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Proceedings of the
10th
ISAE North American Regional Meeting
May 26-27, 2010
Center for the Study of Animal Well-being
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington, USA
Edited by Ruth C. Newberry & Sylvie Cloutier
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Program in a Nutshell
All oral sessions in CUE 203; Breaks and poster sessions in CUE 2nd
floor atrium
Wednesday, May 26
11:00-13:00 Registration & Poster Set-up
13:00-14:15
Meeting Opening & Introductions
Keynote Lecture - Dr. James C. Ha
The social behavior of highly cognitive animals: examples from crows,
monkeys, and orca whales
14:15-15:15 Oral Presentations: Housing Environment & Fear
15:15-16:00 Break & Poster Session I
16:00-17:40 Oral Presentations: Human-Animal Interactions
19:00-22:00 Dinner at Banyan’s on the Ridge
Thursday, May 27
8.00-8:15 ISAE Business Meeting - CUE 203
8:15-9:55 Oral Presentations: Social Behavior I
9:55-10:40 Break & Poster Session II
10:40-12:00 Oral Presentations: Housing & Management I
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13:00-15:00 Oral Presentations: Housing & Management II
15:00-15:40 Break & Poster Session III
15:40-16:20 Oral Presentations: Cognition
16:20-17:00 Oral Presentations: Social Behavior II
17:05-17:20 Closing, Presentation of Awards, & Meeting Adjournment
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General Information
Local Organizers
Ruth Newberry
Center for the Study of Animal Well-being Department of Animal Sciences & Department of VCAPP Washington State University P.O. Box 646520 Pullman WA 99164-6520 USA Tel: 509-335-5059 or 509-3335-2957 Fax: 509-335-4650 E-mail: [email protected]
Sylvie Cloutier
Center for the Study of Animal Well-being Department of VCAPP College of Veterinary Medicine Washington State University P.O. Box 646520 Pullman WA 99164-6520 USA Tel: 509-335-7896 Fax: 509-335-4650 E-mail: [email protected]
Laura Kinslow Department of VCAPP Washington State University P.O. Box 646520 Pullman WA 99164-6520 USA Tel: 509-335-2415 Fax: 509-335-4650 E-mail: [email protected]
International Society for Applied Ethology The Society aims to encourage and support basic and applied research into the behaviour of animals as related to the use of animals by humans and human-animal interactions. This includes domestic, laboratory, zoo, companion, pest and captive animals or managed wild animals. Information about the Society and membership application information can be found at: http://www.applied-ethology.org/
Regional Secretaries Canada Region: Dr. Jennifer Brown ([email protected]; tel. 306-667-7442) Regional web site: http://www.applied-ethology.org/canada.htm USA Region: Regional secretary: Dr. Candace Croney ([email protected]; tel. 614-292-0974) Regional web site: http://www.ansc.umd.edu/isae/
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Oral Presentations
Presenting author underlined
Wednesday, May 26 – Afternoon
Keynote Lecture (Chair: Joy Mench) 13:15 The social behavior of highly cognitive animals: examples from crows, monkeys, and
orca whales James C. Ha Page 5
Housing Environment & Fear (Chair: Candace Croney) 14:15 The effect of lighting conditions during incubation and post-hatch on fear responses of
broiler chickens Gregory S. Archer, Richard A. Blatchford, Joy A. Mench Page 10
14:35 Fear responses in gestating sows Christina Phillips, Yuzhi Li, Jon Anderson Page 11 Student competition
14:55 Impact of play enrichment on fear and anxiety in chickens Nicole Dossey, Carmen Massey, Sylvie Cloutier, Ruth C. Newberry Page 11 Student competition
15:05 Poster Session I (Group A)
Human-Animal Interactions (Chair: François Martin)
16:00 Animal abuse as a sentinel for human violence: a critique Emily Patterson-Kane, Heather Piper Page 12
16:20 Relationship between fear of humans and amount of human contact in commercially reared turkeys Naomi A. Botheras, Jessica A. Pempek, Drew K. Enigk Page 12
16:40 Kitten socialization program leads to improved acceptance of routine care procedures by cats Jill Villarreal, Ragen T-S. McGowan, François Martin Page 13
17:00 The relationship between on-farm loading and pre-stun animal handling with meat quality in swine Lily N. Edwards, Temple Grandin, Terry E. Engle, Matthew J. Ritter, Andrzej A. Sosnicki, Marie-Anne Paradis, Jorge A. Correa, F. Menard, David B. Anderson Page 14
17:20 Tickling reduces stress in rats during routine medical treatments Kim Wahl, Ruth C. Newberry, Sylvie Cloutier Page 14 Student competition
19:00 Dinner at Banyan’s on the Ridge
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Thursday, May 27 – Morning
8:00 ISAE Business Meeting - CUE 203
Social Behavior I (Chair: Cassandra Tucker)
8.15 Predicting maternal behaviour of beef cattle Brooke Aitken, Joseph M. Stookey, Maud Ferrari, Scott Noble, Jon Watts Page 15 Student competition
8:35 Barking pigs: acoustic differences between barks given in alarm and play contexts Winnie Chan, Ruth C. Newberry Page 16 Student competition
8:55 Incidence and tolerance of mis-mothering and maternal aggression in beef cattle: producer survey results Brooke L. Aitken, Joseph M. Stookey, Murray Jelinski Page 16
9:15 Comparison of three dominance tests to evaluate the stability of the hierarchy in groups of growing pigs and pregnant sows Jean-Philippe Parent, Renée Bergeron, Marie-Christine Meunier-Salaün Page 17 Student competition
9:35 Rules of dispersal in the endangered Mariana crow (Corvus kubaryi) and potential effects on population size Renee Robinette Ha, Sarah Faegre, James C. Ha Page 17
9:55 Poster Session II (Group B)
Housing & Management I (Chair: Fiona C. Rioja-Lang) 10:40 The interaction of group size and alley width effects on the movement of near market
pigs Lynn Kavanagh, Sébastien Goumon, Harold W. Gonyou Page 18 Student competition
11:00 Who did it and why: floor laying by Pekin ducks Maja Makagon, Joy A. Mench Page 19 Student competition
11:20 The effect of lighting regime on broiler behaviour and health Richard A. Blatchford, Gregory S. Archer, Joy A. Mench Page 19 Student competition
11:40 Behavioral differences of cows and heifers housed on pasture and in a freestall barn: a descriptive study Vanessa Villanova Kuhnen, Luiz C. Pinheiro Machado Filho, Kathryn L. Proudfoot, Daniel M. Weary, Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk Page 20 Student competition
12:00 Lunch
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Thursday, May 27 – Afternoon
Housing & Management II (Chair: Joe Stookey) 13:00 Assessment of efficacy of three types of foraging enrichment in rhesus macaques
(Macaca mulatta) Daniel Gottlieb, Stephanie Ghirardo, Darren Minier, Nicole Sharpe, Lindsay Tatum, Brenda McCowan Page 20 Student competition
13:20 Baubles and squabbles: enrichment for male mice Christopher L. Howerton, Joy A. Mench Page 21 Student competition
13:40 Both pen size and shape affect locomotor play in dairy calves Erin Mintline, Anne Marie B. de Passillé, Jeffrey P. Rushen, Cassandra B. Tucker Page 22 Student competition
14:00 Laying hen location and activity can be monitored in a non-cage environment using a wireless body-mounted sensor system Courtney Daigle, Muhannad Q. Quwaider, Janice M. Siegford, Subir K. Biswas, Janice C. Swanson Page 22 Student competition
14:20 Behavioral aspects of diffuse aseptic pododermatitis and its primary role in the development of hoof diseases in cows Vasyl Koziy, Nataliia Kozii, Babeniuk Sergiy Page 23
14:40 Space utilisation of sows housed in free access stalls Fiona C. Rioja-Lang, Stephanie M. Hayne, Vanessa Heron, Harold W. Gonyou Page 24
15:00 Poster Session III (Groups A & B)
Cognition (Chair: Anne-Marie B. De Passillé) 15:40 Use of an automatic milk feeder in training calves in cognitive tasks – a proof of
concept Alisson Martendal, Maria J. Hötzel, Roberta Sommavilla, Marina Von Keyserlingk, Daniel M. Weary Page 24 Student competition
16:00 Effects of early rearing environment on learning ability and behavior in laying hens Hannah M. Morris, Candace Croney, Ruth C. Newberry Page 26
Social Behavior II (Chair: Anne-Marie B. De Passillé) 16:20 Effects of early serotonin programming on fear response, memory and aggression
Rachel Dennis, Don C. Lay, Heng-Wei Cheng Page 26
16:40 Dopamine and behavior of laying hen cannibals, victims and bystanders (Catherine Ulibarri) Page 27
17:05 Closing, Presentation of Awards, & Meeting Adjournment
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Poster Presentations
Presenting author underlined
Wednesday, May 26
Poster Session I: 15:15-16:00
GROUP A A1 Antipredator behavior changes between wild-type and hatchery-derived rainbow trout
clonal lines Kris A. Christensen, Gary H. Thorgaard Page 29 Student competition
A2 Does nursing a calf reduce periparturient stress? Élisabeth Carbonneau, Brian Talbot, Pierre Lacasse, Anne Marie B. de Passillé, Jeffrey P. Rushen Page 29 Student competition
A3 Behavioral indicators of stress in captive wolves (Canis lupus) Carly Levell, Paul Verrell Page 30
A4 Seeing through the fog: using social network drawing programs to visualize complex group structures Stephanie S.Robles, Maja M.Makagon, Joy A.Mench Page 30 Student competition
A5 The effect of male odor on agonistic behavior in female New Zealand White rabbits Annie Valuska, Joy A. Mench Page 31 Student competition
A6 Neurobiology and aggressive behavior in domesticated and wild rainbow trout Janet M. Campbell, Gary H. Thorgaard Page 31 Student competition
A7 Human attitudes about personality of domestic cats Mikel Delgado, Jacqueline Munera, Gretchen Reevy Page 32 Student competition
A8 Effects of previous housing in large groups on behavior of growing pigs at mixing Lihua Wang, Yuzhi Li Page 33
A9 Piglets call for mother’s attention Paolo Iacobucci, Valentina Colonnello, Ruth C. Newberry Page 33 Student competition
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Thursday, May 27
Poster Session II: 9:55-10:40
GROUP B B1 Astroturf as a dustbathing substrate for laying hens
Gina M. Alvino, Gregory S. Archer, Joy A. Mench Page 34 Student competition
B2 Impact of misting on activity budgets of captive orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica) Shannon Murphy, James R. Millam Page 34 Student competition
B3 Dairy calves prefer dry bedding Tatiane V. Camiloti, Jose A. Fregonesi, Daniel M. Weary, Marina von Keyserglink Page 35 Student competition
B4 Newborn dairy calf milk intake and body temperature variation according to feed level and heat supply Elsa Vasseur, Anne-Marie B. de Passillé, Jeffrey P. Rushen Page 36
B5 Personality dimensions and cognitive bias in Orange-Winged Amazon parrots Victoria A. Cussen, Joy A. Mench Page 36 Student competition
B6 Postural laterality in captive Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) Kathryn McMillan, Ruth C. Newberry, Paul Verrell Page 37
B7 Hen grooming as a function of louse infestation and beak condition Giuseppe Vezzoli, Bradley Mullens, Joy A. Mench Page 37 Student competition
B8 The development of ingestive and social behavior of piglets in confinement housing and outdoors Alisson Martendal, Roberta Sommavilla, Osmar A. Dalla Costa, Maria J. Hötzel Page 38 Student competition
Poster Session III
GROUP A: 15:00-15:20
GROUP B: 15:20-15:40
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ABSTRACTS OF ORAL PRESENTATIONS
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Keynote Lecture The social behavior of highly cognitive animals: examples from crows, monkeys, and orca
whales
James C. Ha
Animal Behavior Program, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA,
USA
In this talk, I provide an overview of my work on the social behavior of several highly cognitive
species, including pigtail macaque monkeys, northwestern crows, and near-shore killer whales.
