Relationship between animal-based on-farm indicators and meat inspection data in pigs.

Background: This study aimed to validate slaughterhouse indicators collected during meat inspection as an alternative to on-farm animal welfare indicators. For this purpose, the assessments of twelve on-farm and seven slaughterhouse indicators of 628 pigs from three different farms were combined into three indices, differentiated between on-farm and slaughterhouse: (1) limb health, (2) other organ health, and (3) respiratory health. At first, an assessment at animal-level using agreement parameters was carried out to ascertain whether the same welfare or health issues were identified on-farm and at slaughterhouse, taking the production period (farrowing, rearing and fattening period) and the last weeks before slaughtering into account.

Randomised Controlled Trial on Prophylaxis of Mastitis-Metritis-Agalactia Syndrome in Swine using Caulophyllum Logoplex and Lachesis Logoplex.

Background: Mastitis-metritis-agalactia (MMA) syndrome occurs in the first days post-partum and causes piglet losses mainly due to malnutrition. One possibility for prophylaxis of MMA is via homeopathy. In this veterinary study, the effectiveness of a prophylactic administration of homeopathic remedies for the prevention of the occurrence of MMA in swine was evaluated.

Measuring welfare in rearing piglets: test-retest reliability of selected animal-based indicators.

The "Welfare Quality protocols" (WQP) were developed in 2009 as objective welfare assessment tools. The WQP are based on four welfare principles: 1) "good feeding", 2) "good housing", 3) "good health", and 4) "appropriate behavior". The included WQP-indicators were developed for growing pigs and are recommended for rearing piglets, although, to the authors' knowledge, they have not been tested in this age class.

Are biters sick? Health status of tail biters in comparison to control pigs.

Background: Tail biting is a multifactorial problem. As the health status is one of the factors commonly linked to tail biting, this study focuses on the health of identified biters. 30 (obsessive) biters are compared to 30 control animals by clinical and pathological examination as well as blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples.

The Behavior of Horses Stabled in a Large Group at Essential Resources (Watering Point and Lying Halls).

Since there is a practical need, this study focused on the behavior of 51 horses kept in one large group in order to make management suggestions regarding the animal:watering point ratio and the design of lying halls. Drinking events and interactions between pairs of horses were analyzed for 18 days as well as the occupancy time of the watering point. The time period had significant effects on drinking events with visible interactions (P < .

Comparison of the Current Situation of Equine Headshaking Syndrome in France and Switzerland Based on an Online Survey.

Equine headshaking syndrome (EHS) is characterised as non-physical and involuntary movement of the horse's head and neck. Although EHS is clinically simple to diagnose, its aetiopathogenesis often remains unclear. The aim of this study was to gain an overview of signalment and therapy possibilities used in France and Switzerland.

Area and Resource Utilization of Group-Housed Horses in an Active Stable.

The aim of this study was to analyze the utilization of different stable areas of a total of 52 group-housed horses as well as their preferred stable parts and the use of resources. The study was situated in a "HIT Active Stable" in Northern Germany for a period of 227 observation days. After dividing the whole farm area in a grid of 3 × 3 m, the dataset was examined with and without the pasture area.

Overview of the Current Situation in a Sample of Headshakers and Owner Assessment of Effective Therapeutic Measures Used in Germany.

Equine headshaking syndrome is a problematic behavior that has been described in literature for more than 100 years. The signs of headshaking syndrome appear frequently and violently so that riding the horse can be dangerous. The aim of this research was to gain an overview of the underlying causes of equine headshaking syndrome to identify effective treatment options, reduce the distress of horses and, in a second step, potentially improve therapeutic possibilities for horse owners and veterinarians.

Distances Walked by Long Established and Newcomer Horses in an Open Stable System in Northern Germany.

Group housing is claimed to possibly provide horses with a species-appropriate movement possibility, and hence, better welfare. Thus, this study analyzed the daily walked distances of 51 horses held in one group in a "HIT Active Stable" (Hinrichs Innovation + Technik) in Northern Germany by using global positioning system (GPS) technology during a 7 ½-month time span. The daily walking distances of the whole group, as well as newcomers, were investigated.

Can Tail and Ear Postures Be Suitable to Capture the Affective State of Growing Pigs?

The present study examined whether tail and ear postures in fattening pigs (n = 228) housed in different environments could be suitable for assessing their affective state. In doing so, it investigated the appearance of curled-up, hanging, raised, tucked-under or wagging tails, respectively, ears directed forward, backward, mixed, and laterally. The environments included a barren and two enriched habitats that offered straw-bedded pens and soil-based rooting areas for the pigs.

"HerdGPS-Preprocessor"-A Tool to Preprocess Herd Animal GPS Data; Applied to Evaluate Contact Structures in Loose-Housing Horses.

Sensors delivering information on the position of farm animals have been widely used in precision livestock farming. Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors are already known from applications in military, private and commercial environments, and their application in animal science is increasing. However, as trade-offs between sensor cost, battery life and sensor weight have to be made, GPS based studies scheduling long data collection periods and including a high number of animals, have to deal with problems like high hardware costs and data disruption during recharging of sensors.

Feasibility and reliability of a German guideline for farm's self-monitoring in sows and piglets.

The present study's aim was to test a German guideline for farm's self-monitoring in sows and piglets for its feasibility as well as its interobserver and test-retest reliability. The study was performed between September 2016 and April 2018 on 13 farrowing farms in Northern Germany. Contrary to the guideline, the testing was not carried out by the farmers themselves but by 2 observers with experience in pigs representing common farmers.

A life cycle assessment study of dairy farms in northern Germany: The influence of performance parameters on environmental efficiency.

