Browsing by Subject "Artgerechte Haltung"

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Einfluss von Beschäftigungs- und Strukturelementen auf das Verhalten und das Beinskelett konventionell gehaltener Mastputen
(2010) Letzguß, Helga; Bessei, Werner
Commercial turkey production in Germany is characterized by the use of heavy strains and intensive management systems with a poor level of environment stimulation. This results in behavioral and health problems, which are not only relevant with respect to animal welfare but do result in substantial financial losses for the farmers. It is assumed that environmental enrichment could be a promising means for improving the locomotor system of turkeys and for reducing cannibalism and feather pecking. The present field study deals with the effects of environmental enrichment under commercial rearing conditions. The major focus was on deducing the impact on (i) cannibalism and featherpecking, (ii) locomotor activity, and (iii) leg conditions. In addition the acceptance and the utilization of the enrichment facilities should be determined. Based on previous work, different enrichment structures were selected. Particular attention was given to choose structures that could easily be integrated into existing stables at low costs. Moreover, the objects should not substantially increase the workload of the farmers. Raised platforms, round bales of straw, baskets filled with hay, and packs of palettes were used as enrichment objects. The latter were substituted with square bales of straw in the second experiment. The enrichment structures occupied 5.3 % of the available area of the houses. The two successive experiments, one in the warm (Durchgang 1) and one in the cold (Durchgang 2) season, were carried out using three commercial turkey houses. Heavy strains of turkeys were kept in houses with more than 4500 animals. Two houses (A1 and A2) were enriched and one house was kept as non-enriched control. Starting from the 6th week of age the animals were observed in 4 week intervals by three observers. In addition, videos were recorded during the same time and evaluated using the commercial software INTERACT (Mangold International GmbH, Arnstorf). The following areas have been observed separately: raised platforms, square bales of straw, round bales of straw, unenriched area, wired basket filled with hay, feeder area, and drinker area. The following behaviours were determined: resting, sitting, locomotion, comfort behaviour, object pecking, environment pecking, feather pecking, aggression, dust bathing, scratching, threat, cannibalism, water intake, and food intake. The duration and the number of animals performing locomotion, sitting, and standing in the individual areas were determined. At 14th weeks of age approximately 150 animals were selected at random and weighted. The conditions of the breast skin, feathering, and foot pads were scored. At slaughter, the scorings of each third breast skin and each fifth food pad were repeated. Furthermore, after slaughter, 50 tibiotaris were randomly chosen for which length, angular distal deformity, torsional deformity were identified. Based on computer tomography the following bone parameters were determined in the middle of the total area, total density, corticalis area, corticalis density and Strain Strength Index (SSI). The enrichment structures were well accepted and used by the turkeys. The structures were mainly used for resting. From the observed extended resting periods it can be concluded that on the enrichment structures the animals could better satisfy their need for resting than in the non-enriched areas. Short resting periods in the non-enriched area are mainly due to frequent disturbances caused by fellow turkeys. From the fractions of locomotion in the unenriched areas it could be shown that the enrichment structures yielded increased locomotor activity. There was no effect of the enrichment structures on animal health. A decreased torsion of the tibiotarsi from the enriched houses were determined. In order to access the raised plarforms, palettes, and square bales of straw, the turkeys in the enriched houses had to wing flap, climb, and jump. This resulted in strengthening of both the leg muscles and the bones. The turkeys used the round bales until the end of the fattening period, where as pecking at the basket filled with hay decreased gradually. The occurrences of threat, aggression, cannibalism, and featherpecking, were very low an all houses. Hence, no effect was found for the enrichment structures on these behaviors. This thesis provided proof that low-cost enrichment of the environment can be advantageous with respect to the bone health of turkeys. In addition, it was demonstrated that it is possible to increase the locomotor activity of heavy strains. Furthermore, the results indicate that even small height differences between object surface and litter level suffice to enable the creation of resting areas. It should be noted that the enrichment structures did not loose attractiveness for the turkeys throughout the complete fattening period.
