Animal最新文献

{"title":"Social rank and personality are associated with visit frequency in dairy cows learning to use an automatic milking system","authors":"F.P. Johansen ,&nbsp;S. Buijs ,&nbsp;G. Arnott","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101446","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101446","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Automatic milking systems (<strong>AMSs</strong>) require cows to perform relatively complicated behaviours: visiting the milking robot voluntarily at appropriate intervals and at a high enough frequency to maintain production. Failure to correctly learn this behaviour can lead to prolonged training for the affected cows, which in turn can result in increased labour, reduced milk yields, and reduced animal welfare. There is currently considerable individual variation between cows in the number of voluntary milking visits achieved per day which may be due to variation in learning ability, amongst other factors. A better understanding of factors influencing dairy cows during conditioning to use an AMS may ensure better adaptation to these systems. To that end, this study investigated the hypothesis that social ranking and measures of personality will influence the ability of cows learning to use AMS. Data were obtained from 30 cows newly transferred to an AMS. The personality attributes of all cows were assayed using two validated tests (human approach, novel object). Principal component analysis revealed two distinct attributes: Boldness and Sociality. In addition, agonistic interactions at the feed face and milking robot were collected over a 3-week period and used to construct a social ranking of the herd using the Elo method. Social ranking and the two personality attributes were used as independent variables in further analysis. Learning was assessed by the following variables, which were included in four separate GLMs as dependent variables; (1) Average voluntary visit frequency weeks zero to two, (2) Average voluntary visit frequency weeks zero to four, (3) Days until the cows’ first voluntary milking, (4) Days until last necessary training session. Cows with higher social rankings had a higher average voluntary visit rate in weeks zero to two and zero to four and a lower latency until their first voluntary milking. Cows that combined a low boldness score with a lower sociality score tended towards a longer latency until their first voluntary milking. We propose that social ranking could play a role in learning success in an AMS context and suggest developing specific training strategies targeting low-ranking cows. Further research is required to fully elucidate the effects of personality attributes on learning success; however, based on the outcomes of the current study, we suggest that investigating strategies for less bold and less social cows may be an important area for future research into improving learning efficacy, productivity, and welfare in this setting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101446"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143463642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growth performance and gut health of nursery pigs fed diet containing sodium butyrate or enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast product","authors":"J. Hong ,&nbsp;H.S. Kim ,&nbsp;S. Adams ,&nbsp;J. Scaria ,&nbsp;R. Patterson ,&nbsp;T.A. Woyengo","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101448","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101448","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Weaned pigs are highly susceptible to gut infections, underscoring the need to develop feeding strategies to manage gut health. A study was conducted to determine the effects of lipid−coated sodium butyrate (<strong>NaB</strong>) and enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast cell wall product (<strong>EYP</strong>) on growth performance and indicators of intestinal structure and function in nursery pigs. A total of 96 weaned pigs (initial BW = 6.60 ± 0.88 kg) housed in 24 pens (four pigs/pen) were fed three diets in a randomized complete block design. The diets were corn-soybean meal-based without (<strong>CON</strong>) or with 0.05% NaB or 0.1% EYP. Growth performance and fecal score were determined by the feeding phase. During days 10–13, one pig from each pen was euthanized for measuring organ weights, blood immune response, histology and permeability of small intestine, electrophysiological parameters of jejunum mounted in Ussing chambers, and gut microbiome. Dietary NaB, but not EYP, increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) overall gain−to−feed ratio by 16%. In comparison to CON, dietary EYP increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) the cecum weight by 36%, and dietary NaB or EYP tended to increase (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.10) the villous height to crypt depth ratio in duodenum by 12%. Dietary NaB or EYP had no influence on the serum concentrations of immunoglobulins A, G, M, and tumor-necrosis factor-α. Dietary