Discipline: Physiology (metabolism, molecular and cellular biologies, etc.)

Drinking water for liquid-fed pigs

Meunier-Salaün M.C., Chiron J. , Etore F., Fabre A., Laval A., Pol F., Prunier A., Ramonet Y., Nielsen B.

Published in 2017

Liquid feed can provide pigs with sufficient water to remain hydrated and prevent prolonged thirst. However, any lack of permanent access to fresh water prevents animals from drinking when they are thirsty. In addition, individual differences between pigs in a pen can result in the uneven distribution of water from liquid feeds, preventing some pigs from meeting their water needs. In this review, we examine the need for and provision of water for liquid-fed pigs in terms of production performance, behaviour, health and welfare. We highlight factors that may lead to water ingestion above or below requirements. Increased water requirements can be caused by several factors such as morbidity, ambient temperature or competition within the social group, underlining the need for permanent access to water, also provided for in EU legislation. Drinking animals may be the target of redirected behaviour in response to feeding restrictions or in the absence of rooting materials, thus leading to water losses. Water supply systems and the design of water troughs are essential components in ensuring easy access to water, regardless of the physiological condition of the pig, and in reducing water use, which has no benefit for the pig.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords : Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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Enrichissement du milieu d’élevage des porcs par la mise à disposition des matériaux manipulables

ANSES

Published in 2015

This Opinion focuses on the value of manipulable materials, whose presence offers an effective means of enriching the living environment of pigs reared on slatted floors. They encourage the expression of investigative and manipulating behaviours but also, depending on the nature of the added materials, of maternal and foraging behaviours. They preclude behavioural frustration and induce positive emotions that can reduce deviant behaviours such as cannibalism and stereotyping and can limit negative emotions. Used properly, manipulable materials can have a positive impact on animal welfare. However, this impact is variable and can be negative, depending on the physical characteristics and distribution patterns of the manipulable materials. The impact is also negative when the manipulable materials introduce health risks. Before any routine use, the effect of the materials on welfare should be tested on the animal. In light of the prevalence of slatted floors on French livestock farms, it is desirable to make best use of such materials in ways that are worth developing further, under conditions that are adapted to the animal's welfare. Work on manipulable materials has been carried out very widely and has made it possible to identify the intrinsic qualities that retain the animals' interest and encourage investigation and manipulation. However, further work is still needed on animals' motives in using manipulable materials, on the latters' effectiveness, on methods of introduction and presentation,  on an economic evaluation of their distribution, on the development of new materials, on the health risks associated with their characteristics, on their effects on brain function, on the acceptability of their use by breeders and on the contribution of their use to the public's perception of livestock farming.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords : Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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High-Fibre feeding in gestation

Meunier-Salaün M.C., Bolhuis J.

Published in 2015

Pregnant sows are generally fed in low quantities, a fact that may lead to poor satiety and may not fully satisfy their drive to express their foraging and feeding behaviours. Accordingly, feed restriction may lead to the frequent occurrence of oral activities other than feeding, including stereotypies, restlessness and aggressive behaviour in group-housed sows, which are interpreted as indicators of persistent drives and frustration associated with feeding. The inclusion of fibre in the diet reduces the latter's energy density and therefore allows meals to be larger without increasing the energy provided. In addition, dietary fibre influences the mechanisms that improve satiety and satiety at the sensory, post-digestive and post-absorption levels. This chapter examines the impact of dietary fibre on the behaviour and well-being of pregnant sows and describes its potential consequences for performance. The level of response to dietary fibre is, however, variable and depends on the characteristics of the fibre diet (inclusion rate, source of fibre, physicochemical properties), housing and feeding conditions and the characteristics of the sows, including parity, and is greater in young sows. Dietary fibre provided during gestation generally results in increased feed consumption by sows during lactation, probably due to its effects on the size and capacity of the gastrointestinal tract. Studies on the effects of fibre on reproductive performance are rare and show variable results, which could be partly attributable to an over- or underestimation of the diet's energy content during pregnancy. In conclusion, dietary fibre generally has a beneficial effect on the behaviour and welfare of pregnant sows on a restricted diet. The impact of high-fibre diets during pregnancy on reproductive performance over several successive cycles in group-housed sows merits further investigation.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Enrichment, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Petite histoire de l’étude du bien-être animal : comment cet objet sociétal est devenu un objet scientifique transdisciplinaire

Veissier I., Miele M.

