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Lying is a highly motivated behaviour in dairy cows. The level of comfort provided by the lying surface not only affects lying time, but can also affect several other aspects of welfare. We used a crossover design to compare shredded paper and sawdust bedding in relation to lying behaviour, activity, lameness, integument damage, cleanliness and productivity. Cubicles were bedded with a thin layer of bedding, which was replaced as necessary to retain its hygienic state. Twenty-eight lactating Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were divided into two balanced groups that experienced each bedding treatment for a 2 week period in opposing order. Paper bedding resulted in significantly less time spent lying down (paper: 45 %, SD ± 6.7, sawdust: 48 %, SD ± 7.3, P 0.10). Furthermore, no significant effects on step count, damage to the integument, cleanliness or milk yields were observed (P > 0.10). Slips were too rare overall for analysis. These findings indicate that paper bedding and sawdust were mostly comparable in terms of impact on behaviour, welfare and productivity when provided on a short-term basis. Future trials are recommended to determine if treatment effects persist following prolonged exposure to paper bedding. Assessing the longitudinal development of lameness and the long-term impact of reduced lying time will be essential.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of providing paper or rope, alternative enriching substrates to straw, to piglets in farrowing crates on piglet and sow welfare. Sixty multiparous sows and their litters were housed in crates that were either barren (BARREN), enriched with shredded paper (PAPER) or natural fibre rope (ROPE). Enriching substrates were introduced when piglets were 10 days old. The proportion of sows with udder and teat lesions before parturition and at weaning was recorded. Piglet facial lesions were scored according to severity on days 11, 18 and 27. Sow and piglet behaviour was recorded using scan sampling on days 14, 18, 22 and 26. Furthermore, the behaviour of one male and one female focal piglet per litter was recorded continuously for 10 min twice per day on days 14, 18, 22 and 26. On day 27 post-partum, focal piglets were observed for 5 min in a novel arena and for a further 5 min after a novel object was introduced. On day 27, there was a tendency for more BARREN sows to have teat lesions ( P = 0.07). PAPER litters tended to have a smaller proportion of piglets with facial lesions ( P = 0.06). ROPE piglets were active in the enriched area of the crate in more observations than BARREN and PAPER piglets ( P P P P P = 0.05). In conclusion, shredded paper improved piglet welfare and was easily incorporated into the farrowing crates.

Tail biting in pigs is a multi-factorial problem, and the early rearing environment has been proposed as a potential previously unidentified factor. The aim of this study was to test whether access to chewable material from birth to weaning reduces later tail biting. Undocked litters of 59 sows were allocated to two treatments. In the rope-and-paper treatment ( N =30), the farrowing pens were furnished from birth to weaning with 10 pieces of sisal rope and one plastic ball suspended on the wall, and the piglets were given newspaper and wood shavings twice a day. In the control treatment ( N =29), plastic ball and wood shavings were provided. The average group size was 11 piglets per pen. The piglets were weaned during week 4 after birth and transferred to growing pens, combining two or three litters from the same treatment to each pen, on average 18 pigs per pen. The growing pens were identical for both treatment groups: each had three pieces of sisal rope and a plastic chewing toy. Wood shavings were given twice a day. Behaviour was recorded on video during weeks 2, 3 and 9 after birth. Tail damage was scored during week 9. During weeks 2 and 3 after birth, oral-nasal manipulation of other piglets was less frequent in the rope-and-paper pens than in the controls ( P P P =0.001). During week 9, when both treatment groups had spent five weeks in identical post-weaning environments, oral-nasal manipulation of pen mates and objects no longer differed significantly between the treatment groups ( P >0.1), but there was a significant difference in tail damage. Severe tail damage (part of tail missing, or wounds with inflammation) had a mean prevalence of 9.8% in the pigs that had paper and ropes before weaning, and 32.1% in the controls ( P P =0.002). In undamaged tails, there was no significant difference between the treatment groups ( P >0.1). It is concluded that providing chewable materials in early life has promising potential for reducing the severity of later tail biting.

Tension banding castration of cattle is gaining favour because it is relatively simple to perform and is promoted by retailers of the banders as a humane castration method. Two experiments were conducted, under tropical conditions using Bos indicus bulls comparing tension banding (Band) and surgical (Surgical) castration of weaner (7–10 months old) and mature (22–25 months old) bulls with and without pain management (NSAID (ketoprofen) or saline injected intramuscularly immediately prior to castration). Welfare outcomes were assessed using a range of measures; this paper reports on some physiological, morbidity and productivity-related responses to augment the behavioural responses reported in an accompanying paper. Blood samples were taken on the day of castration (day 0) at the time of restraint (0 min) and 30 min (weaners) or 40 min (mature bulls), 2 h, and 7 h; and days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 post-castration. Plasmas from day 0 were assayed for cortisol, creatine kinase, total protein and packed cell volume. Plasmas from the other samples were assayed for cortisol and haptoglobin (plus the 0 min sample). Liveweights were recorded approximately weekly to 6 weeks and at 2 and 3 months post-castration. Castration sites were checked at these same times to 2 months post-castration to score the extent of healing and presence of sepsis. Cortisol concentrations (mean ± s.e. nmol/L) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the Band (67 ± 4.5) compared with Surgical weaners (42 ± 4.5) at 2 h post-castration, but at 24 h post-castration were greater in the Surgical (43 ± 3.2) compared with the Band weaners (30 ± 3.2). The main effect of ketoprofen was on the cortisol concentrations of the mature Surgical bulls; concentrations were significantly reduced at 40 min (47 ± 7.2 vs. 71 ± 7.2 nmol/L for saline) and 2 h post-castration (24 ± 7.2, vs. 87 ± 7.2 nmol/L for saline). Ketoprofen, however, had no effect on the Band mature bulls, with their cortisol concentrations averaging 54 ± 5.1 nmol/L at 40 min and 92 ± 5.1 nmol/L at 2 h. Cortisol concentrations were also significantly elevated in the Band (83 ± 3.0 nmol/L) compared with Surgical mature bulls (57 ± 3.0 nmol/L) at weeks 2–4 post-castration. The timing of this elevation coincided with significantly elevated haptoglobin concentrations (mg/mL) in the Band bulls (2.97 ± 0.102 for mature bulls and 1.71 ± 0.025 for weaners, vs. 2.10 ± 0.102 and 1.45 ± 0.025 respectively for the Surgical treatment) and evidence of slow wound healing and sepsis in both the weaner (0.81 ± 0.089 not healed at week 4 for Band, 0.13 ± 0.078 for Surgical) and mature bulls (0.81 ± 0.090 at week 4 for Band, 0.38 ± 0.104 for Surgical). Overall, liveweight gains of both age groups were not affected by castration method. The findings of acute pain, chronic inflammation and possibly chronic pain in the mature bulls at least, together with poor wound healing in the Band bulls support behavioural findings reported in the accompanying paper and demonstrate that tension banding produces inferior welfare outcomes for weaner and mature bulls compared with surgical castration.

