Effect of duration of transport on indicators of stress in lambs

Recommendations for the transportation of lambs from a European Commission, which required rest stops of 6 or 24 h, every 8 h, were evaluated for efficacy of reducing stress indicators using Rambouillet x Suffolk lambs (17.6 ñ 0.5 kg). The lambs were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) transported for 22 h (Continuous; n = 15); 2) transported for 8 h, unloaded and rested for 6 h, transported for 8 h, unloaded and rested for 24 h, transported for 6 h (Rested, n = 15); and 3) Control, which remained in home pasture throughout the study (n = 16). The rest stops were off-trailer; a different pen was used for each; and, a limited amount of grain and ad lib hay and water were provided. Mean temperature in the trailer during the study was 28.4ð C with a range of 18.2ð C to 39.6ð C. Food deprivation in the Continuous lambs was reflected by a decrease in plasma glucose (P < 0.001) and an increase in blood urea nitrogen (P < 0.001), creatinine (P < 0.02) and total bilirubin (P < 0.001) relative to the Rested or the Control lambs. Electrolytes varied within and between all three treatments (P < 0.05), but no distinct pattern indicating dehydration was evident. Serum concentrations of cortisol were greater (P < 0.05) in Continuous lambs than in the Control lambs at 14 h and both the Continuous and Rested lambs had higher concentrations of cortisol (P < 0.05) compared to the Control lambs at 22 h. Plasma IgG antibody response to ovalbumin was suppressed (P < 0.05) in the Continuous and Rested lambs compared to the Control lambs. Lambs in both transported treatments ate grain immediately upon release into the rest pens and drinking occurred following the food consumption. The Continuous lambs lost a greater (P < 0.05) amount of initial BW at the conclusion of transport compared to the Rested lambs and had a lower BW (P < 0.05) than the Rested and Control lambs 8 d after the start of transport. Rest stops improved welfare by reducing physical stress of food deprivation and eliminating BW loss during transport. However, rest stops failed to completely alleviate immunosuppression and 52 h were required to complete the otherwise 22 h long trip. The additional costs of providing the benefits of the rest stops should be examined before these regulations are widely implemented

The Effect of Hock Injury Laterality and Lameness on Lying Behaviors and Lying Laterality in Holstein Dairy Cows

Lactating dairy cattle divide their lying equally between their left side and their right side. However, discomfort, such as pregnancy and cannulation, can cause a cow to shift lying side preference. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of lameness and hock injuries on lying behaviors, particularly lying laterality, of lactating dairy cows. Cows from four commercial farms in eastern Croatia that had lying behavior data, health score data, and production records were used in the study. Health scores including hock injuries and locomotion were collected once per cow. Severely lame cows had greater daily lying time compared to sound cows and moderately lame cows. Overall, cows spent 51.3 ± 1.2% of their daily lying time on the left side. Maximum hock score, locomotion score, hock injury laterality, or parity did not result in lying laterality differing from 50%

A Case Study of Behaviour and Performance of Confined or Pastured Cows During the Dry Period

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of the dry cow management system (pasture or confined) on: (1) lying behaviour and activity; (2) feeding and heat stress behaviours; (3) intramammary infections, postpartum. Non-lactating Holstein cows were assigned to either deep-bedded, sand freestalls ( n = 14) or pasture ( n = 14) using rolling enrollment. At dry-off, cows were equipped with an accelerometer to determine daily lying time (h/d), lying bouts (bouts/d), steps (steps/d) and divided into periods: far-off (60 to 15 d prepartum), close-up (14 to 1 d prepartum), calving (calving date) and postpartum (1 to 14 d postpartum). Respiration rates were recorded once weekly from dry off to calving from 1300 to 1500 h. Feeding displacements were defined as one cow successfully displacing another from the feed bunk and were recorded once per week during the 2 h period, immediately after feeding at 800 h. Pastured cows were fed a commercial dry cow pellet during far-off and total mixed ration during close-up, with free access to hay and grazing. Freestall housed cows were fed a total mixed ration at far-off and close-up. Cows housed in freestalls were moved to a maternity pen with a mattress at commencement of labour. Pastured cows calved in pasture. After calving, all cows were commingled in a pen identical to the freestall housing treatment. Cows housed in freestalls laid down for longer during far-off and close-up periods, had fewer lying bouts during the calving period and took fewer steps throughout the study period when compared to pastured cows. Freestall housed cows experienced more displacements after feeding than did pastured cows. Respiration rates increased with an increasing temperature humidity index, more in pastured cows than in freestall housed cows. Pastured cows altered their lying behaviour and activity, suggesting a shift in time budget priorities between pastured and confined dry cows. Pastured cows also experienced less aggression around feeding but may be more susceptible to heat stress

Evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of transdermal flunixin for pain mitigation following castration in goats

The mitigation of pain associated with common management procedures is a rising concern among veterinarians, producers and consumers. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are vital compounds for this purpose due to their cost, convenience, and efficacy. A transdermal formulation of flunixin meglumine (FM) was approved for the treatment of pain in cattle; however, the efficacy has yet to be determined for small ruminants. The current study had two aims: 1) to determine the pharmacokinetics of transdermal flunixin meglumine (TD FM) in bucklings and 2) to evaluate pain mitigation by TD FM following castration. To evaluate pharmacokinetics, 12 male goats (mean age = 6 mo) received 2.2 mg/kg of FM IV (n = 6) or 3.3 mg/kg TD FM (n = 6). Plasma FM concentrations were measured. The mean C-max, T-max, and harmonic mean half-life for TD FM were 1.09 +/- 0.65 mu g/ mL, 5.50 +/- 2.95 h, and 7.16 +/- 2.06 h, respectively. To evaluate the efficacy of pain mitigation, 18 goats were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: 1) TD FM and castration (FM CAST) (n = 6); 2) transdermal placebo and castration (PL CAST) (n = 6); and 3) TD FM and sham castration (SHAM) (n = 6). Plasma samples were collected at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, and 96 h to assess cortisol and prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)). Daily dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded and body weight was measured at the beginning and end of the study. Thermography (IRT) images of the scrotum, as well as heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and rectal temperature, were taken twice daily. Separate mixed analysis of variance models were used to test the effects of treatment, time, and their interaction on mean body temperature, IRT, HR, and RR. Autoregressive covariance structure was utilized to account for repeated measures and individual goat DMI prior to the study was added as a covariate. There were no differences in vital parameters, IRT measurements, cortisol, or PGE(2) in animals receiving either TD FM or placebo following castration (P > 0.05). DMI had a treatment by hour interaction and was significantly higher in FM CAST and SHAM groups than the PL CAST group (P = 0.04). Goats in the SHAM group gained weight throughout the study, whereas goats in all other groups lost weight (P = 0.02). Results indicate that TD FM may mitigate pain as demonstrated by increased DMI; however, a single dose may not be sufficient to reduce physiological indicators of pain associated with castration in goats.Peer reviewe

Increased take-off level in automatic milking systems - Effects on milk flow, milk yield and milking efficiency at the quarter level

publishedVersio

Effects of two approaches for outdoor access on the welfare of lactating Nordic red cows

Peer reviewe

Perceptions of dairy cow–handling situations : A comparison of public and industry samples

Inappropriate cattle handling poses a reputational threat to the dairy industry. To enhance social sustainability, handling practices must resonate with societal values about animal care. However, it has yet to be determined to what extent industry and public stakeholders differ in their perception of common cattle handling situations. We administered an online survey to samples of dairy industry (IND) and public (PUB) stakeholders to examine how they perceive a variety of cow-handling scenarios ranging from positive to negative in terms of effects on animal welfare. Participants were presented with 12 brief videos depicting a range of realistic cow-handling situations and responded to measures designed to assess their attitudes and beliefs about each scenario, their perception of the emotional response of the cows depicted in each scenario, as well as their own personal emotional response. Preexisting beliefs about cow treatment on US dairy farms and demographic data, including self-reported dairy consumption, were also collected and analyzed. Before viewing the videos, 52.9% of PUB (vs. 79.0% of IND) believed cows were treated well while 27.2% (vs. 9.0% of IND) believed cows were treated badly. Within IND, believing cows were treated badly was more common among nonwhites, those with greater formal education, more liberal politics, or from urban or suburban environments. In PUB, female and younger participants were more likely to believe cows were treated badly before viewing the videos. In both samples, participants with more positive preexisting beliefs about dairy cow treatment in the US reported consuming dairy products more frequently. In both PUB and IND, scenarios which were rated more positively for attitudes or for the cows' or respondents' emotional experiences were also perceived as more common. Within a given cow-handling scenario, qualitative attitudes (i.e., a positive, negative, or neutral valence) did not differ between the samples. In both samples, at the participant level, overall attitudes toward cow-handling scenarios were highly correlated with both their personal emotional response to the scenario and their perception of the cows' emotional responses. Although the participants' overall personal emotional responses did not differ between the samples, IND rated cows as experiencing more negative emotions overall. The consensus between industry and public stakeholders around dairy cow-handling practices observed in this study could provide a common starting point for addressing other, more contentious animal welfare issues.Peer reviewe

Effects of acute lying and sleep deprivation on the behavior of lactating dairy cows.

