Includes refinements to diet, bedding or flooring, cage changing, lighting, temperature, noise levels, etc.
Motivation to explore is believed to be widespread among animals, but exploratory behaviour varies within populations. Offering variety in feed is one simple way of allowing intensively housed dairy cattle to express exploratory foraging behaviour...
Separating calf and cow within 24h after birth is common practice in dairy farms. Some dairy farmers, however, practice a rearing system in which the calves are nursed by their dam or by foster cows...
Beef cattle may be fattened before slaughter using a high-energy, grain-based diet. Although previous research suggests cattle prefer grain, their motivation to obtain this feed has not been quantified. The objective of this study was...
There is increasing interest in keeping dairy cows with their calves during the milk feeding period, and in reducing distress associated with separation. The aim of this study was to investigate how nutritional dependence upon...
In the milk producing industry, most aspects of maternal behaviour are discouraged, but milk production is actively maintained in the absence of the calf. The process of milk let down, is mediated, at least partly...
The use of straw bales as an environmental enrichment is common for broiler chickens in enriched housing systems, however relatively little information exists about their effectiveness in improving welfare. There has also been no widespread...
Environmental stimuli present during incubation can impact the behavior of birds post-hatch. To determine the effect of exposing broiler chicken embryos to light on fear-related behavior post-hatch, we conducted two experiments in which we incubated...
Persistence of willingness to work has been used to measure the importance of resources and performance of species-specific behaviors. Our objectives were to develop and validate a “push-door” model to assess cattle motivation to lie...
Broiler breeder chickens are feed-restricted to control growth and maximize chick production. Feed restriction creates welfare concerns as conventional skip-a-day feeding can increase activity levels and oral stereotypies during the rearing period. A precision feeding...
Exaggerated fear-reactions are associated with injurious flying, smothering, feather pecking and other events that compromise animal welfare in laying hens. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that chicks with access to...