NaB decreased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) the jejunal flux of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran flux by 32%, whereas dietary EYP tended to reduce (<em>P</em> = 0.10) it by 21% compared to CON. Also, dietary Nab and EYP decreased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) jejunal short circuit current by 52 and 50%, respectively, compared to CON. Dietary EYP increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) the relative abundance of <em>Sporobacter</em> and <em>Desulfovibrio</em> genera in the cecum. Dietary EYP increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia phylum and <em>Odoribacter, Enterococcus</em>, and <em>YRC22</em> genera in feces. In conclusion, dietary NaB improved feed efficiency and reduced jejunal permeability to fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran 4 kDa, implying that it improved intestinal integrity in nursery pigs. Thus, NaB product fed in the current study can be included in diets for weaned pigs to improve their performance through improved gut integrity. Dietary EYP increased cecum weight, implying that dietary EYP improved cecal fermentation capacity. It also modified cecal and fecal microbial composition. Thus, the EYP product fed in the current study can be added in diets for weaned pigs to improve the fermentation of feed in the hindgut.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101448"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Performance, metabolism and nitrogen use efficiency in dairy cows fed low protein, legume silage-based diets: a systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"M.R. Chowdhury ,&nbsp;R.G. Wilkinson ,&nbsp;L.A. Sinclair","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101433","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101433","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The primary focus of low CP diets and the inclusion of legume silages for dairy cows is to decrease feed costs and mitigate the environmental impact of milk production. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary CP level on the performance, metabolism, and N use efficiency (<strong>NUE;</strong> g milk N output/kg N intake) of dairy cows fed legume-based rations. A total of 36 production trials with 102 treatment means were included, and the effect of dietary CP level was estimated using the raw-mean difference between control (high CP) and low CP diets. Publication bias was examined using Begg’s and Egger’s tests. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were performed to explore the heterogeneity of the response variables. Reducing dietary CP from 171 g/kg DM to 145 g/kg DM in forage legume-based diets resulted in decreased DM intake (−0.62 kg/d), milk yield (−1.41 kg/d), milk protein (−0.22 g/kg), milk urea N (<strong>MUN</strong>; −3.47 mg/dL), plasma urea N (−1.85 mmol/L) and condition score (−0.03) in dairy cows. Similarly, nutrient intake, diet digestibility, total urine output, N excretion through milk, urine and faeces, urine N/total N intake, rumen ammonia-N and molar proportion of butyrate were decreased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) in cows receiving low CP diets compared with those fed the control. In contrast, low CP diets increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) the faecal N/total N intake, NUE, and plasma content of non-esterified fatty acids. Subgroup analyses revealed that the effect size of DM intake, milk yield, MUN, urinary N excretion and rumen ammonia-N content had less of a negative impact (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) when cows received dietary CP levels of 140–155 g/kg DM than &lt; 140 g/kg DM. The inclusion of rumen-protected methionine in low CP diets increased (<em>P</em> = 0.04) DM intake and tended to improve (<em>P</em> = 0.08) the milk protein content of dairy cows. Feeding lucerne silage-based low CP diets showed an improvement (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) in apparent diet digestibility but reduced milk yield (−1.46 kg/d) relative to red clover silage-based rations. The inclusion rate of legume silages in low-CP diets beyond 40% of the forage DM reduced (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) DM intake and milk protein content. We conclude that legume silage-based low CP diets enhance NUE but have adverse effects on dairy cow performance that can partially be mitigated by including rumen-protected methionine and limiting their proportion in the forage component of the diet.