Energy allocation and behaviour in the growing broiler chicken

Broiler chickens are increasingly at the forefront of global meat production but the consequences of fast growth and selection for an increase in body mass on bird health are an ongoing concern for industry and consumers. To better understand the implications of selection we evaluated energetics and behaviour over the 6-week hatch-to-slaughter developmental period in a commercial broiler. The effect of posture on resting metabolic rate becomes increasingly significant as broilers grow, as standing became more energetically expensive than sitting. The proportion of overall metabolic rate accounted for by locomotor behaviour decreased over development, corresponding to declining activity levels, mean and peak walking speeds. These data are consistent with the inference that broilers allocate energy to activity within a constrained metabolic budget and that there is a reducing metabolic scope for exercise throughout their development. Comparison with similarly sized galliforms reveals that locomotion is relatively energetically expensive in broilers

Assessment time of the Welfare Quality® protocol for dairy cattle

The Welfare Quality® (WQ) protocols are increasingly used for assessing welfare of farm animals. These protocols are time consuming (about one day per farm) and, therefore, costly. Our aim was to assess the scope for reduction of on-farm assessment time of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle. Seven trained observers quantified animal-based indicators of the WQ protocol in 181 loose-housed and 13 tied Dutch dairy herds (herd size from 10 to 211 cows). Four assessment methods were used: avoidance distance at the feeding rack (ADF, 44 min); qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA, 25 min); behavioural observations (BO, 150 min); and clinical observations (CO, 132 min). To simulate reduction of on-farm assessment time, a set of WQ indicators belonging to one assessment method was omitted from the protocol. Observed values of omitted indicators were replaced by predictions based on WQ indicators of the remaining three assessment methods, resources checklist, and interview, thus mimicking the performance of the full WQ protocol. Agreement between predicted and observed values of WQ indicators, however, was low for ADF, moderate for QBA, slight to moderate for BO, and poor to moderate for CO. It was concluded that replacing animal-based WQ indicators by predictions based on remaining WQ indicators shows little scope for reduction of onfarm assessment time of the Welfare Quality® protocol for dairy cattle. Other ways to reduce on-farm assessment time of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle, such as the use of additional data or automated monitoring systems, should be investigated. © 2013 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Field evaluation of broiler gait score using different sampling methods

Brazil is today the world's largest broiler meat exporter; however, in order to keep this position, it must comply with welfare regulations while maintaining low production costs. Locomotion problems restrain bird movements, limiting their access to drinking and feeding equipment, and therefore their survival and productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate locomotion deficiency in broiler chickens reared under stressful temperature conditions using three different sampling methods of birds from three different ages. The experiment consisted in determining the gait score of 28, 35, 42 and 49-day-old broilers using three different known gait scoring methods: M1, birds were randomly selected, enclosed in a circle, and then stimulated to walk out of the circle; M2, ten birds were randomly selected and gait scored; and M3, birds were randomly selected, enclosed in a circle, and then observed while walking away from the circle without stimulus to walking. Environmental temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity inside the poultry houses were recorded. No evidence of interaction between scoring method and age was found however, both method and age influenced gait score. Gait score was found to be lower at 28 days of age. The evaluation using the ten randomly selected birds within the house was the method that presented the less reliable results. Gait score results when birds were stimulated to walk were lower than when they were not simulated, independently of age. The gait scores obtained with the three tested methods and ages were higher than those considered acceptable. The highest frequency of normal gait score (0) represented 50% of the flock. These results may be related to heat stress during rearing. Average gait score incresead with average ambient temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity. The evaluation of gait score to detect locomotion problems of broilers under rearing conditions seems subjective and difficult to be properly performed

Gold standards concepts for automatic lameness assessment systems in dairy cows

Lameness is an important welfare problem in modern dairy farms. in order to support lameness control in dairy farms, several concepts to develop a reliable automatic lameness assessment systems (ALAS) have been undertaken. Golden standards methods used for ALAS development are discussed based on a literature review. 16 out of 18 articles related with automatic lameness assessment systems used locomotion scores as gold standard. Main advantages of locomotion scores as gold standard lie on their practical application. Locomotion scores are easy and cheap to use in practice. Disadvantages of locomotion scores as gold standard are related with validity and repeatability of the method. Locomotion scores as tool for pain and hoof lesions (potential source of pain) seems limited because, cows seems to present an important tolerance to pain and locomotion is also impaired by the practical conditions in which it is assessed. Repeatability for locomotion assessment showed a large variation between and within observers. The main factor in the variation of repeatability seems to be the subjectivity associated to locomotion scores. Poor validity and repeatability hinders the interpretation of what is finally being assessed by LSs and ultimately by ALAS. Hoof and painful lesions are also used as gold standard for ALAS development. As Ls diagnosis of hoof and painful lesions are also subjective and may present poor repeatability. In conclusion, currently there is not an optimal gold standard for the development of ALAS.status: publishe

When experts disagree: the need to rethink indicator selection for assessing sustainability of agriculture

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. Sustainability indicators are well recognized for their potential to assess and monitor sustainable development of agricultural systems. A large number of indicators are proposed in various sustainability assessment frameworks, which raises concerns regarding the validity of approaches, usefulness and trust in such frameworks. Selecting indicators requires transparent and well-defined procedures to ensure the relevance and validity of sustainability assessments. The objective of this study, therefore, was to determine whether experts agree on which criteria are most important in the selection of indicators and indicator sets for robust sustainability assessments. Two groups of experts (Temperate Agriculture Research Network and New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard) were asked to rank the relative importance of eleven criteria for selecting individual indicators and of nine criteria for balancing a collective set of indicators. Both ranking surveys reveal a startling lack of consensus amongst experts about how best to measure agricultural sustainability and call for a radical rethink about how complementary approaches to sustainability assessments are used alongside each other to ensure a plurality of views and maximum collaboration and trust amongst stakeholders. To improve the transparency, relevance and robustness of sustainable assessments, the context of the sustainability assessment, including prioritizations of selection criteria for indicator selection, must be accounted for. A collaborative design process will enhance the acceptance of diverse values and prioritizations embedded in sustainability assessments. The process by which indicators and sustainability frameworks are established may be a much more important determinant of their success than the final shape of the assessment tools. Such an emphasis on process would make assessments more transparent, transformative and enduring