Gedrag en keuze van (traditionele) schapenrassen in landschapsbegrazing

status: publishe

Effect of density and relative aggressiveness on agonistic and affiliative interactions in a newly formed group of horses

Group housing provides horses with social contact, a lack of which is associated with health and behavior problems. Despite the benefits of group housing for horses, horse owners are concerned about aggression and resulting injuries. This study focused on agonistic and affiliative interactions in a focal group of (originally) 12 horses with short-term and longer term changes in composition, variation in available area, and presence of periparturient mares. Age and density had no significant effect on agonistic or affiliative behavior. However, when agonistic behavior was considered within 3 subcategories, density did have a significant positive effect on contact and threat aggression but not on passive aggression (avoid and displace). When analyzing only the days without the most aggressive horse, age and density had a positive effect on agonistic interactions, and density had a negative effect on affiliative interactions. Days with and without the most aggressive horse showed no significant overall differences in either category of social interactions. Agonistic and affiliative interactions were not significantly correlated, but agonistic interactions had a significant linear and quadratic effect on affiliative interactions. Relative level of aggressiveness was used instead of a formal measure of dominance rank as aggression level is the main issue for horse owners. Comparing interactions with more and less aggressive horses, there was no overall effect for affiliative interactions. However, overall, horses in the focal group were on average 3.7 times more aggressive toward less aggressive horses, compared to more aggressive horses. Relationships between agonistic and affiliative interactions, density, age, and the role of relative aggressiveness are complicated, and more research is needed to clarify the most relevant factors under particular sets of circumstances and their contribution to intraspecific aggression in various contexts

Reliability of a descriptive reference ethogram for equitation science

An ethogram and its components, correctly defined behavior units, are the fundamental measuring tools for (applied) ethology and, therefore, also for equitation science, the nascent discipline that gathers evidence based on horse training, handling, and riding. However, there is currently no consensus on names and definitions of equine behaviors, and no purely descriptive ethogram for horses is available. As structural descriptions of behavioral units are a starting point for experimental enquiries into their function, cause, or ontogeny, this project sets out to draft and test the reliability of a descriptive reference ethogram for domestic horses (Equus caballus). Classification, names, and definitions of behaviors were descriptive and assigned to categories according to structural similarities. An international panel of participants (n = 23) was established to represent both researchers in equitation science and practitioners, including trainers, riders, coaches, and veterinarians. A part of the ethogram was tested by asking the panel to score 30 short video clips for 20 different behaviors and requesting feedback on the ethogram. Statistical analyses with logistic mixed models showed that variability between observers (P \u3c 0.0001). This preliminary descriptive ethogram for horses in domestic contexts merits further development and will require the addition of more behaviors and therefore more fine-tuned definitions

Effect of density and relative aggressiveness on agonistic and affiliative interactions in a newly formed group of horses

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Group housing provides horses with social contact, a lack of which is associated with health and behavior problems. Despite the benefits of group housing for horses, horse owners are concerned about aggression and resulting injuries. This study focused on agonistic and affiliative interactions in a focal group of (originally) 12 horses with short-term and longer term changes in composition, variation in available area, and presence of periparturient mares. Age and density had no significant effect on agonistic or affiliative behavior. However, when agonistic behavior was considered within 3 subcategories, density did have a significant positive effect on contact and threat aggression but not on passive aggression (avoid and displace). When analyzing only the days without the most aggressive horse, age and density had a positive effect on agonistic interactions, and density had a negative effect on affiliative interactions. Days with and without the most aggressive horse showed no significant overall differences in either category of social interactions. Agonistic and affiliative interactions were not significantly correlated, but agonistic interactions had a significant linear and quadratic effect on affiliative interactions. Relative level of aggressiveness was used instead of a formal measure of dominance rank as aggression level is the main issue for horse owners. Comparing interactions with more and less aggressive horses, there was no overall effect for affiliative interactions. However, overall, horses in the focal group were on average 3.7 times more aggressive toward less aggressive horses, compared to more aggressive horses. Relationships between agonistic and affiliative interactions, density, age, and the role of relative aggressiveness are complicated, and more research is needed to clarify the most relevant factors under particular sets of circumstances and their contribution to intraspecific aggression in various contexts.status: publishe

Effect of preceding activity and multiple testing of Belgian police horses on behavior during personality tests