The emphasis in my talk is that, in highly cognitive species, there is an extra dimension of
complexity to the social behavior, such as individual or kin recognition, cultural transmission of
information, or complex social structures. I discuss my research on social structure and
pregnancy outcome in pigtailed macaques, including data on the results of a massive social
reorganization of an established breeding colony. I also discuss the effects of kinship in
determining the costs and benefits of food-stealing behavior in socially-foraging northwestern
crows. I present the results of a study of the factors affecting social affiliation in a rapidly
declining, near-shore population of killer whales, based on an analysis of a 25-year database of
movement and behavior observations. Finally, I will propose the use of agent-based computer
models as a method to integrate comparative information into a more general model of social
behavior, particularly in highly complex and cognitive species. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Housing Environment & Fear
The effect of lighting conditions during incubation and post-hatch on fear responses of
broiler chickens
Gregory S. Archer*, Richard A. Blatchford, Joy A. Mench Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Light can impact the physiology of birds and thereby impact their behavior. We examined the
effects of lighting conditions during incubation and growth on the fear responses of broilers. In
experiment 1, eggs were provided with 0, 1, 6, or 12 h of full-spectrum fluorescent light daily,
throughout incubation. In experiment 2, broilers were reared under one of four lighting regimes
varying in photoperiod and light intensity. In experiment 1 and 2, the broilers were subjected to
a tonic immobility test (TI) and an inversion test (INV). Broilers in experiment 1 were also
subjected to an emergence test (EMRG) and an approach test (APP). All data were analysed
using either a GLM or Kruskal-Wallis test. In experiment 1, 12L broilers: emerged faster from
the darkened start box (28.9 ± 3.3 sec, P < 0.05) than all other treatments, during EMRG;
vocalized less (179 ± 9 times), were less active (28 ± 2% of the time), and spent more time in
the area closest to the observer (63 ± 3% of the time) than the 0L broilers (211 ± 10 times, 35 ±
3% of the time, 51 ± 4% of the time, P < 0.05) during APP; had shorter (P < 0.05) latencies to
first head movement (26 ± 3 sec) and to right (120 ± 17 sec) than 0L (57 ± 14 sec, 201 ± 25 sec)
and 1L (51 ± 9 sec, 213 ± 22 sec) broilers during TI; and wing-flapped less intensely (5.9 ± 0.1
flaps/sec, P < 0.05) than all other treatments (5.5 ± 0.1 flaps/sec) during INV. In experiment 2,
lighting regime did not affect (P > 0.05) fear response during INV or TI. These results indicate
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that lighting conditions during embryonic development impact the fear response while lighting
conditions post-hatch do not. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Fear response in gestating sows
Christina Phillips1*
, Yuzhi Li2, Jon Anderson
3
1335F AnSci/VetMed, 1988 Fitch Ave., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA;
246352 State Hwy 359, University of Minnesota, Morris, MN, USA;
31330 Sc, 600 E 4
th St, University of Minnesota, Morris, MN, USA
The objective of this study was to determine effects of gestation stage and parity on the fear
response of sows. Sixty gestating sows (parities 1 to 9) were subjected to the human approach
and the novel object fear tests in early (2 wk after breeding) and late (12 wk after breeding)
gestation periods. In the human approach test, the sows were individually moved to a test arena
and given 2 min to be familiarized. A person then quietly entered the arena, and stood stationary
at the end of the arena for 3 min, during which the following interactions of sow behavior were
recorded: 1) the time taken to approach within 0.5 m of the person, 2) the total time spent within
0.5 m of the person, 3) the number of physical interactions with the person, and 4) the time to the
first physical touch with the person. Following the human approach test, a novel object was
placed at the end of the arena. During the next 3 min, sow interactions with the novel object
were recorded. The fear score for each sow was calculated using the first principal component
derived from the fear tests. Fear scores ranged from 0 to 4.93, with lower scores being less
fearful. The Glimmix procedure of SAS was used to test effects of parity and gestation period on
fear response. Sows in late gestation were more fearful than sows in early gestation (3.17 vs.
2.39, SE = 0.30; P < 0.01). There was no difference in fear response between parity 1-5 sows
and parity 6-9 sows. These results indicate that fear response varies within sow due to stage of
gestation. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Impact of play enrichment on fear and anxiety in chickens
Nicole S. Dossey*, Carmen Massey, Sylvie Cloutier, Ruth C. Newberry
Center for the Study of Animal Well-being, Department of Animal Sciences and Department of
Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
In chickens, running with inedible worm-like objects clasped in the beak (worm running) and
repeatedly jumping on swinging perches in safe environments meet criteria for play behavior.
We hypothesized that stimulating playful behaviors via environmental enrichment would reduce
fear in unanticipated situations, and enhance body condition. Seventy-two female White Leghorn
chicks were randomly assigned to eight brooder cages (9 chicks /cage). Half the groups received
inedible worm objects (‗worms‘) for 30 min/day and the other half received a permanent
swinging perch, in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement with two randomized blocks. At 5 and 10 weeks
of age, effects of ‗worm‘ and perch provision on fear responses (four chickens/cage) were
investigated using standardized fear tests: open field, novel object, handling, and tonic
immobility. At 10 weeks, the same birds were re-tested. Body weight and skin conditions were
measured weekly. Behavior tests were videorecorded and treatment effects were analyzed by
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mixed model ANOVA. Chickens provided with ‗worms‘ were heavier at 10 and 11 weeks, spent
more time in the central area in the open field test and exhibited longer tonic immobility
durations (p<0.05). Chickens provided with swinging perches were heavier at 7 weeks (p<0.05).
Factor analysis revealed factors describing active fear, passive fear, and boldness. The effects of
the enrichments in increasing growth rate suggest that stimulation of play behavior may have
production benefits. Play enrichment had inconsistent effects on fear-related variables but
increased passive fear responses that might be associated with reduced panic in unexpected
situations.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition Human-Animal Interactions
Animal abuse as a sentinel for human violence: a critique
Emily G Patterson-Kane1*
, Heather Piper2
1 American Veterinary Medical Association, Schaumburg, IL USA;
2 Manchester Metropolitan University, Institute of Education, MMU Cheshire, Cheshire, UK
It has been suggested that acts of violence against human and nonhuman animals share
commonalities, and that animal abuse is a sentinel for current or future violence toward people.
The popular and professional acceptance of strong connections between types of violence is
beginning to be used to justify social work interventions and to influence legal decision making,
and so requires greater scrutiny. Examination of the limited pool of empirical data suggests that
animal abuse is relatively common among men, with violent offenders having an increased
probability of reporting prior animal abuse—with the majority of violent offenders not reporting
any animal abuse. The ―link‖ between animal abuse and human violence exists but is relatively
weak when compared to other factors such as gender (effect size of d = 0.15 z = 5.45, p < 0.0001
versus d = 0.21 z = 15.81, p < 0.0001). Causal explanations for ―the link,‖ such as empathy
impairment or conduct disorder, suffer from a lack of validating research and, based on research
into interhuman violence, the assumption that violence has a predominant, single underlying
cause must be questioned. An (over)emphasis on the danger that animal abusers pose to humans
serves to assist in achieving a consensus that animal abuse is a serious issue, but potentially at
the cost of failing to focus on the most common types of abuse, and the most effective strategies
for reducing its occurrence. Nothing in this review and discussion should be taken as minimizing
the importance of animals as frequent victims of violence, or the co-occurrence of abuse types in
―at risk‖ households. However, given the weakness of the underlying data, emphasizing the
indiscriminate dangerousness of all animal abusers may have unforeseen and unwanted
consequences. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Relationship between fear of humans and amount of human contact in commercially
reared turkeys
Naomi A. Botheras*, Jessica A. Pempek, Drew K. Enigk
Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Experimental and on-farm studies with broiler chickens and laying hens show an association
between the birds‘ level of fear of humans and human factors such as amount and type of
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behavioral interaction. Experimental studies with turkeys have found similar results. The aim of
this study was to investigate the relationship between fear of humans in commercially reared
turkeys and the amount of human contact those birds received. Twelve barns, each housing
approximately 5,800 male turkeys, were visited. At 4, 8 and 12 weeks of age, a stroll test was
conducted to assess fear of humans using the behavioral responses of the turkeys to a stationary
and moving novel human. Stockpeople also recorded for one week prior to each visit the amount
of time they spent in the barns each day. Correlations between the average number of turkeys
close to the experimenter during stationary and moving phases of the test and the average
amount of time stockpeople spent in the barns each day were determined. Stockpeople spent
39±3.2 min (mean±SE) in the barn each day when the turkeys were 4 weeks old, increasing to
54±6.6 and 67±7.0 min/day at 8 and 12 weeks of age, respectively. There were no significant
correlations between the amount of time stockpeople spent in the barn and the number of birds
close to the novel human during either moving or stationary phases of the test at 4, 8 or 12 weeks
of age (all P>0.05). In contrast to findings with other commercially raised poultry species, the
results suggest that amount of human contact is not a significant predictor of fear of humans in
commercially raised turkeys. It may be that the quality or type of human interaction is more
important than the amount of time per se. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Kitten Socialization Program leads to improved acceptance of routine care procedures by
cats
Jill Villarreal, Ragen T.S. McGowan*, François Martin
Nestlé Purina Research, St. Joseph, MO, USA
Early socialization is an important factor in a kitten‘s ability to develop a strong bond with a
caregiver. Previous research has focused on the effects of early human-cat cuddling and play on
the frequency and intensity of human-directed behaviors. Little attention has been given to the
effects of early positive exposure to routine care procedures (e.g., grooming, nail trimming) on
the response of cats to these procedures later in life. Care procedures are important to the
wellbeing of cats; yet, owners and healthcare professionals often face difficulty executing them
because of the fear responses these procedures elicit. It is crucial to develop methods to reduce
negative, and increase positive, behavioral responses to these activities. We developed a 12-
month Kitten Socialization Program (KSP) where kittens (n=87) received daily structured
interaction with caregivers. These interactions included early positive experiences of routine
