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Einleitung: Für die Nottötung von Ferkeln am landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb steht bisher kein praktikables und kostengünstiges einstufiges Verfahren zur Verfügung. Derzeit wird am häufigsten der stumpfe Schlag auf den Kopf für nicht lebensfähige Ferkel bis fünf Kilogramm Körpergewicht zur Betäubung angewendet. Anschließend müssen die Tiere entblutet werden, um den Todeseintritt sicherzustellen. Während die Effektivität des Kopfschlages stark von den Fähigkeiten der ausführenden Person abhängt und schlecht standardisierbar ist, wird das Entbluten häufig vom Personal aus hygienischen sowie emotionalen Gründen abgelehnt. Ziele der Untersuchung: In der vorliegenden Arbeit sollte die Wirksamkeit des modifizierten penetrierenden Bolzenschusses zur kombinierten Betäubung und Tötung von Saugferkeln und Ferkeln bis 30 Kilogramm Körpergewicht untersucht werden. Zudem sollte eine geeignete Fixierung entwickelt werden und die Gründe für eine Nottötung sollten weitestmöglich erhoben werden. Tiere, Material und Methoden: Vor- und Hauptuntersuchung fanden zwischen Februar 2016 und Mai 2017 an zwei landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben statt. Im Rahmen der Voruntersuchung wurden die Modifikationen an den verwendeten Schussapparaten festgelegt sowie die Apparate an 20 toten Ferkeln mit einem Gewicht von 0,55 bis 27,00 Kilogramm erprobt. Dabei wurde der optimale Ansatz des Schussapparates durch eine anschließende pathologische Untersuchung aller geschossenen Tiere bestimmt. Es wurden außerdem zwei unterschiedliche Fixierungseinrichtungen (Kopfstütze und Netz) zur sicheren Durchführung der Betäubung und Tötung per penetrierendem Bolzenschuss entwickelt. Im Rahmen der Hauptuntersuchung wurden 198 Ferkel in sechs Versuchsgruppen (VG) mit einem Gewicht von 0,48 bis 39,00 Kilogramm getötet (VG 1: <1,30 kg; VG 2: 1,30-1,99 kg; VG 3: 2,00-4,99 kg; VG 4: 5,00-9,99 kg; VG 5: 10,00-19,99 kg; VG 6: 20,00->30,00 kg). Dafür wurden zwei penetrierende Bolzenschussapparate (turbocut Jopp GmbH, Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale) verwendet, wobei ein Apparat für Ferkel mit einem Gewicht bis fünf Kilogramm zum Einsatz kam (Gerät „Drei Puffer“, Bolzenaustrittslänge: 5,3 cm) und der andere für die schwereren Tiere (Gerät „Blitz Kerner“, Bolzenaustrittslänge: 8,3 cm). Neben einer Allgemeinuntersuchung vor der Tötung wurde direkt nach dem Schuss das klinische Bild erhoben sowie anhand von Reflexprüfungen, Zeit bis zur letzten Bewegung, bis zur finalen Pupillendilatation bzw. bis zum Sistieren des Herzschlages die Effektivität der Betäubung und der anschließende lückenlose Übergang in den Tod bestimmt. Der Tötungsvorgang wurde dazu jeweils per Videokamera (Digitale HD-Videokamera, Sony® HDR-PJ 260 VE, Tokio, Japan) dokumentiert. 16 der während der Hauptuntersuchung getöteten Ferkel mit einem Gewicht von 0,66 bis 39,00 Kilogramm wurden außerdem pathologisch untersucht. Um den Einfluss der untersuchten Variablen Gewicht, Allgemeinbefinden und Genauigkeit des Ansatzes des Schussapparates auf die Gesamtkrampfdauer sowie auf die Zeitintervalle bis zur letzten Bewegung und bis zur finalen Pupillendilatation zu bestimmen, wurde jeweils eine Kovarianzanalyse durchgeführt. Der Kruskal- Wallis-Test wurde verwendet, um die Abhängigkeit der Variablen Gesamtkrampfdauer und Zeitintervall bis zur letzten Bewegung sowie bis zur finalen Pupillendilatation von den Versuchsgruppen zu überprüfen. Ergebnisse: Die häufigsten Gründe für eine Nottötung waren Gelenkschwellungen und –entzündungen (35,4 % der Tiere). Die angestrebte Schussposition (bei Saugferkeln ca. 1-2 cm und bei größeren Ferkeln ca. 3-3,5 cm über der Augenhöhe in der Medianen; Schussrichtung dabei möglichst parallel zur Körperlängsachse in Richtung Schwanz) wurde bei knapp einem Viertel (24 %) der geschossenen Tiere nicht ganz genau erreicht, sondern es ergaben sich leichte Abweichungen. Dennoch war die erzielte Effektivität der Betäubung und Tötung mit 98,5 % sehr gut und wurde nur bei einem Tier aufgrund von Atembewegungen als nicht ausreichend bewertet. Dieses und eines der beiden Tiere mit fraglicher Betäubungseffektivität wurden nachgeschossen. Die nur bei wenigen Ferkeln zunächst tonischen und ansonsten überwiegend klonischen Krämpfe endeten bei