More space
How big is a jungle fowls territory
Thailand jungle 8-32 km across
in san diego zoo - 50-75 meters across
What are the four principles that we can use to establish space requirements
Economical - space required to achieve maximum economic return
Biological - space required to achieve max productivity/health
Affective state - space required to maximize positive and minimize negative behaviours
Natural living - space required to allow animals to perform basic behaviours that they would in the wild like nesting, perching, playing
What is the function of fear? what are the responses to it
Fear is a negative emotion that is adaptive
Increased awareness/vigilance, protection from/avoidance of predation
Behavioural responses include - aggression, avoidance/escape, freezing
Behavioural test
Measures level of fear associated with humans
Handler enter the pen and remains stationary
Less fearful animals are faster to approach and make contact
What is the ideal alleviation of fear and stress
Use multiple approaches
- Environmental enrichment: reduce neophobia
- Regular human interaction/ positive handling
- Selective breeding - cull wild or fearful animals
What does space in captivity depend on
Group size
feeding system
flooring and bedding
thermal environment and ventilation
genotype/production stage
What is fear
Is an emotional response to the perception of immediate danger
Acute fear - poultry piling, claw injuries, suffocation
Chronic fear - reduced growth, feed conversion
What is the novel arena test
AKA open field test
Measure fear and exploratory behaviour in a novel arena
Animal enters the pen and is observed over a set time period
Rodents entry into the center squares indicates lack of fear
What is cortisol
Most commonly used physiological measure of welfare but results are inconsistent and hard to interpret
How are space standards decided
Outcome-based: health, injuries, mortality, productivity, physiology
Behaviour based - time budgets, rest, abnormal behaviour
Preference/ motivation - what animal choose and how hard they work for it
Allometry - scaling body dimensions to estimate static space needs
tech
What is fearfulnes
Characteristic of an individual, susceptibility to fear
What are the consequences of fear in domestic animals
Energy wastage, reduced growth
Delayed maturation
Poor reproduction
Handling stress, injury
Injury, pain, weak immunity
Increased death loss/disease susceptibility
What are other behavioural tests for measuring fear
Tonic immobility in poultry - death feigning or playing possum, parasympathetic response
Startle/freeze response - time to resume activity following startle
Eye white in cattle
Elevated plus maze
Scoring behaviour in chute
What changes the levels of cortisol?
Levels are not constant - follows diurnal rhythm
Increases in response to excitement and stress
Different effects of acute vs chronic stress
High individual variation - associated with temperament
Sampling process causes stress - affecting results
Feedback mechanism
What equation is used to estimate static space from body size
A = k x W0.67
Where W is weight
K is dependent on the country
What are the types of stress
Eustress (good) vs distress (bad)
- some stress in unavoidable - even good
- Manageable levels can increase resilence
What are the two main responses (axes) for fear and stress physiology
Sympathetic - adrenal - medullary = fight or flight: epinephrine, norepinephrine
Hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal = CRH -> ACTH -> Glucocorticoid
What are the physiological measures of fear and stress
Respiration rate
Heart rate, heart rate variability
Epinephrine, norepinephrine
ACTH, Cortisol
CPK: creatine kinase in blood - released from muscles following strain or bruising
Blood lactate - physical exertion, product of anaerobic glycolysis
Glucose in blood, Glycogen in muscle or liver
What are the types of measures for practical welfare assesment
Input based measures - measures of animal care, what is provided to the animal, how animals are handled
Outcome-based/animal based measures - measures of the state of the animal, animal responses
What is the impact of insufficient space
Reduced locomotion and exploration; more time inactive/standing
Rest disruption: shorter bouts, more interruptions, less synchrony
Increased aggression
Abnormal behaviours when space is chronically restricted
Issues - injuries/lesions, lameness, mortality, repro, growth
What is anxiety
Reaction to a potential threat
What is the novel object test
Behavioural test
Assesses fear and exploratory behaviour directed towards a novel object
Animals tested singly or in groups
Novel object is introduced into center of the pen - less fearful animals are faster to approach and make contact
What is the common dilemma with alleviation of fear and stress
Do we adapt the environment to suit the animal - low stress housing and management
Or, change the animal to suit the environment - breeding, selection, culling
Resources based - Features of the environment or practices that are good for welfare (space allowance)
Management based - procedures done on the animals, best husbandry practices