Tension-band castration of cattle is gaining favour because it is relatively simple to perform and is promoted by retailers of the devices as a humane castration method. Furthermore, retailers encourage delaying castration to exploit the superior growth rates of bulls compared with steers. Two experiments were conducted, under tropical conditions, comparing tension banding and surgical castration of weaner (7–10 months old) and mature (22–25 months old) Bos indicus bulls with and without pain management (ketoprofen or saline injected intramuscularly immediately prior to castration). Welfare outcomes were assessed using a wide range of measures; this paper reports on the behavioural responses of the bulls and an accompanying paper reports on other measures. Behavioural data were collected at intervals by direct observation and continuously via data loggers on the hind leg of the bulls to 4 weeks post-castration. Tension-banded bulls performed less movement in the crush/chute than the surgically castrated bulls during the procedures (weaner: 2.63 vs. 5.69, P < 0.001; mature: 1.00 vs. 5.94; P < 0.001 for tension-band and surgical castration, respectively), indicating that tension banding was less painful then surgical castration during conduct. To 1.5 h post-castration, tension-banded bulls performed significantly (all P < 0.05) more active behavioural responses indicative of pain compared with surgical castrates, e.g., percentage time walking forwards (weaner: 15.0% vs. 8.1%; mature: 22.3% vs. 15.1%), walking backwards (weaner: 4.3% vs. 1.4%; mature: 2.4% vs. 0.5%), numbers of tail movements (weaner: 21.9 vs. 1.4; mature: 51.5 vs. 39.4) and leg movements (weaner: 12.9 vs. 0.9; mature: 8.5 vs. 1.5), respectively. In contrast, surgically castrated bulls performed more immobile behaviours compared with tension-banded bulls (e.g., standing in mature bulls was 56.6% vs. 34.4%, respectively, P = 0.002). Ketoprofen administration appeared effective in moderating pain-related behaviours in the mature bulls from 1.5 to 3 h, e.g., reducing abnormal standing (0.0% vs. 7.7%, P = 0.009) and increasing feeding (12.7% vs. 0.0%, P = 0.048) in NSAID- and saline-treated bulls, respectively. There were few behavioural differences subsequent to 24 h post-castration, but some limited evidence of chronic pain (3–4 weeks post-castration) with both methods. Interpretation, however, was difficult from behaviours alone. Thus, tension banding is less painful than surgical castration during conduct of the procedures and pain-related behavioural responses differ with castration method (active restlessness in response to tension banding and minimisation of movement in response to surgical castration). Ketoprofen administered immediately prior to castration was somewhat effective in reducing pain, particularly in the mature bulls.

The aim of the present follow-up study was to assess sibling competition during nursing on Day 1 post-partum (i.e., 24 h after the end of parturition), as well as whether sows respond to increased sibling competition. A total of 19 healthy sows and their piglets were directly observed and video recorded for 6 h on Day 1 post-partum. Piglet behaviours (presence at the udder, fighting and screaming) were scored at 15 s intervals, commencing 5 intervals (i.e., 75 s) prior to milk ejection, and continuing for 9 intervals (i.e., 135 s) after milk ejection. The proportion of piglets which missed the milk ejection, postural changes by the sow, and whether the nursing was without milk ejection (non-nutritive nursing) were also noted. The mean number of piglets per sibling exhibiting fights (FIGHTS), and exhibiting fights with screams (FIGHT-SCRES) was calculated for both before (pre-massage) and after milk ejection (post-massage). There was a significant correlation between the number of piglets exhibiting FIGHTS and the number of piglets exhibiting FIGHT-SCRES during pre-massage (ρ = 0.92), as well for post-massage (ρ = 0.93). Based on this high correlation, only the results for the number of piglets exhibiting FIGHTS were included in the paper. A higher number of piglets exhibiting FIGHTS (P

This paper reports three experiments that aimed to validate the use of state-dependent learning (SDL) as a novel welfare assessment tool to evaluate the hunger state of feed-restricted broiler breeders. In each experiment, birds alternated every 2 days between two food rations: quantitative feed restriction (QFR) and ad libitum access to the same feed (AL). Each food ration was paired with a different, end of day, coloured food reward. It was predicted that the reward associated with hunger (QFR FR) would be preferred to the food reward associated with AL (AL FR) in a subsequent choice test. The SDL preference testing took place after 4 and 8 days of training. Each bird was tested twice (once per food ration fed on the test day). In experiment 1 (pilot, n = 4), birds preferred the QFR-associated reward during both tests (mean (±S.E.M.) preference: QFR FR: 35.0 (±3.5) g; AL FR: 2 (±1.3) g, but differential food reward intake between hunger states during training confounded the results. In experiment two (n = 12) a smaller food reward was used during training to try and equalise intake. The birds preferred the QFR FR in test 1 only (least significant difference (L.S.D.) = 15.08, P < 0.05). The mean (±S.E.M.) consumption in test 1 was: QFR FR: 31.6 (±4.3) g; AL FR: 9.41 (±2.3) g. However, differential reward intake continued to confound the findings. In experiment three (n = 8), the food reward was made more palatable by feeding moist and food reward intake during training was equalised between hunger states. During testing, birds continued to show a significant preference in test 1 only (L.S.D. = 13.73, P < 0.05). It was concluded that SDL-derived preferences observed do exist but are not a robust phenomenon. Therefore, further research is needed to quantify factors influencing SDL development and maintenance before using SDL as a tool to assess hunger in feed-restricted broiler breeders.

Harvesting of broilers is a stressful event, whether done mechanically or manually. The use of harvesting machines might compromise animal welfare less than manual harvesting methods because it is less influenced by environmental and flock-specific factors. In this paper, a mechanical and a manual harvesting method are compared in regard to stress-induced behavioural and physiological reactions. The stationary person test and the avoidance distance touch test were applied before harvesting to estimate pre-treatment fear of humans in the flocks. We then recorded the behaviour of the flocks during harvesting and evaluated stress-induced behaviour such as wing flapping and escape behaviour. Furthermore, we took blood samples at the abattoir and analysed the corticosterone concentration and heterophil/lymphocyte ratio. In a statistical analysis, all assessed parameters were related to environmental and flock-specific factors, as well as to the risk of lesions such as haematomas and fractures. Our aim was to figure out if the use of a harvesting machine, in this case the Apollo Generation 2, puts less stress on broilers during harvesting than manual catching. The applied behaviour tests indicate the excitability and fear of humans of the flocks but are complex to interpret. Compared with mechanical harvesting, manual harvesting was more influenced by environmental and flock-specific factors such as average weight (odds ratio [OR] = 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.11; 2.22]) or catching duration (OR = 1.79; 95% CI [1.44; 2.19]). The results verified a correlation between stress-induced behaviour and the occurrence of lesions. The risk for haematomas was influenced by escape behaviour during manual harvesting (OR = 1.07; 95% CI [1.02; 1.13]) and by bumps against the containers (OR = 1.06; 95% CI [1.05; 1.07]) and flips (OR = 6.23; 95% CI [3.99; 9.27]) during mechanical harvesting. The risk for fractures during mechanical harvesting was influenced by the occurrence of flips (OR = 2.74; 95% CI [1.07; 5.67]). The risk for wing flapping was twice as high during manual harvesting as during mechanical harvesting (OR = 2.11; 95% CI [1.82; 2.44]). The blood parameters showed no correlations with the initial behaviour test results and the assessed stress-induced behaviour during harvesting. Corticosterone concentration was strongly influenced by light intensity (beta = 3.75; 95% CI [2.55; 4.95]) and outdoor temperature (beta = 46.34; 95% CI [39.18; 53.27]) during manual harvesting. The results showed weak points of both harvesting methods, and we offer suggestions to improve animal welfare during harvesting.

