Volume 43 (2000) Special Issues
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) Special Issue, 137-234 "Animal well-being in husbandry and coping with stress", May 2000, Dummerstorf, D
Animal well-being in husbandry and coping with stress: Introductory remarks
Gerhard Manteuffel and Birger Puppe
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 140-143 PDF
This special issue of Archives of Animal Breeding presents thirteen papers of oral presentations and nine short communications of poster presentations of the satellite symposium "Animal Well-Being and Coping with Stress in Farm Animals" held from the 17th to 18th May 2000 in Dummerstorf. The introductory remarks of the symposium coordinators give a short overview of the subject, emphasizing that a scientifically grounded theoretical approach to the complex problem of 'well-being' and 'stress' as well as the resulting practical applications should regard the influence of a manifold of different influences in order to develop future breeding systems more animal friendly without impairing the economic output.
Stress and coping in farm animals
Eberhard von Borell
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 144-152 PDF
Stress is a broad term which implies a threat to which the body needs to adjust. Stress may be classified as physical, psychological, or interoceptive in nature, but usually contains components of all three classifications. The adjustment to stress induces a broad range of neuroendocrine, physiological and behavioural changes to allow for a rapid recovery or adaptation to the change. The hypothalamic-adrenal medullary system involves the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, the sympathetic neural pathways to the adrenal medulla, and the release of epinephrine by the adrenal gland. This short acting stress-response was originally proposed by Walter Cannon and is referred to as the Fight-Flight Syndrome (FFS). The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) stressresponse system with the release of corticosteroids represents a longer-term, sustained response to stressors and was conceptualised by Hans Selye (General Adaptation Syndrome, GAS). These two classical stress response systems have been linked to different coping pattem in that FFS is primarily activated in situations of threat of control, whereas the pituitary-adrenocortical system is activated in situations of loss of control. Several studies have confirmed that unpredictable or uncontrollable stimuli will activate the hippocampal pathway and the HPA axis leading to depression of behaviour. The ability to adjust to some stressors (controllability), however seems to be under the control of the amygdala through activation of the sympathetic nervous system and prepares the animal for fight and flight responses. In the past, housing systems and handling procedures for farm animals were mainly assessed by descriptive behavioural studies using indicators presumed to be related to stress (i.e stereotypic behaviours). Physiological indicators included endocrine changes on the pituitary-adrenal-axis by measuring adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), corticosteroids and catecholamines. The neuroendocrine and immune system has been studied in relation to stress effects at a cellular or neural level during the last decade. All these studies were often conducted in an isolated manner without considering that the neuroendocrine and immune system are communicating with each other and are ultimately influenced by the animals individual perception of a stressor. Psychological stressors perceived as threats may be equally important as those of a physical nature in challenging coping mechanisms. Situations of uncertainty, social pressure and fear are potent stressors with relevance for the welfare of animals, leading to severe damage to specific target organs and tissues or even to death in some species. Transportation is considered as a major stressor for farm animals and might have deletenous effects on the health, welfare, performance and ultimately on product quality. Studies on the assessment of stress during animal housing, management procedures and transportation require non-invasive methods as classical approaches of data collection with direct human interference (i.e., for blood collection and heart rate measurement) might directly alter the stress response. Telemetrie devices for measuring heart and respiration rate, body temperature and blood pressure are useful tools to obtain undisturbed responses. Also, noninvasive measurements of stress indicating metabolites in saliva, faeces or urine has been recently developed and validated. Parallel to behavioural observations, these physiological measurements provide valuable information on coping strategies and the consequences for the welfare of farm animals.