Entwicklung, Implementierung und Bewertung eines IT-Systems zur Prozessdokumentation und -unterstützung in der landwirtschaftlichen Nutztierhaltung
(2010) Kuhlmann, Arne; Jungbluth, Thomas
In livestock farming, the use of automation technology is common. Automation technology is able to perform sub-processes, whereby the farmer is supported in his daily work. The data produced by this technology is usually monitored manually. The same applies to the collection of process parameters such as resource consumption and climate data. Therefore overall process monitoring and process documentation require high workload. Caused by structural change and the demand for food safety and traceability, livestock farming needs to introduce information technology. This document is dealing with the topics collection, storage, usage and exchange of data on farms and in their environment using the example of pig fattening. A stable for fattening pigs was used to analyse the conditions, requirements and implementation options for achieving the objectives process documentation and process support. Based on the conclusions drawn, a prototype was developed, that focuses on the full integration of all technical components in the stable using communication and data standards. Besides the presentation and evaluation of the system, concrete benefits for science and practice are presented using selected examples. Furthermore possibilities for improvements regarding the used technologies and standards are pointed out.
Ethologische und klinische Untersuchungen zur Käfig- und Bodenhaltung bei Mastkaninchen
(2010) Toplak, Andrej; Reiter, Klaus
The aim of this project was to evaluate the effect of different rearing systems on the basis of ethological and clinical parameters in young domestic rabbits kept for meat production. Newly developed pen housing was compared with the conventional cage-rearing. Four experiments were performed between June 2005 and July 2006 with total 1349 animals. ZIKA-hybrid rabbits were assigned into different rearing systems after weaning. The fattening period lasted eight weeks. In the cages the group size was four animals (8.3 animals/m2) and in pens 24 animals (7.8 animals/m2). In experiment A the conventional cage rearing was compared with the pen rearing on plastic perforated floor and with pen rearing with straw litter. The effect of the elevated ledges was analysed in experiment B. The influence of straw as enrichment was studied in experiment C. The possibility of separated fattening of male and female growing rabbits was tested in the experiment D. The housing had a significant effect on some important behavioural traits of the animals. The frequencies of locomotion in pens were compared with cages significantly higher. This could be due to the restricted possibility of movement in the conventional cages compared to the pens. The intensive locomotion was performed very seldom and less markedly in the cages, very likely due to the lack of space. As opposed to that, the intensive multiple hops could be observed very frequently in the pens. In the cages only modified single hops could be performed. The elevated slates had no significant effect on the frequency of locomotion. In the cages with elevated slates the frequencies of locomotion were still significantly lower compared to the pens. The results obtained by peripheral computed tomography confirmed the behavioural observations of locomotory frequences. The pQCT-parameters were higher in pen reared animals. The differences between the animals without the elevated ledges and the pen reared animals were especially significant. Particularly the strain-strength-index was bigger when it comes to the animals in the pens. The major differences were determined in the diaphysis of the analysed bones. The aggressive interactions occurred very rarely and were not intensive. The majority of aggressive interactions resulted only in minor bite wounds. By clinical examinations predominantly small scratches and small superficial bite wounds were found. No clear differences could be determined between different rearing systems. Animals can bear easily minor scratches and bite wounds without any long-term residual effects. Severe aggression and problematic wounds were observed very seldom. In experiment D the percentage of the animals with injuries was higher in pens than in cages. The percentage of the animals with lesions was especially high in the mixed groups with males and females in the experiment. In general more males than females had bite injuries. Bare cage environment may be averse to animals. The animals may be unable to adapt, and show abnormalities of behaviour. Abnormal behaviour was shown independently of the housing system. The rate of abnormal behaviour decreased in pens. However, it is also important to note that the pen-raising was not sufficient to completely prevent the development of abnormal behaviour. The frequency of the scratching and gnawing on the equipment could be significantly reduced with straw as enrichment. Only minor differences were found between the tested rearing systems regarding blood parameters. Although some of these differences were significant. Mortality did not differ between the treatments. Most of the mortality was caused by diarrhoea in the second and third week of the experiment. The daily weight gain was significantly different between the treatments in experiments A, B and C. The animals in pens with litter achieved the lowest daily weight gains. On the other hand, the daily weight gains of the animals in pens with perforated floor were comparable with the daily weight gains of the animals reared in cages. In experiment D no differences were found in this respect. In all four experiments no differences between the treatments were found in daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. The rabbits showed only a weak interest for straw litter. This may be due to the attraction towards the cleanliness and dryness of the perforated plastic floor compared to the litter. The use of litter may also depend on the environmental temperature. Especially the pen housing on plastic perforated floor with straw in the wire container showed positive effects on the behaviour of the rabbits without reduction of performance. More studies are needed before any final conclusion about the appropriateness of the group housing in developed pens can be made. These results have to be proven in further field studies under commercial conditions.
