The objective of the study was to determine the avoidance-related behaviour, bleeding times and the quality of meat from sheep of different gender, breed (Dorper, Merino, and their crosses) and age groups, slaughtered at a commercial and municipal abattoir. Castrates and ewes of different age groups (1= <10months, 2= 11-12months, and 3= >12months) and breeds were used. From the commercial abattoir, 90 castrates and 110 ewes were used, while 66 castrates and 19 ewes were obtained from the municipal abattoir. Meat samples were obtained to determine meat colour, ultimate pH, temperature, cooking loss and tenderness. Correlations between bleeding times and meat quality variables were also determined. The two abattoirs differed in terms of technology and the procedures used, and this brought about different response behaviours in sheep at slaughter, bleeding times at exsanguination and the quality of meat produced. Animal-related factors (breed, gender and age classes) had no effect on the avoidance-related behaviour of sheep slaughtered at the commercial abattoir, while these factors affected those sheep slaughtered at the municipal abattoir. These factors also had an effect on the quality of meat produced at both abattoirs. Gender and weight of the animals had effects on the bleeding times at exsanguination at both abattoirs. Bleeding times did no correlate with any of the meat quality variables, but correlations among meat quality variables were observed. Avoidance-related behaviour, bleeding times, and the quality of mutton from sheep slaughtered at a commercial and a municipal abattoir was affected by breed, age, and gender.

The purpose of this work is to answer the basic question, if the economics can explore the animal behaviour. At first the determination of the subject of economics is needed. It means to point out, what should economics deal with. I will come to the point of the problem of purposeful action, the problem of rationality and exchange. Consequently I will explore, if it is possible to apply this theory to animal behaviour and if such an application has a sense. I will advert to the problems, what are made by the economists in their opinions of the animal behaviour and on argumentation why the animal behaviour is not a subject of economics.

