Effects of Enriched Housing Design on Broiler Performance, Welfare, Chicken Meat Composition and Serum Cholesterol
This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of enrichment housing design on performance, selected welfare indicators, chicken meat composition and serum cholesterol concentration of broiler chicken. For this purpose, 480 Ross-308 chicks were assigned to two groups, Control and Test, each with 4 replications. The pens of the Test Group were enriched with perches […]
Transportation of beef cattle to slaughterhouses and how this relates to animal welfare and carcase bruising in an extensive production system
The objective of this study was to evaluate conditions during transport and their effects on welfare and carcase bruising of beef cattle in Uruguay, a country with an extensive, pasture-based, production system. Twelve abattoirs were visited periodically during two years (2002-2003) and 448 trucks were inspected on arrival. The state of vehicle maintenance was deemed […]
Comparison of effects of different methods of culling red deer (Cervus elaphus) by shooting on behaviour and post mortem measurements of blood chemistry, muscle glycogen and carcase characteristics
Methods for culling wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) were compared by observing behaviour and collecting post mortem samples from wild deer shot: (i) by a single stalker during daytime; (ii) by more than one stalker during daytime; (iii) by using a helicopter for the deployment of stalkers and carcase extraction; or (iv) by a single […]
Travel sickness and meat quality in pigs
An experiment was conducted to investigate the incidence of travel sickness in pigs, specific hormone concentrations at exsanguination and subsequent meat quality. Fifty, 80kg slaughter pigs were transported on a lorry for 4.5h. During the journey, behavioural observations of the individually marked pigs were made by scanning every 8min to establish whether the pigs exhibited […]
Stress at slaughter in cattle: role of reactivity profile and environmental factors
During slaughter, cattle may be exposed to many potentially stress-inducing factors, of emotional and physical nature. A series of studies aimed to identify factors that may contribute to slaughter stress. During reactivity tests testing emotional stressors, Blond d’Aquitaine bulls were more reactive than Angus and Limousin bulls. However, no breed differences were found for stress […]
Administration of dexamethasone per os in finishing bulls. I. Effects on productive traits, meat quality and cattle behaviour as indicator of welfare
The study investigated the effects of prolonged oral administration of dexamethasone at a low daily dosage of 0.75 mg/head per day (Dexa) on beef cattle productive traits, behaviour and meat quality. In all, 14 finishing Marchigiana bulls were used in a trial that begun 56 days prior to slaughter, of which six bulls received treatment […]
Behavior, production results and meat quality of intact boars and gilts housed in unmixed groups: A comparative study
Surgical castration of male pigs is a practice that will probably be abandoned in Europe in the future because of general protest against pain in animals and a growing concern on (farm) animal welfare. Rearing entire males will therefore inevitably be integrated in the pig sector. In the present study, possible differences in behavior, production […]
Mobile abattoir versus conventional slaughterhouse—Impact on stress parameters and meat quality characteristics in Norwegian lambs
The aim of the present study was to investigate possible differences in certain stress parameters and meat quality characteristics between Norwegian lambs slaughtered at a mobile abattoir (at two different localities) versus lambs slaughtered at a conventional, stationary slaughterhouse. Lambs slaughtered at the conventional slaughterhouse had higher serum cortisol levels than lambs slaughtered at a […]
Young Blond d’Aquitaine, Angus and Limousin bulls differ in emotional reactivity: Relationships with animal traits, stress reactions at slaughter and post-mortem muscle metabolism
The present study investigated relationships between reactivity during tests, stress reactions at slaughter and animal traits in young Blond d’Aquitaine (BA), Limousin (LI) and Angus (AN) bulls. Behavioural and physiological reactivity of animals was evaluated during rearing using a “Human test” (exposure to human presence and handling) and an “Umbrella test (exposure to a sudden […]
Effects of alternative bedding substrates on lamb welfare, productive performance, and meat quality during the finishing phase of fattening
The study analyzed the effect of using sawdust, cellulose, straw, and rice husk bedding on the welfare, performance and meat quality of lambs during the finishing phase of fattening. Ninety-six lambs (fed ad libitum with concentrate) were assigned to pens containing 1 of 4 bedding materials in groups of 12 for 14 days. Live weight and […]