fast allen Ferkeln (94 %) innerhalb von zwei Minuten nach dem Schuss. Sie waren bei Tieren mit stark beeinträchtigtem Allgemeinbefinden signifikant kürzer als bei solchen mit einer nur mäßigen Beeinträchtigung (p < 0,0001). Die untersuchten Einflussfaktoren erklärten jedoch nur 13 % der Variabilität der Krampfdauer. Bei den meisten Ferkeln endeten die Bewegungen und trat die finale Pupillendilatation innerhalb von vier Minuten nach dem Schuss ein. Fünf Ferkel bewegten sich länger als zehn Minuten. Bei Ansatz des Schussapparates mit Abweichungen endeten die Bewegungen später (p = 0,041) und auch die finale Pupillendilatation trat später ein (p = 0,016). Die untersuchten Einflussfaktoren erklärten jedoch nur 2 % der Variabilität der Bewegungsdauer bzw. 6 % der Variabilität der Dauer bis zur finalen Pupillendilatation. Der Herzschlag war in 63 % der Fälle bereits vier Minuten nach dem Schuss nicht mehr auskultierbar, in 2,2 % der Fälle jedoch noch länger als zehn Minuten. Das Elektrokardiogramm zeigte noch länger eine Herzaktivität an. Diese hielt bei 56 % der Ferkel mehr als zehn Minuten nach dem Schuss an. Die pathologischen Untersuchungen belegten, dass bei allen untersuchten Tieren das Stammhirn in unterschiedlichem Umfang zerstört worden war. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Untersuchung hat gezeigt, dass der modifizierte penetrierende Bolzenschuss ein praktikables und gut standardisierbares einstufiges Betäubungs- und Tötungsverfahren und damit ein sicheres Verfahren zur Nottötung von Ferkeln bis 30 Kilogramm Körpergewicht ist. Eine entsprechende Änderung der Tierschutz-Schlachtverordnung wird empfohlen. Der Schussbolzen verursacht zum einen eine Betäubung und wirkt des Weiteren tödlich durch eine Zerstörung des Stammhirns entsprechend der Wirkungsweise eines Gehirn-/Rückenmarkzerstörers. Nachteilig auf die Durchführbarkeit der Methode könnte sich die starke Krampfaktivität nach dem Schuss auswirken. Auch aufgrund des Blutverlustes aus dem Schussloch kann sie von Anwendern und Zuschauern aus ästhetischen Gründen abgelehnt werden. Im Anschluss an die Untersuchung konnte ein praxistauglicher Leitfaden für die Durchführung der Nottötung von Ferkeln bis 30 Kilogramm Lebendgewicht am landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb per Bolzenschuss als Ein-Schritt-Methode erstellt werden. / Introduction: There is currently no practical and cost-effective one-stage procedure available for the emergency killing of piglets on farm. At the moment, the percussive blow to the head is most commonly used for non-viable piglets up to five kilograms for stunning. The stunning must be followed by the bleeding of the animals to ensure their death. The effectiveness of the percussive blow to the head is heavily depending on the skills of the operator and difficult to standardize. Bleeding is often rejected by the staff for hygienic and emotional reasons. Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate the effectiveness of the modified penetrating captive bolt as a procedure for the combined stunning and killing of suckling piglets and piglets up to 30 kilograms of body weight. In addition, an appropriate fixation device should have been developed and the reasons for an emergency killing should have been investigated as far as possible. Animals, material and methods: The preliminary as well as the main investigation took place between February 2016 and May 2017 on two farms. In the course of the preliminary investigation, the modifications to the captive bolt devices were determined and the devices were tested on 20 dead piglets weighing between 0.55 and 27.00 kilograms. The optimal position for the application of the captive bolt device was determined by a subsequent pathological examination of all the animals shot. Additionally, two different fixation devices (headrest and net) were developed for the safe execution of the stunning and killing by penetrating captive bolt. As part of the main investigation, a total of 198 piglets in six groups (VG) weighing between 0.48 and 39.00 kilograms were killed (VG 1: <1.30 kg; VG 2: 1.30-1.99 kg; VG 3: 2.00-4.99 kg; VG 4: 5.00-9.99 kg; VG 5: 10.00-19.99 kg; VG 6: 20.00->30.00 kg). For this purpose, two penetrating captive bolt devices (turbocut Jopp GmbH, Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale, Germany) were