Behavioural and endocrinological changes during the process of domestication in guinea pigs [in German]
Christine Künzl and Norbert Sachser
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 153-158 PDF
In this study wild (Cavia aperea) and domestic guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) were compared with espect to spontaneous behaviour and endocrinological parameters to elucidate the process of domestication in this species. In 120h of observation time the behaviour of 5 groups of wild and 7 groups of domestic guinea pigs each consisting of one adult male and two adult females, was analysed quantitatively. To assess the reactivity of the pituitary-adrenocortical (PAC) and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) systems, serum cortisol-, epinephrine and norepinephrine-titres were determined. The following significant behavioural differences were found: the domesticated guinea pigs were distinctly less attentive to their physical environment; they were less aggressiv and displayed more sociopositive behaviours than their wild ancestors. Male domestic guinea pigs displayed more male courtship behaviour towards the females than wild cavies. The organism´s endocrine reactions of adjustment to the environment also differed between wild and domestic forms: the reactivity of the SAM and the PAC system was markedly reduced in the domesticated animals. Thus, in guinea pigs the process of domestication has led to typical behavioural traits which have also been found in comparisons between wild and domestic forms of other species. The decreased reactivity of the organism´s stress axes can be regarded as a physiological mechanism which helps domesticated animals to adjust to man-made housing conditions
Prenatal stress in pigs: effects on growth, physiological stress reactions and immune function
Winfried Otten; Ellen Kanitz and Margret Tuchscherer
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 159-164 PDF
During gestation, stressful stimuli may cause changes in the central nervous system of the fetal organism, which may finally affect endocrine and immune reactions of the neonates. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of a daily restraint of sows during the last third of gestation on endocrine stress reactions, immune responses and growth of the offspring. Stress and immune reactions of piglets were tested using an immobilisation and ACTH test at the ages of 3, 7, 21 and 35 days. Prenatally stressed piglets showed lower basal plasma cortisol and increased basal cortisol binding globulin concentrations at the age of 3 days compared to the control piglets. The prenatal stress treatment caused a decrease of glucocorticoid receptors in the hypothalamus, an enlarged adrenal cortex and a decreased thymus weight one day after birth. During the first days of life prenatal stress suppressed immune functions as shown by lower IgG levels and decreased in vitro lymphocyte responses to T cell and B cell mitogens. In addition, prenatally stressed piglets showed a higher mortality after birth and a tendency for lower birth weights. In general, morphological, endocrine and immune effects of prenatal stress treatment were only observed in piglets during the first days after birth. We suppose that prenatal stress during late gestation in pigs affects the ontogeny of the fetal neuroendocrine system mediated by repeatedly increased maternal stress hormone concentrations.
Assessment of cortisol in swine by saliva: new methodological approaches
Sandra Schönreiter and Adroaldo J. Zanella
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 165-170 PDF
The aim of this study was to compare the common method of saliva sampling with cotton buds to a new one. The advantage of this new method, called Oral Diffusion Sink (ODS) is the continuous measuring without any manipulation of the animals. During about 8 hours it is possible to accumulate steroids from saliva with a defined flow rate through the ODS. After alcohol extraction all samples were measured by a radioimmunoassay. In order to compare these two methods, the cortisol concentrations of the daily profile, as well as two defined stressors - social isolation and a 2-hours transport - were assessed in 10 German Landrace pigs. The daily hourly circadian rhythm measured in cotton buds showed significantly higher concentrations in the morning than in the evening (p=0.007). During social isolation significantly higher cortisol concentrations (p=0.009) and disintegration of the circadian rhythm could be observed in cotton buds, but not in ODS. Highest cortisol levels were found during transportation 60 min after loading (18.9 ± 3.9 nmol/1). ODS samples correlated significantly with cotton bud samples taken quarterly (r=0.685; p=0.04). These results demonstrate that ODS may be a good method for a continuous monitoring of acute stress. Discrepancies in the daily cortisol profile and social isolation between concentrations of ODS and hourly taken cotton bud samples need to be clarified.
