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Animals
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Livestock Intensification: Focusing on Animal Welfare Improvements
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Livestock Intensification: Focusing on Animal Welfare Improvements

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 6750

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Arlene Garcia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA
Interests: animal welfare; behavior; physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. John J. McGlone

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Animal Behavior, Physiology and Welfare, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
Interests: pheromones; behavior; physiology; production systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Livestock intensification systems have long been used to raise a large number of animals using less space. The goal has been to produce more animal products for a growing population. Although these systems have many benefits, such as the ability to manage a larger number of animals with less labor, increased biosecurity, and environmental control, among other advantages, they can negatively affect animal welfare. Intensification systems prevent animals from performing innate behaviors that they would perform in their natural environment and expose them to social stressors normally not encounter in the wild, leading to stress. Stress negatively affects the behavior, physiology, and performance of animals. Furthermore, production animals undergo painful and stressful procedures (such castration, tail docking, ear tagging, disbudding, vaccination, and treatments) to prevent aggression and promote growth and meat quality, among other reasons. Thus, finding novel methods to mitigate the stress associated with barren environments/social stress/painful/stressful procedures/handling, the development of technologies such as precision livestock technologies to identify deviations in animal behavior/health, better worker training programs, and other science-based approaches to improve animal welfare on-farm are critically needed. The purpose of this Special Issue is to expand the knowledge of alternative and improved methods to promote a better quality of life for animals raised in intensification systems. Finally, this issue will incorporate what livestock farm design criteria ought to be included in the farm of the future that accommodates both high productivity and optimum welfare.

Dr. Arlene Garcia
Prof. Dr. John J. McGlone
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. Animals 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 2400 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 intensification
  • animal welfare
  • stress
  • pain
  • livestock farm design