Published in 2015

The origins of the animal welfare sciences can be found in the debate on the moral status of animals in philosophy, the introduction of the notion of stress in physiology and the description of animal behaviours by ethologists.... We believe that the issue of animal welfare needs to break down the boundaries between and across disciplines and to engage stakeholders and society as a whole, in order to build a holistic approach towards animal welfare and improve it in an effective way.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Mammals, Monogastrics, Fish, Poultry

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Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for cattle

Christoph Winckler, Bo Algers, Kees van Reenen, Hélène Leruste, Isabelle Veissier, Linda Keeling, Andy Butterworth, Gwen van Overbeke, Vere Bedaux

Published in 2009

Welfare Quality® combines analysis of consumer perceptions and attitudes with current knowledge from animal welfare science. This has led to the identification of 12 criteria that must be properly taken into account by evaluation systems. To address these issues, it has been decided to focus on those indicators classified as animal-based, which address aspects of the immediate welfare status of animals, such as their behaviour, fear, health or physical condition. These animal-based measures include the effects of variations in farm system management (role of the farmer) as well as particular system-animal interactions. It is however clear that resource-based and management-based measures can also contribute to a welfare assessment if they are closely correlated with animal-based measures. In addition, resource- and management-based measures can be used to identify animal welfare risks and to identify the causes of poor welfare so that improvement strategies can be implemented.
This protocol describes the procedures and requirements for the assessment of the welfare of cattle and is limited to the main categories of production animals, i.e. feeder cattle, dairy cows and veal calves. The document first outlines the on-farm collection of measurement data on feeder cattle, followed by the procedures for calculating scores. The next section describes the collection of data at the abattoir to assess the welfare of feeder cattle at the time of slaughter. Next, the procedure for on-farm collection of measurement data on dairy cows and the calculation of scores for overall farm welfare assessment is described, followed by the protocols for on-farm collection of the same data from calves, along with a description of data collection protocols for measurements taken at the abattoir but relevant to farm welfare. These last two sections complement each other and are used together to calculate on-farm welfare scores for veal calves.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Bovines, Ruminants

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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AWIN Welfare assessment protocol for sheep

Cathy Dwyer, Roberto Ruiz, Ina Beltran de Heredia

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for the evaluation of animal welfare in order to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species with very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and involving different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.
This particular welfare assessment protocol is intended for adult female sheep (over one year of age), kept for milk and/or meat and has been tested for this specification. The protocol has not been tested for ewes kept primarily for wool production, or for dual-purpose meat and wool production, but it is expected that the protocol may also be applicable  for such cases. The protocol applies and has been tested on adult ewes kept indoors and outdoors. Since the indicators are based on sheep biology, many of the indicators may also be relevant to adult male sheep, but the protocol has not yet been tested for use in male animals.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Ovines

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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AWIN Welfare assessment protocol for goats

Monica Battini, Silvana Mattielo, George Stiwell, Ana Viera

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for evaluating animal welfare in order to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species kept under very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and that involve different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.

This welfare assessment protocol is intended for dairy goats kept in intensive or semi-intensive production systems. Many of the indicators developed here are applicable to other categories of goats (non-producing goats, kids...), but have not been validated for these categories.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Caprines

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

The AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses

Emanuela Dalla Costa, Michela Minero

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for evaluating animal welfare to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species kept under very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and that involve different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.
This welfare assessment protocol is intended for horses over 5 years of age.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Douleurs animales. 1. Les mécanismes

Paulmier V., Faure M., Durand D., Boissy A., Cognié J., Eschalier A., Terlouw C.

Published in 2015

This article aims to bring together in a single document the knowledge acquired over recent years on the mechanisms of the appearance and modulation of pain in animals. The review is divided into three parts. The first describes the different stages of development, transmission and integration of the nociceptive messages involved in the onset of pain (sensory and emotional components). The second describes the different types of modulation that can activate or inhibit the transmission of nociceptive messages. The third describes the different neurophysiological processes that accompany pain and can modulate it (inflammation, activation of the autonomic nervous system and the neuroendocrine system).

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Mammals, Monogastrics, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Rodents, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Douleurs animales. 2. Evaluation et traitement de la douleur chez les ruminants

Faure M., Paulmier V., De Boyer Des Roches A., Boissy A., Terlouw E.M.C., Guattéo R., Cognié J., Courteix C., Durand D., 2015

Published in 2015

The establishment of efficient and simple tools to detect pain and assess its intensity would make it possible to meet the needs of professionals (farmers and producers, veterinarians, researchers, etc.), to answer questions raised by public opinion and debate on animal pain and to meet the requirements of the regulations on the use of animals for scientific purposes (cf. Coetzee 2013, bibliographical review). Recent studies have already enabled the identification of behavioural, zootechnical and physiological indicators for the presence and even the intensity of pain (cf. review of the literature by Prunier et al 2013). However, no integrated approach involving the simultaneous use of all these indicators has been developed to date. Moreover, some indicators cannot be used in current practice, and the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of the various potential indicators are not always optimal. One route is to combine the indicators in order to increase their informational value. Through this overview, we wish to show i) that evaluation of type and level of pain is essential for optimal pain management and ii) that an evaluation based on a multiparametric approach is best suited to such an objective.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Ruminants

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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