EU legislation requires that growing pigs are provided with suitable materials that satisfy their needs for investigation and manipulation. Although commercial pig keepers have tried a variety of different enrichment materials and methods of presentation, the benefits to the pig have not always been clear. The aim of this paper was to determine: (1) the extent to which provision of separate enrichment materials gives predictable additive increases in occupation time, (2) whether there is consistency in the relative use of different enrichment materials over time and, if so, and (3) whether a rapid methodology could be used to evaluate the relative enrichment value of a particular material for growing pigs. A total of 36 growing pigs (mean liveweight 36 kg) were used, housed in 12 groups of 3 in part-slatted pens in a controlled environment building. Four enrichment materials with different properties were compared: two hanging objects suspended above the pen (sisal rope, R and metal chain, C) and two foraging substrates provided in a trough (sawdust, S and wood shavings, W). The materials were presented in pairs, in all six combinations (CR, CW, CS, RW, RS and WS) with each group of pigs exposed to one combination of materials for five days followed by the other two materials for a further five days. Time interacting with each enrichment material was determined on a per pen basis. The results showed that although the pigs very quickly habituated to all of the enrichment materials, they spent a greater proportion of time interacting with some materials than others (e.g. rope: 0.17, sawdust: 0.04; P P

Earlier research indicates that stallions may supress interactions of their harem members, leading to less stable hierarchies and friendship bonds in harems compared to non-stallion groups. In this paper, the effect of the presense of a stallion on the social behaviour of mares was studied by comparing six harems containing stallions to four mixed sex groups not containing stallions. Both temporary and permanent harems were studied, giving the possibility to investigate the effect of group stability on social interactions. A significant linear hierarchy was found in all non-stallion groups that were used for comparison, while the hierarchies were only found to be linear in three of the six harems containing stallions (Landaus h ′, p t -test, p G -test, p p

Prandial correlations measure the strength of the effects of between-meal interval length on the size of subsequent meals (pre-prandial) and vice versa (post-prandial) and provide insight into the control of food intake. In this paper we develop hypotheses about prandial correlations by using feeding behaviour data consisting of more than 300,000 meals that were recorded from at least 290 animals from each of six genotypes (four broiler lines, ducks and turkeys). The objectives of the study were to (i) obtain estimates of pre- and post-prandial correlations in the three species, (ii) quantify in probabilistic terms exactly how interval length affects meal size and vice versa and (iii) test whether prandial correlations were affected by selection intensity for growth in broilers. Pre-prandial correlations were statistically significant but interval length had almost no effect on meal size in ducks and turkeys and explained only 7–18% of the variation in meal size in broilers. Post-prandial correlations were higher than pre-prandial correlations and meal size explained between 8% and 42% of the variation in subsequent interval length. Selection intensity for growth did not systematically affect pre- or post-prandial correlations in broilers. The probability of animals starting a meal within the next 10 min ( P start ) remained close to zero for longer the larger the preceding meal was but meal size did not affect the rate of the rise in P start with time since the last meal. Similarly, the probability of animals ending a meal before consuming another g of feed ( P end ) was higher at the start of a meal the shorter the preceding interval length but the rate of the rise in P end with amount of food consumed was not affected by previous interval length. Analyses of effects of meal size on changes in P start and of interval length on changes in P end provide more information that is relevant for the structure of feeding behaviour than prandial correlations alone. Such analyses require an appropriate method to group feeding behaviour into meals and data sets of uniform feeding behaviour. A combination of the behavioural probabilities highlighted here with analyses of physiological changes occurring at the same time appears promising for the elucidation of the control of food intake.

This paper explores watering patterns of wild red-legged partridges at water troughs (WT) during three consecutive summers on a farm-land area of Spain where drought periods are frequent. Camera trapping was used in order to assess climatic effects on weekly and daily watering patterns, investigate the influence of shrub cover on water-site selection, evaluate behavioural patterns displayed when using WT, and describe age and number of birds observed at WT. Red-legged partridges used WT throughout the study period, but significant use did not occur until August, decreasing dramatically in mid September, and ending in October. A circadian watering pattern was observed during daylight hours with most photographs taken from 08:00 hours to 11:00 hours (54.8%). Partridges displayed different behaviours (drinking, feeding/dusting, vigilance, moving/unknown), but patterns did not vary significantly throughout the day. WT were used mostly by adult birds with only 26.5% of photographs also depicting young partridges. WT selection was strongly influenced by the presence of surrounding vegetation as partridges preferred troughs with shrub cover. We also found a significant negative relationship (P

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of alternative litter materials on growth performance and behaviors of broiler chicks. Chicks were raised from 1 to 42 days of age, during the summer with an average temperature of 31 °C. In experiment 1, three hundred broilers (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to one of 20 floor pens. There were four replicates for each of the following five litter treatments: (1) no litter, (2) wood shaving, (3) sand, (4) rice hulls and (5) recycled paper roll. Results showed broilers reared on rice hulls had significantly lower body weight, feed intake and antibody titer ( P

This study tests the two main characteristics of a temperament trait, consistency across time and consistency across situations. The temperament trait of interest was aggressiveness during feeding in dairy cattle. In this study, we focused on whether it is possible to infer a trait of aggressiveness from the measurement of behavioural responses expressed by individual cows during feeding. Aggressive behaviour appears in many contexts but this paper focuses on aggressive behaviour in a competitive situation over a feed resource in housed dairy cattle. It is important that we fully understand within-cow consistency of aggressiveness in different competitive and social situations. To achieve this the following questions were investigated: (1) are cows consistent in how they express aggressive behaviour over time? (2) and across situations at a standard and reduced (competitive) feedface? The aim of this study was to measure the behavioural reactions of housed dairy cattle during feeding in a way that can be practically and easily recorded on commercial farms. Ten primiparous and 30 multiparous healthy lactating cows were housed in a group (parity = 3.5 ± 2.15; mean ± S.D.). The behaviour of the aggressor and recipient was recorded for each aggressive interaction for 60 min after feed arrival. Repeatability estimates and Kendall's coefficient of concordance were both used to assess consistency of aggressor and recipient behaviours across time. The within-cow repeatability was highest for ‘aggressive index’ (r = 0.31) and lowest for non-response behaviours (r = 0.04) across time. Individual's responses to the standard and reduced feedface were significantly correlated for contact and non-contact behaviours. These results highlight the complexity of aggressive style of cows during feeding and illustrate that some measures of aggressive feeding behaviour are repeatable within cows.

The relationship of laying hens towards humans is an important aspect of animal welfare. Tests for assessing the hen–human relationship on farm should be validated prior to their use. In this paper, we investigated the validity of three recently developed tests assumed to measure the hen–human relationship in non-caged hens. The study was conducted in two identical houses on a commercial free-range farm on 12 groups of laying hens, each group comprising about 500 birds brown hybrids. Over a 2-week treatment period, six groups of laying hens received 15min of additional human contact twice daily (additional contact groups), consisting of walking, talking, feeding and touching single birds. Six control groups received only minimal human contact besides the routine management. Immediately before and after the treatment period, all groups were tested with the three tests. These were measuring the reactions of hens towards a stationary person (stationary person test, SPT), a moving person approaching individual hens (avoidance distance test; ADT) and a stationary person trying to touch individual hens (touch test; TT). Additionally, a test to assess fear of novelty (novel object test; NOT) was performed. Exposure to additional human contact led to significant differences between additional contact and control groups in all parameters of the three tests assessing the hen's relationship to humans (all; p p =0.028), whereas the proportion of touched birds (TT; p =0.028) and the number of birds near the test person (SPT; p =0.028) increased after the 2-week handling period within the additional contact groups but not in the control groups. These findings suggest that (1) the tests effectively measure the human–hen relationship and support the validity of the tests and (2) reactions of laying hens to humans can be actively influenced by the quality of human contact in non-cage systems.

