CA21124 - LIFT: Lifting farm animal lives – laying the foundations for positive animal welfare (LIFT)

The COST Action ‘LIFT’ will provide the background for including positive welfare in farm animal welfare assessment. The traditional approach to animal welfare was to prevent suffering and there is consequently a large bias in the science of animal welfare towards the study of negative experiences. Recent advances, however, are leading to considerations of positive experiences, also referred to as positive welfare, which is more in line with consumer and citizen expectations. There is currently no agreement among researchers on what constitutes positive animal welfare, or what kinds of techniques, tests and procedures are sound methodologies to assess positive experiences in farm animals. Consequently, no welfare assessment scheme currently includes direct animal-based indicators of positive experiences. The COST Action will progress this research area in a multidisciplinary scientific approach by cross-discipline knowledge sharing, training and Europe-wide collaboration to lay the foundations for this growing area of research. The main aims are to 1) define positive farm animal welfare and clarify its concepts, 2) identify valid approaches to assess positive animal welfare, and 3) select methods suitable for on-farm use and provide recommendations for the inclusion of aspects of positive welfare in farm animal welfare assessment schemes. Throughout, stakeholders responsible for welfare assurance schemes from industry, government and NGOs, as well as veterinary organisations and advisory bodies for farmers are involved to ensure practical feasibility and to improve the animal production sector’s sustainability. Action keywords Positive welfare - farm animals - affective states - methodologies - welfare assessmen

Comparing weaning methods in dairy calves with different dam-contact levels

Allowing the dam to rear her calf is an alternative practice in the dairy industry where cow and calf may gain welfare benefits from performing natural and highly motivated behaviors. However, this system has been linked to an increased separation and weaning response. Reducing the daily dam-calf-contact time may be a way to prepare the calf for weaning and separation. The first aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of half-day dam-calf-contact on calves' response to weaning and separation, compared with calves reared with whole-day dam-calf-contact and an artificially reared, group-housed control with unrestricted access to milk for 20 min twice daily. Weaning off milk and separation from the dam can be viewed as 2 independent stressors. By introducing each stressor separately, it may be possible to reduce the overall behavioral response. The second aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of one-week fence-line weaning before permanent separation. The study was conducted with a 3x2 factorial design with dam-contact treatments: “Whole-day,” “Half-day” and “Control” and weaning treatments “Simultaneous” and “Stepwise.” Whole-day calves were separated twice daily from their dams during milking while Half-day calves were separated daily from the afternoon milking and until next morning milking. Simultaneous weaning and separation were done in wk 9, while Stepwise weaning and separation started in wk 8 with calves being fence-line weaned before permanent separation in wk 9. Data were collected on 69 dairy calves in wk 8 and wk 9, and data were summarized over the 2 weeks for analysis. Stepwise weaning and separation reduced the number of high-pitched vocalizations and activity of dam-reared dairy calves, while having little impact on control calves. There was no difference between Whole-day and Half-day calves in their response to separation, but as expected, dam-reared calves reacted more strongly than the control group. This was also reflected in the average daily BW gain the week after weaning, with Control calves having a higher average daily gains than Whole-day, while Half-day calves were intermediate. However, the behavioral response did not fully wane within the observation period (0–48 h of interventions). In conclusion, one-week fence-line weaning reduced the summed weaning and separation response in dam-reared calves. However, no difference between half-day dam-calf contact and whole-day dam-contact was detected as regards the behavioral response to weaning and separation

