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Pastoralism is not only a livestock-based livelihood strategy but also a way of life with socio-cultural norms and values, and indigenous knowledge revolving around livestock. Pastoral systems in Africa are facing demographic, economic, socio-political and climatic pressures which are driving many pastoralists into non-livestock based livelihood strategies. The changing contexts in which pastoralists operate raise the issue of the sustainability of pastoral systems in dryland Africa. The specific objectives of this paper are: (i) to identify the challenges of assessing the sustainability of pastoral systems with focus on East and West Africa; (ii) to propose criteria and indicators for sustainability assessment of pastoral systems; and (iii) to demonstrate the diversity of pastoral systems by elaborating on features in East and West Africa with case studies from pastoral communities in both regions, namely Samburu in Kenya and Fakara in Niger. All these objectives are to contribute to the debates on the sustainability of pastoralism. Assessing sustainability of pastoral systems is challenging and complex in view of different aspects that should be addressed over time and at different scales. The main challenges addressed in this paper include purpose and interpretation of sustainability, time dimension and scale, diversity of pastoral systems, inter-relatedness of assessment criteria, comprehensiveness and measurability of indicators. To illustrate the challenges, we proposed a number of criteria based on key systems' components of production, stability, efficiency and resilience. For each criterion, a number of indicators were proposed. The criteria we suggested are inter-related and should not be considered in isolation bearing in mind that sustainability is a composite attribute that integrates several variables. In terms of sustainability of pastoral systems in East and West Africa, the key issues are mobility, livestock diversity, livelihood diversification options, and preservation of pastoral tradition and indigenous knowledge. The degree with which these issues are constraining pastoral production and economy will largely shape the trajectory of sustainability of different pastoral systems in both regions.

The EU project Welfare Quality (R) proposes an overall assessment system for animal welfare based on animal outcomes. The objective of this study was to test inter-observer reliability (IOR) when assessing lameness, fear and slipping and falling scores as parameters for monitoring the welfare of killing pigs during arrival at the slaughterhouse. Two Belgian and two Spanish slaughterhouses were visited by six to seven observers. Lameness, slipping and falling were assessed twice; during unloading and in the passageway to the lairage zone (lairage). Fear, which was assessed in the unloading area, was based on four indicators: reluctance to move, retreat attempts, turning back and vocalisations. Lameness had low-to-moderate IOR when observed in the passageway to lairage (r = 0.46), but the IOR was low during unloading (r = 0.25). IOR for slipping and falling was moderate to high (r = 0.71 and r = 0.50, respectively), when assessed in the unloading area, but low for observations in the passageway (r = 0.13). Fear indicators had only moderate or low IOR. Turning back was the measure with the highest IOR (r = 0.43) and retreat attempts had the lowest IOR (r = 0.25). Based on these results, we concluded that scoring lameness could be reliable when assessed from the unloading bay to lairage, whereas slipping and falling should be scored in the unloading area of the slaughterhouse. We suggest scoring a maximum of two measures of fear on the same animals at the unloading area, with the most reliable parameters being turning back and reluctance to move. The three indicators of animal welfare (lameness, fear and slipping and falling) should be measured in a way to reduce overtax of the observers in order to achieve accurate results.

The present study investigated whether pigs are able to acquire a complex spatial holeboard discrimination task (4 of 16 holes baited) and whether mixing stress affects performance in this task. All pigs rapidly reduced the number of re-visits to baited holes (working memory) and to unbaited holes (reference memory). Mixing stress did not affect performance.

Behaviour in general and locomotion in particular are influenced by physical abilities and environmental conditions in broilers. Little is known, however, about the motivation to perform behavioural activities in broilers. The distinction between motivation and ability is relevant as a lack of motivation has consequences for the interpretation of inactivity in broilers in terms of welfare. The aim of this study was to measure effects of varying motivation and physical ability on the distance broilers would walk for a food reward in an operant runway in limited time. Since body weight is recognised as an important aspect of physical ability, a high and a low body weight group were used to study the impact of physical ability. These two body weight groups were tested in an operant runway. Motivational aspects were manipulated by different feed deprivation durations before testing and by different feed access times during testing. With a similar duration of feed deprivation before testing and a similar feed access time during testing, birds with a low body weight walked a longer distance than birds with a high body weight. Distance walked in the runway was not influenced by age. Within a body weight group, birds walked a longer distance after a longer feed deprivation period before testing and walked a longer distance with shorter feed access time during testing. The latter effect was stronger in the low body weight group than in the high body weight group indicating a better physical ability. This experiment showed that distance walked was affected both by physical ability and motivation.