procedures presented in a warm and playful manner. The behavior of kittens involved in this
program was compared to that of kittens raised in a more traditional manner (n=57). Kittens
were assessed monthly for 1 year using a 9-item 6-point scale (0=engaging negatively;
5=engaging positively). Kittens that received positive early exposure to care procedures as part
of the KSP had higher mean acceptance scores for brushing (mean±SE, 4.36±0.07 vs. 3.79±0.13,
t=3.87, p<0.001), nail trimming (3.63±0.06 vs. 2.37±0.10, t=10.61, p<0.001) and simulated
physical examination (3.41±0.09 vs. 2.42±0.12, t=6.64, p<0.001) than kittens raised in a more
traditional manner. Early positive exposure to routine care procedures as part of a structured
socialization program helped kittens learn to approach these activities in a calm and confident
manner. Further, these activities elicited positive human-directed behavior in cats raised with the
KSP program, suggesting that with early positive exposure cats come to perceive routine care
activities as positive experiences. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
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The relationship between on-farm loading and pre-stun animal handling with meat quality
in swine
Lily N. Edwards1*
, Temple Grandin2, Terry E. Engle
2, Matthew J. Ritter
3, Andrzej A. Sosnicki
4,
Marie-Anne Paradis5, Jorge A. Correa
6, F. Menard
6, David B. Anderson
2
1 Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA;
2 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA;
3 Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN, USA;
4 PIC North America, Hendersonville, TN, USA;
5 Elanco, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada;
6 L’Ange-Gardien, Quebec, Canada
Previous research indicates a relationship between high exsanguination blood lactate
concentration ([LAC]) and inferior pork quality. Two studies in different processing facilities
were conducted exploring how on-farm loading and pre-stun animal handling play a
complementary role in affecting meat quality. In Exp. 1, meat quality measurements were
obtained on 128 loins following standard transportation and lairage and subsequent CO2
stunning. Pigs in this study were handled very gently at loading, e.g. no loading chute incline,
upper deck of the truck was raised hydraulically. [LAC] was measured post-stunning. Pearson
correlations demonstrated that higher [LAC] was associated with lower 60 min pH (P=0.0004)
and higher drip loss (P=0.02). These results suggest that under low-stress loading,
exsanguination [LAC] is predictive of the rate of early post-mortem metabolism, explaining its
effect on meat quality. In Exp. 2, 216 pigs (divided into two studies) were loaded on-farm and
transported to a processing facility, rested, electrically stunned and exsanguinated. [LAC] was
measured post-loading and post-stunning. Pearson correlations demonstrated that increased
[LAC] during loading on-farm resulted in improved meat quality, i.e. increased 24 h pH
(P<0.002), decreased L* (P<0.03) and decreased drip loss (P<0.02). Exsanguination [LAC] was
not related to meat quality. This contradiction between experiments may be due to the correlation
between [LAC] at loading and [LAC] at exsanguination (P=0.003) indicating that pigs with high
[LAC] at loading tended to also have high [LAC] at exsanguination. Therefore, pigs
experiencing both high [LAC] at loading (reduced muscle glycogen) and high [LAC] at
exsanguination (accelerated post-mortem metabolism) may have better meat quality. It is
postulated that effects of loading (gentle vs. aggressive) may have a significant influence on pork
quality via effecting changes in early post-mortem metabolism. As pig handling during on-farm
loading further improves, a lower exsanguination [LAC] may become a better predictor of meat
quality. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Tickling reduces stress in rats during routine medical treatments
Kim Wahl*, Ruth C. Newberry, Sylvie Cloutier
1Center for the Study of Animal Well-being, Department of Animal Sciences and Department of
Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
Stress induced by handling and medical procedures can have negative effects on health, such as
decreased immune function and impaired cognition. To avoid adverse effects on animal welfare
and experimental outcomes, it is desirable to perform routine medical procedures in a manner
15
that minimizes negative perception by the animal. People can tickle laboratory rats in a way that
mimics rough-and-tumble play; and like social play, tickling can induce a positive motivational
state. We hypothesized that pairing of a stressful, routine medical procedure, such as an
intraperitoneal injection (i.p.), with a positive experience, such as tickling, decrease stress
associated with the procedure. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (N=59) received one of two early
handling treatments from 25-46 days of age: standard (C) (weekly cage cleaning) or tickling for
two minutes daily (T) and, at 85-95 days of age, one of three injection handling treatments for
two minutes prior to and following an i.p. injection: tickling (T), passive hand (H), or no
handling (C), for a total of five treatment groups (CC, CH, CT, TH, TT). Rats were injected daily
and given their handling treatment for 10 days. The effectiveness of tickling at reducing the
stress of the procedure was evaluated by measuring the emission of audible vocalizations and 50-
kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), interpreted as evidence of negative and positive affective
states, before, after and, during injection, and duration of injection. Tickled rats (CT, TH, TT)
tended to emit fewer audible (negative) vocalizations when injected (Mixed model ANOVA, F4,
54=5.97, P<0.05), and more 50-kHz (positive) vocalizations prior to (F4, 54=11.24, p<0.05) and
following (F4, 54=11.29, P<0.05) injection, and to require less time to inject (F4, 54=2.57 p<0.05)
than rats that were never tickled (CC, CH). Our results indicate that positive handling (tickling)
can reduce stress associated with repeated injections. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Social Behavior I Predicting maternal behaviour of beef cattle
Brooke L. Aitken1*
, Joseph M. Stookey1, Maud Ferrari
2, Scott Noble
1, Jon Watts
1
1University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;
2University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Research in swine has shown that certain temperament traits that exist during pregnancy may be
accurate predictors of the behaviour the sow will exhibit towards stockpersons and their piglets
after farrowing. A total of 216 beef cattle were run through a chute complex and individually
restrained before calving to see if their response to handling predicted their behaviour after
calving. Pre-calving measurements included maximum, minimum and average exertion force
applied against the headgate, a subjective temperament score, their response to a stockperson
standing in front of the headgate and the exit speed from the chute. Within 2 d after calving, the
cow‘s response to her calf, a stuffed coyote and the stockperson were recorded during
standardized tests. A blood sample from each calf was collected at the same time to measure
total serum protein and at weaning the calf‘s adjusted 205 d weaning weight was recorded. A
principle component analysis was used to reduce the number variables to 5 pre-calving
components and 9 post-calving components. Multiple regressions were then calculated using
these components. A new component identified as [distance to the calf] decreased with
[flightiness in the chute] (p<0.001). Total protein and weaning weight were also related to the
cow‘s response in the chute (p<0.05). Certain aspects of temperament that are measured in the
chute prior to calving may be predictive of both maternal behaviour and production parameters
of beef cattle. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
16
Barking pigs: acoustic differences between barks given in alarm and play contexts
Winnie Y. Chan, Ruth C. Newberry
Center for the Study of Well-being, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Juvenile pigs emit bark vocalizations when alarmed and when playing. Although bark
vocalizations given in these two situations sound similar to the human ear, differences in
acoustic morphology could exist. We hypothesized that bark vocalizations reflect fearful and
playful states through differences in acoustic morphology. We analyzed the acoustic morphology
of barks given by 6-week-old pigs during alarm and play contexts. Barks in the alarm context
(n=21) were induced by the sudden appearance of an approaching human whereas barks in the
play context (n=19) were recorded during spontaneous play. Barks given during alarm had a
higher peak frequency (mean ± SE, 1.03 ± 0.07 kHz) than barks given during play (0.76 ± 0.12
kHz; F1,38 = 12.34, adjusted p<0.05). In the alarm context, barks occurred at a rate of 0.05 ± 0.01
barks/s during 1-min samples whereas those given during spontaneous play occurred at a rate of
0.2 ± 0.04 barks/s. However, in the first second of each recording, the bark rate was 2.8±0.2
barks/s in the alarm context and 1.1±0.2 barks/s in the play context, indicating that the former
occurred in rapid succession immediately following an alarm whereas the latter were more
widely dispersed over time. These subtle, yet significant, differences in the acoustic morphology
may alter behavioural responses in listeners. When played back, pigs (n=4 groups) responded
with fleeing and freezing behaviors after hearing 6 ‗alarm‘ barks at a rate of 3 barks/s whereas
pigs (n=3 groups) continued to play after hearing 6 ‗play‘ barks at a rate of 0.2 bark/s. These data
support our hypothesis that differences in acoustic morphology reflect underlying fearful and
playful affective states, and provide preliminary evidence that pigs respond differently to barks
given in these two contexts. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition Incidence and tolerance of mis-mothering and maternal aggression in beef cattle: producer
survey results
Brooke L. Aitken, Joseph M. Stookey*, Murray Jelinski
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Proper maternal behaviour is important to ensure newborn calves receive adequate care and
colostrum. However, cows that are overly protective of their calves may direct that protection
toward the producer and therefore represent a potential risk to humans. In order to determine the
incidence of these behaviours, their potential causes and level of producer tolerance, a survey
was conducted at two cattle shows in 2009 and at a beef symposium in 2010. One hundred and
sixty eight farmers completed the survey, with herd sizes ranging from 7 to 1326 and having a
median of 148.5. The cumulative number of cows owned by the respondents was 33,621, out of
which 5.7% of females were reported to be dangerous (cows the producer judged would hurt
them after calving if given the chance). The majority of farms (77.4%) had at least one
dangerous cow. Mis-mothering (i.e. the cow abandoned or did not care for her calf) had an
incidence of 1.4%, and occurred on 61.9% farms. Culling rates for mis-mothering and dangerous
cows was 61.5% and 13.3%, respectively. When given choices, producers believed that a general
lack of interest by the mother, interruption by another cow or person, first calf heifer and twin
births were the primary causes of cows mis-mothering. Producers identified ―family line‖ as the
17
most likely cause of maternal aggression. Over 1/3 of respondents had been injured at calving,
but only 11.3% required a doctor visit and only 53.2% culled the animal responsible for the
injury. Outside of the calving season, most producers did not notice differences between cows
that were dangerous at calving time or cows that mis-mothered their calf from the cattle in the
rest of the herd. Producers are more tolerant of aggressive cows and are less likely to cull them
than cows which abandon or mis-mother their calves. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Comparison of three dominance tests to evaluate the stability of the hierarchy in groups of
growing pigs and pregnant sows
Jean-Philippe Parent1*