Um dos grandes pilares para o sucesso da produtividade da produção de suínos é o aumento da taxa de leitões nascidos por matriz. Porém, para que esse resultado seja satisfatório, é necessário reduzir as taxas de mortalidade de leitões ao nascimento e aumentar o ganho de peso por leitegada. Nesse sentido, deve-se priorizar o bem-estar dos animais, reduzir os custos na produção e utilizar recursos favoráveis à sustentabilidade da produção. A borracha reciclável é um excelente recurso sustentável, podendo trazer benefícios para os leitões por ser um produto resistente, que absorve impacto e apresenta consistência macia, tornando o ambiente mais confortável, bom condutor térmico e antiderrapante. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar a eficiência da cobertura do piso de escamoteadores com borracha reciclável com a utilização de dois diferentes tipos de tapete, em relação à utilização de piso convencional (piso de concreto coberto por maravalha), com o propósito de identificar a melhor adaptação dos leitões, observando o conforto térmico e consequentemente o desenvolvimento animal e aumento da produtividade. A pesquisa foi realizada no município de Mogi-Mirim/SP entre os meses de julho a agosto de 2015. Foram estabelecidos três tipos de tratamento: Tratamento 1 (T1) - piso coberto por maravalha; Tratamento 2 (T2) - piso coberto com tapete de borracha inteiriça; Tratamento 3 (T3) - piso coberto com tapete de borracha vazada, para 12 leitegadas (±50 animais/ tratamento). Os parâmetros analisados foram: comportamento e avaliação fisiológica avaliados em dias intercalados durante o experimento, em três períodos: manhã (H1 - 7:00h às 11:00h), tarde (H2 - 12:00h às 15:00h) e noite (H3 - 16:00h às 18:00h); e os índices zootécnicos e microclima das instalações avaliados diariamente. Utilizou-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado (DIC) para as análises dos dados referentes à entalpia, ITU e comportamento; e delineamento em blocos casualiazados (DBC) referente aos dados das análises fisiológicas. As médias foram analisadas pelo teste de Tukey, a 5% de significância. A análise do microclima das instalações evidenciou estresse por frio constante, caracterizado pela entalpia abaixo de 68,40, porém dentro da faixa ideal dada pelo índice de temperatura e umidade (menor ou igual a 70). Os animais dos tratamentos com piso do escamoteador coberto por tapete de borra (vazado e inteiriço) mativeram-se por maior tempo, e expressaram uma maior quantidade de comportamentos dentro do escamoteador, quando evidencianda a escolha por um local de melhor conforto, em comparação ao tratamento convencional (maravalha). A utilização do tapete (inteiriço e vazado) influenciou de forma positiva, em melhorias na produção, ao que se refere ao índice de mortalidade por esmagamento. Este trabalho abre novas possibilidades de se avaliar a utilização de tapete de borracha reciclável na produção de suínos. Inaugura possibilidades de estudo de novos designs de tapete e de local de instalação, a fim de estabelecer um produto inovador e sustentável, tornando-o uma ferramenta rentável e eficientemente econômica na produção de suínos. / One of the great pillars for the swine production productive success is the increase in the rate of piglets by sow. However, for this result to be satisfactory it is necessary to reduce the piglet death rate at birth and increase the weight gain by litter. Hence, the animal welfare must be prioritized, the production costs reduced and favorable resources to the production sustainability used. The rubber is recyclable and it is an excellent sustainable resource that can benefit the piglets since it is a resistant material capable of absorbing impact, soft, able to make the environment more comfortable, good heat conductor and non-slip. The objective of this research is to evaluate the efficiency of covering the creep ground with recyclable rubber with the utilization of two different kinds of mats in relation to conventional ground (concrete covered by shavings), aiming to identify the best piglets adaptation taking in observation the thermal comfort, the animal development and increase in productivity. The research took place in the municipality of Mogi-Mirim/SP from July to August of 2015. Three treatments were established: Treatment 1 (T1) - ground covered by shavings; Treatment 2 (T2) - ground covered by rubber mat; Treatment 3 (T3) - ground covered by leaked rubber mat, for 12 litters (+-50 animals/treatment). The analyzed parameters were: behavior and physiological evaluation every other day during the experiment, in three periods: mornings (H1 - 7:00h to 11:00h), afternoon (H2 - 12:00h to 15:00h) and evening (H3 - 16:00h to 18:00h); and the zootechnical indices and the facilities microclimate evaluated daily. It was utilized a Completely Randomized Design (DIC) for the analyses of the enthalpy data, ITU and behavior; and Randomized-Completeblocks Design (DBC) for the physiological analysis. The averages were analysed by the Tuckey\'s test at 5% significance. The facilities microclimate analysis emphasized a constant cold stress, characterized by the enthalpy below 68,40, however, it falls in the ideal range given by the humidity and temperature index (less or equal to 70). The animals from the treatments with rubber mats maintained for a longer period of time and expressed a greater quantity inside of the creep, evidencing a choice for a place of better comfort, compared to the conventional treatment (shavings). The utilization of mats influenced in a positive way in the production when it comes to mortality by crushing. This study opens up new possibilities of evaluating the utilization of recyclable rubber in swine production. Inaugurate possibilities of studying new mat designs, placing in order to establish an innovative product, sustainable, making it a rentable tool, economically efficient in the swine production.

No description available.