Heart rate variability as stress indicator
Elmar Mohr; Elke Witte and Barbara Voss
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 171-176 PDF
Using a portable ECG data logger, heart rate variability (HRV) in horses was measured under controlled- (resting-), mental stress- and physical stress conditions. Time domain-, frequency domain- and non-linear parameters were used to describe the variations in the HRV. Simple linear parameters like SDANN and RMSSD can demonstrate that there are differences in HRV between resting conditions, mental- and physical-stress conditions but do not give an explanation about the underlying mechanisms. Fourier analysis with calculation of low and high frequency bands gives further information: physical stress is characterised by an increase in sympathetic tone and a decrease in parasympathetic tone - a fact which is commonly accepted. No differences could be found between resting conditions and mental stress. Summarising the results of non-linear recurrence plot variables, it seems, that during different physiological states the organism shifts between various control strategies. Under resting conditions a kind of deterministic-chaotic control is preferred which changes to more strict periodic control under physical stress. Mental stress seems to be characterised by a more random influenced control which means more or less loss of control over the heart rate variability.
Classification of stress calls of the domestic pig (Sus scrofd) using LPC-Analysis and a self organizing neuronal network
Peter-Christian Schön; Birger Puppe and Gerhard Manteuffel
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 177-183 PDF
In the last years sound analysis has become an increasingly important tool to interpret the behaviour, the health condition, and the well-being of animals. The paper presents a procedure that allows to characterize, classify and visualize stress calls of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) in three steps. (1) Starting from the acoustic model of sound production features are extracted from the call using the linear prediction method. This procedure, linear prediction coding (LPC), delivers an extremely compact short time representation of the call with a relatively low effort of calculation and a low number of features. (2) A neuronal network was frained such that topological relations of the neurons represent the input vector space of the determined LPC-coefficients. This resulted in a feature map, where the positions of the neurons allow conclusions about the structure of the input data. (3) Visualizations of the clustering structure of the calls were performed using various types of representations. The procedure now allows the development of online monitoring of stress calls in farming environments.
Locomotive behaviour of hens and cocks (Gallus gallus f. dorn.) - Implication for housing systems
Christiane Keppler and Detlef W. Fölsch
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 184-188 PDF
The locomotive activity – that is the distance moved per day – of 8 hens and 2 cocks in aviary systems with and without free-range was directly observed and recorded. The investigation was carried out on two farms without free range with two groups each and group sizes of 2000 animals and on one farm with free-range and 650 animals per group. The hens in the aviaries without free-range moved between 340 m and 634 m per day. The cocks moved larger distances (13 – 31 %). The hens in the aviary with free-range moved distances of 1800 m and 2500 m per day. The investigation shows, that hens and cocks show an extensive locmotive behaviour if they have the possibility to do so.
Aspects of animal behaviour and product quality of fattening turkeys influenced by modified husbandry
Jutta Berk and Gisela Hahn
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 189-195 PDF
Three experiments were conducted to determine the influence of modified husbandry, line and stocking density on productivity, health, carcass quality and welfare of male, domestic turkeys. Heavy turkeys used offered structures depending on age, line, stocking density and light period. The use of perches can cause health problems on heavy turkeys. For this reason other possibilities for perching such as elevated levels should be used. The animals had problems to use structures with rising age and body weights. A solution of this problem seems only possible by selecting appropriate strains which are better able to use offered structures.
Effects of housing conditions during farrowing and nursing of sows on growth and behaviour of piglets before and after weaning [in German]
Beate Bünger; Edna Hillmann and Felicitas von Hollen
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 196-202 PDF
Sows were kept in a group prior to farrowing, and were allowed to farrow and to nurse their piglets either in individual farrowing systems (IFS) (n = 69) or in group farrowing system (GFS) (n = 29). Under both systems a nursing periode was maintained for 35 days, GFS-piglets grew faster (p < 0.001) both prior to and after weaning when compared to IFS. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in open field test between the two piglet groups with regard to in vocal- , escape-, and exploratory behaviour, as well as locomotion. When piglets were transferred to rearing quarters after weaning, IFS-piglets (n = 669) were significantly more aggressive when compared to GFS-piglets (n = 263). It is concluded, that the intensity of social contacts during the suckling period affects behaviour both prior to and after weaning and improves growth rate of piglets.
