Enteric methane production and greenhouse gases balance of diets differing in concentrate in the fattening phase of a beef production system.

The purposes of this study were 1) to assess the effects of 3 high-concentrate diets on enteric CH(4) production, total tract digestibility, and rumen fermentation of beef cattle, and 2) to evaluate, by life cycle assessment, the potential effects of these feeding systems on the environment. Six bulls (age of 12.4 mo and BW of 417 kg at midexperiment) of the Blond d'Aquitaine breed were assigned to 3 dietary treatments in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design.

Effects of the forage-to-concentrate ratio of the diet on feeding behaviour in young Blond d'Aquitaine bulls.

The activities of bulls, their feeding behaviour and their ruminal pH were examined at several stages during the finishing period, according to the forage-to-concentrate ratio of their diet. Twenty-four bulls of the Blond d'Aquitaine breed (initial body weight = 326 ± 21 kg) were assigned to six balanced pens with a space allowance of 9.4 m2 per bull during the finishing period.

Voluntary intake and digestibility in horses: effect of forage quality with emphasis on individual variability.

Food intake is a key biological process in animals, as it determines the energy and nutrients available for the physiological and behavioural processes. In herbivores, the abundance, structure and quality of plant resources are known to influence intake strongly. In ruminants, as the forage quality declines, digestibility and total intake decline.

The motivation of cows to walk as thwarted by tethering.

Cows are often housed in tie-sheds for some part of the year (from 20 to 80% of adult cows in European countries). By contrast, regulations aiming at improving animal welfare generally provide for more opportunity to express behavior and so limit tethering (the European directive for sows). To inform current debate on whether cows should be tethered from an animal welfare point of view, 2 experiments were conducted to determine whether cows were motivated to walk (if their walking motivation was thwarted by tethering) and whether this frustration resulted in acute or chronic stress.

Positive attitudes of farmers and pen-group conservation reduce adverse reactions of bulls during transfer for slaughter.

Transfer to slaughter may be very stressful for cattle and negatively affect their ultimate carcass pH. A potential link between farmers' attitudes, farmers' behaviour, responses of animals to handling and carcass pH in beef bull production was questioned. Whether carcass pH depends on experiences in handling and social mixing was analysed.