Summary: One of the biggest concerns about group housing of horses is insufficient or interrupted lying behaviour, which might lead to sleep deprivation, and as a consequence thereof reduced performance and health. To address this concern the lying behaviour of 56 horses in a modern group housing system over four seasons was studied. This paper focuses on the lying behaviour of horses on different bedding materials. The reason behind is that rubber mats instead of natural bedding material have recently found an increase in the lying areas of group housings. Previous studies showed a reduced daily lying time on pure rubber mats. Therefore investigations were made on the lying behavior on sponge-filled rubber mats (7.5 cm in height, HIT-Softbed ® plus) in combination with a minimal amount of shavings (ca. 1 cm in height) and additional lying materials such as pure shavings (ca. 15 cm in height), both in three lying halls, sand in a shelter and sand in an open paddock. A particular concern of the study was, if rubber mats in combination with a minimum amount of shavings meet the horses demands as bedding material and provide a good stable climate. Moreover we investigated: preferences for different lying areas, individual differences in lying behaviour, influence of lying space, horses rank, daytime, and interruptions by group members. The mean daily total lying time per horse was significantly the longest on shavings (74.3 ± 2.87 minutes) and rubber mats (62.3 ± 2.27 minutes) both in the halls (in total 91.1± 2.7 minutes allocated on 3.2 ± 0.1 lying bouts) followed by sand bedding in the shelter (43.0 ± 2.33 minutes) and sand in the open paddock (26.7 ± 2.93 minutes). Despite horses laid down the longest in the lying halls, the shelter with sand was used more per surface area for resting recumbent, especially by low-rank horses. Hence, shelter is recommendable as an additional lying surface in group housings. No more than 50 % of the horses laid down simultaneously, although the lying space met the minimum requirement of the guidelines with 3 ×wither height 2 per horse (FMFAC 2009). A more diverse number of horses used the biggest lying hall for recumbency more often and for a longer daily period than the two smaller lying halls. Furthermore 32.7 % of the horses did not lie down every day. The horses of low rank showed a significantly shorter length (69.31± 3.9 min per horse per day) and a lower number of lying bouts (2.58 ± 0.1 per horse per day) when compared to horses of higher rank (90.9 ± 4.5 min high rank and 92.7 ± 3.6 min middle rank with 3.35 ± 0.1 and 3.12 ± 0.1 lying bouts per horse per day). Previous studies showed no differences in daily lying time if the lying space is twice the guidelines (FMFAC 2009). Therefore a lying space 6 × wither height 2 per horse is advisable for group-housed horses. Horses laid down synchronously and with 71.8 % of lying bouts (N = 1730 of 2410) mainly between midnight and 6 a.m. Non-eatable bedding material instead of straw only lead to 16.5 % interrupted lying bouts by g...

ABSTRACTSheep and goats are popular examples of livestock kept on city farms. In these settings, close contacts between humans and animals frequently occur. Although it is widely accepted that small ruminants can carry numerous zoonotic agents, it is unknown which of these agents actually occur in sheep and goats on city farms in Germany. We sampled feces and nasal liquid of 48 animals (28 goats, 20 sheep) distributed in 7 city farms and on one activity playground in southern Germany. We found that 100% of the sampled sheep and 89.3% of the goats carried Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coli(STEC). The presence ofStaphylococcusspp. in 75% of both sheep and goats could be demonstrated.Campylobacterspp. were detected in 25% and 14.3% of the sheep and goats, respectively. NeitherSalmonellaspp. norCoxiella burnetiiwas found. On the basis of these data, we propose a reasonable hygiene scheme to prevent transmission of zoonotic agents during city farm visits.

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Veterinary and human medicine are still seeking a conclusive explanation of the function of sleep, including the change in sleep behaviour over the course of an individual’s lifetime. In human medicine, sleep disorders and abnormalities in the electroencephalogram are used for prognostic statements, therapeutic means and diagnoses. To facilitate such use in foal medicine, we monitored 10 foals polysomnographically for 48 h. Via 10 attached cup electrodes, brain waves were recorded by electroencephalography, eye movements by electrooculography and muscle activity by electromyography. Wireless polysomnographs allowed us to measure the foals in their home stables. In addition, each foal was simultaneously monitored with infrared video cameras. By combining the recorded data, we determined the time budgeting of the foals over 48 h, whereby the states of vigilance were divided into wakefulness, light sleep, slow-wave sleep and rapid-eye-movement sleep, and the body positions into standing, suckling, sternal recumbency and lateral recumbency. The results of the qualitative analyses showed that the brain waves of the foals differ in their morphology from those previously reported for adult horses. The quantitative data analyses revealed that foals suckle throughout all periods of the day, including night-time. The results of our combined measurements allow optimizing the daily schedule of the foals according to their sleep and activity times. We recommend that stall rest should begin no later than 9.00 p.m. and daily stable work should be done in the late afternoon.

Considering animal welfare, animals should be kept in animal-appropriate and stress-free housing conditions in all circumstances. To assure such conditions, not only basic needs must be met, but also possibilities must be provided that allow animals in captive care to express all species-typical behaviors. Rack housing systems for snakes have become increasingly popular and are widely used; however, from an animal welfare perspective, they are no alternative to furnished terrariums. In this study, we therefore evaluated two types of housing systems for ball pythons (Python regius) by considering the welfare aspect animal behavior. In Part 1 of the study, ball pythons (n = 35) were housed individually in a conventional rack system. The pythons were provided with a hiding place and a water bowl, temperature control was automatic, and the lighting in the room served as indirect illumination. In Part 2 of the study, the same ball pythons, after at least 8 weeks, were housed individually in furnished terrariums. The size of each terrarium was correlated with the body length of each python. The terrariums contained substrate, a hiding place, possibilities for climbing, a water basin for bathing, an elevated basking spot, and living plants. The temperature was controlled automatically, and illumination was provided by a fluorescent tube and a UV lamp. The shown behavior spectrum differed significantly between the two housing systems (p < 0.05). The four behaviors basking, climbing, burrowing, and bathing could only be expressed in the terrarium. Abnormal behaviors that could indicate stereotypies were almost exclusively seen in the rack system. The results show that the housing of ball pythons in a rack system leads to a considerable restriction in species-typical behaviors; thus, the rack system does not meet the requirements for animal-appropriate housing.