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 617 KiB  
Article
Combined Injection for Control of Iron-Deficiency Anemia and Coccidiosis in Piglets Decreases Stress at Management Time
by Daniel Sperling, María Rodríguez, Laura de Frutos and Joaquín Morales
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2241; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152241 - 1 Aug 2024
Viewed by 820
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the short-term behavioral and physiological responses of piglets to different treatment protocols for the control of iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) and cystoisosporosis. Piglets were treated with either (1) an injection of iron combined with an [...] Read more.
The aim of the present study was to assess the short-term behavioral and physiological responses of piglets to different treatment protocols for the control of iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) and cystoisosporosis. Piglets were treated with either (1) an injection of iron combined with an oral application of toltrazuril (TLZ) by drenching or (2) a combination injection of TZL + gleptoferron; the behavior of the piglets was then evaluated. For this study, 288 piglets were divided into three experimental groups: 96 piglets were kept untreated (control group); 96 piglets received an oral administration of a generic TZL-based anticoccidial agent (20 mg/kg BW) along with intramuscular administration of iron dextran (200 mg/mL; 1 mL/piglet) at the same handling (oral + parenteral group, O + P); and 96 piglets received an intramuscular application of the combination product (parenteral group, P). For each treated piglet, the total handling time, flight reaction, and the intensity and frequency of vocalizations were determined using the methodology described by Scollo et al. (2020). Piglets in the O + P group were found to emit more screams during treatment administration than animals in the P group (21.05% vs. 8.42% of animals; p < 0.05). Piglets in the O + P group reacted worse to manipulation and oral administration because a higher percentage of animals continued to fidget even after handling (32.63% vs. 12.63%; p < 0.05). Differences in growth performance between the groups were not observed in our study (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the administration of a combination product reduced stress during administration, as indicated by reduced vocalizations and reactions to manipulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Intensification: Focusing on Animal Welfare Improvements)
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12 pages, 1163 KiB  
Article
Effect of Climatic Condition, Type of Trough and Water Cleanliness on Drinking Behavior in Dairy Cows
by Franziska Katharina Burkhardt, Jason Jeremia Hayer, Céline Heinemann and Julia Steinhoff-Wagner
Animals 2024, 14(2), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020257 - 13 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1786
Abstract
Increasing ambient temperatures lead to higher water intake and higher risks of microbial growth in cattle troughs. This study aims to analyze drinking water quality and dairy cows’ drinking behavior (n = 8081 drinking episodes) on a commercial farm with 135 and [...] Read more.
Increasing ambient temperatures lead to higher water intake and higher risks of microbial growth in cattle troughs. This study aims to analyze drinking water quality and dairy cows’ drinking behavior (n = 8081 drinking episodes) on a commercial farm with 135 and 144 lactating cows in two climatic conditions, considering trough type and cleanliness, respectively. Daily video recording was conducted at two trough types (two open troughs, 70 L; two-valve troughs, variable volume of 5–15 L) in the first two hours after feeding (n = 60 days in total) under cold (December 2019–February 2020) and warm ambient temperatures (September 2021). The trough cleaning scheme allowed cows to access either cleaned or uncleaned troughs in each system. Water quality was tested daily and analyzed at the beginning and end of the trials. In warmer ambient temperatures, fewer and—at uncleaned troughs and open troughs—shorter drinking episodes were recorded, with longer but fewer water intake periods, longer drinking breaks, and fewer sips (p < 0.0001). Considering the drinking episodes, respectively, water intake and drinking breaks in number and duration, the number of sips and the number of agonistic behaviors might optimize dairy cow water supply and hygiene management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Intensification: Focusing on Animal Welfare Improvements)
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13 pages, 1369 KiB  
Article
Egg Quality, Yolk Fatty Acid Profiles from Laying Hens Housed in Conventional Cage and Cage-Free Production Systems in the Andean Tropics
by Roy Rodríguez-Hernández, Iang Schroniltgen Rondón-Barragán and Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón
Animals 2024, 14(1), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010168 - 4 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1972
Abstract
Egg consumers worldwide have increased their concerns about laying hens’ welfare and its impact on final egg product quality. This study compared the egg quality parameters under the conventional cage (CC) and cage-free (CF) egg production systems in the tropics. The study was [...] Read more.
Egg consumers worldwide have increased their concerns about laying hens’ welfare and its impact on final egg product quality. This study compared the egg quality parameters under the conventional cage (CC) and cage-free (CF) egg production systems in the tropics. The study was conducted on a commercial farm in Colombia using Hy-Line Brown pullets, reared under the same conditions for the first 15 wks. At 16 wks, the hens were distributed into two housing systems, CC and CF, on the same farm. The hens were fed the same diet for each phase in both systems and feed intake varied slightly. Egg samples were collected every six wks, from 22 to 82 wks of age. A total of 3960 eggs were analyzed at 11 sampling times. Parameters such as albumen height, egg weight, yolk color, eggshell thickness, eggshell strength, and Haugh units were determined using a DET-6000 machine. At 22 and 82 wks, screening for Salmonella spp. status was conducted using environmental and egg samples. Additionally, at 34, 64, and 82 wks, yolk samples were obtained for fatty acid profiles and crude protein (CP) analysis. The data were analyzed in a completely randomized block design with repeated measures (11 times): mean separation by Student’s t-test yolk pigmentation, Haugh Units, and albumen height (p < 0.001) were higher in the CF compared with the CC between 38 and 69 wks of age, and eggs at 63 and 82 wks (p < 0.05) were heavier in the CF compared to the CC. Likewise, eggs from the CC had better eggshell strength from 57 to 82 wks. In the egg yolk fatty acid profile at the 34th wk, the pentadecanoic, palmitic, and heptadecanoic acids had higher concentrations in the CF systems than the CC. At the 64th wk, the egg yolk fatty acids—lauric, myristic, and heptadecanoic—had higher concentrations in the CF; likewise, at the 82nd wk, egg yolks from the CC had higher concentrations of lauric, heptadecanoic, and nervonic fatty acids than the CF. The eggs and environmental samples were negative for Salmonella spp. throughout the whole production phase. These results indicated that the production system might impact internal and external egg quality measures, potentially due to various stressors, including environmental factors or behavior restrictions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Intensification: Focusing on Animal Welfare Improvements)
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15 pages, 1906 KiB  
Article
Adapted Original Music as an Environmental Enrichment in an Intensive Pig Production System Reduced Aggression in Weaned Pigs during Regrouping
by Natalia Alvarez-Hernandez, Darío Vallejo-Timarán and Berardo de Jesús Rodriguez
Animals 2023, 13(23), 3599; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13233599 - 21 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1454
Abstract
In intensive swine production systems,, the practice of regrouping unfamiliar pigs is common, often leading to aggressive behavior. Although the effect of different musical genres composed for humans has been evaluated in pigs to mitigate aggression, there have been few attempts to create [...] Read more.
In intensive swine production systems,, the practice of regrouping unfamiliar pigs is common, often leading to aggressive behavior. Although the effect of different musical genres composed for humans has been evaluated in pigs to mitigate aggression, there have been few attempts to create music specifically for pigs. Here, we assess whether sensory stimulation through music, created by adapting the acoustic parameters in the sound mix, induces changes in the aggressive behaviors of pigs during regrouping. Six litters of 10-week-old piglets were randomly selected and assigned to different treatments. The control group (Group A) received no intervention, while Group B was exposed to music for two continuous hours in the morning and afternoon from the time of regrouping. Group C received musical stimulation for one continuous hour in the morning following regrouping. A significant reduction in the frequency and duration of aggressive behaviors was observed in the groups that received musical stimulation during regrouping. Additionally, social, and individual play behaviors showed a decrease in the musical stimulation groups. These findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of created music as a strategy in reducing aggressive behavior during pig regrouping, which can enhance the welfare of pigs and offer a practical solution for pig producers to minimize aggression and its associated negative impacts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Livestock Intensification: Focusing on Animal Welfare Improvements)
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