, Renée Bergeron2, Marie-Christine Meunier-Salaün
3
1Animal Science Department, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada;
2Alfred Campus, University of Guelph, Alfred, ON, Canada;
3 Agro Campus Ouest INRA-UMR SENAH, Saint-Gilles, France
Conflicting results between dominance tests and repetitions of these tests in pigs might be related
with the lack of stability of their hierarchy. The objectives of the study were to compare 3
dominance tests and to examine the stability over time of the social hierarchy of groups of
growing female pigs and pregnant sows. Three dominance tests based on food competition were
performed (group test with a single trough (GR), group test with 2 troughs (2T) and dyadic test
(D)) compared to verify their validity (Pearson correlation coefficient). The tests were repeated 3
times (R1, R2, R3) to verify their repeatability over time (Pearson correlation coefficient). Eight
groups of 8 Pietrain x Large White pigs were tested during the growing period at: 1 week (R1;
weight, Mean±SD: 39.5±5.6 kg), 6 weeks (R2; 66.4±8.1 kg) and 11 weeks after mixing (R3;
95.9±10.3 kg). Seven groups of 6 Large White x Landrace sows were tested at: 5 weeks (R1;
weight, Mean±SD: 239±33 kg), 9 weeks (R2; 255±32 kg) and 13 weeks after mixing (R3;
271±32kg). The 3 dominance tests gave similar results within repetitions for sows (Mean±SD
correlation coefficient between tests within repetitions, GR-2T: 0.68± 0.07; GR-D: 0.68±0.05;
2T-D: 0.76±0.06) but not for pigs (Mean±SD correlation coefficient between tests within
repetitions, GR-2T: 0.37± 0.14; GR-D: 0.27±0.15; 2T-D: 0.22±0.14). The 3 dominance tests
were repeatable over time for sows (Mean±SD correlation between repetitions within tests, R1-
R2: 0.73±0.10; R2-R3: 0.75±0.25; R1-R3: 0.69±0.14) but not for pigs (Mean±SD correlation
between tests within repetitions, R1-R2: 0.38±0.24; R2-R3: 0.45±0.18; R1-R3: 0.37±0.12). The
3 dominance tests gave consistent results for sows but not for growing pigs, suggesting that
social hierarchy is not clearly established in groups of younger animals. This would also explain
the finding that sows have a more stable hierarchy over time than growing pigs. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Rules of dispersal in the endangered Mariana Crow (Corvus kubaryi) and potential
effects on population size Renee Robinette Ha, Sarah Faegre, James C. Ha
Animal Behavior Program, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA,
USA
The tradeoff for dispersal is typically attributed to the reproductive advantages of increased
access to mates or other resources balanced against the cost of inbreeding. The determinant of
18
sex-biased dispersal has been attributed to the mating system of the species. Recent molecular
genetics work has demonstrated that greater dispersal distances are associated with reduced
levels of inbreeding. Dispersal distance can be difficult to quantify given the likelihood of
missing data points for birds that disperse great distances and may be missed by researchers. In
our system, this problem is minimized by the small size of the island (Rota, N. Mariana Islands),
and thus the possible maximum range of dispersal is < 20 km. Deforestation and edge effects
have been shown to influence dispersal and reduce genetic diversity in a number of tropical
avian species. We hypothesize that edge effects have influenced the dispersal patterns of the
Mariana crow, a forest crow species that avoids open areas. We analyzed patterns of juvenile
dispersal based on mark-resight records (n=37) and recruitment records (n=14) from 1995-2010
to determine the impact of habitat fragmentation on habitat use. The median distance between
natal nest and breeding nest was 1,330 m for all birds. There was no significant difference
between males (n=5) and females (n=9) in the distance dispersed between natal and breeding
territories (p=0.97). Most individuals are breeding within 1.3 km of their natal nest. This
suggests an increased likelihood of inbreeding based on dispersal patterns in this population.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Housing & Management I
The interaction of group size and alley width effects on the movement of near market pigs
Lynn Kavanagh1, Sébastien Goumon
2, 3*, Harold W. Gonyou
2, 4
1 University
of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada;
2 Prairie Swine Centre, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;
3 Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada;
4 University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Current recommendations advise that pigs should be moved on farm in small groups of five or
six animals. The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between group size and
alley width on the ease and speed of movement of near-market pigs. Forty-four finishing pigs
were used in a randomized 2-factor block design: Alley width (0.6, 0.9, 1.2 or 2.4 m), and Group
size (4, 8, 12 or 20 pigs). Pigs were moved through a three-sided simulated handling course. One
handler was used, moving the pigs with paddle and board only. Data were collected on heart rate,
time (total time to complete the course), handling (number of slaps and touches, subjective
handling score) and behavioural measures (turnbacks, vocalizations, piling, slipping and falling
events). Groups of 12 and 20 pigs took significantly more time (116 and 162s, respectively) to
complete the course than groups of 4 and 8 pigs (77 and 93s, respectively) (P<0.01). In addition,
handling became more challenging as group size increased (P<0.01). Alley width did not affect
the heart rate, time or handling of pigs. However, there were significant effects found for both
alley width and group size on the behavioural measures of vocalizations and turnbacks. Smaller
alley widths resulted in more vocalizations (P<0.01). The number of turnbacks and vocalizations
increased as group size increased (P<0.01). Differences between group sizes, in the number of
turnbacks (P<0.01) and touches and slaps (P<0.02), grew larger as alley width increased. In
conclusion, moving a group of four or eight animals is preferred for minimizing stress and a
0.9m alley width appears to be most conducive to easy handling. Further studies are needed to
determine the optimal group size in other alley widths and to extend the results to the width of
ramps going into the truck during transportation. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
19
Student competition
Who did it and why: floor laying by Pekin ducks
Maja M. Makagon*, Joy A. Mench
Animal Behavior Graduate Group and Department of Animal Science, University of California,
Davis, CA, USA
The laying of eggs outside of nest boxes is a common problem in poultry production systems.
We investigated factors contributing to floor laying by Pekin ducks. In a 2x2 factorial design, 16
groups of 18-week old ducks (eight per group) were provided access to either two (2-Box) or
eight (8-Box) closed-topped or open-topped nest boxes in their pens. Egg locations were
recorded daily for 16 weeks. Video analyses were used to determine the time of day when eggs
were laid on the floor during weeks 1-4, 8, 12 and 16. An analysis of nontoxic dye deposition in
the egg yolk was conducted on weeks 12, 14 and 16 to determine each duck‘s contribution to
floor laying. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the proportion of floor eggs decreased
over weeks (F3,9 = 29.29, p < 0.0001), was greater in the 2-Box groups (F1,11 = 24.09, p =
0.0005), and was not affected by box design (F1,11 = 0.08, p = 0.776). Not all available nest
boxes were used on a given day. In 8-Box groups, for example, on average only three or four
boxes were used per day. Of the 202 floor eggs identified on video, 65% were laid in the
morning (0300-0700) during the time of highest nest box use. However, 32% were laid during
the dark phase (2100-0300) when nest box activity was low. The remaining 3% of floor eggs
were laid in the afternoon or ejected from nest boxes by the ducks. Yolk stain analysis indicated
that 67% and 52% of ducks in 2-Box and 8-Box treatments, respectively, laid floor eggs,
although none did so exclusively. These results suggest that floor laying by Pekin ducks may in
part be a product of competition for nests, and can be decreased by optimizing the nest box to
duck ratio. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
The effect of lighting regime on broiler behaviour and health
Richard A. Blatchford*, Gregory S. Archer, Joy A. Mench
Animal Behavior Graduate Group, Department of Animal Science, University of California,
Davis, CA, USA
Although long dim photoperiods are commonly used in commercial broiler production, evidence
suggests that moderate-length photoperiods with brighter intensities may improve broiler
welfare. We evaluated the effects of long (20L:4D) and moderate (16L:8D) photoperiods at dim
(1:0.5 lux) and bright (200:0.5 lux) intensities on the behavior and health of broilers (N = 1004; 6
pens/treatment). General and feeding activity were measured one day a week. Broilers were gait
scored, weighed, and euthanized at 6 weeks of age. Eyes were dissected from 30 birds/treatment
and measured for size and weight. Behaviors and performance were analyzed using a GLM, gait
score using a Kruskal-Wallis test, and eye measures using a MANOVA. There were no
differences in feed conversion (1.63 ± 0.01 kg feed/kg body weight), however 1 lux broilers
(2.79 ± 0.01 kg) were slightly heavier (P = 0.02) than 200 lux broilers (2.72 ± 0.01 kg). The 200
lux broilers were more active (P = 0.03) and fed more (P = 0.001) during the day, but were less
active (P = 0.02) and fed less (P = 0.0001) at night than 1 lux broilers. The 16L:8D broilers fed
more (P = 0.007) at night than 20L:4D broilers. The 200 lux broilers had lower (P = 0.0002) gait
20
scores, although treatment differences were small. The 1 lux broilers had larger (side-to-side:
18.86 ± 0.11 mm vs. 17.63 ± 0.11 mm, P < 0.0001; back-to-front: 13.39 ± 0.09 mm vs. 12.89 ±
0.09 mm, P = 0.0002), and heavier (2.42 ± 0.03 g vs. 1.99 ± 0.03 g, P < 0.0001) eyes than 200
lux broilers. These results show that light intensity, rather than photoperiod, is the major factor
affecting broiler behavior and eye health. Intensity of 1 lux dampens behavioral rhythms, with
possible physiological effects, as observed with differences in eye health. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition Behavioral differences of cows and heifers housed on pasture and in a freestall barn: a
descriptive study
Vanessa Villanova Kuhnen1*
, Luiz C. Pinheiro Machado Filho2, Kathryn L. Proudfoot
1, Daniel
M. Weary1, Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk
1
1Animal Welfare Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada; 2Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de
Santa Catarina, Brazil
In North America, most dairy cows are housed indoors with little or no access to pasture. Access
to pasture clearly allows for certain behaviours, like grazing, that are impossible for confined
animals, but little work has documented how behaviour differs between these housing systems.
Sixteen non-lactating cows and fourteen heifers were randomly assigned to one of the two
housing systems, balanced for parity. Cows on pasture formed a single group; observations from
individual animals cannot be considered independent and the results presented are for descriptive
purposes only. Behaviour was observed continuously for 24 h by direct observation. Feeding,
ruminating and lying were recorded every 10 min. Agonistic interactions and ear flicks were
recorded continuously over the 24 h. Animals in freestalls spent more time lying than animals on
pasture (mean ± S.E. 777.7 ± 25.0 vs. 686.3 ± 16.4 min/d). Animals on pasture spent more time
eating (461.0 ± 16.1 vs. 340.7 ± 17.2 min/d) but less time ruminating (558.0 ± 14.1 vs. 438.7 ±
14.6 min/d) compared to animals housed in freestalls; this result was expected given that cows
had access to a more energy dense diet indoors. The number of ear flicks was higher on pasture
than in the freestall barn (55.3 ± 6.0 vs. 4.6 ± 1.3 n/d), likely a result from higher fly loads on
pasture. Agonistic interactions were higher in the freestalls compared to pasture (35.8 ± 3.2 vs.