This paper explores the interaction of grazing pregnant dairy cattle (lactating and non-lactating) with contaminated pasture. Behavioural responses were divided into investigative and ingestive grazing events. Patches of sward were artificially contaminated with slurry (containing faeces and urine) and were used to test the behavioural interactions; faecal collection bags ensured no further contamination occurred throughout the two 1-week periods of the experiment. Investigative behaviour was quantified using an active transponder system with aerials buried around the contaminated patches. Ingestive behaviour was quantified using n -alkane markers sprayed on the contaminated patches. The cattle preferentially grazed the uncontaminated sward and this created a trade-off between the non-contaminated and contaminated areas. There was a large variation between cows in both investigative and ingestive behaviour, consequently the effect of physiological state was not significant ( P > 0.05). As the proportion of faecally contaminated to uncontaminated pasture increased, there was a significant ( P n -alkanes, thus providing a useful tool for future studies.

This paper reports on the use of plastic mats by rams housed in pens with wire mesh floors and the motivational consequences of short-term removal of these mats. Six rams were monitored for 5 days before and after the introduction of mats. The mats were then removed for 24 h. There was a peak in the lying rate of rams on the first day the mats were returned. This post-inhibitory rebound may reflect a rise in internal motivation to lie down during the period of prevention. Behaviours that exhibit this pattern of motivation are generally considered functional, and it has been argued that their prevention may compromise welfare. Therefore this report supports the use of appropriately designed plastic mats in housed rams that would otherwise be required to lie on wire mesh.

A major task when developing methods of assessing animal welfare is to identify observable external indicators of internal subjective feelings. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that the percentage of white in the eyes would change as a response to two emotional stimuli; waiting to be fed concentrate and acquiring this food. Twelve dairy cows in a tie-stall were observed for eye-white percentage and behaviour (continuous sampling), one trial day per cow, in a standard daily situation in which a stockman entered the house and fed all animals with concentrate feed within 10 min. The eye-white percentage increased significantly, although moderately, during the first minute and was kept moderately high during the waiting period. After food was obtained, the eye-white percentage decreased compared to the base level. We suggest that a high eye-white percentage may reflect a strong emotional response.

This experiment aims at validating the percentage of visible white in the eye as an emotional indicator, related to the frustration–contentedness axis, in cattle. Earlier experiments showed that the calculated percentage of white in the eyes was larger in frustrated or scared cows compared to cows that were offered a positive stimulus. This eye change was therefore suggested to be a dynamic indicator of emotions in dairy cattle, a high percentage of white in the eye indicating frustration, and a low percentage indicating satisfaction. In the present paper, the hypothesis was that treatment with the anti-anxiety drug diazepam should reduce the percentage of white in the eye in frustrated cows, but have no effect on the percentage of eye white in non-frustrated or rewarded cows. The test animals were 20 randomly selected commercial dairy cows (Norwegian Red Cattle). Two experiments were performed on hungry cows. The four different groups in the first experiment are described in the following. Ten cows were introduced to a frustrating situation, being thwarted from access to visible food (treatment I). Ten cows were introduced to a positive situation, access to food (treatment II). The 10 cows in group I were introduced to the same frustrating situation, but were now pretreated with diazepam (treatment III). The 10 cows in group II were introduced to the same positive situation after pretreatment with diazepam (treatment IV). The two groups in the second experiment were 20 untreated (treatment I) and 20 diazepam-treated (treatment II) cows introduced to a positive, conditioned stimulus, a stockman entering the stall at concentrate feeding time. All predictions were confirmed, supporting the hypothesis that increased percentage of eye white is an emotional indicator of frustration in cows.

In this paper, we assessed the relative importance of handling and feeding lambs in the development of affinity for their stockperson. We also tested the extent to which this affinity can be linked to feeding motivation and behaviour in a conditioning hypothesis. Lambs were reared in groups of three and artificially fed from a multiple-nipple bucket. From the first day of age, contacts with the stockperson were given in the home pens three times a day for 5 consecutive days, then 2 days a week until the tests. In five groups (Presence), the stockperson sat motionless; in five groups (Handling), he caught the lambs and stroked them; in six groups (Handling & Feeding), he caught and stroked the lambs while placing them at the food bucket. At 3.5 weeks of age, the lambs were individually tested in a 6m×1.5m arena. In Test 1 (Human Test), the lambs stayed 2min alone, 2min with the familiar stockperson, then 2min alone again. In Test 2 (Bucket Test), a milk bucket was added to the arena and the same procedure was followed. For each test, the lambs were observed after 5h of starvation or ad libitum feeding (cross-over design). In the Human Test, Presence lambs spent less time near the stockperson (27±7s) than Handling lambs (59±9s, P =0.03) or Handling & Feeding lambs (59±6s, P =0.03). In the Bucket Test, three lambs suckled from the bucket. Only Handling & Feeding lambs increased their time spent near the bucket when the stockperson entered (treatment x time, P =0.05). No interaction between the treatments and the hunger state was observed in any test. Handling per se contributed to the development of lambs' affinity for their stockperson during individual tests, and could have calming and rewarding properties for the lambs. Neither feeding from a bucket during handling nor hunger state increased this affinity. Nevertheless, some association of the stockperson with the milk bucket seemed to occur, suggesting a food conditioning. The way of feeding the animals and their perception of the test as an alimentary situation are discussed.

Rearing treatments used in captivity to prepare animals for reintroduction to the wild may have a profound effect on behavior and, possibly, affect their survival after reintroduction. This study examined the behaviors of captive-reared whooping cranes ( Grus americana ) upon their release in Florida to determine if rearing treatments may affect the behavior of the birds and how these affect their chances of survival in the wild. Individually tagged birds were observed at the rearing facility, the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, from hatch to 20 weeks of age and at the release site in Central Florida for up to 6 weeks post release. The rearing treatments were parent reared (PR), hand reared (HR), and hand reared with exercise (HRE). Observations at the rearing facility are described in a previous paper. At the release site, each bird was observed for 5 min every morning (0700–1000 h) and late afternoon (1500–1800 h) during the 6-week study period. Our results indicated that most of the time, the n = 34 birds were foraging (46.03 ± 1.48%), followed by nonvigilant (20.89 ± 0.73%), vigilant (19.21 ± 0.72%), or performing comfort behaviors (11.61 ± 1.28%). Data were analyzed using mixed models repeated measures ANOVA. There were no significant behavioral differences between HR and HRE birds. PR birds were found in larger groups than HR birds during the first 2 weeks post release and greater than HR and HRE birds afterwards. This may be interpreted as an antipredator strategy for birds that relied on parental guidance during rearing. HR and HRE birds foraged more than PR birds during the first 2 weeks post release and PR birds were more vigilant during the first 2 weeks post release. Across rearing treatments, the percentages of time spent foraging and engaged in vigilant behaviors during rearing were positively correlated with their behavior upon release. If any of these behaviors can be demonstrated to have relevance for the survival of the whooping cranes after release then it may be possible to establish behavioral interventions to increase the frequencies of such behavior, so that they are perpetuated after release.

