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Disease surveillance in feedlot cattle is vital for minimizing morbidity and mortality and maintaining cattle welfare. Hanging a novel cotton rope for disease surveillance is commonly used in pig production but is less developed for feedlot cattle. The aims of this study were to 1) inform future rope-based disease surveillance methods by describing sick and healthy feedlot cattle behavioral interactions with a novel rope, and 2) evaluate how cattle rope interactions vary with time, environment, and individual animal characteristics. Cotton ropes were hung in feedlot pens for three 30-min sessions over six non-consecutive summer days at two feedlots. At Feedlot 1, a rope was hung in one chronic pen and seven healthy pens, and the observation sessions were: Early Morning (0545 to 0700 h), Afternoon (1245 to 1300 h), and Evening (1845 to 2000 h). Three pens were observed on each of the six days; the chronic pen, one healthy “novel” pen with cattle that had no rope experience that changed daily, and one healthy “repeat” pen that was sampled over all observation periods. At Feedlot 2, the methods were altered slightly to focus on “repeat” pens during times when staff would be at the feedlot. A rope was hung in one chronic pen and one “repeat” healthy pen each day. The observation sessions were: Early Morning (0615 to 0645 h), Late Morning (1015 to 1045 h), and Afternoon (1315 to 1345 h). Direct continuous observation was used to record the number of rope-directed interactions (RDIs) performed by individual cattle. Results are presented descriptively as means ± SD. On d 1 in healthy pens at both feedlots, the average number of RDIs was 164 ± 72, and the Early Morning session was slightly more active than the two later sessions. The Chronic Pens at both feedlots were much less active, with only 3 and 10 RDIs on D 1 in Chronic Pens 1 and 2, respectively. The average number of unique cattle that performed at least 1 RDI in a healthy pen on d 1 was 23 ± 7, with an average of 11 ± 4.6 cattle performing an RDI in each 30-minute session. The Chronic Pens were less active, with only 2 and 3 unique cattle performing an RDI on d 1 in the Chronic Pens 1 and 2, respectively. Overall, in the Chronic Pens, the number of individual cattle RDIs varied greatly, with a few sick cattle performing the majority of RDIs. Healthy cattle RDIs varied with age, time of day, and temperature, and chronic cattle RDIs varied with disease status and proximity to death. These results indicate that there is potential value in these methods for disease surveillance, but that clear consideration for how environmental and individual animal characteristics impact RDIs is imperative for successful disease surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition from the sow to nursery is a stressful time for pigs and commonly leads to negative impacts on pig health, welfare, and lifetime performance. The objective of this study was to determine if the addition of a biologically relevant enrichment device affected average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) during the first 2 wk of nursery. A total of 160 mixed-sex pigs (Camborough 1050 X 337, PIC), 19 to 24 d of age [body weight (BW) = 5.77 SD 0.97 kg], were randomly allocated to pens at the Iowa State University Swine Nutrition Farm. Each pen contained 10 pigs (~0.29 m²/pig). Each pen was randomly assigned to one of two treatments: 1) enrichment device with no attractant (positive treatment; n = 8), or 2) no enrichment device (negative treatment; n = 8). Each positive treatment pen had two enrichment devices, consisting of one cotton rope and two biscuits, suspended from the feeder at pig height. The biscuits were replaced daily at about 0800 h throughout wk 1 in nursery (d 0 to d 6). In wk 2 (d 7 to d 13) no pens had an enrichment device. Each pen was equipped with a 4-hole, dry self-feeder measuring 0.61 m long and two affixed nipple drinkers. The feeder was weighed daily, and the pigs weighed weekly. Changes in daily feeder weight and weekly pig BW were used to calculate average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG). Pen was the experimental unit. Data were analyzed using the PROC Mixed procedure of SAS. The model included treatment, week, and treatment by week interaction. A P-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered significantly different. There was an observed difference in ADFI and ADG between wk (P ≤ 0.001, Table 1). However, there were no observed differences in ADFI or ADG for treatment (P ≤ 0.79) or treatment by week interaction (P ≤ 0.93). In conclusion, the addition of this biologically