Farm & Stable

Zhang, C., Juniper, D. T., Meagher, R. K. 2022. Effects of physical enrichment and pair housing before weaning on growth, behaviour and cognitive ability of calves after weaning and regrouping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249, 105606.

Housing unweaned calves individually in barren environments negatively affects their growth, cognitive ability, and adaptability to environmental changes in later life. Social housing has been shown to improve those aspects, whereas physical environmental enrichment has...

Vasdal, G., Gebhardt-Henrich, S.G., Kittelsen, K.E. et al. 2022. Commercial broiler breeder pullet hens use perches but show no preference for perch type or height. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249, 105608.

An important behavioral need for laying hens is perching, but few studies have investigated perching behavior in commercial broiler breeder pullets. The aim of this study was to investigate perching behavior throughout the pullet period...

Barki, A., Cnaani, A., Biran, J. 2022. How does temperature affect aggression during and after dominance hierarchy formation in Nile tilapia? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 247, 105563.

Social animals commonly establish dominance relationships by means of aggressive interaction, leading to hierarchical stability and priority of access to limited resources by high-ranked individuals. In poikilothermic animals, temperature is a major abiotic factor influencing...

Lansade, L., Lemarchand, J., Reigner, F. et al. 2022. Automatic brushes induce positive emotions and foster positive social interactions in group-housed horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 246, 105538.

In mammals, positive tactile contact is recognized as an effective tool for triggering positive affective states. In this study, we investigated the benefits of providing automatic rotative brushes for group-housed horses. Our three aims were...

Pritchett, R. K., Gaskill, B. N., Erasmus, M. A. et al. 2022. Scratch that itch: Farrowing crate scratching enrichment for sows. Animal Welfare 31(2), 243-255.

Developing effective enrichments is important for improving pig (Sus scrofa) welfare as it increases species-specific behaviours, decreases abnormal behaviours, and increases time active. However, few enrichments are available for sows in farrowing crates. Pigs are...

Reyes, F. S., Gimenez, A. R., Anderson, K. M. et al. 2022. Impact of stationary brush quantity on brush use in group-housed dairy heifers. Animals 12(8), 972.

Our objectives were to evaluate the effect of stationary brush quantity on brush use and competition in weaned dairy heifers naïve to brushes. Sixty-three Holstein heifers (95 ± 5.7 days old) were housed in groups...

Sandilands, V., Baker, L., Donbavand, J. et al. 2022. Do hens use enrichments provided in free-range systems? Animals 12(8), 995.

Hens in free-range systems are given enrichments to increase foraging and limit injurious pecking, but the efficacy of enrichment types requires investigation. We studied hen behaviour and feather cover in eight commercial free-range flocks each...

Kieffer, J. D., Campler, M. R., Cheng, T.-Y. et al. 2022. Evaluation of a water-based medium-expansion foam depopulation method in suckling and finisher pigs. Animals 12(8), 1041.

The threat of foreign animal disease introduction through contaminated animal products, feed ingredients, and wildlife vectors have highlighted the need for additional approved methods for mass depopulation of swine under emergency scenarios, especially methods that...

Li, C., Shen, C., Feng, G. et al. 2022. Preference for shelters at different developmental stages of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). Animals 12(7), 918.

A shelter is a good habitat for aquatic organisms, which could aid in avoiding cannibalism and facilitate predation. Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is an important aquaculture species with troglodytism and nocturnal habit. To clarify...

Lindner, E. E., Gingerich, K. N., Burke, K. C. et al. 2022. Effects of social housing on dairy calf social bonding. Animals 12(7), 821.

Social housing for dairy calves has a range of benefits for social development, yet there is limited understanding of how social bonds form early in life. We characterized effects of early life social contact on...

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