Sundhed og velfærd hos kalve og opdræt

I interviewene blev kalvene fremhævet som et både problematisk og kritisk område i den økologiske besætning (kapitel 2 & 3). Fodring, paratuberkulose (især i forbindelse med kalvens første døgn hos moderen), opstaldning, udeophold og medicinering blev nævnt som mulige årsager til problemer. Det blev desuden nævnt, at der kunne være problemer med at sammensætte en god foderration. Vedrørende opstaldning af kalvene blev kalvenes patning på hinanden nævnt som et problem. Enkelte konsulenter nævnte manglende hygiejne og generelle problemer med opstaldningen. Sygdomsproblemer som følge af coccidiose ved kalvenes tidlige udeophold blev af de fleste nævnt som et stort problem. Flere dyrlæger nævnte, at eftersom reglerne vedrørende medicinhåndtering i økologiske besætninger er stramme, ville dette kunne resultere i, at kalvene ikke ville blive behandlet i det omfang, der var behov for. En diskussion af kalvenes rolle i besætningen – blandt andet hvorvidt de er lavt prioriterede – er uundgåelig i denne sammenhæng, og mange af de interviewede kom da også ind på denne overordnede problemstilling: Kalvene er en gruppe dyr, der helst skal have de lavest mulige omkostninger. Det blev anført, at kalvene er besætningens fremtid, og at deres rolle skal være mere i fokus. Ved omlægning til økologisk drift forventer landmanden umiddelbart, at dyrenes sundhedstilstand fastholdes eller forbedres. Som det fremgik af kapitel 2, var der især blandt dyrlæger og konsulenter bekymring for kalvenes trivsel i den økologiske besætning. De fleste interviewede dyrlæger og konsulenter forventede på det nærmeste en dramatisk overgang til "det værre" for kalvenes vedkommende. På længere sigt – i den stabile økologiske besætning – forventedes kalvene fortsat at være en udsat gruppe. En sådan forventning må siges at være i modstrid med den økologiske grundidé og de forventninger, der indirekte udtrykkes i gældende regler vedrørende kalve. Dyrlæger og konsulenter betragter ofte kalvene som en kvægbesætnings mest udsatte dyregruppe ("tabergruppen"), som ikke prioriteres højt med hensyn til tildeling af arbejdstid og staldfaciliteter

The effects of part-time dam-contact and stepwise weaning and separation on the voluntary human approach behaviour of dairy calves

Dairy calves are commonly reared without contact with their dam, which facilitates a human-animal relationship based on close human contact and feeding. Dam-contact may negatively affect calves’ relationship with humans. The current study investigates the effect of dam-contact and weaning method on calves’ response to humans. A total of 69 dairy calves were allocated to one of three dam-contact treatments [Control (separated from dam after 24 h), Whole-day (housed with dam for 23 h/d), and Half-day (housed with dam for 10 h/d)]. Within each treatment, calves were allocated to one of two weaning treatments [Stepwise (weaning off milk at eight weeks, dam-separation/pen change at nine weeks) or Simultaneous (weaning off milk and dam-separation/pen change simultaneously at nine weeks), i.e Control were weaned in the same manner but only the pen change was possible at the separation step, as calves were already separated from the dam]. All animals received a similar amount of human contact, except control calves who were additionally fed milk by teat bucket twice a day. Calves were tested in a random order within block using a human approach test followed by an animal approach test conducted in a 2.5 m x 10 m arena at 10 weeks of age. Stepwise-Control calves had shorter latencies to first approach the test person than Stepwise-Whole-day (p < 0.05, median survival time of Stepwise-Control: 11 s, Stepwise-Whole-day: 111 s and Stepwise-Half-day: 52 s). Among Simultaneous calves, no dam-contact treatment differences were detected for the latency to first approach. Similarly, Stepwise-Control calves had an odds ratio (95% CI) of 24.2 (1.6–365.9, p < 0.05) for coming within 1 m of the test person vs Stepwise-Whole-day calves and 12.5 (1.1–141.1, p < 0.05) vs Stepwise-Half-day calves. Throughout the test period Simultaneous-Control vocalised less [estimated mean no. of vocalisations (95% CI), 3.6 (2.1–6.4)] than both Simultaneous-Whole-day [18.2 (12.8–25.9), p < 0.01] and Simultaneous-Half-day [15.7 (11.0–22.5), p < 0.01] while there was no difference under Stepwise. As expected, Control approached faster and were more likely to come close to the test person than dam-reared calves, but exclusively after the stepwise weaning and separation. For calves tested one week after simultaneous weaning and separation no effect of the dam-contact treatments was found, except a higher frequency of vocalisations for dam-reared calves. This implies that controlling for the stress level related to weaning and separation from the dam is important when interpreting human-animal relationship tests, as dam-contact treatment effects appeared to be affected by high levels of weaning stress

Køer og kalve går sammen i Holland. Kronik.