Feldstudie zur Eignung der Biophotonenmessung für die Differenzierung von ökologisch und konventionell erzeugten Hühnereiern
(2009) Egerer, Ulrike; Grashorn, Michael
Consumer demand for organic food is increasing. Conventional quality criteria are based on assay of individual chemical compounds, which depend much more on local conditions, climate and breed than on the production method. So alternatives need to be found to distinguish between organic and conventional food. Complementary approaches look at biological systems as a whole and focus on the inner structure of products. As shown in many studies, holistic criterions reflect differences in food quality, which are caused by the production method. F.A. POPP has rediscovered ultra weak light emissions that are presumed to originate from electromagnetic fields in living organisms. So-called 'biophotons' can be detected by highly sensitive photomultipliers as 'delayed luminescence' after illumination of the sample. Associated with living processes, the radiation reflects the state of the living tissue. In 2001 B. KÖHLER showed that egg yolks emit varying biophoton intensities depending on the husbandry system. Using standardized test conditions KÖHLER found that exposition to sunlight or to lighting that was similar to daylight, as well as feeding of green stuff, enhanced biophoton emission of yolks. The present investigation has been carried out under conditions of commercial egg production to discover whether biophoton emission is a suitable quality criterion for organic eggs. From July 2005 to November 2006, about 900 eggs have been collected in food stores and on farms. The biophoton intensity of each egg was determined and entered into a database according to its way of production (cage, deep litter, free-range, organic or from smallholders). The aim of this examination was to determine the differences in light emission of eggs originating from various production systems without standardized husbandry conditions. As a second project, a long-term observation has been conducted to see whether biophoton values of eggs remain stable over time. During the course of one year (from May 2006), biophoton emission has been measured each month. Samples have been taken from twelve hen houses with different husbandry systems: 2 houses with cage system, 4 with deep litter, 2 houses with free-range system and 4 organic farms ? adding up to more than 2,300 eggs. In addition to the measurement of biophoton emissions, conventional egg quality criteria have also been determined: egg mass, breaking strength of egg shell, albumen height, yolk color, proportion of yolk, fatty acid profile and lipid oxidation. Farmers have been interviewed about the age of their hens, flock size, lighting conditions and feed composition. Climatic conditions have been researched on the internet. It was expected that comparison of all collected data would give information on the origin and meaning of biophoton emission of egg yolks. In the present studies yolks were exposed to white light for 30 seconds. Delayed luminescence was detected for the duration of 60 seconds. The biophoton parameter used has been defined as the sum of light emission during the last 40 seconds of the measurement. Egg yolks from different animal husbandry systems differed in biophoton emissions. However, while conventionally produced egg yolks showed only minor differences, organic eggs as well as eggs from smallholders were characterized by clearly higher intensities. The long-term observation of yolks from 12 selected hen houses revealed great fluctuation of biophoton emissions over the course of the year. Nevertheless, it was remarkable that yolk samples with low contents of saturated fatty acids and high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids showed the highest biophoton intensities. These samples originated from farms that offer both a green free range and feed including vegetables or dried grass. As KÖHLER had shown, feeding green stuff leads to higher light emissions of yolks and also influences the profile of fatty acids. Further examinations will be necessary to clarify the causality between fatty acid composition of the yolk and its biophoton emission. Another target of the described projects was to test the suitability of biophoton measurement for verifying the organic origin of eggs. In discriminant analyses egg samples of both studies were assigned to the categories 'organic' or 'conventional' according to their emission values. The hit ratio was about 70 %. This result is interesting considering the lack of techniques to distinguish between organically and conventionally produced eggs up to now. Optimization of measuring technique and procedure may improve the capability of the method. In any case, biophoton measurement could be used as a screening method. Detection of extremely low values would suggest a check of management conditions at the relevant farm, followed by comparison with standards for the respective animal husbandry system.