relevant enrichment did not improve or impair ADFI and ADG during the first 2 wk of the nursery phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 32-month-old female 225-kg nonpregnant cross-bred Newsham sow presented a 6-week history of stereotypic behaviors when housed in a laboratory research facility. A behavioral examination over 12 daylight hours revealed 3 main stereotypic motor patterns, namely (1) oral-nasal gate manipulation defined as placement of the snout between the bars of the pen gate with repetitive, forceful up and down movement; (2) head weaving defined as repetitive lateral head and snout movement toward the pen gates while rocking back and forth on her forequarters with hooves remaining on ground at all times; and (3) body weaving defined as repetitive shifting of body weight from one side to the other with front hooves lifting alternately off the ground. The sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 4.0%, 12.4%, and 6.8% of her total baseline time budget, respectively. The presumptive diagnosis was oral-nasal and locomotory stereotypies. Three treatments were used to mitigate the duration and frequency of these stereotypic behaviors. Treatment 1—Social treatment (change social stimuli by providing visual and nose-to-nose contact with different neighboring sows); Treatment 2—Forage treatment (change foraging substrates by providing peat moss as a rooting substrate); and Treatment 3—Space treatment (change pen configuration by increasing space). The sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 0%, 0.4%, and 0.1% of her total time budget, respectively; social treatment: the sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 0.9%, 15.3%, and 11.3% of her total time budget, respectively; and forage treatment: the sow performed the oral-nasal gate manipulation and head and body weaving 0.5%, 28.0%, and 15.5% of her total time budget, respectively. This study is one of the first reports to evaluate the treatment of established stereotypies in a mature sow. Results suggest the promise of environmental enrichment as an effective treatment strategy. Further research is needed to evaluate the persistence of these behavioral changes and relative importance of different environmental manipulations provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Piglet crushing is one of the leading causes of preweaning mortality. This loss represents reduced production efficiency, substantial economic losses for producers, and is an animal welfare concern. The goal of this study was to determine if enrichment ropes would entice neonatal piglets away from the sow and reduce preweaning mortality. Three treatments (OIL: sunflower oil; MC: milky cheese; SC: semiochemical) were applied to the enrichment ropes to increase attractiveness to piglets. Results indicate that neonatal piglets were interested in all enrichment treatments on Day 2 of life, although there was high individual variation in frequency and duration of interactions. Enrichment treatment did not impact the frequency or duration of rope interactions or litter average weight gain. Piglet mortality was impacted by treatment: MC piglets had the lowest percent mortality during the enrichment period, and SC piglets had the lowest percent mortality over the entire experimental period. This proof-of-concept study highlights the value of neonatal piglet environmental enrichment. In the United States swine industry, preweaning mortality represents the highest mortality rate of any production phase, nearly half attributed to crushing. The overarching aim of this study was to determine if enrichment ropes would entice neonatal piglets away from the sow and reduce preweaning mortality. Rope enrichments were provided to 161 piglets from 26 sows after farrowing. Ropes were dipped in sunflower oil (n = 7), semiochemical (n = 8), or milky cheese (n = 11). Piglet purposeful rope investigations, weight gain, and mortality were recorded. On Day 2, 75% of piglets touched the enrichment at least once, and frequency ranged from 1 to 21 investigations across all treatments. Frequency (p = 0.20) and duration (p = 0.21) of investigations were not affected by treatment. Preweaning litter average weight gain did not differ between treatments (p = 0.71). MC (milky cheese) piglets had the lowest percent mortality when the enrichment ropes were present (Days 2 to 5, p = 0.01), and SC (semiochemical) piglets had the lowest percent mortality after the enrichment ropes were removed (Days 6 to weaning, p < 0.0001). This proof-of-concept study highlights the potential value of neonatal piglet environmental enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]