14.5 ± 2.4 n/d), reflecting the reduced space availability per cow at the feed barrier. These results
illustrate some of the different welfare challenges cattle face in these different environments, and
suggest ways in which both environments could be improved. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Housing & Management II Assessment of efficacy of three types of foraging enrichment in rhesus macaques (Macaca
mulatta)
Daniel Gottlieb1,2
*, Stephanie Ghirardo2, Darren Minier
2, Nicole Sharpe
1,2, Lindsay Tatum
2,
Brenda McCowan2,3
21
1Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;
2California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;
3Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California,
Davis, CA, USA
The behavior of rhesus macaques living in captivity can be vastly different from their wild
counterparts, often noted as a lack of species typical behavior, and a high occurrence of
stereotypic behavior. Both lack of species typical behavior and expression of stereotypies are
commonly used as indicators of decreased welfare. As a result, environmental enrichment is
frequently used in captive primate facilities to improve well-being. The objective of this study
was to assess the efficacy of three types of foraging devices: puzzleballs, super tubes, and
shakers. Forty-eight monkeys from the CNPRC were assigned to three experimental groups,
each of which received, after 3-week baseline observations, one of the three enrichment devices
intermittently for three weeks. Observations were conducted for 10-minute sessions using one-
zero sampling with 15-second intervals (480 hours total). Observations were collected at the
same 10 specified time points a week during baseline and post-enrichment receipt. Data were
analyzed using generalized linear mixed effects modeling under the assumption that the
underlying response follows a Poisson distribution. A significant decrease in motor stereotypies
was found in the ―puzzle ball‖ and ―super tube‖ groups (p<0.05), but the devices differed as to
the timing of that decrease. A significant increase in stereotypic behavior was found in the
―shaker‖ group (p<0.05). A significant increase in foraging behavior was found in all three
groups, and lasted up to 43 hours (p<0.05). These results show that foraging enrichment have
long lasting effects on species typical behavior, as well as some mitigating effects on behavioral
problems. *Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Student competition
Baubles and squabbles: enrichment for male mice
Christopher L. Howerton*, Joy A. Mench
Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
It is generally assumed that providing environmental enrichment to mice is beneficial. However,
we found in a previous study that severe aggression was higher in groups of male CD-1 mice
given a running wheel. We hypothesized that this effect might have been due to the rigidity of
the enrichment partitioning the cage and causing territorial aggression, and that similar effects
might not be seen in less aggressive strains of mice or if destructible rather than rigid
enrichments were provided. Adult male mice (n = 120) from 3 strains (Balb/cAnNCrl;
C57/BL6NCrl; Crl:CD1[ICR]) were housed in polycarbonate cages containing 5 same-strain
mice. The enrichments provided were either destructible (Nestlet© [NESTLET], Shepherd
Shacks© [SHACK]) or rigid (perspex tunnel [TUNNEL], Fasttrac and Igloo© running
wheel/shelter [WHEEL]). Each cage was presented with each enrichment for a 2-wk period
using a Latin square design with a 2-wk control period (no enrichment) inserted between each
enrichment period. Behavior was assessed from video recordings taken at the end of each period;
body condition scores (BCS) were also determined at this time. Data were analyzed using a
GLM and Tukey pair-wise comparisons. Stereotypies were significantly higher during TUNNEL
than WHEEL (p = 0.01). Affiliative interactions were higher during NESTLET than WHEEL (p
= 0.008) and TUNNEL (p = 0.07). BCS were higher during NESTLET and TUNNEL than both
SHACK and WHEEL (p = 0.03; p = 0.003). CD-1 and C57 displayed significantly more (p ≤
22
0.001 for all comparisons) severe aggression during TUNNEL (7.3 and 9.3%, respectively) than
during NESTLET or SHACK (1.4% and 2.14%, respectively), and also significantly more during
WHEEL (10.1% and 15.64%, respectively) than TUNNEL s; BALB/c showed no serious
aggression during any period. Thus, while most enrichments had some beneficial effects on
welfare, rigid enrichments are not recommended for group-housed males of aggressive strains. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Both pen size and shape affect locomotor play in dairy calves
Erin M. Mintline1*
, Anne Marie B. de Passillé2, Jeffrey P. Rushen
2, Cassandra B. Tucker
3,
1 Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;
2 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC, Canada;
3 Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Play behavior is influenced by environmental factors including housing and management. For
example, the amount of space provided may affect a young animal‘s expression of play. Pen size
is often described in terms of area, or area per animal. However, the shape of the pen may also
have an effect on play behavior. We evaluated the effect of the area and shape of a pen on
locomotor play in dairy calves. Eighteen six-week-old Holstein calves were tested individually
for 15 minutes in four pens of different size and shape. Treatments were presented in a 2x2
design where both area (LARGE: 60m2 vs. SMALL: 30m
2) and shape (LONG; length x width =
30x2 or 15x2 m, WIDE = 15x4 or 7.5x4 m) were varied. Duration of running and the number of
bucks, jumps, and kicks were recorded continuously. A 2x2 ANOVA with ranked values was
used. Calves spent more than twice as much time running in larger (19 vs. 8s; SE=2.6 P=0.03)
and longer pens (18 vs. 9s; SE=2.6, P=0.05). This is likely due to the greater distance available
for uninterrupted running in these pens. Calves tended to jump more often in smaller pens
(frequency= 3.3 vs. 2.4; SE=0.4, P=0.07), possibly because less space is required to perform this
behavior. No differences were found for bucks and kicks nor was there an interaction between
size and shape for any variable. There were, however, large differences between calves in the
amount of play they performed. The size and shape of the pen affects the amount of locomotor
play behavior shown by dairy calves. When designing pens for behavioral research or long-term
housing, both shape and size need to be considered, rather than relying exclusively on measures
of area. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Laying hen location and activity can be monitored in a non-cage environment using a
wireless body-mounted sensor system
Courtney L. Daigle1*
, Muhannad Q. Quwaider2, Janice M. Siegford
1, Subir K. Biswas
2, Janice C.
Swanson1,3
1Animal Behavior & Welfare Group, Department of Animal Science,
2NeEWS Laboratory,
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, 3Departments of Large Animal Clinical
Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
A novel lightweight (10g) wireless body-mounted sensor system was developed to remotely
monitor the location and activity of laying hens within non-cage housing systems. Social
demand and legislation in the United States and Europe are catalyzing a transition within the egg
23
industry towards non-cage housing systems. However, flock size in non-cage systems can reach
upwards of tens of thousands of hens, which makes visually monitoring individual bird health,
welfare, and movement difficult. Three laying hens were fitted with multi-modal sensors to
validate the ability of the sensors to 1) identify the location of the hen in space relative to key
resources and 2) describe the hens‘ general level of activity. To accomplish these objectives,
video recordings and sensor data were simultaneously collected from the sensor-wearing hens
over a 48-hour period. Three 30-minute time periods were observed for each hen during which
an observation was recorded every 0.5 seconds. Observations recorded included proximity to a
stationary sensor (i.e. perch, nestbox, feeder, water), posture (stand, sit/lie, walk, run, fly), and
behavior (eat, drink, preen, dustbathe, peck). Sensor data was correlated to video-based
observations from each sensor-wearing hen. Agreement of at least 84% was consistently
obtained between data from the sensor system and video concerning the hen‘s proximity to key
resources (i.e., nestboxes, perches, water, and feeder). Preliminary matching of sensor
accelerometer data to video observations suggest a strong relationship between accelerometer
data showing high levels of activity with video observations of hens performing behaviors, such
as dustbathing, that involve vigorous movement. A relationship was also observed between
accelerometer data showing low levels of activity with observations of less active behaviors,
such as sitting or preening. Further work will quantify this correlation and refine the detection
abilities of the sensors toward the recognition of specific behaviors.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Behavioral aspects of diffuse aseptic pododermatitis and its primary role in the
development of hoof diseases in cows
Vasyl Koziy*, Nataliia Kozii, Babeniuk Sergiy
School of Veterinary Medicine, Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University, Ukraine
The influence of some ethological indexes on digit morbidity in cows housed in free-stall and
tie-stall systems was studied. Total daily rest time, average duration of single rest periods, and
number of rest periods per day while kept on concrete surfaces with different quantities of
bedding were recorded on two farms with tie-stalls. On free-stall farms, records were obtained on
standing and lying in stalls, feeding, and standing half in stalls. Rest time averaged 7.6−9.0 hours
in free-stalls compared with 7.3 hours in tie-stalls. The lower resting time in tie-stalls was
associated with 3-15 times more clinical expression of hoof diseases. In the second part of the
study, the role of aseptic pododermatitis, primarily laminitis, in the development of sole ulcers in
high-productive cows was studied. Hooves were investigated from culled cows with milk
productivity of 6−8 tons per year. Hooves without signs of deformation (controls) were
compared with hooves with clinical signs of laminitis (deformed horn, bout-like wall, distinct
horizontal grooves, filled sole) and hooves with sole ulcers. Radiographs, and clinical and
macropathological data, indicated that sole ulcers were the direct consequence of the different
forms of laminitis. The main factor contributing to the pathogenetical mechanism of sole ulcers
in high-producing cows was disposition of the third phalanx bone, accompanied by compression
of the sole derma. The probability of sole ulcer development greatly increased with development
of hoof bone exostoses. There was a large difference between controls and the other two groups
(Chi-square = 71.1, 8 df, P < 0.001). Groups 2 and 3 did not differ significantly (Chi-square =
13.68, 8 df, P = 0.09). These findings indicate that cows with deformed hooves but without sole
ulcers had similar symptoms to those with sole ulcers, suggesting that cows with deformed
24
hooves are likely to develop sole ulcers. Pathology of sole horn and white line horn were
diagnosed in 22.2%−70.6% of cases, which may be indicative of acute and/or subacute forms of
laminitis. Further study is needed to discover the influence of cow behavior on claw suspensory
apparatus dysfunction. The results confirm the importance of reduced resting time for the
development of foot diseases in cattle.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Space utilisation of sows housed in free access stalls
Fiona C. Rioja-Lang*, Stephanie M. Hayne, Vanessa Heron, Harold W. Gonyou
Prairie Swine Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
With announcements by the largest producer/packers in the USA and Canada that they will
transition all of their production facilities to group housing for sows over the next ten years, all
North American producers are anticipating change. This study investigates the implementation of
walk-in/lock-in stalls for group housed sows. The objectives were to compare two pen
configurations and to determine the number, size and parity of sows that use the free space, and
how they utilize the space. Eight groups of 25 sows (± 3; mean ± SD) were housed in walk-
in/lock-in stall gestation pens at the Prairie Swine Centre, Saskatoon. The first pen configuration
is referred to as the ‗I-pen‘ as it consisted of an alley (3.0m x 10.7m) with slatted flooring
running between two lanes of stalls. The second configuration is referred to as the ‗T-pen‘ as it
was similar to the previous configuration with an additional solid floor loafing area at one end
(3.8m x 7.1m). Pigs were marked and photographs taken every 2min for 24h once a week, for 11
weeks through gestation. Observations included the percentage of time outside the stall, and the
location and position of sows in the free space areas. The majority of sows did use the free space
although not regularly or for extended periods. Older, heavier sows used the free space area
significantly more than younger, smaller sows (P<0.0001). Although many sows did use the free
space, it was at a much lower level than expected. This could be due to lower ranking animals
feeling threatened, or larger sows utilizing the free space due to crowding in stalls. Future
research will involve methods for encouraging sows into the free space, including improved
comfort with rubber mats, providing environmental enrichment, or providing access to the free
area in different social groupings.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Cognition Use of an automatic milk feeder in training calves in cognitive tasks – A proof of concept
Alisson Martendal1*
, Maria J. Hötzel1, Roberta Sommavilla
1, Marina Von Keyserlingk
2, Daniel
M.Weary2
1Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil;
2University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Animals that are in a negative emotional state (i.e., depressed or anxious) are more likely to
show a ‗pessimistic‘ response to a novel stimulus. In contrast, animals in a positive emotional
state will over-estimate their probability of success, and will respond in a more ‗optimistic‘ way.
Much recent research has attempted to use this finding to assess the welfare of animals, but this
has required specialized equipment and considerable time investment in training and testing
25
individual animals. Farm animals are increasingly fed using automated systems that could, in
principle, be used in cognitive bias testing by letting the animals learn to discriminate between
cues every time they visit the feeder. The aim of this project was to provide a proof of concept,
training calves to discriminate among sound cues using a robotic calf feeder. Six group-housed
Holstein heifer calves were trained to distinguish between a ‗positive‘ tone that predicted the
delivery of milk, and a ‗negative‘ tone that predicted a time out (with no reward). Calves had
free access to the milk feeder, and received their entire daily milk intake from the feeder. Calves
averaged more than 50 feeder visits per day, and in each case were randomly assigned to positive
or negative tones. After two weeks of training, four animals were performing above chance
(mean ± S.D. 64.4 ± 3.2% correct), but two other animals failed to acquire the discrimination.
Learning performance may have been slowed by some calves developing alternate strategies,
including displacing successful calves from the feeder at the point of milk delivery. In
conclusion, the use of automated feeders shows promise as a method of training animals in
simple discrimination tasks. This approach should be useful in testing on cognitive bias and may
facilitate a range of further research on cognition in farm animals. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
Effects of early rearing environment on learning ability and behavior in laying hens
Hannah M. Morris 1, Candace C. Croney
2*, Ruth C. Newberry
3
1Department of Animal Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
2Department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH,
USA 3Center for the Study of Animal Well-being, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
The effects of enriching laying hens‘ rearing environments on their learning ability and behavior
were investigated. One hundred and seventeen day-old ISA brown layer chicks were housed in
groups of 20 and randomly assigned to enriched or unenriched open floor pens. Enriched rooms
contained decorative streamers suspended from the ceiling, classical music, nutritional
enrichment consisting of mealworms, plants, and hay, and daily human contact. Human approach
tests were conducted with a familiar human at 2, 4, and 6 weeks of age and with novel humans at
8, 10 and 11 weeks of age. At week 13, a foraging test was conducted to investigate the birds‘
spatial navigation abilities. Hen productivity was also observed. Bird weights, egg numbers,
weights, and locations were recorded for 13 weeks following onset of lay at 17 weeks of age.
