The effect of mats on the welfare of sows and piglets in the farrowing house
The objective of this study was to assess the effect of providing mats in the farrowing pen on behaviour and lesions in sows (n = 38) and piglets. Nineteen of the sows and their litters housed in farrowing crates with metal slatted floors were provided with mats, the remaining 19 acting as controls. Sow skin […]
Effects of group stability on aggression, stress and injuries in breeding rabbits
On Swiss rabbit breeding farms, group-housed does are usually kept singly for 12 days around parturition to avoid pseudogravidity, double litters and deleterious fighting for nests. After this isolation phase there is usually an integration of new group members. Here we studied whether keeping the group composition stable would reduce agonistic interactions, stress levels and […]
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND WELL-BEING SYMPOSIUM: Optimizing outcome measures of welfare in dairy cattle assessment
In most countries producing milk, industry-or other stakeholder-driven initiatives are in place to improve welfare and overall dairy farming sustainability. Those initiatives typically include a system of verification of reaching targets and progress over time. Reliable indicators are a fundamental requirement to provide public assurance and allow improvement on farms. Assessing dairy cattle welfare through […]