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Agriculture
Special Issues
Recent Advances in Livestock Production and Animal Welfare
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Recent Advances in Livestock Production and Animal Welfare

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 19081

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dejan Škorjanc

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, 2311 Hoče, Slovenia
Interests: livestock farming; farm animal welfare
Dr. Manja Zupan Šemrov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Domžale 1230, Slovenia
Interests: farm animal welfare; animal behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Animal welfare is currently considered of high importance by consumers and the general public. What people argue the most strongly is that the way in which humans treat animals is unethical and immoral. Scientists agree that an optimal interaction between animals and stockpersons not only leads to reducing stress and fearfulness in farm animals, but also increases productivity. Today, farm sizes continue to increase, and novel technologies aim to provide a perspective for controlling and identifying locations where problems arise. Smart farming’s ambition is to incorporate several applications for early warnings based on camera observations, the detection of risk factors for leg problems, human–animal relationships, sound monitoring, and emission reductions. The use of robots with human appearances for flock and herd management, or using sensor technology to locate a specific pen or compartment may also allow workers to pay more or closer attention to the animals themselves.

Recognizing that animal welfare should be at the heart of innovations for tomorrow's livestock systems, this Special Issue of Agriculture encourages authors to publish research and review articles on the matter of how modern technologies can be used to better manage animals and improve their welfare.

Prof. Dejan Škorjanc
Dr. Manja Zupan Šemrov
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Livestock farming
  • Animal welfare
  • Modern technologies