Play is a self-motivated seemingly non-functional behavior mainly observed in young animals. Moreover, play behaviors can be divided into three categories; social play, object play and locomotor play. The type of activity the category contains varies, as play behaviors vary between species. Play behavior is seen as an indicator of positive emotions in animals, therefore play could be an indicator of welfare. However, the relationship between play and welfare requires further studies. In this study, information was compiled from various articles about play and its relation to welfare. Above all, the study focuses on welfare and play in chickens, as studies on chickens are most lacking. Play provides several benefits regarding motor training, social cohesion and cognitive training. Livestock such as calves, piglets and lambs have all been observed playing. No play has been confirmed in chickens which is mainly due to lack of research. However, play has been observed in other bird species, including birds within the order Galliformes. Amount and type of play varies depending on the environment, which suggests that animal welfare has a great significance for play. If no play occurs, one could conclude that welfare needs to be improved. Lack of play observed in chickens could be due to poor welfare or lack of research. After all, presence of play in other bird species increases the probability that chickens also play. Results indicate that play could be used as an indicator for welfare.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Sensitization to the locomotor stimulant effects of alcohol (ethanol) is thought to be a heritable risk factor for the development of alcoholism that reflects progressive increases in the positive motivational effects of this substance. However, very little is known about the genetic influences involved in this phenomenon or the extent to which ethanol’s positive motivational effects are altered in parallel to its development. The first goal of this work was to determine the heritability of ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization in mice using short-term behavioral selection. Genetically heterogeneous C57BL/6J (B6) x DBA/2J (D2) F2 mice were generated from B6D2F1 progenitors, phenotyped for the expression of locomotor sensitization, and bred for high (HLS) and low (LLS) expression of this behavior. A secondary goal was to characterize possible line differences in ethanol’s positive motivational effects using a conditioned place preference assay. There were large and significant differences in locomotor sensitization between HLS and LLS lines by the fourth generation. Twenty-two percent of the observed line difference(s) were attributable to genes (h2=.22). However, there were no significant differences in conditioned place preference between lines despite significant line differences in ethanol-stimulated locomotion following repeated exposures. The results of this work have several implications. First, that changes in ethanol sensitivity following repeated exposures are in part genetically regulated highlights the relevance of studies aimed at determining how genes regulate susceptibility to ethanol-induced behavioral and neural adaptations. Additionally, the lack of line differences in ethanol-induced CPP, and the observation that CPP and ethanol sensitization are dissociable, suggests that 1) different genes regulate these two behaviors and 2) the utility of locomotor sensitization as a model of alterations in ethanol’s positive motivational effects is, at best, still unclear. Together these studies provide evidence that genes are capable of regulating alterations in ethanol-induced locomotor behavior but provide little support for ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization as a model for increases in ethanol’s positive subjective effects in mice.

This is a quantitative analysis of individual and sex-related variability in selected activities of captive slow lorises (Nyctivebus coucang).

Appropriate measurement of broiler behaviors is critical to optimize broiler production efficiency and improve precision management strategies. However, performance of different precision tools on measuring broiler behaviors of interest remains unclear. This dissertation systematically developed and evaluated radio frequency identification (RFID) system, image processing, and deep learning for automatically detecting and analyzing broiler behaviors. Then different behaviors (i.e., feeding, drinking, stretching, restricted feeding) of broilers under representative management practices were measured using the developed precision tools. The broilers were Ross 708 in weeks 4-8. The major findings show that the RFID system achieved high performance (over 90% accuracy) for continuously tracking feeding and drinking behaviors of individual broilers, after they were customized and modified, such as tag sensitivity test, power adjustment, radio wave shielding, and assessment of interference by add-ons. The image processing algorithms combined with a machine learning model were customized and adjusted based on the experimental conditions and finally achieved 85% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for detecting bird number at feeder and at drinkers. After adjusting labeling method and hyperparameter tuning, the faster region-based convolutional neural network (faster R-CNN) had over 86% precision, recall, specificity, and accuracy for detecting broiler stretching behaviors. In comprehensive algorithms, the faster R-CNN showed over 92% precision, recall, and F1 score for detecting feeder, eating birds, and birds around feeder. The bird trackers had a 3.2% error rate to track individual birds around feeder. The support vector machine behavior classifier achieved over 92% performance for classifying walking birds. Image processing model was also developed to detect birds that were restricted to feeder access. Broilers had different behavior responses to different sessions of a day, bird ages, environments, diets, and allocated resources. Reducing stocking density, increasing feeder space, and applying poultry-specific light spectrum and intensity were beneficial for birds to perform behaviors, such as feeding, drinking, and stretching, while using the antibiotics-free diet reduced bird feeding time. In conclusion, the developed tools are useful tools for automated broiler behavior monitoring and the measured behavior responses provide insights into precision management of welfare-oriented broiler production.

No description available.