På omtrent 45 hollandske malkekvægsbedrifter har man gjort det til en rutine at lade køerne passe deres egne kalve i kortere eller længere tid efter råmælksperioden

Invited review: Lying time and the welfare of dairy cows

Adequate time lying down is often considered an important aspect of dairy cow welfare. We examine what is known about cows’ motivation to lie down and the consequences for health and other indicators of biological function when this behavior is thwarted. We review the environmental and animal-based factors that affect lying time in the context of animal welfare. Cows can be highly motivated to lie down. They show rebound lying behavior after periods of forced standing and will sacrifice other activities, such as feeding, to lie down for an adequate amount of time. They will work, by pushing levers or weighted gates, to lie down and show possible indicators of frustration when lying behavior is thwarted. Some evidence suggests that risk of lameness is increased in environments that provide unfavorable conditions for cows to lie down and cows are forced to stand. Lameness itself can result in longer lying times, whereas mastitis reduces it. Cow-based factors such as reproductive status, age, and milk production influence lying time, but the welfare implications of these differences are unknown. Lower lying times are reported in pasture-based systems, dry lots, and bedded packs (9 h/d) compared with tiestalls and freestalls (10 to 12 h/d) in cross-farm research. Unfavorable conditions, including too few lying stalls for the number of cows, hard or wet lying surfaces, inadequate bedding, stalls that are too small or poorly designed, heat, and rain all reduce lying time. Time constraints, such as feeding or milking, can influence lying time. However, more information is needed about the implications of mediating factors such as the effect of the standing surface (concrete, pasture, or other surfaces) and cow behavior while standing (e.g., being restrained, walking, grazing) to understand the effect of low lying times on animal welfare. Many factors contribute to the difficulty of finding a valid threshold for daily lying time to use in the assessment of animal welfare. Although higher lying times often correspond with cow comfort, and lower lying times are seen in unfavorable conditions, exceptions occur, namely when cows lie down for longer because of disease or when they spend more time standing because of estrus or parturition, or to engage in other behaviors. In conclusion, lying behavior is important to dairy cattle, but caution and a full understanding of the context and the character of the animals in question is needed before drawing firm conclusions about animal welfare from measures of lying time.Peer reviewe

Systems for mother-bonded calf rearing during the milk feeding period in organic dairy farming.

Systematic separation of cow and calf early after calving is common practice in both organic and conventional dairy farming. It is broadly accepted by professionals within the dairy sector as a necessity for producing milk for human consumption and justified by the severe reaction of both cow and calf if separation occurs later than 24 hours after calving. The practice of early separation conflicts with the organic principles and is increasingly questioned by consumers, who argue for the development of a dairy production system that supports rearing of cows together with their own calves for an extended time. The main objective of this project is to develop strategies for mother-bonded rearing systems under different Danish organic farming conditions and quantify their effects on farm productivity and economics through analyses of existing dairy cow-calf systems and published experiments. The first step includes a systematic collection of farm data and system descriptions from existing cow-calf systems with focus on housing, management and outcomes of production. Our data collection so far shows that mother-bonded rearing of dairy calves is practiced in a variety of ways with herd size from 30 to 85 cows and milk production delivered to the dairy between 4,000 and 9,500 kg/cow/year. Calves stayed with the dam either full time, part time or full time in the beginning with diminishing time together towards weaning, which led calves to drink between 6-7 l/day and up to 14-16 l/day. Farmers either housed calves and all lactating cows in one group or housed lactating cows with or without calves in two separate groups. Farms used both deep litter and cubicle systems as well as both parlour and robotic milking systems. Finally, calves were either weaned and separated gradually with multiple steps or abrupt at once. The next step will be a synthesis of collected farm data, system descriptions and literature, which will go into developing different strategies for mother-bonded calf rearing in collaboration with Danish organic farmers