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 49264 KiB  
Article
DigiPig: First Developments of an Automated Monitoring System for Body, Head and Tail Detection in Intensive Pig Farming
by Marko Ocepek, Anja Žnidar, Miha Lavrič, Dejan Škorjanc and Inger Lise Andersen
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010002 - 21 Dec 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6135
Abstract
The goal of this study was to develop an automated monitoring system for the detection of pigs’ bodies, heads and tails. The aim in the first part of the study was to recognize individual pigs (in lying and standing positions) in groups and [...] Read more.
The goal of this study was to develop an automated monitoring system for the detection of pigs’ bodies, heads and tails. The aim in the first part of the study was to recognize individual pigs (in lying and standing positions) in groups and their body parts (head/ears, and tail) by using machine learning algorithms (feature pyramid network). In the second part of the study, the goal was to improve the detection of tail posture (tail straight and curled) during activity (standing/moving around) by the use of neural network analysis (YOLOv4). Our dataset (n = 583 images, 7579 pig posture) was annotated in Labelbox from 2D video recordings of groups (n = 12–15) of weaned pigs. The model recognized each individual pig’s body with a precision of 96% related to threshold intersection over union (IoU), whilst the precision for tails was 77% and for heads this was 66%, thereby already achieving human-level precision. The precision of pig detection in groups was the highest, while head and tail detection precision were lower. As the first study was relatively time-consuming, in the second part of the study, we performed a YOLOv4 neural network analysis using 30 annotated images of our dataset for detecting straight and curled tails. With this model, we were able to recognize tail postures with a high level of precision (90%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Livestock Production and Animal Welfare)
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14 pages, 591 KiB  
Article
Effect of Raising Dairy Heifers on Their Performance and Reproduction after 12 Months
by Michal Uhrincat, Jan Broucek, Anton Hanus and Peter Kisac
Agriculture 2021, 11(10), 973; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100973 - 7 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2724
Abstract
The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that a heifer’s growth, health, and reproduction after 12 months are impacted by rearing (feeding/housing) before weaning, their season of birth, and the father’s lineage. Fifty-one Holstein heifers, born during January–March (SB1), April–June [...] Read more.
The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that a heifer’s growth, health, and reproduction after 12 months are impacted by rearing (feeding/housing) before weaning, their season of birth, and the father’s lineage. Fifty-one Holstein heifers, born during January–March (SB1), April–June (SB2), July–September (SB3), and October–December (SB4) and originating from four fathers, were assigned to one of the three rearing treatments: restricted suckling (RS), calf in a pen with the mother until the 21st day, sucking three times daily, then group pen (6 kg milk) to weaning; unrestricted suckling (US), calf in a pen with foster cows (6 kg milk) to weaning; and conventional rearing (CR), calf in a hutch until the 56th day, then group pen to weaning (milk replacer 6 kg). After weaning on the 84th day, heifers were kept in groups with the same ration. The growth of the live body weight (LBW), health, and reproduction were recorded. The LBW had a tendency to increase from the 360th to the 570th days in the US, and the reduced growth of the LBW was shown in the CR. Heifers of SB2 had the highest LBW at 570 days of age. The ages of the first insemination service and the conception varied significantly among the rearing groups. The results indicate that a heifer rearing method may have a significant impact on their later growth and fertility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Livestock Production and Animal Welfare)
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11 pages, 1226 KiB  
Article
Agonistic Interactions between Littermates Reappear after Mixing Multiple Litters at Weaning in Pigs
by Maja Prevolnik Povše, Nikolina Mesarec, Janko Skok and Dejan Škorjanc
Agriculture 2021, 11(9), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11090844 - 1 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2190
Abstract
Weaning involves mixing of unfamiliar litters and is accompanied by an outbreak of aggression, which is usually attributed to between-litter (BL) interactions. In the present study, we thus focused on post-weaning agonism (fighting and mounting) between littermates (within-litter, WL). Two litters were weaned [...] Read more.
Weaning involves mixing of unfamiliar litters and is accompanied by an outbreak of aggression, which is usually attributed to between-litter (BL) interactions. In the present study, we thus focused on post-weaning agonism (fighting and mounting) between littermates (within-litter, WL). Two litters were weaned into two pens separated by an empty pen and connected by narrow passages that were opened 24 h after weaning. WL interactions accounted for 38% and 68% of all fights and mounts, respectively, during a 7-day experimental period. After the passages were opened, not only BL, but also WL interactions increased significantly (by 6- to 7-fold on the first day of mixing). WL fights then gradually decreased, while WL mounts continued to increase. During the experimental period, the proportion of both WL fights and mounts decreased. The majority of WL fights (≈80%) and mounts (≈65%) occurred in home pens. A significantly higher percentage of draws was found in WL fights (50% of initiator wins and 41% of draws) compared to BL fights (80% of initiator wins and 11% of draws). Results also showed less asymmetry in the body weight of piglets involved in WL interactions. Mixing of litters at weaning was shown to involve not only intense interactions between unfamiliar piglets but also the recurrence of agonistic interactions between littermates, which is something we should keep in mind when pursuing the highest standards of weaner welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Livestock Production and Animal Welfare)
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15 pages, 4123 KiB  
Communication
Determination and Evaluation of Bioavailability of Vitamins from Different Multivitamin Supplements Using a Pig Model
by Pan Yang, Huakai Wang, Longxian Li, Nan Zhang and Yongxi Ma
Agriculture 2021, 11(5), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11050418 - 6 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4828
Abstract
This study was performed to evaluate the plasma vitamin kinetic behavior following oral vitamin supplement administration in pigs, and to determine the bioavailability of vitamins. A total of 36 pigs (fitted with jugular catheters) with an average body weight of 25 ± 2.24 [...] Read more.
This study was performed to evaluate the plasma vitamin kinetic behavior following oral vitamin supplement administration in pigs, and to determine the bioavailability of vitamins. A total of 36 pigs (fitted with jugular catheters) with an average body weight of 25 ± 2.24 kg were divided into three treatment groups: (1) placebo, (2) non-microencapsulated multivitamins supplement, or (3) lipid matrix microencapsulated multivitamins supplement. The blood samples were obtained starting pre-meal until 72 h post-meal for plasma vitamin analysis. Pharmacokinetic parameters were modeled with a non-compartmental method. The AUC (Area under the curve) from the time of dosing to the time of the last observation, Cmax (Maximum observed concentration), and MRT (Mean residence time) of α-tocopherol from oral non-microencapsulated supplement were significantly lower than oral microencapsulated supplement (p < 0.01). The average relative bioavailability of vitamin A (VA) and vitamin E (VE) from microencapsulated supplement was greater than that from non-microencapsulated supplement, but relative bioavailability of vitamin K3 (VK3) and water-soluble vitamins from microencapsulated supplement was lower than non-microencapsulated supplement. The AUC and Cmax of menadione, thiamine, and riboflavin from microencapsulated supplement were significantly lower than these parameters from oral non-microencapsulated supplement. Lipid matrix microencapsulation was able to delay absorption and improved the bioavailability of VE, whereas there were limited effects of microencapsulation on vitamin D (VD), VK3, and water-soluble vitamins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Livestock Production and Animal Welfare)
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