Inter-bird aggression was recorded during the laying period and feather scores were taken at the
end of the study. Enriched birds were less fearful of familiar and novel humans, and foraged
more efficiently, locating more food patches and demonstrating more vertical investigations than
the unenriched birds (all P=0.05). No differences were found between enriched and unenriched
birds in regards to egg numbers, egg weights, or the number of eggs laid on the floor. Enriched
birds broke more eggs than unenriched birds (P=0.05), but they also utilized their nest boxes
more fully, laying more eggs in the top nest tiers than unenriched birds (P=0.05). Additionally,
enriched hens weighed more than the unenriched birds (P=0.005) and had better feather
condition (P<0.0001). Overall, the results suggest that enrichment improved some aspects of hen
behavior and performance, such as fear of humans, injurious feather pecking, foraging efficiency
and ability to locate and use resources in the vertical plane as well as bird weight. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
26
Social Behavior II Effects of early serotonin programming on fear response, memory and aggression
Rachel L. Dennis*, Don C. Lay, Heng Wei Cheng
Livestock Behavior Research Unit, USDA-ARS, West Lafayette, IN, USA
The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) also acts as a neurogenic compound in the developing
brain. Early administration of a 5-HT agonist could alter development of serotonergic circuitry,
altering behaviors mediated by 5-HT signaling, including memory, fear and aggression. This
study was designed to investigate the effects of early serotonin agonism on later behaviors.
White leghorn chicks were injected with 5-MT (serotonin agonist) at 2.5mg/kg (low dose),
10mg/kg (high dose) or saline (control) on the day of hatch and a second dose 24 h later
(n=12/trt). Chicks were tested for fear response and memory at 2 weeks of age, and
aggressiveness at 10 weeks. ANOVA was used to determine means and significance. Chicks
were subjected to a social isolation fear test for 20 minutes, time to first vocalization and
numbers of vocalizations were recorded. High and low dose chicks had shorter latency to first
vocalization and a greater number of vocalizations compared with control chicks (P<0.10 and
P<0.05, respectively). In a memory test, chicks were placed in a running wheel and presented
with an imprinted object (white box with a red light) and a similar shaped novel object (blue box
with a white light), respectively. The distance traveled in the wheel toward each object was
measured. Chicks from all groups traveled a similar distance toward a familiar object. However,
control chicks walked the least toward a novel object, low dose chicks tended to walk further
(P<0.10), and high dose chicks walked significantly further for a novel object (P<0.05). In
aggression tests both high and low dose roosters exhibited greater frequency of aggressive
behaviors (P<0.05) compared to controls. No difference was found between treatments in a tonic
immobility test of fearfulness (P>0.05). Our data show that later behaviors including fear,
memory and aggression can be altered by early alteration of the 5-HT system. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Dopamine and behavior of laying hen cannibals, victims and bystanders
Catherine Ulibarri*, Sylvie Cloutier, Ruth C. Newberry
Center for the Study of Animal Well-being, Program in Neuroscience, Department of Animal
Sciences and Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and
Physiology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
At the onset of lay, hens display an increase in cannibalistic behaviour which may result from
highly motivated seeking behavior generated by nest-seeking and food-seeking concurrently
being expressed. In general, these appetitive behaviors are regulated by the dopaminergic
systems in the central nervous system. We hypothesized that seeking behaviors, and therefore
cannibalistic behavior, are elevated in hens as a result of reduced dopamine (DA) release in the
brain. To test this hypothesis, we collected brain tissue from mature hens that had a history of
cannibalistic behavior and were actively engaged in cannibalistic behavior at the time of
sampling (n = 18) and from mature hens that had a history of being targets of cannibalism and
were being attacked at the time of sampling (n = 21). Tissue was also collected from hens that
were primarily spectators (n = 37). Samples of: 1) cerebellum, 2) nucleus accumbens, 3)
striatum, 4) substantia nigra and 5) ventral tegmental area, were homogenized and assayed by
27
HPLC for levels of DA and one of its metabolites, homovanillinic acid (HVA). Overall, DA and
HVA levels were significantly lower in hens that displayed cannibalistic behavior than in hens
that were victims of cannibalistic behavior [F(1,37) = 4586, p < 0.001] Levels of DA and HVA
were significantly lower in nucleus accumbens, striatum, substantia nigra and ventral tegmental
area of hens that demonstrated repeated cannibalistic behavior as compared to hens that were
receiving the cannibalistic attacks. There were no significant differences in either DA or HVA
within the cerebellum, Hens that were spectators had highly variable levels of dopamine in all
areas except the cerebellum. These data suggest that hens that show cannibalistic behavior have
seeking behavior that does not produce sufficiently high DA levels to reach a reward state and a
trigger a decrease of seeking behavior. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
28
ABSTRACTS OF POSTERS
29
GROUP A
A1: Antipredator behavior changes between wild-type and hatchery-derived rainbow trout
clonal lines
Kris A. Christensen 1,3*
, Gary H. Thorgaard 2,3
1 School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA;
2 School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA;
3 Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Antipredator behavior was studied in order to understand how genetic alterations of behavior can
occur and how they may affect survival rates. Selective regimes imposed by hatcheries likely
cause genetic alterations in salmonids raised in them. These alterations have negative effects on
survival once hatchery fish are released into wild environments and could potentially impact
wild fish populations through introgression. A novel program for quantitative analysis of
behavior was developed and used to analyze behavior of juveniles from two rainbow trout clonal
lines that was recorded with video tracking software. Preliminary data suggests that a hatchery-
derived clonal line of rainbow trout (n=10) moves more often in a new environment than a wild-
type clonal line (n=10) when analyzed with one-way ANOVA (p=0.01). *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
A2: Does nursing a calf reduce periparturient stress?
Élisabeth Carbonneau1*
, Brian Talbot1, Pierre Lacasse
2, Anne Marie De Passillé
3, Elsa Vasseur
3,
Jeff Rushen3,
1Faculty of science, Biology Department, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada;
2AAFC-Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre, STN Lennoxville, Sherbrooke, QC,
Canada; 3Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC, Canada
During the periparturient period, cows are in negative energy balance and must mobilize body
reserves to balance the energy deficit between food intake and milk production. Many
physiological functions are compromised, leading to increases in health problems. To reduce the
metabolic pressure on the cow after calving, we examined how nursing a calf or partial milking
during the first 5 days postpartum could improve the metabolic status of the cow. We will use 45
cows in 3 treatments, balanced for parity and milk production. Control cows are milked
completely twice a day, Suckled cows are suckled by the calf until day 5 after calving and
Partially Milked cows are partially milked twice a day until day 5 after calving. All cows are
kept in calving pen for 7 days after calving. At this time, 21 cows have calved. Suckled (n=7,
X=40.95 kg) and Partially Milked (n=7, X=41.45 kg) cows ate more than Control cows (n=7,
X=36.66 kg) from day 0 to day 7. Control cows (n=7, X=43L ± 5.67) produced more milk
(P=0.02) than Suckled cows (n=7, X= 30.83L ± 11.50) on day 6. On day 7, Control cows (n=7,
X=42.90L ± 8.24) produced more milk (P=0.02) than Suckled cows (n=7, X=28.83L ± 10.09).
Control cows (n=7, X=43L ± 5.67) produced more milk (P=0.09) than Partially Milked cows
(n=7, X=39.86 ± 8.47) on day 6. All cows lost weight between day 2 and day 28 after calving.
Calves (7 calves) left with the dam lost weight (5 calves) on days 1 and 2 because they need help
to find teats. The periparturient period is marked by reduced feed intake and nursing a calf may
provide some benefits in increasing feed intake. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
30
Student competition
A3: Behavioral indicators of stress in captive wolves (Canis lupus)
Carly Levell, Paul Verrell*
School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Concern is growing over the welfare of threatened/endangered animals in captive breeding
programs. Stress resulting from visitation by humans (beneficial in terms of public education
and often necessary to provide income) may negatively impact the health and breeding success
of individuals. We tested the hypothesis that visitation by humans induces stress across the
tourist season (June to August) for wolves (Canis lupus) housed in a captive breeding facility in
western Washington. We used a scan-sampling protocol to compare behavioral indicators of
stress that reflect fearfulness, alertness and stereotypy between two groups of wolves, one on-
show to the public (N = 14) and the other not (N = 14). Across the tourist season, the amount of
time spent hiding-plus-pacing (a composite indicator of fearfulness and stereotypy) was
significantly higher in wolves that were on-show to the public (mean score = 12.71) compared to
those that were off-show (mean score = 5.24, Mann-Whitney U test, U = 20.0, P = 0.0002).
Visual inspection of data for individual wolves indicates considerable variation in the magnitude
of the scores we obtained, and in ways that were unpredictable over time. Such variation might
be expected if individuals differ in the coping strategies they adopt in response to stressful
stimuli. Our data support the hypothesis that visitation by humans is stressful to captive wolves,
and that behavioral assays are effective in detecting relative stress levels in these animals. In
addition, our data provide justification for the development of better management practices for
captive animals that are exhibited to the public. Future research should test whether visitation-
induced stress can be reduced by either environmental enrichment and/or viewing through one-
way glass.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
A4: Seeing through the fog: using social network drawing programs to visualize complex
group structures
Stephanie S.Robles1*
, Maja M.Makagon2, Joy A.Mench
2
1 Animal Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;
2 Animal Behavior Graduate Group and Department of Animal Science, University of California,
Davis, CA, USA
Group social structures have been analyzed in numerous gregarious species, and are often
complex and non-linear. Social network drawing programs can be used to easily visualize
complicated group dynamics. These programs have been regularly applied by sociologists,
primatologists and behavioral ecologists. However, their use in applied behavioral studies on
other animals has been minimal. Network visualization programs represent social relationships
with graphs. These graphs depict individuals as nodes or points, and relationships between the
individuals as lines connecting the nodes. Directionality and strength of the relationships can be
indicated by altering characteristics of the lines. Supplementary information about the
individuals can be graphically represented by changing node shape, color, or size. Altering a
node‘s characteristics can visually indicate how node attributes are associated to the relational
qualities of that node. For example, an individual‘s dominance rank may be related to the
number of relationships it has with other group members. Nodes that are more closely related to
31
each other than to other nodes within the group are considered to be sub-groups. Sub-groups can
be recognized through the visualization programs. Other nodes of importance are ones that link
the sub-groups together, which if removed could cause the connection between sub-groups to
disappear. These nodes are called cutpoints, and can be highlighted by the program. An example
of the utility of social network visualization programs such as NetDraw will be shown using
Pekin duck hierarchy data. Results obtained through this visualization technique may shed light
on otherwise complex social structures. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
A5: The effect of male odor on agonistic behavior in female New Zealand White rabbits
Annie Valuska*, Joy A. Mench
Animal Behavior Graduate Group and Animal Science Department, University of California,
Davis, Davis, CA, USA
Social housing has been shown to be beneficial in improving the welfare of laboratory rabbits.
