forwards. From a principal component analysis, it was determined that cows passing on the right side were also most likely to pass without turning their head towards the person, pass singly and defecate whilst passing. However, those passing to the left side were most likely to turn to look at the person and pass in pairs. Cows with high milk yields were more likely to pass on the right side. Measurements of side of passage were repeatable between experiments but those of ear position were not. It is concluded that side of passage past a person correlates with other behavioural indicators of the cow’s emotional state, with those passing to the right (i.e. left eye/right brain hemisphere) apparently more anxious. Evidence was also provided that high yielding cows are more anxious, as assessed by right side passage. With further validation, side of passage past a person could be developed as a simple measure of emotional state in dairy cows that can be conducted under field conditions.Higher Education Ministry of the EgyptianGovernment Universities Federation for Animal Welfar

Insight Study on the Comparison between Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Its Bulk Impact on Reproductive Performance, Antioxidant Levels, Gene Expression, and Histopathology of Testes in Male Rats

Background: Despite the beneficial effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on different biomedical applications, including their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ones, it might have cytotoxic and genotoxic impacts on the male reproductive system. Objective: The current study compares the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles and their bulk form, at different doses, on male rats’ reproductive performance, testicular antioxidants, gene expression, and histopathology. Materials and Methods: Thirty male rats were randomly allocated equally in five groups. The control one was injected with Tween 80 (10%). The zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnONP) groups received ZnONPs < 50 nm, specifically, 5 mg/kg (ZnONP-1) and 10 mg/kg (ZnONP-2). The bulk zinc oxide (BZnO) groups were administered 5 mg/kg (BZnO-1) and 10 mg/kg (BZnO-2), correspondingly. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with the respected materials, twice/week for eight consecutive weeks. Finally, the male rats’ sexual behavior and their pup’s performance were determined in a monogamous mating system. Rats were then anesthetized and sacrificed for semen characteristics evaluation and tissue collection for antioxidant and hormones analysis, gene expression, and histopathological examination. Results: It was shown that ZnONP-1 improved sexual behavior, semen characteristics, and pup’s performance compared to its bulk form. Similarly, the testicular antioxidants activity, glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased with a decrease in the malonaldehyde (MDA), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) levels. It also improves the reproductive hormone levels and mRNA expression of different steroidogenesis-associated genes and anti-apoptotic genes. Conclusion: It can be concluded that zinc oxide nanoparticles, administered at 5 mg/kg, had the most beneficial effect on male reproductive performance, while 10 mg/kg could have a detrimental effect

Tend and Befriend in Horses: Partner Preferences, Lateralization, and Contextualization of Allogrooming in Two Socially Stable Herds of Quarter Horse Mares

Studies show that horses express favoritism through shared proximity and time and demonstrate unique affiliative behaviors such as allogrooming (mutual scratching) with favorite conspecifics. Allogrooming also occurs more frequently during stress and has been observed to occur more frequently in domestic herds than feral. The role of partner preference, lateralization, and duration of allogrooming as measures of social bonding has remained unclear. The present study looked at two socially stable herds of mares (n = 85, n = 115) to determine the frequency, duration, visual field of view and partner preference during allogrooming in both pasture settings (low stress) and confined settings (higher stress). One hundred and fifty-three videos for both herds were coded for allogrooming behaviors with 6.86 h recorded in confined conditions and 31.9 h in pasture settings. Six allogrooming sessions were observed in the pasture setting with an average duration of 163.11 s. In confined settings, a total of 118 allogrooming sessions were observed with an average duration of 40.98 s. Significant (p < 0.01) differences were found between settings for duration (s), number of allogrooming pairs, and frequency of allogrooming (per min) for each herd. All observed allogrooming sessions involved pairs of favored conspecifics (one partner per horse). The current study suggests that horses may have friendships that can be observed through the demonstration of specific affiliative behaviors during times of stress with more frequent, but shorter affiliative interactions with preferred partners during times of stress. This context suggests that horses adhere to the “tend and befriend” principles of friendship in animals

Relationships between infrared temperature and laterality

The aim of this study was to test for associations between infrared temperatures (IRT) of relevant external body surface regions, lateralised behaviours, and milk productivity in dairy cows (N = 31 in a herd of 202 cows). The cows were selected according to their laterality, based on their response (left: N = 15, right: N = 16) in forced lateralisation tests conducted more than a year earlier. Behavioural variables additional to previously determined laterality, and measured daily for 10 days as they returned to pasture after the afternoon milking, included: stopped while walking towards a person in the laneway, standing on the left or right side of the person, speed of walking to the person; and head, ear and tail positions as they passed the person. Then for 6 of the next 7 days, the IRT, waiting time in the loafing area prior to afternoon milking and milk yield variables were measured. IRT measures included maximum and average IRT from replicate daily thermograms of the eyes, ears, muzzle, coronary band of the forelimbs, and the ratio of the eye to coronary band IRTs. Milk yield was determined from the sum of morning and afternoon milking volumes averaged over 6 days. Milk composition, somatic cell count, days in milk and parity were determined by averaging the monthly herd test data either side of the current IRT/ behavioural period. From ANOVA, cows previously determined as right lateralised had higher maximum eye (Both Eyes: Right = 36.5, Left = 36.1, SED =0.16 °C, P = 0.01) and average coronary band (Both Forelimbs: Right = 31.9, Left = 30.8, SED =0.41 °C, P = 0.02) IRT than left lateralised cows. Using multivariate regression, the IRT measure best associated with the behavioural and milk parameters was the ratio of the eye to coronary band maximum IRT (R = 92%). The higher the ratio, the more likely the cow was to: be left lateralised, not stop whilst walking, stand on the right rather than left side prior to passing, not pass too slowly or too fast, wait for longer in the loafing yard prior to milking, be of lower parity, have a lower somatic cell count and a higher days in milk. These behavioral and productivity parameters could indicate level of stress or anxiety. Therefore it is concluded that eye and coronary band IRT deserves further investigation as predictors of stress or anxiety in dairy cows