Evaluating measures of exploratory behaviour in sows around farrowing and during lactation-A pilot study

There are very few studies on the need to perform exploratory behaviour of sows around farrowing and during lactation, except for during the nest-building period. Exploratory behaviour in pigs may reflect appetitive foraging motivated by hunger, or appetitive behaviour related to other motivations, such as nest building. However, exploration may also be motivated by curiosity, stimulated by novelty or search for novelty. The aim of this study was to test novel methods of evaluating exploratory motivation in sows around farrowing and during lactation. We used ten second or third parity sows, housed in conventional crates from day 8 before expected farrowing until weaning, on day 28 after farrowing. Motivation to perform exploratory behaviour was evaluated by measuring the use of a manipulable and chewable object (a wooden device, MCO) and responses during a novel object test (NO). In addition, we studied if exploratory motivation is related to the energy status of the sow, measured as sow weight change during lactation, piglet weight gain, and leptin level in saliva. The exploratory motivation of sows appeared to change during the period of study. Although all sows used the MCO, the use was very low throughout the study (below 3 g per day on average), and almost non-existent during the first weeks after farrowing. The latency to touch the object in the NO test was correlated between test days before and after farrowing, while the sow showed more interest in the object before than after farrowing. MCO use during the last week of lactation was higher in sows with a lower weight after weaning, suggesting a link between explorative motivation and energy status in the sow. These results indicate a need for further studies on how to best meet the possible exploratory need of sows during their time in the farrowing room.Peer reviewe

Play behaviour positively relates to weight gain, feeding behaviour and drinking behaviour in weaner pigs (Sus scrofa)

Engagement in play behaviour has been associated with the presence of positive affective states and, thus, proposed to be an indicator of positive animal welfare. However, the interpretation of play in animals remains challenging due to the complexity of motivating factors. Accordingly, we aimed to clarify whether Yorkshire × Landrace weaner pigs would engage more in play behaviour the more well-nourished they were by examining the effects of weight gain, feeding behaviour, and drinking behaviour on two types of play behaviour [locomotor-rotational play (LOC) and social play (SOC)]. In total, 24 litters [pigs/litter: (mean ± SD) 13 ± 2] raised under conventional husbandry conditions were included in this study. Each pig was manually weighed within 24 h of birth and on days − 7, 0, 1, 2 relative to the weaning day (day 0) at approximately 26 days of age. All behavioural measures were registered via video at individual level. Visits to feeder and drinker were registered from 07:00 h to 21:59 h on days − 1 and 1 using 2-min interval instantaneous sampling. The proportion of visits to each resource was calculated by dividing the number of scans visiting the resource by the total number of daily scans. The latencies to visit the feeder and drinker within the first 24 h post-weaning were continuously recorded. Both LOC and SOC were registered between 14:00 h and 22:00 h on days − 1, 1 and 2. Both before and after weaning, heavier pigs spent more time performing LOC. Before weaning, heavier pigs spent more time performing SOC. Proportion of visits to the feeder positively related to LOC after weaning. On the day before weaning, the proportion of visits to the drinker positively related to LOC. No clear relationships between the latency to feed and drink after weaning and play behaviour were found. Our study supports the hypothesis that motivation to play is higher when animals are in more stable conditions, e.g., well-nourished, and healthier than under suboptimal conditions. However, the fact that the nutritional measures did not similarly affect LOC and SOC suggests that these two types of play behaviour may be differently affected by the weaning context and questions whether they have the same underlying motivation. This study represents a step toward the validation of play as a positive animal welfare indicator

Methodology for experimental and observational animal studies in cow-calf contact systems

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