The aim of this review is to discuss the impact of group size on damaging behaviours, aggression, fear and stress in farm animals and to identify housing- and management options that can help to reduce problems caused by suboptimal group sizes. Increasing group size was found to increase the risk of damaging behaviour, such as feather pecking in laying hens and vulva biting in sows. Aggression does not appear to be a problem in large groups, because dominance relationships in these groups are not based on individual recognition, but based on other signals such as body size, avoiding costly fights. There is evidence for increased fear and stress levels in large groups compared with small groups, but fearfulness is also strongly affected by type of housing. To minimise problems in large groups, is seems helpful to offer separate functional areas and to provide cover, reducing disturbance between animals. To minimise the risk of damaging behaviour, such as feather pecking in laying hens and tail biting in pigs, stimulating foraging, exploration and manipulation behaviour by providing sufficient substrate (straw, wood shavings and sand) offers perspective. Rearing the animals in a system which allows the development of all these behaviours is very important. Other solutions can be found in optimising the diet and offering extra foraging opportunities. Furthermore, genetic selection against damaging behaviour seems promising. In conclusion, group size mainly has an effect on damaging behaviour and fear and stress in pigs and poultry. The effect on aggressive behaviour is limited. To reduce damaging behaviour, fear and stress, it is important to provide a complex environment with ample behavioural opportunities and separate functional areas.

The organisation of animal populations in social groupings may play a crucial role in the transmission of any infectious disease that requires close contact. The objective of this study was to quantify the contact structure of part of the Heck cattle population in a Dutch nature reserve and its hypothetical effect on the transmission of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1). The contact structure was quantified by observing the number of different animals with whom contact was made (i.e. the number of contactees) within a fixed time period. Two types of behaviour sampling methods, namely focal sampling and scan sampling were used to observe the contact structure. In this study only those contacts between individuals were observed that were assumed to be a proxy measure of an at-risk event for BHV1-infection. Two reproduction ratios (R), i.e. the average number of new cases caused by a typical infected individual, were estimated, one for the observed contact structure and another for a random mixing contact structure. The two reproduction ratios were then compared to study the hypothetical effect on BHV1 transmission. The overall number of contactees was highest during summer and lowest during winter-spring. The contact structure of the homogeneous population did differ significantly from a random mixing contact structure, resulting in that the variation in the number of contactees was higher than under random mixing. Bulls, young bulls and cows had the highest number of contactees during, respectively, summer, autumn and winter-spring. From the analysis of the contingency tables it was clear that contacts between animal types did not occur at random during summer and autumn. For example, during summer more contacts than expected occurred between bulls and cows. This heterogeneity at animal type level was taken into account in the calculation for R, which resulted for the observed contact structure in higher estimates for R than for the homogeneous population. When looking at heterogeneity at individual level it was found that during summer almost all individuals were observed together direct or indirect in the same group except for certain bull groups. During autumn and winter-spring almost all individuals were seen together in the same group when considering a long contact period of 14 days but the groups were fallen apart in smaller groups and solitary individuals for a short contact period of 5 days. It could be concluded that based on the observed contact structure transmission would be favoured most during summer.

The gene (Cbg) encoding cortisol-binding globulin (CBG) has been proposed as a candidate gene to explain genetic variation in cortisol secretion and carcass composition in pigs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between CBG and pork quality in 5 European breeding lines, Pietrain, Large White (LW), and Landrace purebred lines, a Duroc synthetic line, and a Meishan (MS) x LW advanced intercross. Cortisol-binding globulin maximum binding capacity (CBG-Bmax) was twice as high (P or = 0.364) association between CBG-Bmax and carcass quality traits in Pietrain gilts, but CBG-Bmax was associated with increased loin yields in LW (P = 0.010) and Landrace (P = 0.103) gilts, decreased ham yields (P = 0.082) in Duroc gilts, and increased fat depth (P = 0.064) and leaf fat (P = 0.001) in MS x LW gilts. There was no association between CBG-Bmax and pork quality traits in Pietrain (P > or = 0.269) and Duroc (P > or = 0.114) gilts. Conversely, CBG-Bmax was associated with lighter (higher L* values; P

Prenatal stress is known to affect several offspring characteristics, but its effects depend among other factors on the period of gestation in which it is applied. In the present study, oral administration of hydrocortisone-acetate (HCA) was used to elevate cortisol concentrations in pregnant sows to levels also observed after psychological stress. HCA was administered during three different periods of gestation (115 days in pigs): period 1: 21¿50 (P1, n = 10), period 2: 51¿80 (P2, n = 10) and period 3: 81¿110 (P3, n = 10) days after insemination. Control sows (n = 11) received vehicle from 21¿110 days after insemination. When P1-, P2- and P3-sows did not receive HCA, they also received vehicle. During gestation, weekly saliva samples were taken from the sows to determine salivary cortisol concentrations. Treatment effects on sow, litter and piglet characteristics were determined. In addition, two female piglets per litter were subjected to an ACTH-challenge test at 6 weeks of age to determine the adrenocortical response to ACTH. Pigs were slaughtered at 6 months of age and slaughter weight, back fat thickness and percentage of lean meat were analysed. During the period of treatment with HCA, salivary cortisol concentrations were increased in P1-, P2- and P3-sows compared to control sows (P 0.30), but pooled HCA-litters had a higher percentage of live born piglets (P