The provision of straw in animal production systems is widely presumed to be beneficial for the welfare of the animals. The aim of this paper is to review the scientific basis of this assumption for pigs and cattle. As there are important disadvantages (cost, labour, hygiene and incompatibility with manure drainage systems) associated with the use of straw, studies investigating whether there are suitable alternatives to straw that fulfil the same welfare functions are also reviewed. It is concluded that straw has many positive effects on the welfare of pigs. Bedding improves the physical comfort of the floor, and—unless temperatures are high—straw enables pigs to somewhat control their microclimate thereby increasing thermal comfort. Straw also functions as an important stimulus and outlet for exploration, foraging, rooting and chewing behaviours. Pigs that are feed restricted or housed in barren environments, in particular, can be strongly motivated to express these behaviours and the inability to do so may result in behavioural problems or anomalies. In addition, it has been demonstrated that preparturient sows are highly motivated to obtain nesting material and that straw can have a beneficial effect on maternal behaviour after farrowing. Although there may be superior alternatives for each of these functions of straw separately, it remains unlikely that these alternatives can adequately replace the total combination of these functions and also offer advantages regarding hygiene, environment, labour and economics. The importance of straw for the welfare of cattle mainly concerns floor-comfort. However, it appears that the provisioning of (high quality) synthetic lying mats, perhaps in combination with soft walking floors, may provide floor-comfort equal to that of straw. Although the consumption of straw reduces feeding motivation, and hence, the development of oral stereotypies, the behavioural function of straw is less for cattle compared to pigs. Moreover, it is possible to compose more appropriate roughage-feeds that better fulfil the behavioural as well as the dietary needs of cattle. For both pigs and cattle, there is weak evidence that concrete flooring rather than straw is a risk factor for increased overall morbidity and mortality. However, the relation between straw and health is complex, equivocal and disease specific.

The physiological and behavioural impact of, as well as preference for, enriched versus barren environments was determined for captive eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Thirty-eight box turtles were randomized to either barren (flat newspaper substrate) or enriched (cypress mulch substrate, shredded paper and a hide box) enclosures for a 1-month period. Complete blood counts, fecal corticosterone, and body weights were measured at the beginning and end of the test period. Activities performed within the two environments were also compared. Turtles in enriched enclosures had a significantly lower heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L) at the end of the treatment period (p = 0.01). Enriched-housed turtles also spent significantly less time engaged in escape behaviour (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in fecal corticosterone or body weight change between the two treatment groups. At the beginning of the study, each turtle was placed in a preference test system in which it could move freely between a barren and enriched environment. Relative-dwelling time (RDT) was determined for each environment. Turtles showed a distinct preference for the enriched environment (90.9% median RDT, p < 0.01). After the 1-month housing experiment turtles were revaluated for preference to determine if previous housing experience affected choice.

This paper examines some of the factors that affect the expression of libido in beef cattle, focusing on the male and the free-ranging situation. The ways in which bull libido is assessed and the relationship between libido test results and fertility are discussed. Genetics play a role in determining libido, but there are many environmental factors affecting its expression, and a number of these factors influence sexual activity in both tests of libido and paddock mating. Herd fertility is multi-factorial and, consequently, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the relationship between libido and fertility. Multiple males increase the expression of libido, but it is uncertain whether this translates into improvements in herd fertility. However, there are consequences for individual bull fertility, as there is ample evidence of inherent differences between bulls. Male:female ratios appear to have minor effects on libido and fertility. Anecdotal evidence indicates that multiple matings with the same or different bulls may reduce the duration of oestrus. Social relationships between bulls can affect the expression of libido, with subordinate bulls being inhibited by the presence of dominant bulls. There is evidence that dominant bulls may achieve more matings at pasture, but this is not necessarily shown in their fertility. Older bulls show greater expression of libido in tests and appear more efficient in serving, although these changes may reflect greater sexual experience. Provided bulls are sexually mature and physically able to mate, age per se appears not to affect fertility, but age interacts with dominance, which can influence fertility. There is evidence of breed differences in expression of libido, but this appears not to be demonstrated in fertility. There is anecdotal evidence that bulls and females prefer to mate with similar genotypes/phenotypes with implications for fertility. Limited research on thermal and nutritional effects indicate some adverse consequences for libido of climatic extremes for unadapted bulls and of over-feeding, but not under-feeding. Limited research has investigated the effects on libido and fertility of multiple stressors associated with relocation; relocation to dramatically different environments has long-lasting detrimental consequences for fertility. Too few studies have been conducted to draw conclusions about the effects of topography and herd dispersion on libido and fertility. Temperament is likely to affect the expression of libido when animals are put into new situations, but this has not been critically researched. In the light of this review, the implications for managing cattle to optimise fertility are discussed and suggestions made as to areas where further research is needed.

Foraging herbivores are often faced with spatial and temporal heterogeneity within the vegetation they have available to graze and therefore have to make decisions where and when to graze. The study reported in this paper investigated the influence of sward height on diet selection by horses grazing perennial rye-grass swards. The study comprised two experiments. In Experiment 1, perennial rye-grass paddocks were mown to four sward heights (heights: 3.5, 4.5, 7.5 and 15 cm) to create a patchy environment. Within each paddock one horse grazed for a period of 1 h during which residence time, number of bites and frequency of visits per patch were recorded. This was replicated with all seven horses used in the experiment. The same experiment was repeated in Experiment 2, but without mowing the field and allowing 1 week of re-growth for each paddock. During both experiments horses entered equally often but resided significantly longer on patches with long grass (15 cm) than on those with short grass (below 4.5 cm; P P

Piglet crushing remains a problem in crated sows and it is even more of a problem in loose housing systems. Most piglets are crushed when the sow moves from standing to lying or when she rolls over while already lying. This paper reviews lying down and rolling behaviours in sows and their association with piglet crushing in loose housing environments. Only little is known of the rolling behaviour, but the frequency of rolling may be affected by floor properties and fast rolling seems to be more riskful for the piglets than slower rolling. There is substantially more knowledge of the lying down behaviour. The lying down sequence is commonly divided into five stages. The speed of performance of these stages may be related to the risk of piglet crushing, e.g. flopping (the hindquarter drops quickly to the floor) is the most dangerous way the sow can lie down. In contrast, lying down by leaning against a surface rather than lying down in the open reduces the risk of piglet crushing, as does the performance of pre-lying behaviour and adequate sow responsiveness to piglets. The factors that may affect the speed and way of lying down (domestication, breed, muscular control, previous and current housing), pre-lying behaviour (piglet stimuli and space) and responsiveness to piglets (piglet stimuli, timing in relation to parturition, space and bedding) are discussed. The presented knowledge could be used in design and management of farrowing pens in order to reduce piglet crushing. However, several areas still require investigation. The aim of these investigations should be to encourage sows to use support when lying down, but also to make the few very riskful unsupported lying events as well as rolling safer for the piglets. This may be achieved though, e.g. increased knowledge of the motivational context of the various ways of lying down and rolling, development of attractive support features that sows will willingly use and determination of space requirements for the entire lying down and rolling complexes (i.e. pre-lying/-rolling, actual lying/rolling and responsiveness to overlain piglets).

