Haematological stress parameters and behavioural characterisucs of dairy type goat kids compared to indigenous breeds during an intensive fattening programme

In any production model, the extent to which the animals cope with the environment is important in terms of animal welfare and sustainability of production. The aim of the study was to investigate certain haematological parameters and behaviours of goat kids from dairy type Saanen and Maltese breeds via comparison with indigenous Hair and Gokceada breeds during the 10-week intensive fattening period. Eleven male goat kids each of Saanen, Maltese, Hair and Gokceada breeds were weaned at 3-3.5 months of age and then placed into four fattening pens prepared for each breed, separately. Cortisol, glucose and total protein levels were higher in Gokceada kids in the last period of the fattening compared to the kids of other breeds (P < 0.05). In Gokceada kids, an evident decrease in the time spent hay feeding and on rumination and an increase in lying, standing and self-grooming behaviours were determined during the last 3 weeks of fattening. Moreover, there was a significant decrease regarding hay feeding in Hair goat kids in the last 2 weeks (P < 0.05). Hair goat kids also exhibited less rumination behaviour compared to Saanen kids during the last 4 weeks of fattening (P < 0.05). On the other hand, kids of dairy breeds did not express behavioural or biochemical stress responses during the fattening period. As a conclusion, when evaluated in terms of animal welfare, results of the current study may indicate that indigenous breeds, especially Gokceada kids, are not appropriate for intensive fattening in a pen

Effect of lairage duration on cattle behaviors and stockperson actions in the slaughter corridor in Simmental and Swiss Brown breeds

The aim was to investigate the effects of duration of lairage period and breed on behaviors of beef cattle and on stockperson handling actions toward cattle in the slaughter corridor. A total of 85 beef cattle (61 Simmental, 24 Brown Swiss) were allocated to 4 trial groups according to the duration of lairage period (24 h, 15 h, 1 h and no lairage). Animal behaviors and stockperson's handling actions were video recorded during the passage of animal through the slaughter corridor. Time spent in the slaughter corridor ranged between 4.64 and 16.82 min, and cattle lairaged 15 h spent more time in the slaughter corridor than the other groups (P < 0.05). Breed and lairage group had no effect on AWBEH (animal behavior) and AWACT (stockperson actions) scores and frequencies of animal behaviors, except butting. Beef cattle slaughtered without transport and lairage expressed less butting behavior compared to other lairage groups (P < 0.05). The most observed stockperson handling actions were goading, beating, tapping, and tail twisting, respectively. Cattle from L-15 group were exposed to more beating and prodding actions while cattle from L-24 h group were exposed to more pulling action. In conclusion, increasing the lairage period did not contribute to the reduction of stockperson interventions and cattle behaviors indicative of poor welfare in the slaughter corridor. Both stockperson training and facility improvements would greatly improve cattle welfare

The effects of weaning status and transport duration on some physiological and behavioural responses to transportation in Kivircik lambs

Transportation is one of the most stressful procedures that the farm animals encounter and numerous factors can affect an animal's responses to stress caused by transportation. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of weaning status (WS: suckling vs weaned) and transport duration (TD: 45-min vs 120-min) on some physiological responses to transportation, and on some behaviours expressed during the 2-h resting period following transportation in Kivircik lambs. All lambs suckled their mothers until 45 days of age. On day 45, a total of 40 Kivircik male lambs were randomly divided into two groups: half of the lambs continued to stay with their dams (Suckling, n = 20), the remaining half (Weaned, n = 20) was separated from their dams, and housed in a different pen. When mean lamb age reached 75 days, lambs from suckling and weaned groups were divided randomly into two subgroups according to TD: 45-min (T45) and 120-min (T120) transport. At the end of transportation, behavioural activities of the lambs were recorded during the 2-h resting period. WS had no significant influence on investigated biochemical and haematological parameters at any sampling time except plasma glucose concentration measured after resting. Suckling lambs had higher level of plasma glucose than the weaned ones after 2-h resting period (P < 0.001). Suckling lambs displayed more walking and less lying behaviours than those of weaned ones during 2-h resting period. Plasma cortisol concentration of T45 lambs determined immediately after transport was higher than those of T120 lambs. T120 lambs had higher glucose and total protein concentrations and lower N:L ratio than T45 lambs after resting. T45 lambs spent more time for walking than the T120 lambs during the 2-h resting period. It might be concluded that 2-h resting period might be sufficient both 45 min and 120 min transport in Kivircik lambs