Investigations on the hiding behaviour of calves at pasture [in German]
Jan Langbein and Marie-Luise Raasch
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 203-210 PDF
This study attempts to classify domestic cattle within the hider-follower dichotomy. We observed several aspects conceming the time and space pattern of cow and calf at pasture during the first five days p.p. Decreasing daily lying time of the calves was accompanied by an increase in activity. Behavioural budgets of cows did not change during that period. The mean distance between the cow and her calf decreased from day one to day five p.p. The majority of calves chose places to lie down within strips of high vegetation behind the fence line. Time spent there by the calves decreased from the first to the fifth day. The duration of single lying periods of the calves was three times longer within the high vegetation outside the pasture than inside. The results allow us to classify the domestic cattle as a hider species. Areas of high vegetation seemed to be an important requisite for the calves to realise behavioural needs in different functional cycles. Moreover, from an ecological point of view such areas could serve as temporary elements for enriching the monotonous pasture landscape.
Evaluation of a loose housing system for suckler cows with regard to the behavioural needs of resting behaviour
Marie-Luise Raasch; Regina Huhn and Armin Tuchscherer
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 211-217 PDF
In the investigations the behavioural pattern of resting of suckler cows during winter housing was judged with regard to housing in compliance with the behavioural needs of cows. Eighty-eight suckler cows were stalled together with their calves in a shed compartment with cubicles for lying where they remained until turning out in spring. It had been occupied in such a way that one feeding place or one cubicle was available for each animal. With 20 randomly selected suckler cows, which had been specially marked, an interval-sampling of selected behavioural patterns at a 20-minute interval was performed approximately 120 days post partum on 12 days over 24 hours. The daily periodicity of the functional cycles investigated was also determined by timers dependent on keeping and management conditions. On the 12 days of observation the relative frequency of lying was 44.6%. The factor of rest seems to have priority for the animals when selecting the lying areas and to be of prime importance for satisfaction of needs and avoidance of damage for resting behaviour.
Beasts, humans and the ethics of animal breeding [in German]
Heiner Hastedt
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 218-225 PDF
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) regards animals as machines which principally do not differ from inanimate nature and which, therefore, have no rights of their own. Only humans have consciousness and mind for Descartes and - based on that - rights. Descartes' picture of man became obsolete by now because of the developments in biology, especially in evolutionary theory, neuroscience and genetics, and the modern discussion in the philosophy of mind. Naturalism dominates the science and hardly anybody can be found who still believes in an immaterial soul. So indirectly humans become part of the animal universe and can be interpreted as machines. For most people, the machine view of humans is compatible with human rights. If, however, humans regarded as machines have rights, why not sensible animals? If humans are in a manner of speaking animals and machines then it is implied that animals must have rights of their own. This fundamental view has to be brought on terms with economy which dominates animal breeding in our society.
Social support in female guinea pigs [in German]
Gudrun Hornschuh; Melanie Kirtzeck and Norbert Sachser
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 226 PDF
Dominance status affects immune response after social disturbance in pigs
Margret Tuchscherer and Birger Puppe
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 227 PDF
Effects of stress on glucocorticoid receptor binding in limbic areas of domestic pigs
Ellen Kanitz; Winfried Otten; Margret Tuchscherer and Gerhard Manteuffel
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 228 PDF
Post-mortem muscle metabolism of phosphorus compounds assessed by 31P NMR spectroscopy in relation to vitamin E administration of pigs genotyped on malignant hyperthermia and stress susceptibility
Peter Krska; Rudolf Lahucky; Ulrich Küchenmeister; Karin Nürnberg and Gerda Kuhn
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 229 PDF
Usage ofthe Internet in research and practice of animal production [in German]
Marianne Andres
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 230 PDF
Effects of long-term selection for exploratory behaviour of mice in an unknown surrounding
Ulla Renne and Martina Langhammer
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 231 PDF
Registration of behaviour patterns of laying hens by a special electronic system [in German]
Georg Wendl; Klaudia Klindworth; Stephan Bock and Hans M. Eichinger
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 232 PDF
The suckling behaviour in the domestic pig: modeling and behavioural consequences
Birger Puppe and Armin Tuchscherer
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 233 PDF
Learning ability of farm animals [in German]
Hartmut Franz
Arch Tierz 43 (2000) SI2, 234 PDF