Several behavioural effects of prenatal stress are reported in literature, and these seem to depend, among other factors, on the gender studied and the period of gestation in which prenatal stress is applied. In the present study, oral administration of hydrocortisone-acetate (HCA) to 41 pregnant sows was used as a model for prenatal stress, since corticosteroids are considered a key mediator in the effects of prenatal stress. HCA was orally administered to pregnant sows during three periods of gestation: 21-50 (period 1, P1, n = 10), 51-80 (period 2, P2, n = 10) and 81-110 (period 3, P3, n = 10) days after insemination (term 115 days). Control sows (n = 11) received vehicle from 21 to 110 days after insemination. Between days 9 and 48 after birth, treatment effects on male and female piglet behaviour were determined in the home pen and in four different behavioural tests. During the backtest, no gender differences were observed in vocalisations in HCA-piglets, while control males vocalised more than control females. In the home pen at 14 days of age, HCA-piglets spent less time in social interactions than control piglets. During the novel environment test, P1- and P3-piglets walked more than control piglets, but this was not observed during the novel object test, four days later. At weaning, P2- and P3-piglets performed less individual play. Prior to mixing with an unfamiliar piglet (male piglets only), HCA-piglets had lower salivary cortisol concentrations than control piglets, but no difference was observed after mixing. P1-, P2-, and P3- piglets had fewer non-aggressive encounters, and P2-piglets continued fighting longer than control piglets. The present study demonstrates that elevated maternal cortisol concentrations during gestation affect piglet behaviour, and effects do differ between male and female piglets. In addition, effects depend on the period of cortisol administration.

Improved housing for laying hens may start from the translation of their behavioral needs into welfare-based design parameters for laying hen houses. The objective of our research was to gain insights into the facility usage and behavioral needs of the hen over 24 h when there are no obvious restraints. Twenty ISA Brown commercial laying hens (Gallus domesticus) that were 18 wk old and not beak trimmed, were accommodated in a pen (4 x 6 m) at 19 + 2 degrees C on a light-dark cycle of 10L:14D. The pen providing nest boxes, drinkers, feeders, perches, sand, and wood shaving was designed to accommodate the hens for the experimental period. Video recordings were made for 10 d. Behavioral analyses were conducted on 5 birds for 5 d. Time spent on each behavior, log survivor analysis of events and inter-event intervals, bout analysis, diurnal pattern in events and bouts, occurrence of behavior in different segments and the corridor of the pen, and sequence analysis were performed to gain insights into the temporal and sequential structures of behavior. Hens spent 97% of the day on nest use, preening, drinking, feeding, still, walking, perching, and resting; 43% on commodity-dependent behavior; and 57% not on commodity-oriented behaviors. Behavioral events were short (around 70% event2 min) and frequent (around 70% inter-event intervals40s). The pen corridor was the preferred place for attack, escape, flying, resting, walking, and wing flapping. Feeding-drinking-feeding, preening-resting-preening, scratching-resting-scratching, dust bathing-resting-preening, or dust bathing-resting-wing stretching-dust bathing were the preferred sequences of behavior. Although hens interrupted ongoing behaviors and changed behaviors frequently, they nonetheless clustered behavioral events.

Methods available to assess animal welfare at farm level are based on a range of welfare parameters, which can be divided into two categories, environment-based and animal-based parameters. The first category describes features of the environment and management, which can be considered prerequisites for welfare. The second category records animals' responses to that particular environment and management more directly. Objective of this study was to validate a mainly environment-based method, the animal needs index (ANI), with animal-based methods: behavioural observations and feather condition scores (FCS). The study was conducted on 20 commercial laying hen farms, 10 farms with battery cages and 10 farms with deep litter systems. During a 1-day visit on each farm, ANI was assessed, FCS was scored, and behavioural observations were performed. Instantaneous scan sampling and continuous focal sampling were used to assess the time spent on different behaviours and the occurrence of event behaviours. Data from behavioural observations and FCS were reduced with principal factor analysis. This resulted in two factors for each method. Significant positive correlations were found between ANI, on the one hand, and 'movement' and 'comfort', two factors from behavioural observations, on the other hand. A significant negative correlation was found between ANI and 'wing damage' (from FCS). The results of this study show that ANI is valid and sensitive enough to show differences in animal welfare between housing systems, whereas differences in welfare within housing systems cannot be shown. In conclusion, ANI is an appropriate method for assessment of laying hen welfare on a large number of farms with different housing systems.

Broiler chickens, Gallus gallus domesticus, have been selected for rapid weight gain and appear to be continously hungry. If this is so, then energy that broilers invest in obtaining food should be insensitive to their level of feed restriction. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the maximum price (i.e. maximum number of key pecks) broilers with different body weights would pay for a food reward under conditions of varying feed restriction. Two groups of 20 broilers were fed on 50 or 75% of the amount of feed a broiler would eat when fed ad libitum. Broilers were able to learn an operant task and were willing to work for food. Birds of the 50%-group paid a higher maximum price for a food reward and responded more quickly to food presentation than the birds of the 75%-group in the first test week and showed a nonsignificant tendency to pay a higher price and to respond more quickly in the second test week. Different levels of long-term feed restriction had an influence on their body weight and on their motivation to work for food. No short-term effect of changing feed restriction was found. Birds showed frustration behaviour after the last food reward had been obtained, indicating that they were still hungry. The results indicate that broilers are still sensitive to different levels of feed restriction and that they can balance their investments and profits to a certain extent.