However, it can be difficult to pair adult rabbits because they are extremely aggressive towards
one another during pairing attempts. Given the role of scent in establishing and maintaining wild
rabbit social relationships, it may be a useful tool for reducing aggression and promoting social
bonding in laboratory rabbits. The potential for facilitating pairing of unfamiliar female rabbits
by marking them with male urine was evaluated. Five unique pairings were formed using four
adult female rabbits. Each pair was tested twice: once in the "unscented" condition and once in
the "scented" condition, which involved the application of three mL of male urine to their
foreheads three times (once per day, beginning two days before the trial). Testing involved a
one-hour trial during which the rabbits were placed in an apparatus, separated by a vertical PVC
barrier that allowed some contact but prevented injurious aggression. Affiliative (sniffing and
allogrooming) and aggressive interactions (biting and threatening) were recorded. Data were
analyzed using paired t-tests. As predicted, pairs scented with male urine engaged in more
affiliative behavior (mean±SE, 24.3±9.8) than unscented pairs (10.2±11.4, t = 3.1, p = 0.03). In
addition, the percentage of total interactions that were aggressive was lower in the scented
(23.6±14.7%) than the unscented pairs (55.2±28.5%, t = 3.3, p = 0.03). In conclusion, application
of male urine significantly increased the amount of affiliative behavior and reduced the
percentage of total interactions that were aggressive between adult female rabbits; future work
will be conducted on the effect of scent application on long-term bonding and social behavior. If
application of male urine can facilitate pair housing in the laboratory environment, it will be an
important tool to improve the welfare of laboratory rabbits.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
A6: Neurobiology and aggressive behavior in domesticated and wild rainbow trout
Janet M. Campbell*, Gary H. Thorgaard
School of Biological Sciences and Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA
We are investigating several neurobiological questions that will help elucidate mechanisms
underlying changes in behavior associated with the domestication process in the rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss). The first question is: what is the relationship between brain morphology,
32
aggressive behavior and domestication in rainbow trout? Six male rainbow trout clonal lines
with varying degrees of domestication will be raised in a barren, hatchery style environment.
Baseline measurements of 5 brain regions (i.e. telencephalon, olfactory bulb, optic tectum,
hypothalamus and cerebellum), from 30 individuals per line, will be taken using an ellipsoid
model with length, width and height as inputs. Initial preliminary results for total brain mass vs.
body size in three lines (one wild-Whalerock (WR), two domesticated- Arlee (AR) and Golden
(GD)) are presented {(n=7)unpaired t-test- ARxWR (P=0.0185), ARxGD(P=0.0001),
WRxGD(P=0.0001)}{(ANOVA between all three (P=0.0001)}. A mirror aggression protocol
will be used to identify aggression responses. Initial preliminary results for two lines (one wild
(WR), one domestic (AR)) are presented {(n=7) unpaired t-test -AR-WR escape behavior
(P=0.0001), AR-WR yawning aggressive displays (P=0.0001)}. Our hypotheses predict that the
wilder lines will have larger relative brain measurements while the more-domesticated lines will
show more aggression. Our second question is: how do the concentrations of the major brain
neurotransmitters (serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and norephinephrine (NE)) differ among
clonal lines raised in different environments? We hypothesize that enriched environments will
result in changes in all lines. Our third question will examine the genetic and epigenetic
components that might be underlying any morphological or chemical brain changes
seen. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping of differences between lines and DNA methylation
studies will be used to address this question. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
A7: Human attitudes about personality of domestic cats
Mikel Delgado1*
, Jacqueline Munera2, Gretchen Reevy
1
1California State University East Bay, CA, USA;
2New College of Florida, FL, USA
Millions of cats enter shelters every year, with far fewer cats than dogs reclaimed by owners.
Factors predicting a cat‘s adoptability include age, sex, and coat color while personality is the
main reason reported for adopter satisfaction. Anecdotally, it appears that many people believe
that differently colored cats have distinct personalities. Certain colors of cats may take longer to
get adopted from animal shelters and one study showed that black cats were least likely to be
adopted of all cats. We conducted an anonymous, online survey with a 7-point Likert scale
assessing attitudes about both positive and negative aspects of five personality traits (tolerance,
friendliness, trainability, calmness and shyness) of five colors of cats (orange, tri-colored, white,
black and bi-colored). One hundred and eighty nine people completed the survey. Friedman non-
parametric tests indicate significant differences in how people perceive the personality traits of
differently colored cats. Participants were more likely to attribute positive traits such as
friendliness to orange cats ( , and negative traits such as aloofness
( ) and intolerance ( to white and tri-colored cats.
White cats were seen as less active ( and more shy
( than other colors of cats. No significant differences were found for
stubbornness or trainability. We anticipate our findings will be relevant to those who work in
animal rescue, and could impact how shelters promote differently colored cats. The discrepancies
in how people perceive the traits of domestic cats based on fur color justify further research into
the connection between genes and behavior. Finally, our results point to a need for education of
the public in regards to cat personality traits and the human-animal bond.
33
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
A8: Effects of previous housing in large groups on behavior of growing pigs at mixing
Lihua Wang1*
, Yuzhi Li
University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center, Morris, MN, USA 1Current address: Qingdao Agricultural University College of Animal Science and Technology,
Qingdao, Shandong Province, China.
A study was conducted to investigate effects of previous housing in large groups on behavior of
growing pigs at mixing. A total of 216 pigs with each 108 derived from large or small groups
were used. Pigs from large groups mingled in groups of 80 pigs at 10 d old in a group-farrowing
barn. Pigs from small groups originated from a conventional nursery barn with 9 pigs per pen.
At 8 wk old, pigs (23 ±3.4 kg) were allocated to 24 pens of 9 pigs (5 males and 4 females), with
each 12 pens derived from small or large groups. The familiarity among pigs within a pen was
same (9 familiar dyads and 18 unfamiliar dyads) between the two groups. Behavior in 6 pens of
each group was video-recorded for 24 hr immediately after mixing. The image was viewed
continuously during the initial 2 hr to record frequency and duration of aggressive interactions
among the pigs. Time spent on lying, standing, eating, and drinking was estimated by scan
sampling at 5 min intervals for the whole 24 hr period. Data were analyzed by using the
Glimmix Procedure of SAS. Compared with pigs from small groups, pigs derived from large
groups were less aggressive (duration of fighting=281 vs. 1941 sec/2hr/pig, SE= 174.7; P <0.001;
number of fights = 14.7 vs. 40.7 fight/2hr/pig, SE=7.64; P = 0.04), spent more time lying (82.9%
vs. 78.6%, SE=0.95; P < 0.01), and less time standing (7.1% vs. 9.0%, SE=0.59; P = 0.02) and
eating (8.7 vs. 10.9 %, SE = 0.52; P < 0.01) on the mixing day. The results indicate that pigs
derived from large groups were tolerant to unfamiliar pigs when mixed in small groups. The
tolerance of these pigs would alleviate aggression and its associated stress at mixing.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
A9: Piglets call for mother’s attention
Paolo Iacobucci1,2
Valentina Colonnello1,2
, Ruth C. Newberry1
1Center for the Study of Animal Well-being, Department of Animal Sciences and Department of
Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA, USA; 2University of Rome Sapienza, Faculty of Psychology, Rome, Italy
We investigated the strength of filial attachment in the domestic pig, a precocial species selected
for high reproductive output under conditions of early weaning. On post-natal day 18, pairs of
piglets from eight litters were either Weaned or left with their mother (Unweaned). After 48 h,
piglet vocal responses were investigated in a three-stage test in an apparatus comprising a small
pen and adjacent corridor separated by a metal grid: (1) Isolation, piglets were placed
individually in the pen for 5 min, (2) Restricted Reunion, the mother sow was introduced into the
corridor and the piglet and sow were able to interact through the grid for 5 min, and (3) Full
Reunion, the piglet was moved from the pen into the corridor where sow and piglet were able to
interact freely for 3 min. Data were analyzed using Repeated measures ANOVA followed by
post-hoc analyses. Litter was treated as unit of analysis. No differences in call rate were detected
between Weaned and Unweaned littermates at any stage of the test [Treatment x Session: F1,7=
34
1.292 p=0.3], indicating that the filial attachment bond was not disrupted by two days of
separation. Both groups of piglets called at a higher rate during Restricted Reunion than during
Isolation or Full Reunion [F1,7= 71.8 p<0.0001; Restricted reunion session (31.3±2.2)> Isolation
(19.1 ± 2.2) and Full Reunion (6.6±1), p<0.01], and at a higher rate when their mother was in
close proximity than further away during the Restricted Reunion [Proximity of mother: F1,7=
12.646 p= 0.009, close to mother 48.3 ± 4.4; far from the mother 26.8 ± 2.9]. Modulation of
piglet vocalization rate by accessibility and proximity of the mother robustly indicates that
infants of this species cry for their mother‘s attention, even after 48 h of separation. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
GROUP B
B1: Astroturf as a dustbathing substrate for laying hens
Gina M. Alvino*, Gregory S. Archer, Joy A. Mench
Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
During dustbathing, birds distribute a friable substrate through their feathers to maintain healthy
condition. Furnished cages for laying hens contain an Astroturf (AT) scratch pad, which may be
sprinkled with feed to promote foraging and dustbathing. We evaluated behavior of hens exposed
to AT or AT plus feed to determine if these substrates stimulate dustbathing. Commercial laying
hens (N = 30) without prior exposure to substrate were housed singly in 91.4cm x 45.7cm x
45.7cm cages at 34 weeks of age. Groups of 10 hens were randomly provided with either sand
(control); an AT pad; or an AT pad with 200g of laying hen feed (ATF) daily. After hens had
substrates for 17 days, behavior was recorded from 0600 – 2200 hours. Data were analyzed using
Kruskal-Wallis and Dwass-Steel-Critchlow-Fligner non-parametric tests. There were significant
differences in total number of dustbathing bouts (H2 = 8.21, P = 0.017), with control hens
performing fewer bouts (mean = 3) than AT (13); ATF were intermediate (6). Proportion of
bouts performed on substrate (H2 = 13.94; P = 0.001) and wire floor (H2 = 12.68; P = 0.0018)
differed, with control hens that dustbathed performing a higher proportion in substrate (1.0) and
a lower proportion on wire (0) than both AT (0.13; 0.87) and ATF (0; 1.0). There were also
differences in total time dustbathing on wire (H2 = 12.32, P = 0.002) and substrate (H2 = 9.32, P=
0.010), with control hens dustbathing for less time on wire (mean = 0 min) than both AT (26)
and ATF (28) and significantly more time on substrate (19) than ATF (0). These findings must
be confirmed with additional observations, but suggest that AT does not provide an adequate
substrate even with feed, since hens with AT dustbathe mainly on the wire floor rather than AT. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
B2: Impact of misting on activity budgets of captive orange-winged Amazon parrots
(Amazona amazonica)
Shannon M. Murphy*, James R. Millam
Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Orange-winged Amazon parrots (OWAs) are distributed throughout tropical South America in
several kinds of lowland forests, from rainforests to seasonal woodlands with annual drought. In
captivity, rainfall can be simulated by misters positioned above birds‘ cages. Anecdotally,
35
misting induces preening in many captive parrot species and in OWAs elicits a typical bathing
posture: hanging upside down, with wings spread. The purpose of our research is to assess the
impact of misting-induced maintenance behaviors on the activity budgets of OWAs. Exp. 1 will
employ constant observation in three 2-hour blocks (morning, midday and evening of 12:12
photoperiod) to characterize baseline maintenance behaviors (i.e., preening and bathing) in non-
misted parrots (N=12) and also to estimate requirements for focal/scan sampling to efficiently
characterize these maintenance behaviors in subsequent experiments. Null hypotheses are that
these behaviors are not diurnally patterned and show no relation to feeding/drinking. Preliminary
data show non-significant midday increases (ANOVA, N=6, P=0.08, F=3.68) and decreases
(P=0.15, F=3.68) in total duration of preening and eating, respectively, compared to mornings
and evenings. Exp. 2 will impose a misting-simulated rainfall on OWAs representative of
seasonal rain patterns in their presumed native locality (Guyana). Observational techniques
justified by Exp. 1 will be employed before, during and after a misting event. Dependent
variables will include maintenance behaviors. Null hypotheses are that misting is unrelated to
amount or temporal occurrence of maintenance behaviors. Preliminary data shows that misting
induces bathing posture (N=12) upon first exposure. Exp. 3 will determine if there is a refractory
period to misting-induced maintenance behaviors by testing at monthly, weekly, daily, 2X daily
and 3X daily intervals. Exp 4 will determine whether length of misting events correlate with
amount of maintenance behaviors. Null hypotheses in Exp. 3 and 4 are that an identical amount
of maintenance behavior is elicited by each misting event. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
B3: Dairy calves prefer dry bedding
Tatiane V. Camiloti1*,
Jose A. Fregonesi1, Daniel M. Weary
2, Marina von Keyserglink
2
1Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brazil;
2 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Poor bedding management, including inadequate quantities of bedding and the use of wet
bedding reduces lying time in adult cattle. No research to date has assessed the effects of bedding
management on lying behavior of dairy calves. Our aim was to determine how different levels of
moisture in sawdust bedding affect the lying behavior in dairy calves. The experiment was
conducted on 5 Holstein dairy calves, aged on average 13.4 ± 1.8 days of age and weighing on
average 51.2 ± 4.3 kg. Calves were housed in double pens (measuring 2.54 x 1.96 m/pen). One
half of each double pen was bedded with 7.5 kg of kiln-dried sawdust (90% DM); the other half
had wet bedding. The DM of the wet bedding varied from 75 to 30 % DM. Each day animals
were tested with a different treatment level, with treatments assigned to the 5 calves in a 5 x 5
Latin-square. Time-lapse video was used to record calf posture when lying down, time spent
lying down and standing and the side of the pen calves were occupying (wet or dry). Data were
analyzed using Proc Mixed (SAS 9.1), with calf specified as a random effect. Calves preferred to
lie on the dry bedding. Even when tested on the highest DM treatment calves spent over 50 % of
their time lying down on the dry side versus 22% of their time lying on the wet side; when tested
with the wettest bedding calves still spent 72% of their time lying down but all of this was on the
dry side. These results demonstrate that calves prefer dry sawdust bedding, and are able to
discriminate even relatively small differences in bedding DM. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
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B4: Newborn dairy calf milk intake and body temperature variation according to feed level
and heat supply
Elsa Vasseur 1, Anne Marie de Passillé
2,*, Jeff Rushen
2
1Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada;
2Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC, Canada
Low ambient temperature can increase calf mortality but we know little of calves‘ abilities to
thermoregulate. To better understand how newborn calves thermoregulate, we examined the
effect of an external heat source and increased feed allowance in a 2 by 2 factorial design using a
Mixed model. We housed 48 Holstein calves for 4 d after birth in individual pens with either a
heat (HL) or cool lamp (CL). Calves were fed 4 L of colostrum soon after birth (day 1) and
provided milk at HIGH (9 L/d) or LOW (4.5 L/d) level from a milk bar feeder thereafter. Body
temperature was recorded continuously using a data logger inserted into the vaginal cavity on d1-
4. Milk intake increased from d2 to d4 (P<0.0001). On d2, calves with heat supply drank
significantly (P=0.02) more milk (LS-Mean±SE, HL: 2.48±0.25 L vs. CL: 1.59±0.26 L) but no
effect of feed level or interaction between heat supply and feed level was found on milk intake.