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101433"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short communication: Including genomic information increases accuracy of breeding value estimation in a small outdoor organic pig population","authors":"R.M. Zaalberg,&nbsp;A.J. Buitenhuis,&nbsp;J. Jensen,&nbsp;T.T. Chu,&nbsp;T.M. Villumsen","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101434","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101434","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To optimise organic pig breeding, we studied the effect of including genomic information for predicting breeding values (<strong>EBVs</strong>) in a small organic pig population. The recorded traits were the number of functional teats (n = 16 494), BW at birth (n = 36 995) and on day 10 (n = 29 744), and litter size on day 0, 4, or 11 (n ≈ 5 900 litters). Genomic information from 18 929 SNPs was available for 1 394 pigs, including Landrace sows and boars, and Yorkshire x Landrace crossbred sows. Throughout the study, a purebred- and crossbred correlation of 1 was assumed. Univariate mixed models that either included pedigree information or both pedigree and genomic information were used to estimate parameters and EBV. The prediction accuracy of the EBV was based on a forward prediction of data from the final 11 months of data. For the number of functional teats, the direct additive genetic component was considered, whereas for the other traits, the maternal genetic component was considered. The accuracy of predicting EBV for individuals without their own phenotype increased for all traits when genomic information was included, especially when the heritability was low. In conclusion, including genomic information can improve EBV prediction accuracy, which can optimise the genetic improvement in small breeding programmes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101434"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143403290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Olive tree leaves in dairy sheep diet: effects on rumen metabolism, microbiota composition and milk quality","authors":"B. Valenti ,&nbsp;F. Scicutella ,&nbsp;C. Viti ,&nbsp;M. Daghio ,&nbsp;F. Mannelli ,&nbsp;D. Gigante ,&nbsp;A. Buccioni ,&nbsp;V. Bolletta ,&nbsp;L. Morbidini ,&nbsp;L. Turini ,&nbsp;A. Natalello ,&nbsp;M. Servili ,&nbsp;R. Selvaggini ,&nbsp;M. Pauselli","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101435","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101435","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Feeding ruminants with agro-industrial by-products represents an effective strategy to implement circular economy principles in animal husbandry. Olive tree leaves discarded during olive oil production are a natural source of compounds that may influence ruminant metabolism and product quality. In this study, an <em>in vivo</em> feeding trial evaluated the effect of dietary olive tree leaves on the rumen microbial community, animal performance and milk quality in dairy sheep. Two groups of 10 grazing Comisana ewes were supplemented with 800 g/head/d of a control pelleted concentrate (<strong>CTRL</strong>) or a concentrate containing 28% of dried olive leaves (<strong>LEAVES</strong>) for 30 days. After the adaptation period, individual milk was collected weekly and analysed for gross composition, fatty acids and renneting properties. Individual rumen liquor collected on the last day of the trial was analysed for microbial and fatty acid profiles. Moreover, the effect of olive tree leaves inclusion on dietary nutrient degradability of the LEAVES concentrate was tested <em>in vitro</em>. <em>In vitro</em> data indicated that olive leaves did not affect the rumen degradability of NDF and protein compared to CTRL. Regarding the <em>in vivo</em> trial, milk yield was comparable between groups, but LEAVES milk showed <del>a</del> greater protein percentage. Dietary olive leaves marginally affected the rumen microbiota: the <em>Catenisphera</em> genus was more abundant in the rumen of the LEAVES group, and <em>Mogibacterium</em> was found only in rumen of LEAVES ewes. The rumen liquor of LEAVES ewes showed a greater content of <em>c</em>9 18:1 and <em>t</em>6-8 18:1. Fatty acids mainly involved in biohydrogenation were found at a comparable content in the rumen of CTRL and LEAVES groups. Despite this, both dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (<em>c</em>9<em>c</em>12 18:2 and <em>c</em>9<em>c</em>12<em>c</em>15 18:3) and fatty acids mainly originated from rumen biohydrogenation (<em>trans</em> 18:1 and 18:2 isomers) were found at a greater percentage in the LEAVES milk. Dietary olive leaves increased total monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids n-3 and polyunsaturated fatty acids n-6 and reduced saturated fatty acids in comparison with the CTRL diet. Among the health-promoting fatty acids, <em>c</em>9 18:1, <em>c</em>9<em>t</em>11 18:2, 22:5 n-6 and 22:6 n-3 were greater in the LEAVES milk. Consequently, LEAVES milk showed a lower atherogenic and thrombogenic index and a smaller hypercholesterolemic potential. Our results confirm the viability of the use of agro-industrial by-products rich in bioactive compounds in animal diets as a strategy to improve the circularity of animal production and product quality without modification to animal performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101435"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The interaction between slaughter weight and sex on carcass composition and nutrient efficiencies in Piétrain crossbred pigs","authors":"S. Millet,&nbsp;F. Leen ,&nbsp;C. De Cuyper,&nbsp;M. Aluwé,&nbsp;J. Van Meensel,&nbsp;A. Van den Broeke","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101432","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101432","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pig farming plays a vital role in converting human inedible protein sources into edible animal protein. A significant portion of ingested nitrogen (<strong>N</strong>) and phosphorus (<strong>P</strong>) is excreted in the manure; however; this poses environmental challenges, particularly in regions with intensive pig production. Accurate estimation of nutrient excretion is crucial when assessing the environmental impact of pig production and management strategies. To this end, understanding how management influences BW composition is important. In the current study, the influence of sex and slaughter weight on body composition and nutrient efficiency in Piétrain crossbreds was examined in two experiments. Four sex categories were tested: entire male pigs (<strong>EM</strong>), barrows (<strong>BA</strong>), immunocastrates (<strong>IC</strong>), and gilts (<strong>GI</strong>). Experiment 1 occurred under experimental conditions (individual housing, nutrient−rich diet) while experiment 2 represented controlled farm circumstances (group housing, commercial diet). Slaughter weight in experiments 1 and 2 were 110–148 kg and 99–138 kg, respectively. Body composition was analysed at the beginning and end of the growing-finishing phase. Nitrogen efficiency, based on the conversion of ingested N into body N, was calculated. In general, slaughter weight had a clear effect on body composition and nutrient excretions in BA and a lesser effect in GI. In contrast, no effect of slaughter weight on body composition and N excretions was observed in EM and IC within the tested weight range. As slaughter weight increased in BA, CP and water content decreased while fat content increased. This resulted in increasing N excretion and decreasing N efficiency at higher slaughter weights. Only weak correlations between estimated lean meat content and N content in the body were observed. No significant effect of BW on whole−body P content or P excretion was observed. The measured body composition values can be used for future research and modelling of nutrient excretions in pig production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101432"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of fish oil in Iberian sow diets on fatty acid, oxylipins and immune traits of colostrum and milk, and suckling piglets’ growth performance","authors":"E. Llauradó-Calero ,&nbsp;J. García-Gudiño ,&nbsp;F.I. Hernández-García ,&nbsp;M. Izquierdo ,&nbsp;R. Lizardo ,&nbsp;D. Torrallardona ,&nbsp;E. Esteve-Garcia ,&nbsp;N. Tous","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101430","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101430","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Iberian sow productivity is characterised by a low number of weaned piglets with higher within-litter variation in piglet birth BW compared with conventional breeds. To overcome this, nutritional strategies, such as the dietary addition of n-3 fatty acids (<strong>FAs</strong>), are being studied to improve sow performance, as well as colostrum and milk composition. In addition, n-3 FAs and their derived oxylipins could also be beneficial for the offspring due to their anti-inflammatory roles. The present study was conducted in an outdoor production system where sows were group-fed during the mating and gestation periods, while feed intake was provided individually during lactation. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of including fish oil rich in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (<strong>EPA</strong> and <strong>DHA</strong>, respectively) in Iberian sow diets on litter size, piglet growth during lactation, and the concentrations of anti-inflammatory molecules in colostrum and milk. Forty sows were randomly assigned to either a control or fish oil diet during pregnancy and lactation. Sow performance and litter traits were monitored until weaning. Colostrum and milk were collected after the birth of the first piglet and at weaning, respectively. Their FA composition, oxylipin profile, and immune indicators were analysed. Despite the piglets from the control group having greater average birth BW than those from the fish oil litters (<em>P</em> = 0.016), the fish oil piglets were heavier at weaning (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.028). Total n-3 FA concentration was increased in the colostrum and milk of fish oil-fed sows (all <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), mainly due to increases in EPA and DHA concentrations (all <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). In the same way, most of their oxygenated derivatives were also increased in both colostrum and milk (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.045). The colostrum from fish oil-fed sows also presented higher concentrations of immunoglobulins (<strong>Ig</strong>) G