The effect of rearing conditions on feather pecking and reaction to frustration was studied in two lines of laying hens. From commercial rearing conditions (large group, no mother hen), seven birds from a high feather pecking line (HC birds) and eight birds from a low feather pecking line (LC birds) were used. From semi-natural rearing conditions (small group, mother hen present) seven birds from the high feather pecking line (HN birds) were used. Feather pecking behaviour of HC, LC, and HN groups was recorded for 30 min. After that, each bird was food deprived and trained to peck a key for a food reward in a Skinnerbox. After training, each bird was subjected to a frustration session in a Skinnerbox, where the feeder was covered with Perspex. Three HC birds showed severe feather pecking, compared with one HN bird and zero LC birds. Differences in reaction to frustration were found between birds from different lines, but not in birds from different rearing conditions. LC birds tended to put their head in the feeder more frequently than HC birds over all sessions. Although limited, this study indicates that rearing conditions influence feather pecking, but not reaction to frustration.

The behavioral response of piglets in a backtest early in life seems indicative of their coping strategy at a later age. Coping characteristics may depend on the interaction between backtest classification and housing conditions. We studied whether growth rate and partitioning of energy in adult gilts were related to response in the backtest early in life, and to housing in groups or individual stalls. During the suckling period, female piglets were subjected to the backtest. Each piglet was restrained on its back for 1 min, and the number of escape attempts was scored. Thirty-six high-resisting gilts and 36 low-resisting gilts were selected. After weaning, pigs were housed in 12 groups of six (three high-resisting and three low-resisting). From 7 mo of age onward, 36 gilts out of six groups were housed in individual stalls, whereas the other gilts remained group housed. At 13 mo of age, gilts were housed in clusters of three (three high-resisting or three low-resisting) for an experimental period of 7 d in climatic respiration chambers. Group-housed gilts were loose housed, and stall-housed gilts were housed in stalls within the chamber. Despite the fact that high-resisting and low-resisting gilts did not differ (P = 0. 269) in initial BW, low-resisting gilts showed a higher (P = 0.039) ADG during the experimental period in association with a higher (P = 0.043) energy metabolizability. This suggests that, in line with the theory on coping strategies, high-resisting gilts may have more difficulties in adapting to a change in environment, (i.e., the change from home pen to climatic chamber). Group-and stall-housed gilts differed (P = 0.001) in initial BW, with group-housed gilts being heavier. During the experimental period, stall-housed gilts showed lower energy metabolizability (P = 0.001), lower energy retention (P = 0.001), and a higher energy requirement for maintenance (P = 0. 001) due to a higher activity-related heat production (P = 0.001). This finding suggests that stall housing might have a negative influence on performance and partitioning of energy when animals are adapting to a change in their environment.

The object of this research was to study the relationship between feather pecking and open-field activity in laying hens at two different ages. A population of 550 birds of a laying hen cross was subjected to an open-field test at 5 and 29 weeks of age and to a social feather pecking test at 6 and 30 weeks of age. Factor analysis was used to identify underlying factors for each test: pecking behavior ( social test) and open-field activity (open-field test). In young birds, a positive phenotypic correlation of 0.24 was found between high open-field activity and high levels of pecking behavior ( ground pecking, preening, gentle feather pecking, and wall pecking). In adults, a similar genetic correlation of 0.62 was found. At adult age, the factor pecking behavior consisted mainly of gentle and severe feather pecking. Between ages, a strong, negative genetic correlation of - 0.65 was found between open-field activity at young age and pecking behavior at adult age, indicating that open-field activity levels in young birds may predict pecking behavior in adult hens.

Poor physical abilities of broilers may prevent them from performing behaviours for which they are motivated. The aim of this study was to measure the influence of physical ability and motivation on the performance of broilers in short physical tasks. We tested birds from a fast- and a slow-growing broiler strain in a runway to 12 weeks of age. To manipulate motivation, half of the birds of each strain was feed deprived for 3 h and the other half for 24 h before testing. Each bird was tested in a control and a slalom runway test once a week. With a similar motivation, slow growers had a shorter latency to start walking and walked faster through the runway than fast growers in both tests. In fast growers walking speed decreased faster with age than in slow growers. Slow growers vocalised more in both tests. In the slalom test, 24 h deprived birds vocalised more than 3 h deprived birds. Although the fast and slow growers have a different genetic background, the results indicated that motivation is the dominant determinative factor for walking in birds with a low body weight, while physical ability is the dominant determinative factor for walking in birds with a high body weight.

