Cattle

CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of farm animals in research, teaching and testing

These guidelines aim to provide information for investigators, animal care committees, facility managers and animal care staff that will assist in improving both the care given to farm animals and the manner in which experimental procedures are carried out. The...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Canadian Council on Animal Care. 2009. CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of farm animals in research, teaching and testing. Ottawa, Canada.

Dairy cows prefer shade that offers greater protection against solar radiation in summer: Shade use, behaviour, and body temperature

There is considerable evidence that shade is a valuable resource for cattle in summer, but less is known about the important design features of effective shade. The aim of this experiment was to investigate if lactating dairy cows have a...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Cattle

Citation: Sch?tz, K. E., Rogers, A. R., Cox, N. R. et al. 2009. Dairy cows prefer shade that offers greater protection against solar radiation in summer: Shade use, behaviour, and body temperature. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 116, 28-34.

Space allowances for confined livestock and their determination from allometric principles

The amount of space provided to animals governs important elements of their behaviour and, hence, is critical for their health and welfare. We review the use of allometric principles and equations to estimate the static space requirements of animals when...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: Cattle, Sheep

Citation: Pethericka, J. C., Phillips, C. J. C. 2009. Space allowances for confined livestock and their determination from allometric principles . Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117, 1-12.

From operant learning to cognitive enrichment in farm animal housing: bases and applicability

This study has its basis in recent findings by our own and other laboratories and proposes a type of rewarded operant learning that seeks the detection of discriminatory cues as a cognitive enrichment in intensive husbandry systems. This type of...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cattle, Equine, Goat, Pig

Citation: Manteuffel, G., Langbein, J., Puppe, B. 2009. From operant learning to cognitive enrichment in farm animal housing: bases and applicability. Animal Welfare 18, 87-95.

Farm Animal Welfare in Great Britain: Past, Present and Future

The Council has examined the effectiveness of British policy on farm animal welfare since 1965 and sets out a strategy that will lead to steady improvements in welfare over the next 20 years. Proposals are made for Government and commercial...

Year Published: 2009Animal Type: All/General, Bird, Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Farm Animal Welfare Council 2009. Farm Animal Welfare in Great Britain: Past, Present and Future. Farm Animal Welfare Council, London, UK.

Social behavior of young dairy calves housed with limited or full social contact with a peer

This study compared the effect of individual and pair housing and age at pair housing on the social behavior of young dairy calves. Twenty-seven pairs of calves were reared from birth until 6 wk either individually (limited social contact between...

Year Published: 2012Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Duve, L. R., Jensen, M. B. 2012. Social behavior of young dairy calves housed with limited or full social contact with a peer. Journal of Dairy Science 95(10), 5936-5945.

Effects of the early social environment on behavioral responses of dairy calves to novel events

Providing young animals the opportunity to engage in more complex social interactions is hypothesized to improve their capacity to cope with changing environments. To test the effects of the early social environment on the behavioral responses of dairy calves to...

Year Published: 2012Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: de Paula Vieira, A., Weary, D. M., de Passillé, A. M. 2012. Effects of the early social environment on behavioral responses of dairy calves to novel events. Journal of Dairy Science 95(9), 5149-5155.

Friends with benefits: Social support and its relevance for farm animal welfare

Despite growing interest in promoting positive welfare, rather than just alleviating poor welfare, potential measures of good welfare, and means to provide it, have remained elusive. In humans social support improves stress-coping abilities, health, and promotes positive psychological welfare. Therefore,...

Year Published: 2012Topics: Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Rault, J.-L. 2012. Friends with benefits: Social support and its relevance for farm animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 136(1), 1-14.

The effects of music on animal physiology, behavior and welfare

Physiological and psychological effects of listening to music have been documented in humans. The changes in physiology, cognition and brain chemistry and morphology induced by music have been studied in animal models, providing evidence that music may affect animals similarly...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General, Baboon, Bird, Capuchin, Cattle, Chicken, Chimpanzee, Fish, Fowl, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Fish, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Pig, Rat, Rodent, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Alworth, L. C., Buerkle, S. C. 2013. The effects of music on animal physiology, behavior and welfare. Lab Animal 42(2), 54-61.

Social housing improves dairy calves’ performance in two cognitive tests

Early social housing is known to benefit cognitive development in laboratory animals. Pre-weaned dairy calves are typically separated from their dam immediately after birth and housed alone, but no work to date has addressed the effect of individual housing on...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Gaillard, C., Meagher, R. K., von Keyserlingk, M. A. et al. 2014. Social housing improves dairy calves' performance in two cognitive tests. PLOS ONE 9(2), e90205.