Recently, consumers concerns towards an environmental friendly food production are growing. The dairy sector contributes to the production of important greenhouse gases such as methane. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method enables to quantify the emissions and the use of resources throughout the entire life cycle of a product.

Tail and ear postures of growing pigs in two different housing conditions.

This study analyses tail and ear postures of growing pigs in two different housing systems throughout the growing period. On one farm, 168 undocked pigs (84: barren housing, 84: enriched housing) were observed individually at three time periods: beginning, middle and end of the growing period. By scan sampling, the tail (curled-up, raised, hanging, tucked under, wagging) and ear posture (forwards, sidewards, backwards, mixed) was noted.

Investigation of influence of growing pigs' positive affective state on behavioral and physiological parameters using structural equation modeling.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the primarily positive affective state of fattening pigs influences various behavioral and physiological parameters such as the pigs' playing behavior, way of behaving in behavioral tests, body language signals, or diameter, and astroglia cell numbers of hippocampi, salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) content, or salivary protein composition. Additionally, the suitability of the variables mentioned was examined to assess the pigs' positive affective state in practice, which still constitutes a latent variable not itself measurable. For this, a dataset including behavioral and physiological data of 60 fattening pigs from 3 different farms with different housing systems was analyzed by the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method.

Short communication: Evaluation of the sample size of individual indicators in gestating sows concerning the Welfare Quality® protocol applied to sows and piglets.

Sample sizes of welfare assessment protocols must warrant to reflect prevalences on-farm properly - regardless of farm size. Still, solely a fixed sample size was specified for the Welfare Quality® protocol for sows and piglets. The present study investigated whether animals may be assessed from only one body side as applied in the protocol and whether the pre-set sample size of 30 animals mirrors the prevalences of the animal-based indicators on-farm in the gestation unit considering different farm sizes.

Agonistic Interactions in Pigs-Comparison of Dominance Indices with Parameters Derived from Social Network Analysis in Three Age Groups.

Dominance indices are often calculated using the number of won and lost fights of each animal focusing on dyadic interactions. Social network analysis provides new insights into the establishment of stable group structures going beyond the dyadic approach. Thus, it was investigated whether centrality parameters describing the importance of each animal for the network are able to capture the rank order calculated by dominance indices.

Social network analysis in pigs: impacts of significant dyads on general network and centrality parameters.

In general, one animal is considered dominant over another animal if it has won more fights than its opponent. Whether this difference in won and lost fights is significant is neglected in most studies. Thus, the present study evaluates the impact of two different calculation methods for dyadic interactions with a significant asymmetric outcome on the results of social network analysis regarding agonistic interactions of pigs in three different mixing events (weaned piglets, fattening pigs and gilts).

Test-Retest Reliability of the 'Welfare Quality Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Sows and Piglets'. Part 1. Assessment of the Welfare Principle of 'Appropriate Behavior'.

The present study's aim was to assess the test-retest reliability (TRR) of the 'Welfare Quality animal welfare assessment protocol for sows and piglets' focusing on the welfare principle 'appropriate behavior'. TRR was calculated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), smallest detectable change (SDC), and limits of agreement (LoA). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for deeper analysis of the Qualitative Behavior Assessment (QBA).

Impact of Significant Dyads on Dominance Indices in Pigs.

Dominance indices are calculated by considering the differences between the number of won and lost fights. Whether these differences show a significant asymmetric outcome or not is neglected. Thus, two calculation methods for the limits of significant dyads are proposed using a sign test based on the differences in won and lost fights, considering all dyadic interactions in the pen (PEN: pen individual limits), and a sign test focusing on each individual dyad (DYAD: dyad individual limits).

Are Behavioral Tests Capable of Measuring Positive Affective States in Growing Pigs?

This study examined whether the human approach test (HAT) or novel object test (NOT), which are considered as suitable tests for assessing the level of fear or anxiety in animals, are suitable to detect a positive affective state in 297 fattening pigs from three different farms. The investigated farms consisted of a barren (farm 1, = 160) and an enriched (farm 2, = 106; farm 3, = 31) husbandry. Each pig was subjected three times to the HAT and NOT during fattening (at the start, middle, and end of fattening).

Interobserver Reliability of the Animal Welfare Indicators Welfare Assessment Protocol for Horses.

Objective tools for the assessment of animal welfare are needed. The present study analyzed the interobserver reliability of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses to further enhance knowledge concerning reliability. Therefore, two trained observers conducted 18 assessments on farm at the same time and on the same animals.

Test-retest reliability of the Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for pigs applied to sows and piglets. Part 2. Assessment of the principles good feeding, good housing, and good health1.

The present study aimed at testing the feasibility and on-farm test-retest reliability of the Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for pigs applied to sows and piglets. The study was conducted on 13 farms in Northern Germany, which were visited 5 times by the same observer, and included 2 experimental setups: first, the complete Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for sows and piglets was applied to the farms. Second, additional assessments in the gestation unit considered all sows.

An Indication of Reliability of the Two-Level Approach of the AWIN Welfare Assessment Protocol for Horses.

To enhance feasibility, the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) assessment protocol for horses consists of two levels: the first is a visual inspection of a sample of horses performed from a distance, the second a close-up inspection of all horses. The aim was to analyse whether information would be lost if only the first level were performed. In this study, 112 first and 112 second level assessments carried out on a subsequent day by one observer were compared by calculating the Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient (RS), Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Smallest Detectable Changes (SDC) and Limits of Agreements (LoA).

Reliability of the qualitative behavior assessment as included in the Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for growing pigs.

Positive emotions constitute a very important part of animal welfare. They are, however, also the most challenging elements to be objectively measured. Due to its feasibility, the qualitative behavior assessment (QBA) is included in the Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for growing pigs as the animal-based measurement tool for positive emotions.