The objective was to determine the effects of sleep or lying deprivation on the behavior of dairy cows. Data were collected from 8 multi- and 4 primiparous cows (DIM = 199 ± 44 (mean ± SD); days pregnant = 77 ± 30). Using a crossover design, each cow experienced: 1) sleep deprivation implemented by noise or physical contact when their posture suggested sleep, and 2) lying deprivation imposed by a grid placed on the pen floor. One day before treatment (baseline), and treatment day (treatment) were followed by a 12-d washout period (with the first 7 d used to evaluate recovery). Study days were organized from 2100 to 2059. During habituation (d -3 and -2 before treatment), baseline (d -1), and trt (d 0), housing was individual boxstalls (mattress with no bedding). After treatment, cows returned to sand-bedded freestalls for a 7-d recovery period (d 1 to 7) where data on lying behaviors were collected. Following the recovery period, an additional 5-d period was provided to allow the cows a 12-d period between exposures to treatments. Daily lying time, number lying bouts, bout duration, and number of steps were recorded by dataloggers attached to the hind leg of cows throughout the study period. Data were analyzed using a mixed model including fixed effects of treatment (sleep deprivation vs. sleep and lying deprivation), day, and their interaction with significant main effects separated using a PDIFF statement (P ≤ 0.05). Interactions between treatment and day were detected for daily lying time and the number of bouts. Lying time was lower for both treatments during the treatment period compared to baseline. Lying time increased during the recovery period for both lying and sleep deprived cows. However, it took 4 d for the lying deprived cows to fully recover their lying time after treatment, whereas it took the sleep deprived cows 2 d for their lying time to return to baseline levels. Results suggest that both sleep and lying deprivation can have impact cow behavior. Management factors that limit freestall access likely reduce lying time and sleep, causing negative welfare implications for dairy cows

Perceptions of dairy cow handling situations: A comparison of public and industry samples

The document presented herein is a PDF copy of the Qualtrics survey instruments used for both the PUB and IND samples.Inappropriate cattle handling poses a reputational threat to the dairy industry. To enhance social sustainability, handling practices must resonate with societal values about animal care. However, it has yet to be determined to what extent industry and public stakeholders differ in their perception of common cattle handling situations. We administered an online survey to samples of dairy industry (IND) and public (PUB) stakeholders to examine how they perceive a variety of cow handling scenarios ranging from positive to negative in terms of impacts on animal welfare. Participants were presented with 12 brief videos depicting a range of realistic cow handling situations and responded to measures designed to assess their attitudes and beliefs about each scenario, their perception of the emotional response of the cows depicted in each scenario, as well as their own personal emotional response. Preexisting beliefs about cow treatment on US dairy farms and demographic data, including self-reported dairy consumption, were also collected and analyzed. Before viewing the videos, 52.9% of PUB (vs 79.0% of IND) believed cows were treated well while 27.2% (vs 9.0% of IND) believed cows were treated badly. Within IND, believing cows were treated badly was more common among non-whites, those with greater formal education, more liberal politics, or from urban or suburban environments. In PUB, female and younger participants were more likely to believe cows were treated badly before viewing the videos. In both samples, participants with more positive preexisting beliefs about dairy cow treatment in the U.S. reported consuming dairy products more frequently. In both PUB and IND, scenarios which were rated more positively for attitudes or for the cows’ or respondents’ emotional experiences were also perceived as more common. With a given cow handling scenario, qualitative attitudes (i.e., a positive, negative, or neutral valence) did not differ between the samples. In both samples, at the participant level, overall attitudes toward cow handling scenarios were highly correlated with both their personal emotional response to the scenario and their perception of the cows’ emotional responses. Although the participants’ overall personal emotional responses did not differ between the samples, IND rated cows as experiencing more negative emotions overall. The consensus between industry and public stakeholders around dairy cow handling practices observed in this study could provide a common starting point for addressing other, more contentious animal welfare issues.This project was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2020-68014-31413 (accession no. 1022687) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture