Effects of milking frequency on lying down and getting up behaviour in dairy cows

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate if cows milked twice per day have more dif®culty lying down and getting up and spend less time lying than cows milked three times per day. Seventeen cows of the Swedish Red and White Cattle Breed were studied, seven of which were milked twice daily (2M) and ten were milked three times (3M) daily. They were kept in individual cubicles, that were closed in the rear end with a rope. They had free access to a mixture of silage, hay and concentrate. The individual cows were video-recorded for 24 h every fourth week, starting four weeks after calving for four times. The 2M cows stood signi®cantly longer, 128.11 min, than the 3M cows, 64.88 min, (P`0X01) during the 4 h before morning milking. The 2M cows also had a tendency for longer duration of standing rumination (P 0X059) as well as signi®cantly more bouts of standing rumination (P`0X01) during these hours than the 3M cows. The cows in the 3M group spent less time on the getting up movement (P`0X05) during the 4 h before morning milking. The distribution of the lying bouts during these 4 h differed signi®cantly between the groups, where the 3M cows had fewer lying bouts shorter than 15 min and more lying bouts longer than 90 min. The results indicate that milking three times a day contributes to increased comfort in high-producing dairy cows.

Behaviour of reindeer as an indicator of an adaptation to feeding

Abstract: We assessed behaviour of reindeer affected by nutritional deprivation and how they adapted to various feeding strategies. The activity pattern of 61 penned eight month old female reindeer calves was observed during 20 of a total of 42 experimental days in winter 1997. The dominant activities were lying, ruminating, intake of feed and water, and standing. Few recordings of agonistic behaviour or snow intake occured. Restricted feed intake, half the ad lib. ration of a lichen-based diet, affected the eating behaviour of the reindeer, and more animals were standing and fewer lying compared to reindeer fed ad lib. Lack of energy in the diet correlated with animals lying curled up (lying with the muzzle close to the hind legs). This behaviour could be a useful complement to other measurements and registrations when studying adaptations to various feeding regimens.Abstract in Swedish/Sammanfattning:Syftet med studien var att undersöka om, och i så fall hur renars beteende påverkades av otillräckligt näringsintag och vid anpassning till olika utfodringsstrategier. Aktivitetsmönstret hos 61 inhägnade åtta månader gamla honrenkalvar studerades under 20 av totalt 42 försöksdagar. De vanligaste beteendekategorierna genom hela försöket var ligga, idissla, intag av foder och vatten samt stå passivt. Endast ett fåtal observationer av aggressivt beteende och snöätande registrerades. En begränsad giva dvs. halva mängden av fodergivan vid fri tillgång av en lavbaserad diet påverkade djuren ätbeteende. Dessutom observerades fler djur stå passivt medan färre låg jämfört med kontrollgruppen. Under första fasen av utfodring efter restriktionsperioden låg fler djur låg ihoprullade (med mulen tätt intill bakbenet) jämfört med kontrollgruppen, vilket tolkades som ett tecken på energibrist. Beteendestudierna visade sig vara ett värdefullt komplement till övriga mätningar och provtagningar vid studier av renars anpassning till olika utfodringsregimer

Can field botany be effectively taught as a distance course? Experiences and reflections from the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 forced a rapid change in university teaching, with large numbers of courses switching to distance learning with very little time for preparation. Courses involving many practical elements and field excursions required particular care if students were to fulfil planned learning outcomes. Here, we present our experiences in teaching field botany in 2020 and 2021. Using a range of methods and tools to introduce students to the subject, promote self-learning and reflection and give rapid and regular feedback, we were able to produce a course that allowed students to achieve the intended learning outcomes and that obtained similarly positive student evaluations to previous years. The course and its outcomes were further improved in 2021. We describe how we structured field botany as a distance course in order that we could give the best possible learning experience for the students. Finally, we reflect on how digital tools can aid teaching such subjects in the future, in a world where public knowledge of natural history is declining

A forage-only diet alters the metabolic response of horses in training

Most athletic horses are fed a high-starch diet despite the risk of health problems. Replacing starch concentrate with high-energy forage would alleviate these health problems, but could result in a shift in major substrates for muscle energy supply from glucose to short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) due to more hindgut fermentation of fibre. Dietary fat inclusion has previously been shown to promote aerobic energy supply during exercise, but the contribution of SCFA to exercise metabolism has received little attention. This study compared metabolic response with exercise and lactate threshold (VLa4) in horses fed a forage-only diet (F) and a more traditional high-starch, low-energy forage diet (forage–concentrate diet - FC). The hypothesis was that diet F would increase plasma acetate concentration and increase VLa4 compared with diet FC. Six Standardbred geldings in race training were used in a 29-day change-over experiment. Plasma acetate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), lactate, glucose and insulin concentrations and venous pH were measured in samples collected before, during and after a treadmill exercise test (ET, day 25) and muscle glycogen concentrations before and after ET. Plasma acetate concentration was higher before and after exercise in horses on diet F compared with diet FC, and there was a tendency ( P50.09) for increased VLa4 on diet F. Venous pH and plasma glucose concentrations during exercise were higher in horses on diet F than diet FC, as was plasma NEFA on the day after ET. Plasma insulin and muscle glycogen concentrations were lower for diet F, but glycogen utilisation was similar for the two diets. The results show that a high-energy, forage-only diet alters the metabolic response to exercise and, with the exception of lowered glycogen stores, appears to have positive rather than negative effects on performance traits

Environmental differences between sites control the diet and nutrition of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia

Background and aims: Carnivorous plants are sensitive to small changes in resource availability, but few previous studies have examined how differences in nutrient and prey availability affect investment in and the benefit of carnivory. We studied the impact of site-level differences in resource availability on ecophysiological traits of carnivory for Drosera rotundifolia L. Methods: We measured prey availability, investment in carnivory (leaf stickiness), prey capture and diet of plants growing in two bogs with differences in N deposition and plant available N: Cors Fochno (0.62 g m−2 yr.−1, 353 μg l−1), Whixall Moss (1.37 g m−2 yr.−1, 1505 μg l−1). The total N amount per plant and the contributions of prey/root N to the plants’ N budget were calculated using a single isotope natural abundance method. Results: Plants at Whixall Moss invested less in carnivory, were less likely to capture prey, and were less reliant on prey-derived N (25.5% compared with 49.4%). Actual prey capture did not differ between sites. Diet composition differed – Cors Fochno plants captured 62% greater proportions of Diptera. Conclusions: Our results show site-level differences in plant diet and nutrition consistent with differences in resource availability. Similarity in actual prey capture may be explained by differences in leaf stickiness and prey abundance

The structure and regulation of the Irish equine industries: Links to considerations of equine welfare

The equine industries in Ireland are vibrant and growing. They are broadly classified into two sectors: Thoroughbred racing, and sports and leisure. This paper describes these sectors in terms of governance, education and training in equine welfare, and available data concerning horse numbers, identification, traceability and disposal. Animal welfare, and specifically equine welfare, has received increasing attention internationally. There is general acceptance of concepts such as animal needs and persons' responsibilities toward animals in their care, as expressed in the 'Five Freedoms'. As yet, little has been published on standards of equine welfare pertaining to Ireland, or on measures to address welfare issues here. This paper highlights the central role of horse identification and legal registration of ownership to safeguard the health and welfare of horses

A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses

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