Browsing by Subject "Artgerechte Tierhaltung"

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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.
Wohlbefinden von Mastschweinen in verschiedenen Haltungssystemen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ethologischer Merkmale
(2003) Weber, Ragnhild E. F.; Valle Zárate, Anne
This study aims to compare practice oriented husbandry systems with regard to their effect on the welfare of fattening pigs. This should also contribute to the development of evaluation indicators for pig welfare. A literature review was conducted covering Definition of Welfare, Indicators for Welfare Assessment, Behavior of Fattening Pigs, Ethological Methods for Welfare Assessment, and Husbandry Systems for Fattening Pigs. Insights attained were significantly taken into account when developing and conducting the study. 2 husbandry systems were established, compromising on conventional pig husbandry and currently available knowledge on the welfare of fattening pigs. The investigation emphasizes on ethological traits. This research is part of a comprehensive project investigating prevalent fattening pig husbandry systems in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with regard to animal welfare and pig farmers? and consumers? attitudes towards husbandry conditions. The present study was conducted on the experimental station Frankenforst of the University of Bonn, Germany. A total of 256 Piétrain (Pi) x German Landrace (DL) or Pi x (Large White (DE) x DL) fattening pigs were investigated throughout 2 periods of time: middle of June 1998 to beginning of January 1999, and middle of April to end of September 1999. They were kept in two enriched husbandry systems. One system was equipped with heater, forced ventilation and partly slatted floor (TSP: 8 pigs/pen), the other was in an open stable with half the area deep littered (OT: 32 pigs/pen). The enrichments included chains, a wooden chewing bar, and a straw rack in the non-bedded system. Over a period of 10 weeks indirect video observations were conducted once per week between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. The behavioral traits observed included feeding, exploration and occupation, abnormal occupation, comfort, aggression and fighting, locomotion, and resting and lying. In the second year direct observations were additionally conducted at specific times to analyse occupation and comfort behavior in more detail. Further traits investigated included: state of health, medical treatments, skin lesions, changes of extremities and claws, general condition, carcass, lung, liver, heart, kidney, and lymph node changes, fattening and slaughtering performance and housing characteristics. The results showed that rooting, which is of utmost importance for the welfare of pigs and which could only be performed in the OT, could not completely be compensated for in the TSP by the enrichment objects and the stable environment. In the TSP the behavioral disorders of pseudo-rooting and manipulation of pen-mates were clearly performed more often. In contrast, the husbandry environment of the OT (straw bedding, enrichment, more overall space, more outside stimuli) had a positive effect on the behavior of the pigs. An improvement of the pigs? welfare in the OT can particularly be concluded from the increased level of rooting, playing, alertness, and walking+standing as compared to the TSP. Comfort+wallowing, the least observed behavior, was also performed significantly more often in the OT. On the other hand, fattening pigs in the OT were also not completely free of behavioral disorders. In both husbandry systems pigs laid (with no other activity) more than 70 % of the observation time. Low lighting in the TSP probably caused a less pronounced endogenously predisposed two-phase daily rhythm of the pigs with less activity in the morning as compared to the pigs in the OT. The forced ventilation in the TSP and the non-bedded area of the OT were not completely sufficient to cool the pigs in summer. The territorial division of the pen by the pigs was disturbed to the point that no clear distinction between lying, defecation and feeding areas could be made. Cardiovascular problems occurred in the OT on some very hot days. Skin lesions, changes in the extremities and claws and the pigs? general condition did not deviate greatly from normal and healthy conditions. No obvious relation of injuries being caused by means of the husbandry system could be found. Carcass inspections showed that lung alterations and pleuritis occurred most frequently. Significant differences between the husbandry systems (OT > TSP) were found for liver and pluck findings. With regard to animal health the pigs in the TSP were better off. It can be presumed that welfare was reduced by the slight Ra. outbreak in the OT in the second year. Differences in daily gain and feed conversion were only due to a substantially lower performance of the pigs in the OT in the first year probably caused by higher thermoregulation efforts. By means of the methods and traits (indicators) used the welfare of the pigs in the two different husbandry systems could be compared. Proposals for further improvements of the methods as well as for the improvement of the husbandry systems were submitted.