Operational police horses must perform under challenging circumstances, so the selection of suitable equine training candidates should include an evaluation of their personalities. We describe the developmental phase of a project aimed at customizing selection tests for mounts at the Belgian Federal Police. The experiment evaluated the influence of preceding activity and multiple testing on behavior during personality tests. Using a crossover design, three different preceding activities were compared: straight out of their box, after 30 minutes tied outside alone, and after 30 minutes alone in a paddock. A sample of 30 active police horses was tested, in three equal groups with a different treatment order per group. The personality tests included an arena and a sudden object test, measuring behavioral responses. For the sudden object test, we also recorded distance from a descending umbrella. Likert scores of 1 to 5 were used to score the ease of handling when leading the horse into and out of the arena. Order and treatment effects were analyzed with mixed models. Treatment effects were found in the arena test for 10 of 17 variables, including all measures of stand, canter and roll, and buck/jump rate. Order effects were present for stand rate in the arena and sudden object test, for rate and mean bout length of walk in the sudden object test, and for the scores of release at entering the arena and approach at the end of the testing. After all horses had been tested individually, 10 horses from the current sample were tested as duos, after coming straight out of their boxes (stables) to evaluate the effect of solitary testing and the influence of equine company as it prevails in the workplace. A Wilcoxon signed rank test that compared the duo results to those of the individual tests for the same treatment, showed a significant difference in only two of 52 variables (stand mean bout length in the arena test and Likert score for entering the arena and stopping). Conversely, only five variables had significant Spearman correlations between both tests (arena test: mean bout length of trot; sudden object test: stand rate, next rate, and next percentage; Likert score for lead out when leaving the arena). Overall, these results indicate a limited influence of multiple testing, but a strong effect of preceding activity on the arena test. The comparison between solo and duo testing will require more research

Do dairy cattle need protection against weather in a temperate climate?

status: publishe

Improving survival, growth rate, and animal welfare in piglets by avoiding teeth shortening and tail docking

Piglets are subjected to several painful procedures during their first week of life, including ear tagging, teeth clipping or grinding (although routinely prohibited in Europe), tail docking (although routinely prohibited in Europe), needle injections (vaccination and iron injection), and castration might be performed for male piglets. All these management practices cause pain and stress to the newborn piglets. The hypothesis of this experiment was that reducing painful interventions during the first week of life results in better zootechnical performance of the piglets, reduced piglet mortality, and that the overall welfare is improved. To investigate this, the 4 lightest piglets of the experimental group (EE) were not subjected to tail docking and teeth clipping or grinding. The 4 lightest piglets of the control group (CL) and the other piglets of the experimental group (EC) and the control group (CC) received treatments as the common practice. There were differences in behavior, but there were no differences regarding weight at weaning between CL and EE. However, mortality rate was higher in the lightest piglets, that is, CL (34.1%) and EE (23.0%), whereas mortality rate in the other piglets was much lower (9.0% for CC and 9.3% for EC). This information can be useful for a veterinarian to advise farmers on whether painful interventions should be performed.status: publishe

Sound levels above 85dB pre-slaughter influence pork quality

This study investigates whether sound levels above 85dB(A), determined in literature as a critical sound level to induce stress in pigs, has also an effect on the pH of pork. Sound levels were recorded during pre-slaughter phases. A measure was taken after the arrival of the truck at the slaughterhouse, during unloading, lairage and just before stunning. The pH of the Longissimus thoracis or lumborum, 30min after sticking (pH30LT) was measured. 8508 pigs were examined and the pH was measured on the carcasses. The results show that the cut-off value of 85dB(A) during the pre-slaughtering phase is not only a threshold to evaluate animal welfare but can also be associated with a slower drop of pH if sound levels are <85dB(A). Finally a linear mixed model for pH30LT was built with the sound level during lairage and the sound level prior to stunning as independent variables, having statistically the highest impact on pH30LT of pork.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Sound levels above 85dB pre-slaughter influence pork quality journaltitle: Meat Science articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.10.025 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Pre-slaughter sound levels and pre-slaughter handling from loading at the farm till slaughter influence pork quality

This study investigates the relationship between sound levels, pre-slaughter handling during loading and pork quality. Pre-slaughter variables were investigated from loading till slaughter. A total of 3213 pigs were measured 30 min post-mortem for pH(30LT) (M. Longissimus thoracis). First, a sound level model for the risk to develop PSE meat was established. The difference in maximum and mean sound level during loading, mean sound level during lairage and mean sound level prior to stunning remained significant within the model. This indicated that sound levels during loading had a significant added value to former sound models. Moreover, this study completed the global classification checklist (Vermeulen et al., 2015a) by developing a linear mixed model for pH(30LT) and PSE prevalence, with the difference in maximum and mean sound level measured during loading, the feed withdrawal period and the difference in temperature during loading and lairage. Hence, this study provided new insights over previous research where loading procedures were not included.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Pre-slaughter sound levels and pre-slaughter handling from loading at the farm till slaughter influence pork quality journaltitle: Meat Science articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.02.007 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Studie van het elektronarcoseproces bij het slachten van varkens: effecten op vleeskwaliteit

In opdracht van FOD, Volksgezondheid, Veiligheid van de Voedselketen en Leefmilieu,status: publishe