used, one for piglets weighing up to five kilograms (device 'Drei Puffer', bolt exit length: 5.3 cm) and the other one for the heavier animals (device 'Blitz Kerner', bolt exit length: 8.3 cm). In addition to a general examination before killing, the clinical presentation was recorded immediately after the shot and the effectiveness of the stunning and the subsequent complete transition to death were determined on the basis of reflex tests, time until the last movement, until the final dilatation of the pupil and until the cessation of cardiac activity. The killing process was documented by a video camera (digital HD-video camera, Sony® HDR-PJ 260 VE, Tokyo, Japan). 16 of the piglets killed during the main investigation, weighing from 0.66 to 39.00 kilograms, were also examined pathologically. In order to determine the influence of the variables weight, general condition - 95 - and accuracy of the shooting position on the total convulsion duration as well as on the time intervals to the last movement and up to the final pupil dilation, analysis of covariance was performed. The Kruskal-Wallis-test was used to check the dependence of the variables total convulsion duration and time interval to the last movement as well as to the final pupil dilation on the experimental groups. Results: The swelling and the inflammation of the joints were the most frequent causes for an emergency killing (34.5% of the animals). The desired position for the application of the captive bolt gun (approx. 1-2 cm above eye level in the median for suckling piglets and approx. 3-3.5 cm above eye level in the median for larger piglets; the direction of the shot should be parallel to the body's longitudinal axis in the direction of the tail) was not exactly achieved in almost a quarter of the animals shot (24%), but slight deviations occurred. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the stunning and killing was very good with 98.5% and only one animal was evaluated as insufficient due to breathing movements. This and one of the two animals with questionable stunning effectiveness were reshot. The initially tonic cramps in only a few piglets and otherwise predominantly clonic cramps ended in almost all piglets (94%) within two minutes after the shot. They were significantly shorter in animals with severely impaired general condition than in those with only moderate impairment (p < 0.0001). However, the factors investigated explained only 13% of the variability of the total convulsion duration. For most piglets, the movements ended and the final dilatation of the pupil occurred within four minutes after the shot. Five piglets moved for more than ten minutes. When the captive bolt device was attached with deviations, the movements ended later (p = 0.041) and the final dilatation of the pupil also occurred later (p = 0.016). However, the factors investigated explained only 2% of the variability of the movement duration and 6 % of the variability of the duration until the final dilatation of the pupil. In 63% of the cases, the heartbeat could no longer be detected by stethoscope four minutes after the shot, but in 2.2% of the cases it was still longer than ten minutes. The electrocardiogram showed even longer heart activity. In 56% of the piglets this activity lasted more than ten minutes after the shot. The pathological examinations showed that the brain stem had been destroyed to varying degrees in all the animals examined. Conclusions: The investigation has shown that the modified penetrating captive bolt is a practicable and well standardizable single-stage stunning and killing procedure and thus a safe method for the emergency killing of piglets up to 30 kilograms of body weight. A corresponding amendment to the national Animal Welfare Slaughter Ordinance is recommended. The bolt leads to stunning and it also acts fatally by destroying the brainstem according to the mode of action of pithing. The strong convulsive activity after the shot could have a negative effect on the feasibility of the method. It can also be rejected by users and spectators for aesthetic reasons due to the loss of blood from the shot hole. Following the study, a practical guide for carrying out the emergency killing of piglets up to 30 kg of live weight on farm by captive bolt as a one-step method could be drawn up.

Horses are herbivores and can graze for up to 20 hours per day. It is well known that animals are motivated to perform natural behaviours and horses have, except from a physiological need to graze, a strong motivation to perform their natural feeding behaviour. This review aimed to give insight into how horses are kept, how the way they are kept affects their behaviour and welfare, if there are reasons why some horses cannot be kept on pasture, and if alternative feeding strategies can improve horse welfare by allowing horsesto perform their natural feeding behaviour. Most horses are kept in stables and are put on feeding regimes that do not resemble their natural feeding behaviour. This can lead to development of stereotypies, and when prevented from carrying out their feeding behaviour, oral stereotypies such as crib-biting can result. Horses kept free range display very few, if any, stereotypies and is therefore the best way to keep horses from a welfare approach. However, obesity and grass-related illnesses can restrict horses from being kept on pasture, thus, alternative feeding methods for stabled horses is imperative. Use of edible bedding, presenting several types of forage, providing ad libitumforage, or using slow feeders are alternative methods that could be implemented by horseowners and caretakers to improve horse welfare. Horses can however respond differently to these methods and a method that suits one horse might not be appropriate for another.

Dolphins use stereotyped, individually distinctive, frequency modulated whistles, referred to as signature whistles, in order to broadcast their identity. In this study, we trained six dolphins at Kolmården Zoo, Sweden, to be called over, either upon hearing their own signature whistle (SW) or upon hearing a biologically irrelevant ”trivial” sound (TS), with the aim to prove the Whistle caller concept. The Whistle caller concept is based on the fact that dolphins occasionally use other dolphins’ signature whistles in order to address specific group members and convene.  Our hypotheses were that (1) dolphins call-over trained using their SW would learn the behaviour faster than dolphins trained using TSs, and (2) dolphins trained with their SW would be able to discriminate between different SWs better than dolphins trained with a TS would be at discriminating between different TSs.  Three out of three dolphins were successfully call-over trained using their SW, and two out of three dolphins using their assigned TS. When discriminating between different sounds, two of the dolphins trained using their SW performed significantly better than one of the dolphins trained using a TS. However, there were large intra-group differences in the results, indicating that we cannot eliminate the possibility that these results stem from individual differences in these dolphins’ ability to learn new behaviours overall, rather than an understanding of the sounds they heard. We suggest that future studies focus on (1) male-female differences in discrimination success when applying the Whistle caller concept, (2) how the characteristics of the trivial sounds affect discrimination success, and (3) the option of calling more than one animal at a time by sending out several SWs in succession.

Feather pecking is a serious problem in laying hen husbandry, which can lead to feather damage, performance losses and economic disadvantages. In this context, feed has been identified as an important factor, whereby scientific knowledge is primarily available on the effect of ingredients but hardly on the feed structure. In this study, feed samples from feather pecking and non-feather pecking herds from production farms were analyzed for their nutrient contents and feed particle sizes. More coarser (>2.00 mm) and fewer medium and finer feed particles (≤1.60 mm) were found in the feed of the flocks affected by feather pecking. The coarser components contained lower levels of nutrients important for preventing feather pecking (e.g., methionine, sodium). The study demonstrated that a feed structure that is too coarse can be considered a risk factor for feather pecking. / Die Studie untersucht die Zusammensetzung der Futterpartikelfraktionen und deren Nährstoffgehalte in Legehennenfutter. Hierfür wurden 103 Futterproben von federpickenden (AH, n=37) und nicht-federpickenden Herden (CH, n=66) von Produktionsbetrieben mittels trockener Siebanalyse und Nährstoffanalytik untersucht. In den AH zeigten sich in der Futterstruktur im Vergleich zu den CH höhere Anteile an Partikeln >2,50 mm (MW ± STW: CH: 11,0 ± 8,5 %, AH: 24,9 ± 14,3 %) und 2,00-2,50 mm (CH: 11,2 ± 5,3 %, AH: 15,7 ± 5,7 %) bei niedrigeren Anteilen der Fraktionen 1,01-1,60 mm (CH: 22,9 ± 4,9 %, AH: 17,8 ± 5,7 %), 0,51-1,00 mm (CH: 25,5 ± 8,2 %, AH: 16,0 ± 6,8 %) und ≤0,50 mm (CH: 15,4 ± 5,0 %, AH: 11,0 ± 4,8 %) (p<0,001). Die Futter der AH (1470,8 ± 343,9 μm) wiesen dabei auch einen höheren geometrischen Durchmesser aus (GMD) im Vergleich zu den CH (1113,3 ± 225,7 μm) auf (p<0,001). Die vorgefundenen Anteile der Partikelgrößenfraktionen 1,01-1,60 mm und ≥2,50 mm lagen außerhalb des empfohlenen Referenzbereichs (p<0,001). Die Gehalte an Rohasche (CH: 130,3 ± 18,8 g/kg, AH: 115,9 ± 24,3 g/kg), Lysin (CH: 8,2 ± 1,0 g/kg, AH: 7,7 ± 1,2 g/kg), Methionin (CH: 3,4 ± 0,5 g/kg, AH: 3,2 ± 0,6 g/kg) und Natrium (CH: 1,7 ± 0,4 g/kg, AH: 1,3 ± 0,4 g/kg) waren bei den AH niedriger als in den CH (p≤0,041). Im Modell der logistischen Regression zeigten sich das Tieralter (p=0,041) und der GMD (p<0,001) als signifikante Einflussfaktoren auf das Auftreten von Federpicken. Anhand der Studie konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine zu grobe Futterstruktur als Risikofaktor für Federpicken zu betrachten ist.

This thesis employed a Historical-Critical method using rhetoric and framing theory to examine the 2008 Proposition 2: Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act campaigns. The Californians for Humane Farms (HSUS) and Californians for SAFE Food (CSF) were the respective proponent and opponent coalitions analyzed in this thesis. The analysis examined sixteen campaign artifacts that were examples of how the proposition was communicated to California's voting populous. In Conjunction with the appeals and frames, the message strategies were analyzed as to how they allowed the HSUS and CSF to effectively communicate with voters. By using rhetoric and framing 4 theory this analysis was able to distinguish which rhetorical appeals effectively supported the campaigns. The analysis showed that the HSUS was successful with their campaign because of well-executed rhetorical appeals that created a concise message about animal confinement and animal cruelty issues.

The live production sector of the poultry industry has a growing interest in robotics. Robotics have the possibility to monitor environmental conditions, assess bird welfare, and reduce labor for farm workers and owners. However, interactions of poultry with robotic systems in commercial poultry house environments is largely unknown. Therefore, the goal of this research was to assess the effect of ground and aerial robots on bird stress using avoidance distance (AD) and fleeing speed (FS) as indirect indicators. A low-cost, autonomous robot was also developed to aid in collecting data on environmental conditions in commercial broiler houses. AD and FS were measured for multiple breeds (broilers, brown hens, and white hens) at different bird ages. Poultry-robot AD was greater than poultry-human AD for both broilers and laying hens, indicating that birds tended to avoid the ground robot more than humans. However, birds did become accustomed to the ground robot as reflected by decreasing AD and FS over the trial periods. Aerial drones operated in a commercial broiler house were found to induce a larger AD and higher FS than a moveable sensor package attached to a fixed, overhead rail system. No significant difference was found in the performance of the low-cost, autonomous robot when tested on different substrates (hard tile and litter). However, some differences were found when the robot was operated at different speeds. Results from these studies have provided useful insight into the operation of ground and aerial robots in commercial poultry settings.

<p>  </p> <p>Glucocorticoids (GC) play a critical role in regulating the physiological response to stress. Disruptions to baseline levels due to stress can have negative implications on a variety of factors including growth and development, physical body conditions, metabolism, immune functions, and expression of normal behaviors, although this list is not exhaustive. When birds are unable to adapt to the stressor and return to homeostasis, the energy expenditure associated with the failed attempt at coping can lead to significant declines in the overall health, welfare, production, and performance of the bird. This can go on to impact producers and consumers as well, indicating the extensive repercussions of stress. Recently, scientists have been investigating thorough and efficient methods of quantifying stress in birds, such as measuring heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (HLR) or detecting glucocorticoid levels through enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA). However, the precise mechanism behind HLR increase during stress is unknown and ELISAs may not provide accurate results depending on when the blood is being measured. </p> <p><br></p> <p>GC are differentially released and exert their effects in a manner that is dependent on sex, age, and time. However, before investigating this, it was critical to validate the GC kits to ensure that they were measuring cortisol and corticosterone separately along with zero cross reactions with other precursors. Chapter 2 had 4 experiments carried out. The objective of experiment 1 was to validate ELISAs to ensure that they were measuring the GC accurately and separately since both cortisol and corticosterone were being measured. To do this, duck serum was pooled and charcoal-stripped to remove the presence of steroids. 3 standard curves were run to confirm that there was no cross reactivity. The objective of experiment 2 was to further validate the ELISA kits with mass spectrometry by checking for both glucocorticoids in the pooled samples. Once the validation process was complete, experiment 3 was carried out to look at the effect of ACTH stimulation on GC release. 16-week-old drakes and hens were given either intramuscular (IM) injections of cosyntropin (0.06 mg/kg) or saline as control. The cosyntropin dose was chosen according to previous studies reporting relatively high physiological responses, therefore, we wanted to replicate this. N was 10/sex/treatment. Blood was then collected at 0, 1, and 2 hours after injections and serum was analyzed by ELISAs. Lastly for experiment 4, 14-week-old developer drakes and hens at Maple Leaf Farms were assessed for a transportation stress experiment. Blood from 10 ducks/sex/time/barn were collected at 24 hours before transport to the breeder barn, immediately after a 1-hour transport, 24 hours after, and 1 week after transport. The results from experiment 1 yielded that both cortisol and corticosterone can be measured without the presence of unwanted contaminants or other products. Experiment 2 identified the greater sensitivity of mass spectrometry when reading GC levels, although the differences were linear. Experiment 3 showed that serum corticosterone levels were significantly increased at 1 hour after ACTH injections in both drakes and hens, with levels continuing to increase for the drakes. Serum cortisol levels were significantly increased at 1 hour after ACTH injections in both sexes, however, the hens had greater levels compared to the drakes. Serum cortisol levels returned to levels similar to that of saline-injected ducks at the 2-hour mark. Lastly, the transportation stress portion showed that cortisol was released at about 1/3 of corticosterone levels in both sexes. Hens showed increased levels of serum corticosterone compared to drakes at all time points except for 1 week after transport, and also had significantly increased serum cortisol levels at all time points. In conclusion, the ELISA kits were verified for future use when measuring GC as well as mass spectrometry. GC were detected in the ACTH and transportation stress experiments with hens displaying a greater sensitivity to GC release due to increased circulating levels compared to drakes. Although it was nonsignificant, there was a trend for GC to increase in response to transport. </p> <p><br></p> <p>There are sex differences in GC release and HLR for Pekin ducks and various challenges from the studies support this. With hens showing increased sensitivity to stress and drakes with more transient and gradual levels, we have consistently seen that both GC have differential roles in the stress response and not only is it critical to study both hormones, the timing of when measurements are taken are important as well to get a clear understanding of when the stress response is initiated. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Chapter 3 went further to understand the response of GC and HLR. The objective was to  investigate the release of cortisol and corticosterone in response to an ACTH dose response challenge. In Chapter 2, only one dose of cosyntropin was used and sample collection times only went to 2 hours after injections. In this study, 2 additional doses and an extra hour of sample collection were added to obtain more information. Pekin ducks were either given IM cosyntropin injections or saline for control, with an N of 10/sex/treatment. There were 3 treatment doses: High (0.06 mg/kg), medium (0.03 mg/kg), and low (0.015 mg/kg). All injections were given promptly at 0730 hours. Blood was collected at 0, 1, 2 and 3 hours after injections from the tibia veins to obtain serum for ELISAs. Blood smears were done to analyze HLR and sent to an independent lab to obtain values. The results indicated that both GC had significant sex x dose x time interactions. The low dose injection had no effect on corticosterone in hens with a slight increase for drakes at the first hour. The high dose for hens led to a spike in corticosterone levels at the first hour with a gradual decrease, and drakes had an increase that lasted for 2 hours until they returned to baseline at the last hour. The high dose in drakes stimulated cortisol release during the first 2 hours after injection with a similar effect in hens. However, hens had elevated levels compared to drakes. Finally, there was no dose response effect for HLR, although interestingly, the low dose injection elevated HLR even though there was no effect in GC. There were sex differences in the HLR response where the drakes given the high dose had levels that plateaued by the third hour, while the hens still had elevated levels. In conclusion, the ACTH dose-response test identified that ACTH has a dose-dependent effect in both GC and sex differences in their release. HLR also showed sex differences that did not depend on the dose given.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Chapter 4 observed acute exposure of GC in ducks. Pekin ducks were assigned 10/sex/treatment to receive either IM control, cortisol, or corticosterone injections. In addition, a low-dose cortisol treatment was given to represent the endogenous levels of cortisol compared to corticosterone. The control injections contained safflower oil, which was chosen as vehicle due to the low levels of genistein present. This is important as genistein is a plant estrogen and this could interact with the GC and alter the results. Blood was collected at 0, 1, 2, and 3 hours after injections for serum analysis with ELISAs, and blood smears were collected for complete blood count (CBC) differentials. Significant sex x treatment x time interactions were notable in both GC. Hens had significant increases at the first hour after injections in all treatments compared to controls, and drakes had increases at 2 hours after injections in all treatments except the low-dose cortisol. </p> <p><br></p> <p>After observing the effect of acute stress in ducks, the next step was to investigate the effects of chronic stress in chapter 5. Adult breeder Pekin ducks were randomly distributed into 3 groups: corticosterone, cortisol, or control treatments. The GC were in crystalline steroid form distributed through 2 capsules that were subcutaneously implanted on the backs of the neck. The ducks in the control group were given empty capsules. Blood smears, blood draws for serum, egg collection, body weights, and organ samples were collected over a period of 2 weeks. For the results, the corticosterone implants elevated corticosterone levels in both sexes. Interestingly, cortisol levels were elevated in both GC treatments in both sexes. Cortisol elevated HLR in drakes 1 day after implants with no effect from corticosterone. Hens had elevated HLR from both GC at all timepoints throughout the experiment. There were no significant differences in morphometrics in either sex. Corticosterone was not present in eggs, but cortisol was elevated in the albumen on day 7 and 14 of the experiment. Overall, there were sex differences in HLR where hens had greater levels in both GC treatments.</p>

The focus of this thesis is the application of data envelopment analysis to understand and evaluate the performance of diverse animal welfare organizations across the United States. The results include identification of the most efficient animal welfare organizations, at least among those that post statistics on their operations, and a discussion of various partnerships that may improve the performance of the more inefficient organizations. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that there are 4000 - 6000 independently-run animal shelters across the United States, with an estimated 6-8 million companion animals entering them each year. Unfortunately, more than half of these animals are euthanized. The methods shared in this research illustrate how data envelopment analysis may help shelters improve these statistics through evaluation and cooperation. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is based on the principle that the efficiency of an organization depends on its ability to transform its inputs into the desired outputs. The result of a DEA model is a single measure that summarizes the relative efficiency of each decision making unit (DMU) when compared with similar organizations. The DEA linear program defines an efficiency frontier with the most efficient animal shelters that are put into the model that "envelops" the other DMUs. Individual efficiency scores are calculated by determining how close each DMU is to reaching the frontier. The results shared in this research focus on the performance of 15 animal shelters. Lack of standardized data regarding individual animal shelter performance limited the ability to review a larger number of shelters and provide more robust results. Various programs are in place within the United States to improve the collection and availability of individual shelter performance. Specifically, the Asilomar Accords provide a strong framework for doing this and could significantly reduce euthanasia of companion animals if more shelters would adopt the practice of collecting and reporting their data in this format. It is demonstrated in this research that combining performance data with financial data within the data envelopment analysis technique can be powerful in helping shelters identify how to better deliver results. The addition of data from other organizations will make the results even more robust and useful for each shelter involved.

We hypothesized that the hoof trimming in sheep in dorsal recumbency implicates a short but intensive stress situation and that the sedation with xylazine causes a decrease in the stress response in this situation. Ten healthy female merino meat sheep were randomly divided into two groups receiving either xylazine hydrochloride (0.1 mg/kg body mass (BM) applied intramuscularly) or a placebo treatment with 0.9% NaCl. Routine hoof trimming was performed in a tilt table and vital signs (rectal temperature (RT), heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate (RR)), 33 different behavioral traits and blood cortisol concentrations were recorded throughout the experiment at six different time points (total of 55min). The procedure itself elicited a clear stress response (increase in the RR, RT, defensive movements, lip twitching, swallowing, and flight behavior). Parallelly, the blood cortisol concentrations were increased, reaching their maximum with 81.5 ng/ml in the control group when the sheep were tilted back into a standing position. In the sedated sheep, no increase in the RR and RT and a decrease in the HR were observed. In addition, the behavioral signs showed a decrease in flight, defensive, and general stress behavior (decrease in licking,movement of head and legs, and sitting on knees), complemented by the serum cortisol concentrations showing 2.28 times reduced concentration at the end of the procedure, compared to the control sheep. The results confirm our hypothesis and support the conduction of future trials investigating the feasibility and benefit of a sedation of sheep prior to routine hoof trimming under practical circumstances.