The effects of feeding level (unrestricted, UR and restricted, R) and the presence of a foraging substrate (no substrate, NS and substrate, S; wood chips on the floor) on both the behaviour and stress physiological response were studied in a 2 x 2 factorial design. In three batches and two rooms, 96 sows were individually housed in 3.1 m(2) pens with 60% solid floor. Behaviour was scan-sampled in three 2 It periods between feeding times on I day in weeks 8-12. In addition, video recordings (24 h) in week 12 or 13 were scan-sampled for 'standing'. Salivary cortisol (every 2h during 24h) was measured in week11 and urinary catecholamines (adrenaline/creatinine and noradrenaline/creatinine ratios) were determined in morning-urine samples in weeks 2, 7 and 12 or 13. Feeding level had a significant effect on most of the behavioural elements observed. In general, R-animals stood more (pooled results of three periods: 31.3% versus 13.2%; P

Several recent studies in juvenile pigs demonstrated a relationship between the degree of resistance displayed early in life in a so-called "backtest" and parameters of cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Some of the immune characteristics were reported to depend on the interaction between backtest classification and housing system. In the present study, the effects of backtest classification and housing condition on immune reactivity in adult gilts were examined. At 10 and 17 days of age, female piglets were subjected to the backtest. In this test, each piglet is restrained on its back for 1 min and the number of escape attempts is scored. Pigs classified as high resisting (HR) or low resisting (LR) were selected and housed in groups of six gilts. At 7 months of age, half of the gilts were housed in individual stalls. At 12 months of age, gilts were challenged by immunization with DNP-KLH. Control gilts were treated similarly with a placebo. Blood samples were drawn prior to immunization (Day 0) and weekly thereafter until Day 28. No significant effects of backtest type on cellular and Immoral responses against KLH were found. Furthermore, being housed in stalls as compared to groups had no consequences for the immune response and did not induce differences between HR and LR gilts. Differences in behavior and physiology found previously between HR and LR gilts, particularly in gilts in stall housing, may thus be of relatively little importance for immune-related health. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Both restricted feeding and barren housing have a negative influence on sow welfare. The aim of this study was to test whether sows that have to search for their feed in a substrate on the floor show less stereotyped (and other abnormal) behaviour and have a lower physiological stress response. In three batches, 96 gilts were housed individually in two rooms in 3.1 m2 pens with 1.9 m2 solid floor. In a 2×2 factorial design either wood shavings (S) or no substrate (NS) were provided on the floor, and 900 g of feed was provided twice daily (06:30 and 15:00 h) either in a trough (T) or on the floor (F). In weeks 8–12, behaviour was scan-sampled once in the periods 07:00–09:00 h (P1), 10:00–12:00 h (P2), and 13:00–15:00 h (P3). Data from the 5 weeks were pooled per animal. Video recordings (24 h) in week 12 or 13 were scan-sampled for ‘standing’. Saliva samples were taken in week 11 at 2 h intervals during 24 h and measured for cortisol. Spontaneously voided morning-urine was sampled in weeks 2, 7 and 12 or 13 for determination of ratios of adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (NA) with creatinine (CR). Most effects that were found were due to substrate presence. Main findings were that compared with S-animals, NS-animals stood more during the dark period (4.8% versus 3.0%; P

In the European Union, legislation concerning animal housing is becoming stricter because of animal welfare concerns. Feather pecking (FP) in large group housing systems is a major problem. It has been suggested that corticosterone (CORT) response to manual restraint as a measure for stress is associated with FP behavior. The aim of the current study was to identify QTL involved in FP behavior and stress response in laying hens. An F-2 population of 630 hens was established from a cross between two commercial lines of laying hens differing in their propensity to feather peck. The behavioral traits, measured at 6 and 30 wk of age, were gentle FP, severe FP, and aggressive pecking. Toe pecking was measured at 30 wk of age and CORT response to manual restraint was measured at 32 wk. All animals were genotyped for 180 microsatellite markers. A QTL analysis was performed using a regression interval mapping method. At 6 wk of age, a suggestive QTL on GGA10 was detected for gentle FP. At 30 wk of age, suggestive QTL were detected on GGA1 and GGA2 for gentle FP. A significant QTL was detected on GGA2 for severe FP. At 32 wk of age, a suggestive QTL was detected on GGA18 for CORT response to manual restraint. In addition, a suggestive QTL was detected on GGA5 with possible maternal parent-of-origin effect for CORT response.

Results from our previous research indicate that long-term tether-housed pigs with high and low levels of stereotypies show differences in the density of endogenous opioid receptors in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. It was not clear whether differences in opioid receptor density were induced by the chronic stress of tether housing or stereotypy performance, or were already present before the animals were tethered. The latter possibility was tested in the present experiment. We used a group of 18 nonstereotyping pigs that had no experience with tether housing and investigated whether the animals differed in the density of endogenous opioid receptors in the brain and, if so, whether these differences were related to the animals' reactions to acute challenges. The pigs were subjected to two tests: an open field test and a tethering test. Behavioral reactions as well as heart rate responses were measured. Opioid receptor densities were determined postmortem in the hippocampus and hypothalamus using a membrane binding assay with [(3)H]naloxone as a ligand. Animals differed widely in their responses to the two tests. In support of our hypothesis, we found a relationship between behavioral and heart rate responses and densities of naloxone binding sites in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. The data suggest that endogenous opioid systems in the brain contribute to differences in stress responding between individual pigs.