Intersucking is an abnormal behaviour in dairy heifers and cows, and it is defined by one animal sucking the teat of another animal with the intention of sucking milk. The aim of this paper is to review earlier studies on intersucking in dairy cattle and to present results from a questionnaire about intersucking in Swedish cattle. In previous studies 1–49% of the dairy farmers have reported intersucking in cows, and 0.5–40% of the cows have been observed intersucking. Many factors have been found to be related to the development of intersucking, for example, the milk feeding method and housing of calves, the feeding methods of heifers, and the feeding and housing of cows. There also seems to be a relation between cross-sucking in calves and intersucking in heifers and cows. It has been claimed that intersucking between heifers leads to mastitis in primiparous cows, and especially the Corynebacterium pyogenes mastitis. A large number of preventive measures have been tested to stop intersucking in cows, but with varying success. A questionnaire was answered by telephone interviews to 230 dairy farms in Sweden with a reply frequency of 66%. Intersucking had been observed between cows on 29.4% of the farms, and between heifers on 60% of the farms. Calves had been observed sucking under the belly of other calves on 60% of the farms. There was a significant relationship between observations of calves sucking under the belly (cross-sucking) and heifers intersucking (P

Differential use of space by domestic fowl may contribute to unnecessary aggressive interactions and disturbances among birds. Greater use of space near pen walls results in aggregations of birds around peripheral regions, leaving central areas unoccupied. These open areas provide opportunities for aggressive interactions between birds, while high levels of disturbances occur along the periphery as birds enter and leave the wall region to rest. This paper investigates the effects of increased environmental complexity on the occurrence of aggression and disturbances among broiler chickens. It was hypothesized that the provision of vertical panels to pen centers would reduce unnecessary interactions between birds by increasing the number of quality resting places and decreasing the amount of open areas. The experiment consisted of three cover treatments (mesh panels, frame panels and no cover) and two group sizes (80 and 110). Vertical panels, constructed of PVC piping, were positioned in pen centers, while pen centers in no cover treatments were left empty. Disturbances and aggressive interactions were recorded during 5min continuous focal samples of 180 focal individuals from 1 to 6 weeks of age. The presence of cover did not significantly influence the appearance of aggressive interactions ( P >0.05). The percentage of pens with observed aggression was significantly affected by age ( P P P >0.05). Disturbance frequency was influenced by the presence of cover ( P

In the wild, cover is used by animals to seek shelter from the elements, protection from predators and aggressive conspecifics and as a way to reduce inter-animal communication. Rearing environments for captive raised fowl often contain open areas that are lacking in complexity and that are greatly underused. As a result, use of space within pen-type enclosures is often not uniform. This paper investigates the effect of increased environmental complexity on the use of space by broilers. The experiment consisted of three cover treatments (mesh panels, frame panels and no cover) and three group sizes (80, 110 and 140). The vertical panels, constructed of PVC piping, were positioned in pen centers, while the pen centers in the no cover treatment were left empty. It was hypothesized that the provision of vertical panels to pen centers would attract birds into the central space and would lead to a more uniform distribution of birds. Using a grid-coordinate system set up in each pen, scan samples were taken on the use of space in each pen four times per day, 3 days per week from 5 to 44 days of age. Use of space in the central region for the two cover treatments was significantly higher than for the no cover treatment (P

Outside the scientific world, the effect of social behaviour on production is little taken into account, but the importance of this relationship has been sufficiently proven in some animal species. Nevertheless, there are scarce works that emphasise the importance of behaviour in the production of the goat. The main objective of this paper is to determine if there is a stable hierarchy of dominance in a flock of goats fed in pasture, and if this hierarchy influences somehow the diet selected in the pasture and in its production of milk and meat. The study was carried out in a flock of goats in semi-extensive grazing management. The interactions observed in the pasture during the supplementary feeding and during the milking were written down. This allowed us to determine the dominance rank. The diet was determined in the pasture by the direct observation method. The production of milk was measured daily. The meat production consisted on the weight of the kids in their first day of life and after a month. Among the most prominent results, the following should be indicated: (a) Within the herd, a clearly established, quite stable and linear hierarchic order exists. (b) The most aggressive animals are those that occupy the highest positions within the social hierarchy. (c) Age, large size and horns seem to be the physical factors that most favor dominance. (d) When more forage becomes available, differences appear in the diet chosen by dominant and subordinate animals, that is, they become more selective. In the months of greater shortage, these differences in feeding disappear, and they become more generalist. (e) The production of animals is affected by dominance. However, contrary to what might otherwise be thought, it is the middle range of goats that are the most productive.

There has been a trend in North America towards very early weaning of piglets combined with a segregation of the piglets from the sow in a system known as Segregated Early Weaning (SEW). This paper investigates the effects of very early weaning on piglet behaviour. In order to determine the effects of weaning age on piglet behaviour, litters of piglets were randomly assigned to be weaned at 7, 14, and 28 days of age. In each of three trials, piglets from three litters were mixed into two pens of 10 piglets per weaning age (six replicates per treatment, N =180). Pens were video-taped for 2 days immediately post-weaning and periodically until piglets were 6 weeks of age. There were marked differences in the behaviour of the piglets weaned at the different ages. Piglets weaned at 7 days spent more time belly-nosing ( P P P P P P P P P

Numerous experiments have shown that animals grazing pasture remove only a portion of the sward height offered. Furthermore, bite area increases with sward height but decreases slightly as sward bulk density increases. A number of theories have been proposed to explain these patterns. One suggestion is that bite depth is limited by barrier layers of mature pseudostem or reproductive stem in the canopy. Animals may then adjust their bite area to maintain a constant bite fracture force. However, recent studies show that these hypotheses are unlikely to be true except in limited circumstances. This paper develops a theory of bite mechanics to describe and explain the bite dimensions of sheep and cattle grazing grass swards in terms of physical processes. Bite mechanics are described using simple mathematical functions that assume a non-constant bulk density profile and a non-cylindrical bite volume. Bite `depth' (insertion height) is assumed to be proportional to sward surface height. Bite area responses can then be explained by the extent to which this non-cylindrical bite volume is inserted into the canopy and by the observation that animals decrease potential bite area slightly in response to increasing pasture bulk density. Bite area and bite weight calculations derived from these models are consistent with published data from sheep and cattle grazing artificial swards. Areas for further experimentation are suggested.

The hypothesis that daily gain is associated with resting behaviour in heifers is tested in this paper. The test is based on two experiments conducted on Danish commercial dairy farms with Danish Friesian heifers (300–400 kg) in the winter periods. Group size was 5–6 heifers per pen. Experiment A, with 80 heifers, investigated the effect of different space allowances (1.5 or 3.0 m2 per heifer on fully slatted floor) and different floor types (fully slatted or with access to bedding). Experiment B, with 70 heifers, investigated the effect of space allowance in the deep bedding area (1.8; 2.7 and 3.6 m2 resting area per heifer). Data from experiment A showed a tendency towards a positive correlation between lying periods and daily gain for heifers housed on fully slatted floor but not when housed with access to bedding. There tended to be a positive correlation between number of lying periods and daily gain at a low but not at a high space allowance. The data from experiment B showed a tendency towards a positive correlation between lying time and daily gain at a low space allowance in the deep bedding area and not at a high space allowance. Among heifers in the pens with access to bedding in experiment A, it was found that one particular heifer in each of the four pens lay significantly more on the slatted floor and this heifer had an average daily gain which was less than the others.