and A than that from control sows (<em>P</em> = 0.025 and <em>P</em> = 0.026, respectively). In conclusion, the inclusion of fish oil in sow diets increased the levels of IgG and IgA in colostrum, n-3 FAs and their derived oxylipins in colostrum and milk, and piglet BW at weaning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101430"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143403292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growth rate, either through genetics or diet, mainly determines the outcome concerning broiler welfare","authors":"J.A.J. van der Eijk ,&nbsp;J. van Harn ,&nbsp;H. Gunnink ,&nbsp;T. van Hattum ,&nbsp;M. Wolthuis-Fillerup ,&nbsp;S. Melis ,&nbsp;D.E. te Beest ,&nbsp;I.C. de Jong","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101431","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101431","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is a trend towards broiler production systems with higher welfare requirements, which often use a combination of factors to improve broiler welfare. This makes it difficult to entangle whether improvements are due to housing conditions, diet, genetics or a combination of these factors. Therefore, it remains unknown to what extent differences in welfare can be attributed to breed (i.e., genetics), growth rate (i.e., diet) or the interaction between the two. We compared fast- (Ross 308, <strong>R</strong>), medium- (Ranger Classic, <strong>RC</strong>) and slower-growing broilers (Hubbard JA757, <strong>H</strong>) receiving diets differing in balanced protein (<strong>BP</strong>) content (i.e., 80, 90 and 100%). We identified effects on behaviour, responses to behavioural tests and litter quality at three target body weights (<strong>TBW</strong>s, 0.2, 1.2 and 2.4 kg), and welfare scores and litter DM content at TBW 2.6 kg. The experiment had a 3 × 3 factorial design with four replicates (pens) per treatment (a total of 36 pens). We hypothesised that reducing the growth rate will improve the welfare of all breeds and that breeds will not differ in welfare if they have a comparable growth rate. Indeed, reducing the growth rate improved hock burn scores in all breeds. R broilers also had improved cleanliness scores and RC broilers improved gait scores. Reducing the growth rate increased the number of R broilers approaching a human and novel object and showing running behaviour in the free-space test, while it reduced the number of RC broilers approaching a human and showing comfort behaviour and did not affect behaviour in H broilers. In addition, litter quality was improved for R broilers (wetness and DM), while reduced for H broilers (DM) with reduced growth rate, and no effects of growth rate on litter quality were found for RC broilers. Thus, reducing growth rate (i.e., reducing BP in diets) improves welfare in all breeds, but breeds did respond differently concerning behaviour and litter quality, with more beneficial effects for fast-growing broilers compared to medium- and slower-growing broilers. Hardly any differences in behaviour, welfare scores and litter quality were found between breeds when they had a comparable growth rate (R80 vs RC100 and RC80 vs H100), except for R80 having better scores for cleanliness and gait scores (only males) and higher litter DM content compared to RC100. These findings suggest that growth rate, either through genetics or diet, is mainly determining the outcome concerning broiler welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101431"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143403293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tail status at both individual and pen level affects tail biting victimisation in pigs over the finishing period","authors":"C. Munsterhjelm,&nbsp;M. Tuominen-Brinkas,&nbsp;H. Koskikallio,&nbsp;M. Heinonen,&nbsp;K. Ahlqvist,&nbsp;A. Valros","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101428","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101428","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tail biting is a significant welfare problem in commercial pig production. Individual tail health was assessed in non-docked pigs (n = 1 579) on five farms (180–441 pigs and 16–30 pens per farm) at introduction to the finishing unit (<strong>W0</strong>) and 9 weeks later (<strong>W9</strong>) to present longitudinal descriptive data, establish risk factors for being tail bitten and investigate possibilities to infer information about W0 tail health based on W9 tail appearance. Tail health was described in terms of posture (hanging), shortening (loss of distal flattening), lesion type (<strong>TLT</strong>; 0 = no lesion, 1 = minor lesion on intact skin; or with skin penetration 2 = &lt; 0.5 cm, 3 = 0.5–2 cm, or 4 = &gt; 2 cm), length (<strong>iL</strong>) and change therein from W0 to W9 (<strong>ΔL</strong>). ΔL may include cumulating information on received tail biting given that the variation was large and negative values were present. The average intact tail measured 22 ± 2.1 and 29 ± 2.3 cm at W0 and W9, respectively, with no effect of sex. Tail