Several recent studies on pigs have demonstrated a relationship between the degree of resistance displayed in a so-called ''backtest'' and a variety of behavioural and physiological responses in piglets and young fattening pigs. However, the discussion about the predictive power of the backtest is still going on. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between the backtest response and behaviour and physiology in peri-pubertal, i.e. nulliparous breeding gilts. During the suckling period gilts were subjected to the backtest. Piglets classified as low resisting (LR, n=36) and high resisting (HR, n=36) were selected. At 20 weeks of age they were housed in groups of six (three HR, three LR). Between 23 and 29 weeks of age, behaviour and physiology under undisturbed conditions were measured. At 26 weeks of age, LR pigs showed higher baseline salivary cortisol levels during the light period than HR pigs. However, HR and LR gilts did not differ in weight gain, aggression and heart rate response to afternoon feeding. This study indicates that when breeding gilts are kept in groups containing both HR and LR animals, aggression and heart rate reactivity under undisturbed conditions do not relate to the backtest response

In a longitudinal experiment, effects of long-term tether housing on heart rate and behavioral responses to an acute stressor (a 15-min challenge with a nosesling) were investigated in pigs. The animals were challenged during loose housing and again after 10-11 weeks of tether housing. To detect possible changes in endogenous opioid systems modifying these responses, the pigs were pretreated with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (0.5 mg/kg body weight, iv). In response to the nosesling challenge, the animals showed pronounced resistance behavior and a sharp rise in heart rate. Following this initial phase of resistance, the heart rate dropped to prechallenge levels or below this line, and the pigs seemed to become sedated. Pretreatment with naloxone increased the heart rate response in animals that were long-term tether housed (n=12). No such effect was found in the control group (n=5) that was loose-housed during the entire experiment, indicating that the impact of endogenous opioid systems mitigating heart rate responses to acute stress had increased as a result of long-term tether housing. Changes in the effect of naloxone on the behavioral response were not found. Adaptive changes in opioid systems may prevent excessive physiological reactions to acute stress and, thus, may serve as a coping mechanism.

Several recent studies on pigs have demonstrated a relationship between the degree of resistance displayed early in life in a so-called backtest and a variety of behavioural and physiological responses in piglets and young fattening pigs. To study whether pigs with diverging responses in the backtest, i.e., high-resisting (HR) and low-resisting (LR) pigs, differ also in adulthood in their responses to an acute stressor, adult nulliparous HR (n=36) and LR gilts (n=36) housed in groups or stalls were challenged by 5-min fixation with a nose sling. During the first minute of restraint, HR gilts vocalised significantly more than LR gilts. Over the whole 5-min period, HR gilts tended to vocalise more than LR gilts. Housing or backtest type did not affect immediate cortisol increase (Delta(-5 min; 15 min)). At t=45 min, cortisol concentrations in HR gilts but not in LR gilts were still higher than at t=-5 min. Heart rate quickly decreased during the first min of restraint and remained fairly constant thereafter. Estimated heart rate after 5 min of nose sling was significantly lower in HR gilts compared to LR gilts. Housing or backtest type did not affect heart rate variability indices. The results support the idea that the backtest relates to individual characteristics, which at an adult age also seem to play a role in the regulation of certain behavioral and physiological responses to short-term stress.

Housing conditions, body weight, leg problems and pain influence behaviour of broilers. Apart from the physical ability, little is known about the motivation to perform behaviour. The distinction between motivation and ability is relevant as a lack of motivation has consequences for the interpretation of, e.g. the observed immobility in terms of compromised welfare. A runway experiment with fast growing broilers was conducted to investigate the influence of sex and type of feed on motivation and ability to walk for a food reward (mealworm) without depriving the birds from feed before testing. Twenty-four males and 24 females fed with two types of feed, conventional or free-range (less energy and protein) feed, were individually tested in a 2 m long runway from four to seven weeks of age. Five bowls were placed in the runway, one at every 40 cm. Three sessions were applied within 1 week (1) control session: each bowl contained one mealworm; (2) frustration session: the first four bowls were empty, the last bowl contained five mealworms, and (3) obstacle session: each bowl contained one mealworm and 10 cm high obstacles were placed between the bowls. Weekly, body weight and feed consumption were measured and gait score was assessed of each individual. Over all weeks, birds walked faster in frustration sessions than in control or obstacle sessions and faster in control than in obstacle sessions. Birds sat more in obstacle than in control sessions, indicating that ability to walk was affected by the difficulty of the task. Males walked faster in control and obstacle sessions than females, despite the higher body weight. The number of vocalisations in the runway decreased over time and males vocalised more than females. In both sexes, free-range fed birds vocalised more than conventionally fed birds. Differences between frustration and control sessions and obstacles and control sessions at individual level within a week were also measured, called the motivation and the ability effect. Concluded is that sex and type of feed have effects on different measures in the runway. Male broilers walked faster to a food reward and vocalised more than females. The role of type of feed was ambiguous. It did not influence body weight, walking speed or gait score, but conventionally fed birds sat more and had a higher latency to leave the start box and to reach the last bowl, and free-range fed birds vocalised more. No sex or feed differences were found for the motivation and the ability effect. That means that frustration and obstacles had similar impact on both sexes and both types of feed and that sex differences in walking speed probably were a result of physical differences (males are stronger and bigger).