It has been suggested that feeding motivation and feeding behaviour are causally related to the performance of persistent oral behaviour in pigs. However, in a previous experiment we showed that the presentation of small food rewards to chronically food-restricted sows in a test arena did not elicit the performance of persistent feeding-like behaviours. In this paper we tested the hypothesis that the arousal generated by the expectation of a daily presentation of a food reward would be ‘channelled’ by a restrictive environment into the expression of persistent feeding-like behaviour. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used, in which sows were presented with either a 1 kg or an 18 g food reward (expected to engender different levels of arousal) in a 16 m2 or 4 m2 sand-bedded test pen during a 40 min observation period, each day for 26 days. It was shown that sows receiving the large food reward stood for a greater proportion of the time after food reward consumption than the sows receiving the small food reward (0.86 vs. 0.66 for the 1 kg and 18 g food reward, respectively; P 0.05). The proportion of time spent chewing increased with test day (0.15 vs. 0.36 for test day 1 and day 26, respectively; P < 0.01) but was independent of the arousal elicited by the large food reward and not affected by pen size. It appears that feeding motivation is not as closely related to the performance of persistent oral behaviours as had previously been thought. The ‘emotional state’ of the animal around feeding may be an important factor, and chronic food restriction may contribute to this state.

This paper describes the effect of dietary restriction on agonistic behaviour, body weight and various plasma constituents (progesterone, oestrogen, glucose and cortisol) in ten Angora goats (mean 7.4 years; range 4 to 9 years) from 100 ± 7.1 days of gestation for a 6 week period. The treatment resulted in a gradual fall in plasma glucose concentration from a mean of 2.60 mmol l−1 to 1.67 mmol l−1. The two lowest ranked does developed pregnancy toxaemia and overall pregnancy failure amounted to 44% compared with 10% in ten control does. Mean body weight decreased in the restricted diet group by approximately 1 kg over the 7 weeks whilst it increased in the control group by approximately 5 kg. Group mean body weights differed (P < 0.05) on Weeks 6 and 7. Of the variables tested, body weight was the single most important factor determining the level of agonistic behaviour and thus dominance ranking. Plasma glucose concentration was positively correlated (P < 0.01) with agonistic activity initiated and negatively correlated (P < 0.01) (restricted diet group only) with agonistic activity received. Mean plasma cortisol tended to increase during the 7th week of the trial (6th week of dietary restriction) in the underfed group. It is suggested that under situations where pregnant goats are subjected to dietary restriction in late pregnancy (e.g. during drought conditions) both level of nutrient intake and agonistic behaviour in the goats must be considered in attempts to ameliorate the problem.

Changes in the blood leucocyte population in response to psychological stressors could increase susceptibility to disease and be useful in the assessment of animal welfare. This paper examines the effect of repeated lamb removal on the blood leucocyte population of ewes and quantifies the behavioural and endocrine responses to the stressor. Twelve ewes which had given birth to twins, were placed in separate pens with their lambs. After 13 days, the lambs (14–19 days old) from one group of six ewes (treatment group) were removed from the pens and placed in a pen 11 m from the nearest ewe. After 3 h the lambs were moved back to their dam. The lambs then remained with their dam for 3 h before being removed for a second period of 3 h. This procedure was repeated for 23 days. A control group of six ewes remained with their lambs continuously for the 24-day experimental period. The removal of lambs produced behavioural changes in the ewes. These included: orientation towards the lamb, vocalization, raised head, erect ears, and decreased lying and sleeping behaviours. Although these changes were present over the 24-day experimental period, there were signs of habituation after 3 days of the treatment. The endocrine responses to lamb removal were less marked. Some ewes showed a plasma cortisol and β-endorphin response on Day 1 of lamb removal, but the mean responses were not statistically different from the control group. There was no obvious plasma prolactin response to the treatment. On Day 10 of lamb removal, the blood concentration of neutrophils in the treatment ewes had increased and the proportion of CD2 lymphocytes and T19 lymphocytes had decreased compared with that of control ewes. There were no significant differences between the treatment and control ewes in either the delayed type hypersensitivity skin responses to Dinitroflurobenzene or the humoral antibody responses to ovalbumin. These results indicate that ewes can show behavioural responses to a stressor, such as repeated lamb removal. However, this stressor had no significant effect on the endocrine and immune measurements studied.

Housing conditions for laboratory animals can affect animal well-being and experimental results. There are guidelines for laboratory animal husbandry but these are insufficiently based on objective research and thus may not reflect the actual needs of the animals. In order to evaluate housing conditions for laboratory mice, we developed a non-invasive preference test system. The possible application of the multiple-choice housing system is as follows. Individual mice can be offered different housing conditions in different test cages. During the test period the movements of the mice between the test cages can be detected automatically. Simultaneously, behaviour of the animals can be recorded with a mouse-directed video system. When interpreted with caution, combined analyses of relative dwelling times and animal behaviour can give information on the preference of mice for the housing conditions under study. The results can advance the selection of proper housing conditions for laboratory animals. In this paper, a detailed description of our preference test system is given and its validity discussed.

Most research on the behavioural factors involved in lamb survival have focused on the maternal care provided by the ewe. The behaviour of the lamb has received little attention. This paper reports on the relationship between the development of maternal discrimination by newborn Merino lambs and their subsequent chances of survival. Lambs were tested in a two-choice situation for their ability to seek ewes and discriminate between their own and alien mothers either 12 or 72 h after birth. After the test ewes and their lambs were moved to an adjacent paddock and survival of lambs was monitored. In twins, but not in singles, lambs that survived beyond 7 days had spent more time with the ewes during the test at the age of 12 h than lambs that died. Also they had spent a much higher proportion of this time with their own dams. On the other hand there was no relationship between survival and discrimination of the mother when the lambs were tested at 72 h of age. It is concluded that the ability of twin lambs to discriminate their dams from alien ewes 12 h after birth is related to survival during the neonatal period. This study also suggests that the behaviour of the newborn lamb plays an important role in survival.

The ‘open mouth-tongue out’ (MOTO) display described in the African Buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ) has not been described in domestic cattle before. This paper presents observations of the OMTO display during a 2.5-year-long behavioural study of dairy cows. From these observations it can be suggested that the function of the OMTO display is submission, shown with a low frequency in stable groups of cattle.

Dairy cows can be fed concentrates in feeding stations with automatic feeding systems. This paper discusses factors which may influence the timing of the cows' visits to the feeding station. Factors affecting the dairy cows' behaviour just before and just after the visit, and information which might be used by the cows in deciding whether to visit the feeding station are investigated. An investigation was carried out with a group of 20 lactating dairy cows. In successive 3-week experimental periods the cows were fed concentrates with three different automatic concentrates feeding systems (fixed-7-time, fixed-3-time and variable-time systems). Twenty-four hour behavioural observations recorded the cows' general activities while the number and duration of visits to the feeding station and the intake of concentrates were recorded automatically. The three concentrates feeding systems each gave rise to a typical pattern of visits (total number of visits, and timing of rewarded and unrewarded visits). However, the pattern of general activities was not affected by the concentrates feeding system. The cows' general activities both before and after their visits to the feeding station were significantly affected by the time of the day. However, the cows' possible knowledge about their chances of receiving concentrates did not affect their general activities significantly. The results suggest that the cows fitted their visits to the concentrates feeding station into their normal daily routine. For instance, the cows did not often leave the cubicles solely to pay a visit to the feeding station. It was also not possible to show that the cows spent more time eating roughage after an unrewarded visit to the concentrates feeding station than after a rewarded visit. The cows could have learned the times of the day when concentrates were available and that at certain times they could also expect concentrates when another cow visited the feeding station and received concentrates. However, it was shown that the cows visited the concentrates feeding station throughout the 24-h period, which means that the timing of their visits was not affected by the time of day. The results suggested that, to some extent, the cows responded to information from the feeding station. Rewarded visits were more often and more consistently followed by a visit by another cow than were unrewarded visits. It is concluded that the cows: (i) did not respond to variation over the 24-h period in their chances of obtaining concentrates; (ii) did not always respond to information from the feeding station. The cows apparently chose a strategy of paying regular visits to the feeding station, because the cost for such visits is low and the reward is sufficiently high.