lesion prevalence decreased unexpectedly from W0 to W9, possibly due to a docking-like effect in the present population showing a relatively high injury prevalence at W0. Mixed models predicting tail health at W9 were built with pig (n = 1 323–1 492) as statistical unit and pen (n = 94–124) nested within farm as random effects. Pen-level tail appearance at W0 was included as eligible predictors. No model predicted TLT 2,3 or 4 at W9, suggesting that factors other than early tail appearance determined late victimisation. A larger ΔL was predicted by the individual-level factors barrow (vs female), a larger iL, no tail shortening and any other TLT as compared to 4 in the individual at W0; as well as smaller percentage of hanging tails in the pen, a larger average iL in the pen (<strong>px̅L</strong>) and an interaction between iL and px̅L. According to the interaction effect, two different scenarios predicted a smaller ΔL: smaller iL and px̅L, or especially larger iL and px̅L. The scenarios may be re-targeting of previous victims by individuals accustomed to an environment with tail biting and two-stage tail-biting where the longest tails were the most attractive objects for exploration. We conclude that pigs with better tail health at introduction to the finishing unit receive less injurious biting during 9 weeks. Pen-level tail health has a profound effect that is very different at extremes of tail length. One−fourth of early skin-penetrating tail injuries may not be detectable shortly before slaughter.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101428"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143421015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The development of a tool to assess cow quality of life based on system-level attributes across pastoral dairy farms","authors":"S.J. Hendriks ,&nbsp;K. Saunders ,&nbsp;K. DeWitt ,&nbsp;P. Timmer-Arends ,&nbsp;J. Jago","doi":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.animal.2025.101429","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Progress has been made in developing cow welfare assessment protocols that focus on the cow; however, system-level assessment has received less attention. This paper presents a process undertaken to develop a tool to identify opportunities and risks for cow quality of life at the system level across pastoral dairy farms and piloting the tool in New Zealand. The Farm System Welfare Assessment Tool incorporates elements from the Five Domains Model and is based on four domains (nutrition, health, physical environment, and behavioural interactions) and a fifth area ‘people’ with 21 system attributes captured under these areas that are assessed through on-farm visits. Overall, 222 farms were visited, and attributes were allocated a score based on the degree of risk posed to cow welfare at the system level. Results were summarised to provide an overall score for New Zealand dairy farm systems for each attribute within season. An attribute was defined as low risk when opportunities for neutral or positive experiences were provided, while negative experiences were minimised; moderate risk when some opportunities for neutral or positive experiences were provided, but negative experiences may still exist, and; high risk when opportunities for neutral or positive experiences were restricted and negative experiences exist. Overall, 85% of attributes (n = 66/78) across all seasons (19 attributes assessed across four seasons, plus one attribute which was only relevant in spring and one scored year-round) were classified as low risk, 10% were classified as moderate risk (n = 8/78) and 9% were classified as high risk (n = 7/78). From the 15 attributes that scored moderate or high risk, physical environment (40%; n = 6/15), people (27%; n = 4/15), and behavioural interactions (20%; n = 3/15) were the highest-risk areas followed by nutrition and health (both 7%; n = 1/15). Six attributes including health prevention, provision of quality feed, adequate space, good ventilation, natural lighting, and well-designed infrastructure were scored low risk across all seasons indicating neutral experiences are likely. Higher risk attributes with the potential to restrict opportunities for positive experiences included inadequate staffing, exploration and grooming during winter, and expression of maternal behaviour, while lower risk attributes with the possibility to provide opportunities for positive experiences included foraging, daily routine, and social contact. The tool was able to identify aspects of New Zealand farm systems that are likely to provide opportunities for neutral or positive experiences, where opportunities for positive experiences are restricted, and where negative experiences may occur. Future research could investigate the wider application of our approach within other dairy farm systems and countries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50789,"journal":{"name":"Animal","volume":"19 3","pages":"Article 101429"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143395890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}