The problem of how to objectively assess the overall welfare status of animals under farming conditions has contributed to an ongoing debate that has hampered actual decision making on animal welfare. For this reason we constructed a model based on the assumed hierarchical organization of the animals’ needs for overall welfare assessment in the case of pregnant sows. This model is implemented in a computer-based decision support system that takes a description of a housing and management system as input and produces a welfare score as output. A formalized procedure was used to construct the model for welfare assessment in pregnant sows on the basis of available scientific knowledge. This SOWEL (from SOw WELfare) model contains 37 attributes that describe the welfare-relevant properties of housing and management systems. In the decision support system these attributes are linked to scientific statements and a list of needs to provide a scientific basis for welfare assessment. Weighting factors that represent the relative importance of the attributes are derived from the scientific statements about the various welfare performance criteria that have been measured by scientists. The welfare score is calculated as the weighted average score. All information in the decision support system is stored in tables in a relational database such that newly available knowledge and insights can be incorporated to refine the model. The model has been developed in line with several existing models but it differs from these models in that it is the first to provide a formalized procedure to explicate the reasoning steps involved in welfare assessment based on available scientific knowledge.

This paper examines the validity of a model that is embedded in a computer-based decision support system to assess the welfare status of pregnant sows in housing and management systems. The so-called SOWEL (SOw WELfare) model was constructed using a formalized procedure to identify and weight welfare-relevant attributes of housing systems in relation to the animal’s needs, and evidenced by scientific statements collected in a database. The model’s predictions about welfare scores for 15 different housing systems and weighting factors for 20 attributes were compared with expert opinion, which was solicited using a written questionnaire for pig-welfare scientists. The experts identified tethering and individual housing in stalls as low welfare systems. The group of mid-welfare systems contained indoor group-housing systems and an individual-housing system with additional space and substrate. The five best systems were all systems with outdoor access and the provision of some kind of substrate such as straw. The highest weighting factors were given for the attributes "social contact," "health and hygiene status," "water availability," "space per pen," "foraging and bulk," "food agonism," "rooting substrate," "social stability," and "movement comfort." The degree of concordance among the experts was reasonable for welfare scores of housing systems, but low for weighting factors of attributes. Both for welfare scores and weighting factors the model correlated significantly with expert opinion (Spearman’s Rho: 0.92, P < 0.001, and 0.72, P < 0.01, respectively). The results support the validity of the model and its underlying procedure to assess farm-animal welfare in an explicit and systematic way based on available scientific knowledge.

Due to increasing empirical information on farm animal welfare since the 1960s, the prospects for sound decisionmaking concerning welfare have improved. This paper describes a strategy to develop a decision-making aid, a decision support system, for assessment of farm-animal welfare based on available scientific knowledge. Such a decision support system allows many factors to be taken into account. It is to be developed according to the Evolutionary Prototyping Method, in which an initial prototype is improved in reiterative updating cycles. This initial prototype has been constructed. It uses hierarchical representations to analyse scientific statements and statements describing the housing system. Welfare is assessed from what is known about the biological needs of the animals, using a welfare model in the form of a tree that contains these needs as welfare components. Each state of need is assessed using welfare relevant attributes of the housing system and weighting factors. Attributes are measurable properties of the housing system. Weighting factors are assigned according to heuristic rules based on the principle of weighting all components (attributes and needs) equally, unless there are strong reasons to do otherwise. Preliminary tests of the prototype indicate that it may be possible to perform assessment of farm-animal welfare in an explicit way and based on empirical findings. The procedure needs to be refined, but its prospects are promising.

Rationale: Endogenous vasopressin is involved in the social memory of the male rat and administration of exogenous vasopressin improves social memory. These findings are mainly based on studies using sexually experienced males that were tested in the social recognition test. Objective: The present study was aimed to establish whether the modulation of social memory by vasopressin fragments depends on the sexual experience of the male rat. For this purpose, the social discrimination test was used, since this test is more suitable than the social recognition test for measuring social memory in sexually naive males. Methods: Male rats were tested in the social discrimination test and treated subcutaneously with the vasopressin metabolite [pGlu4,Cyt6]vasopressin-(4-8) (VP4-8). VP4-8 shares with vasopressin the effects on memory processes but lacks the peripheral effects of vasopressin. Results: VP4-8 (1 µg/kg) acutely improved the social memory of sexually experienced male rats, confirming previous reports. However, in sexually naive males VP4-8 failed to improve social memory in doses ranging from 0.1 µg/kg to 1 µg/kg. Instead, 1 µg/kg VP4-8 or 6 µg/kg desglycinamide-vasopressin were found to exert a delayed effect in sexually naive rats. This delayed effect resulted in an improved social memory 2 days after administration. Conclusions: Vasopressin sensitisation is discussed as a possible underlying mechanism of the observed delayed effect of vasopressin fragments. It is concluded that in male rats sexual experience can influence the modulation of social memory by vasopressin.