Untersuchungen zum Einfluss eines Auslaufes in einer strukturierten Bodenhaltung auf ethologische, klinische und leistungsbezogene Parameter bei Mastkaninchen
(2014) Woodrow, Julia; Reiter, Klaus
The aim of the study was to investigate and evaluate the effect of a covered outdoor run in a structured pen housing system, on both ethological and clinical parameters as well as productive performance of growing rabbits. During this study new insights were gained into the use of the outdoor runs as well as into the optimization of the slaughter age, taking the frequency and severity of sexual and aggression based injuries as well as the productive performance of the bucks into account. 960 hybrid rabbits were used for this study over four experiments. During the first and second experiments the type of housing was primary investigated in male and female groups. In the third and fourth experiment only bucks were housed and the slaughter date was varied between 11, 12 and 13 weeks of age. Each group consisted of 24 animals, with an available space of 1275 cm2 per animal in the structured pen housing system. Rabbits with access to an outdoor run had an available area of 2317 cm2. The animals were weaned at an age of 5 weeks and assigned into the housing systems, where they remained to a maximum age of 13 weeks. The pen housing system had fully perforated plastic flooring and was structured with raised platforms, gnawing sticks and racks for straw and hay. The runs were littered. The ethological parameters collected during this study included information of the use of the outside run with RFID technique as well as the observed behaviour monitored and recorded via video cameras. The clinical parameters captured the mortality and the aggression related injuries as well as the blood tests. Additionally the productive performance was measured and the carcass traits were analysed. The experiments showed that the rabbits spent on average two hours a day in the run. 95% of the rabbits visited the run at least once during the day. The use of the outdoor run was lower during the winter months when the temperatures were lower in comparison to the spring and summer. The penned housing system with access to an outdoor run had a positive impact, as higher levels of slow movement were observed during all four experiments in this type of system. In comparison fast movements were shown rarely and there was no difference in regards to behaviour between the housing systems. When using sawdust as a litter in the run there was no significant difference in the exploratory behaviour between the two housing systems. The use of straw however had a positive impact on the occurrences of exploratory behaviour in the groups held in the pen housing system with an outside run. The frequency of sexual and aggressive behaviour resulting in injuries was significantly higher in the male rabbits in contrast to the female. There was a continual increase in the sexual and aggressive behaviour of the bucks observed between the age of 8 and 13 weeks. The mortality varied between the different experiments as well as individual groups. Over the course of all the experiments the average mortality was 9.5% for the animals held in the pen housing system and 13.0% of the animals held in the system with additional outdoor run. Over all four experiments the housing system showed no significant effect on the mortality. The percentage of injured rabbits increased from the 10th to the 13th week of age for both the males as well as the females. However at an age of 12 weeks a significantly higher number of bucks were injured in comparison to female rabbits. The percentage of heavily injured bucks increased on average over all four experiments from 0.2% at 10 weeks of age to 6.2% at 13 weeks of age. However the pen housing system with an outdoor run showed significantly lower numbers of heavy injured bucks in comparison to the groups with no access to an outdoor run at an age of 13 weeks. The productive performance did not significantly differ across all four experiments when considering the structured pen housing systems with or without an outdoor run. The daily weight gain of the male rabbits increased and peaked at the age of eight weeks where it held till ten weeks and then began to decrease again. The weight gain was the lowest and the feed conversion at its worst between 12 and 13 weeks of age. The carcass traits of the bucks were not influenced by the housing system at all three slaughtering ages. The absolute weights of the back and the hind legs did not differ significantly between 12 and 13 weeks of age. The structured pen housing system with an outdoor run has a positive effect on the welfare of the animals and is an alternative to the housing in cages. A covered outdoor run in the structured pen housing system is positive in regards to animal welfare. With an earlier slaughtering age of bucks with 12 weeks, the frequency and severity of animal welfare specific injuries were reduced whilst maintaining the same carcass quality and reducing the economic effect of lower growth performance within the last fattening week.