No effect of heat supply nor feed level was found on milk intake on d3 (P>0.1). On d4, calves on
HIGH diet drank significantly (P<0.0001) more (LS-Mean±SE, HIGH: 6.47±0.32 L vs. LOW:
4.18±0.31 L) but no effect of heat supply or interaction was found on milk intake. Vaginal
temperature increased from d1 to 3 (P<0.0001). On d1-4, no effect of heat supply nor feed level
was found on vaginal temperature (Mean±SD, d1: 38.2±0.4 ˚C; d4: 38.6±0.3 ˚C). An external
source of heat seems to help newborn calves drink more milk but the effect does not persist after
2 days of age. Newborn calves up to 2-day old seem unable to consume freely from a feeder 10
% BW in milk. Assistance is required to ensure sufficient feed intake during first 2 days. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
B5: Personality dimensions and cognitive bias in Orange-winged Amazon parrots
Victoria A. Cussen*, Joy A. Mench
Animal Biology Graduate Group and Department of Animal Science, University of California,
Davis, CA, USA
Abnormal behaviors such as stereotypies are common in captive parrots, and previous work in
our parrot colony showed individual variation in parrots‘ propensity to develop stereotypies. We
hypothesize that parrots have stable personality traits that render them more or less capable of
coping with stressful environments, and that parrots with high trait anxiety are susceptible to
heightened processing and expectation of threatening stimuli (cognitive biases), which lays the
foundation for the development of stereotypy. The proposed research has three components. The
first is to develop and validate a personality assessment for Orange-winged Amazon parrots (A.
amazonica). An iterative process will be used to compile a personality inventory. The inventory
will then be used by handlers to rate personality traits. Inter-rater reliability will be analyzed and
compared to inter-rater reliability of behaviors coded from video recorded during a 24 hr period.
Measures will be repeated for each parrot over the course of one year. The second component is
to determine the effect of housing conditions on development of attention biases. Using a cross-
over design, within-parrot responses to barren and enriched housing will be assessed over 16
weeks per treatment. Attention bias will be measured as latency to respond with an operantly-
conditioned chain pull, using a modified pictorial dot-probe paradigm. Stability of attention
37
biases will be assessed by repeated testing. Correlations between personality scores and attention
biases will be calculated. Last, the relative time-course of cognitive bias and stereotypy
development will be compared. Route tracing and perch weaving in the home cage will be scored
as a proportion of total activity from video footage. Time to onset will be compared for attention
bias and stereotypy. This study is the first of its kind for this species, and the first using any
species to inter-relate stereotypies and cognitive biases. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
B6: Postural laterality in captive Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis)
Kathryn McMillan1*
, Ruth C. Newberry, Paul Verrell2
1Neuroscience Program and
2School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA, USA
Laterality is a preference for using one side of the body for completing certain behavioral tasks.
We tested for laterality of leg use in Chilean flamingos, famous for standing on one leg
(unipedality). We also tested for laterality when a flamingo rests its head on its back with the
neck flexed to one side. Leg and neck postures can be scored unambiguously, and we obtained
instantaneous scan samples for 25 birds in a captive flock at the Phoenix Zoo. Observations
were made over 44 days from May to July 2009 (between 0800 and 1400 hours). Pooling all
observations of all individuals, birds were unipedal in 14% of 1,021 observations, and rested
their heads with necks flexed to one side in 24%. We used individual birds as units of analysis
rather than non-independent pooled data; the mean number of observations per bird was 40.8
(range = 40-43). We found no significant laterality of leg use while unipedal at the population
level (11 birds used the right leg more, eight the left: P = 0.32, binomial test); at the individual
level, only one bird exhibited a significant preference (13 of 15 observations to the right: P <
0.05, chi-square test). No significant laterality of neck posture was found at the population level
(12 birds more to the right, 11 to the left: P = 0.50, binomial test); only one individual displayed
a significance preference (9 of 11 observations to the left: P < 0.05, chi-square test). Our results
provide no evidence of behavioral laterality in Chilean flamingos. One study of captive
Caribbean flamingos also failed to detect laterality of leg use, although a second did detect
laterality of neck posture. Studies of wild flocks are needed to determine whether laterality, if it
exists, may be suppressed under captive conditions. *Corresponding author: [email protected]
B7: Hen grooming as a function of louse infestation and beak condition
Giuseppe Vezzoli1*, Bradley Mullens
2, Joy Mench
1
1 Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;
2 Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
Because of its importance as an animal welfare issue, beak trimming has been the subject of
many studies. However, none of these have assessed the effects of trimming on ectoparasite
loads, even though beak-related grooming is probably an important means of removing such
parasites. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of louse infestation on the grooming
behavior of hens that were either beak trimmed (BT) or not trimmed (NBT). Hyline CV20 (W36)
hens were observed; 16 hens were used as an uninfested control and 16 were experimentally
infested with the body louse Menacanthus stramineus; 8 hens per treatment group were BT and 8
38
were NBT. The hens from each treatment group were arranged in two separate but identical
poultry houses, and were housed two per cage. At 20 weeks of age, the hens were experimentally
infested with the lice. They were then videotaped for two 20-minute sessions per day 9 weeks
later, at which time there was a high rate of infestation. The amount of time spent grooming
(preening or manipulating the feathers with the beak) and the number of grooming bouts were
measured using focal animal sampling. A two-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed a
significant main effect of treatment. Hens infested with lice groomed more than controls (Fı,
ı2=9.23, p=0.01), and also showed a trend to engage in more grooming bouts than controls. There
was also a significant interaction between trimming and treatment (Fı, ı6=11.56, p=0.004). Post
hoc tests revealed that BT infested hens groomed the most, and significantly more than the NBT
control hens (p<0.001); there was no significant difference between infested and control NBT
hens. The same trend was observed for grooming bouts. However, louse counts at 9 weeks post-
infestation were nearly three times higher in BT than NBT hens. Together, these data suggest
that beak–intact hens can better modulate their own ectoparasite populations through effective
grooming behavior. Although these results are still preliminary, they may have important
implications for hen housing systems in which beak-trimming is essential to control feather
pecking and cannibalism.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
B8: The development of ingestive and social behavior of piglet under confinement and
outdoors
Alisson Martendal1, Roberta Sommavilla
1*, Osmar A. Dalla Costa
2, Maria J. Hötzel
1
1Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil;
2EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Brazil
The objective of this study was to compare the behaviour of Landrace x Large White lactating
litters raised under two different husbandry systems. Ten litters housed in conventional maternity
crates and eleven litters individually kept in 400m2 outdoor paddocks with access to shade,
pasture and a hut, were observed every 3 days from the 6th
until the 24th
day after birth. Outdoor
piglets presented a higher frequency of ingestive behaviors (P=0.0002) and suckling (P=0.013),
spent more time drinking water (P=0.0006), and carried out more recreational behaviors
(P<0.0001). Confined piglets were more frequently observed sleeping (P=0.036) and interacting
with littermates (P=0.006), whereas total frequency of social interactions, which included contact
with non-littermates, was twice as high in outdoor litters. There was a positive correlation
between eating and drinking in both systems (P<0.01; r2=0.35), and a negative correlation
between suckling and rooting for outdoors piglets (P<0.01; r2=0.44). Among outdoor litters,
those that spent 19.76 ± 4.71% of the time away from the sow grazed more (P=0.002), interacted
more both with littermates (P=0.04) and with non-littermates (P=0.001) than those that spent less
time away from the sow (4.68 ± 2.43%). The outdoor system seems to have allowed piglets a
higher degree of independence from the mother, stimulating foraging, exploration and social
behaviors. This may help the animals to cope better with weaning distress.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Student competition
39
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The organizing committee would like to thank:
The College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary and Comparative
Anatomy, Pharmacology and Physiology, and Department of Animal Sciences for
logistical support in organizing this conference;
Dr James Ha for accepting our invitation to present the keynote lecture;
Laura Kinslow, Jeanne Jensen, Jeremy Heiss, Sheri Six, Heidi Keen, Katie
Barton, Christy Howard, Ashley Floyd, and Erik Walker for assisting with the
running of the conference;
All session chairs; all judges for the student competitions; presenters and
participants for your contributions
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