(1998). Scientific overview of the European Symposium on Poultry Welfare. World's Poultry Science Journal: Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 179-184.

Summary The pre-manufacture of separate diet ingredients into pellets and subsequent mixing the different pellets to a complete feed was examined as an alternative method to the routine manufacturing procedures. The main objective of the study was to compare the performance of piglets following ad libitum offering of diets composed of three different pellets. In a growth trial, feed intake and weight gain were studied using six dietary treatments in a 3 × 2 split-plot design. Three diets were tested, a control and two experimental diets in the presence or absence of a feed flavour. The diets were of similar ingredient and nutrient composition but the experimental diets were composed of three separate pellets that were either equal or differing in their net energy content. Sixty cross-bred piglets [initial liveweight 30.4 (s.e. 0.54 kg)] were individually housed and fed the feeds ad libitum in the dry form once a day and in only one feed trough. No significant effects of the dietary treatments on daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion efficiency were observed and no interaction between diet and feed flavour was found. From the design of the experiment it was not definitely clear that single-fed piglets selected between the different pellets as measured by the difference between the offered and consumed quantity of pellets. Feed intake behaviour, as measured by the cumulative scores of 10 piglets during 20 days, did not differ between dietary treatments or flavour. Diet selection and feed intake behaviour can only be indicative since the trial design was inherent to the main objective of study, which was the performance response. Zusammenfassung Pelletieren von Futtermitteln. Der Einflus der Futterprasentation auf Leistungsparameter, Futterselektion und Futteraufnahme bei Ferkeln Es wurde die Vorverarbeitung von unterschiedlichen Futtermitteln zu Pellets und anschliesendem Mischen mit der ublichen Futtermittelherstellung in einem Wachstumsversuch mit Ferkeln (60 Kreuzungsferkel mit einem Lebendgewicht von 30,4 (s.e. 0,54 kg) kg) verglichen. In einem 2 × 3 split-plot Design wurden Futteraufnahme und Gewichtszuwachs von einer Kontroll- und zwei Versuchsdiaten mit und ohne Geschmacksstoffe ermittelt. Die Rationen hatten die gleichen Komponenten und die gleiche Nahrstoffzusammensetzung mit unterschiedlichen Nettoenergiegehalten der Pellets aber gleichen Nettoenergieghalten in der Gesamtration. Die Futterung erfolgte individuell, einmal taglich ad libitum in trockener Form uber die gesamte Versuchsperiode. Es konnten keine signifikanten Einflusse des Futterungsregime auf die taglichen Zunahmen, die Futteraufnahme und die Futterverwertung festgestellt werden. Das gilt auch fur den Zusatz von Geschmackstoffen. Aus den Untersuchungen geht keine eindeutige Futterselektion, gemessen als Differenz zwischen der angebotenen und verzehrten Menge an Pellets, durch die Ferkel hervor. Auserdem wurden keine nennenswerte Unterschiede in der kumulativen Futteraufnahme, ermittelt an zehn Ferkeln uber zwanzig Tage, beobachtet. Das trifft ebenfalls fur die Futterdiaten mit Geschmacksstoffen zu. Das Verhalten der Ferkel hinsichtlich Futterselektion und Futteraufnahme, kann mit der vorliegenden Versuchsanstellung nur andeutungsweise gepruft werden, die als eigentliches Ziel die Ermittlung der Leistungs-Parmeter hatte.

Although the consequences of stress and hypercortisolemia for the rodent hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) are well known, little is known about other species. For pigs, tethered housing represents a well-established chronic stressor that shares many similarities with restraint paradigms, as evidenced by profound changes in behavior and autonomic and endocrine dysfunction, including flattened cortisol rhythms and hypercortisolemia--all conditions that may threaten hippocampal viability in rat. Here, we studied structural parameters of the porcine DG after 5 months of tethered housing in relation to basal saliva cortisol measured antemortem. We further investigated whether any neuropathology or alterations in apoptosis had occurred in the left hippocampal hemisphere. Stereological analysis revealed high correlations between DG volume and neuron number in individual animals in both hemispheres. Within individual animals, neuron numbers of the left and right lobes were not correlated. Notably, basal cortisol was negatively correlated with volume and neuron number of the left, but not the right DG. Although obvious neuropathology was absent, apoptosis was present in DG and alveus and less so in CA areas. Despite the short window of time during which apoptosis is detectable, their stereologically estimated numbers in the DG, but not in other regions, were negatively correlated with cortisol. In conclusion, our data indicate for the first time a profound lateralization in the relationship between DG structure, apoptosis, and basal cortisol after stress in pigs. Five months of chronic stress failed to induce lasting neuropathology. Although accumulating changes in apoptosis could have contributed to the structural DG alterations, further studies should reveal whether stress has been instrumental, or whether the differences between animals were present from birth onward. The present lateralization after stress is, however, consistent with lateralized hippocampal volume changes in stress-related human disorders and suggests that these effects are not limited to this species alone.