At depopulation time, broilers have to be transferred from the grower's house to the transport and then conveyed to the processing plant. Traditionally birds are caught by hand and crated prior to transport. That task is labour intensive and is often carried out during unsocial hours (nighttime). Removal of 20 000 or more birds from a house could therefore take several hours. This is then followed by the transport phase and, upon arrival at the processing plant, there may be an additional delay before birds are removed from the transport and shackled prior to slaughter. Different catching (harvesting) systems have been introduced in recent years. In general, they are designed to minimise the amount of handling the birds receive. Catching teams only load live birds onto the transport yet processing plants routinely record an incidence of dead birds when the vehicle is unloaded at the factory. This paper reviews transport systems and describes a survey in which three systems were used. Data were analysed over a 24-month period and the results suggest areas where processing plants could direct their attention in order to reduce the incidence of dead-on-arrivals.

The authors regret that some errors arose in the results section of their paper. The errors consist of invalid numbers and proportions that are reported in the results section, a total of five occasions here calculations are incorrect. In general, these errors are based on using the wrong numbers as basis for computation f percentages. The errors are not of such a character that they affect the statistics, and the mistakes do not influence the ontent of the discussion, the general conclusions of the study or the content and text of the abstract. The errors are listed elow. The authors apologise for any inconvenience. Page 134, Section 3.3, lines 10–13 should read: The proportion of vixens that was not mated did not differ between the treatments ( 2 =0.304, P=0.582; group housed: .8% (8/165); singly housed: 6.2% (11/177)). Page 134, Section 3.3, lines 13–17 should read: Likewise, theproportionofmatedvixens thatdidnotdeliveror lost their cubs immediately afterbirthwasnot significantly ifferent between group housed (17.3% (27/156)) or singly housed vixens (15.6% (25/160)) ( 2 =0.163, P=0.687). Page 135, Section 3.4, lines 9–12 should read: Therewere not significantlymore high ranked vixenswith injuries (No injuries/Injured:N=31/23) compared to the lower anked vixens (Rank 2: N=32/23 and Rank 3: N=37/19; 2 =1.1, N=165, df = 2, P=0.586). Page 135, Section 3.5, lines 1 and 2 should read: In 32 of 55 triplets (58.2%) the dominance ranking changed between October and December. Page 136, Section 3.7, lines 7–12 should read: In total, the proportions of animals that were barren or lost their cubs at birth were 11.3% (6/53) for the highest ranked ixens, 21.6% (11/51) for the medium ranked and 19.2% (10/52) for the low ranked vixens; however, this differences were ot statistically significant ( 2 =2.11, N=156, df = 2, P=0.348). Page 137, Section 4, lines 14–17 should read: The dominance relations changed from October until December in 58% of the triplets, however, on average, 69% of the rst ranked vixens maintained their rank during the course of the study.

This paper describes a study of the influences of feeder design and available feeding space on the feeding behaviour of laying hens. When feeders were partitioned, feeding rates and the number of feeding bouts were higher than when the feeders were unpartitioned, but feed consumption was lower and the duration of feeding was shorter. Increased feeding space led to longer feeding times with fewer but longer feeding bouts. These results are discussed in relation to animal welfare, with particular reference to feather-pecking.

This paper describes a study of the influences of early husbandry conditions, social attraction and social rank on various aspects of the feeding behaviour of laying hens. Birds were raised in flocks of 10, 60 or 500. Groups of 3 birds, selected from flocks of the same size, were then housed in pens. Some groups consisted of hens raised in the same flock, and some of birds raised in different flocks. The feeding and agonistic behaviour of each group at each of 5 types of feeder was observed and compared with the behaviour shown when the birds had free access to a 1-m long food trough. Each of the 5 feeders offered the same area of feeding space, but differed in its partitioning and spatial distribution. One feeder had a single unpartitioned feeding space. The other 4 feeders had 3 partioned feeding spaces which were adjacent, or separated by distances of 10, 20 or 40 cm, respectively. For the 5 feeders, total feeding times and lengths of feeding bouts were greatest, and the number of feeding bouts least, when the feeding space was unpartitioned. Synchrony of feeding behaviour was low when the feeding space was unpartitioned or the partitioned spaces adjacent, but was comparable to that at the 1-m long food trough when the distance between partitioned feeding spaces was 10 cm or greater. When feeding space was partitioned, the likelihood that 2 birds would eat together at the same site increased with the distance between feeding space. Dominant birds always exhibited the longest feeding bouts and greatest total feeding times, but were less likely to feed in the same space as another bird, and exhibited less synchrony of feeding behaviour than subordinates. The size of the flock in which the birds were raised, and whether or not the birds in a group had been raised together or apart, had no clear effect on behaviour. These results indicate that, within the limits of this experiment, early husbandry conditions do not influence behaviour shown during feeding in later life, and that social attraction has a greater influence on the feeding behaviour of hens than is generally assumed. In view of this latter finding, it is postulated that in attempting to determine the requirements of laying hens for feeding space, attention must be paid to social attraction as well as to competition at the feeder.

Individual differences in shading behaviour within a flock of sheep could be due to differences in thermoregulatory capabilities or to the influence of social factors. The possible influence of social factors on shade-use is examined in this paper. Two measures of dominance were made on 39 Merino wethers. These were based on the hierarchy determined by butting during feeding and on priority of access to limited feed. Leadership was also assessed while driving the sheep to a woolshed and as the sheep entered weighing scales. These behavioural traits were compared with leadership to shade and shade-use observed on 9 days during summer in a small pastureless enclosure containing natural shade. Maximum ambient temperature on these 9 days varied between 29.0 and 39.5°C. All behavioural traits examined were significantly repeatable. The two dominance ranks were negatively correlated (P

In discussing a previous paper (Lagadic, H. and Faure, J.M. (1987) Applied Animal Behaviour Science 19, 147-155), the authors suggest a different conclusion in relation to the preferences of hens for more space and access to litter.

A previous paper (Csermely and Wood-Gush, 1987) showed that aggression among grouped sows is mainly restricted to feeding. Another possible period of increased aggression is immediately after grouping. Eighteen groups of 17 sows were each observed in pens with bare concrete floors, 7.5X3.0 m, on the 50th day of pregnancy, when being grouped after being in individual stalls. Each pen was observed for two 100-rain periods during which the type and frequency of agonistic interactions were recorded together with the identity of any sow involved. Some groups were formed in the morning (M groups). In another set of groups formed in the morning, the sows were injected with a tranquillizer, Azaperone (T groups ). A third set were formed in the late afternoon, a few minutes before the lights were turned off (A groups). The rate of agonistic interactions in the M groups, although not high, was higher than in the A groups, observed as soon as the lights came on in the morning (P