The effects of straw on the behaviour of young growing pigs were studied in two experiments. In Experiment 1, group of three pigs, aged about 7 weeks, were housed in raised decks with or without straw bedding. Time-lapse video recording showed no major differences between treatments in the amount or daily pattern of overall activity and feeding. Detailed observations showed that bedding reduced the incidence of rooting and chewing on pen-mates, but had little effect on other social activities such as mounting and aggressive biting. Experiment 2 compared groups of eight growing pigs aged about 10 weeks, housed in floor pens with or without a small amount of straw provided daily in a rack. Pigs with straw concentrated more of their daily activity into the period when straw was fresh, but the total amount of overall activity and time spent feeding were not affected. Rooting and chewing of pen-mates were the only social activities reduced by the provision of fresh straw. In these studies, where straw was not required to compensate for deficiencies such as low temperatures or hunger, the one major function of straw was to provide a stimulus and outlet for rooting and chewing, with a resulting reduction in such activities directed at pen-mates. lNTRODUCTION The provision of straw is widely considered to be beneficial for the comfort and well-being of pigs (Müller et al., 1979; van Putten, 1980). However, the actual effects of straw are complex and depend greatly on the type of pigs and the conditions under which they are raised (see e.g. Stephens, 1971; Schouten, 1986; Edwards and Furniss, 1988). For closely confined sows on a concrete floor and fed a restricted diet, straw is thought to have three distinct effects: (i) as bedding it improves the thermal comfort and perhaps the physical comfort of the floor; (ii) it is eaten in appreciable amounts and results in greater filling of the gut; (iii) it serves a "recreational'' function as a stimulus and outlet for the rooting and chewing activities that are natural to pigs (Fraser, 1975; Sambraus and Schunke, 1982). The situation is different for younger, growing-finishing pigs. Firstly, because these animals are often fed ad libitum or nearly so, any filling of the gut with straw is of questionable benefit. Secondly, the relationship of straw to floor comfort depends greatly on environmental temperatures: growing pigs prefer to lie on straw under cool conditions, but prefer bare floors at higher temperatures (Fraser, 1985; Marx and Mertz, 1989). This leaves the "recreational" effect of straw as the one major potential benefit that remains when feeding levels and environmental temperature do not create additional needs. Although several studies have reported apparent effects of straw on the behaviour of growing pigs, the research has generally involved a confounding of straw with other variables. For example, Buré (1981) reported that weaned pigs housed with straw performed less "abnormal" behaviour (tail-biting, rooting, massaging, and nibbling of pen-mates) than pigs rea...

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Twenty-four 9-mo-old Hereford steers were randomly divided into three groups of eight to determine if the steers would react to enrichment objects, and if one object would be used more than the others. The experiment design was a 3 × 3 Latin square consisting of three treatments, three groups and three periods of 2 wk. The results indicated that the steers did react (P < 0.05) to enrichment objects and preferred (P < 0.05) one object above the others. Key words: Beef cattle, feedlots, environmental enrichment

One hundred-and-twelve yearling bulls were penned together for at least 3 mo in groups of 7 or 21. They were then shipped 150 km to an abattoir in groups of either 7 or 21, and were either regrouped or not regrouped before shipment. They were held overnight at the abattoir before slaughter. A further seven yearling bulls were shipped and held individually before slaughter. After slaughter, muscle color was appraised by Federal graders. Load size had no significant effect on the incidence of dark-cutting, but regrouping had a dramatic effect (73 vs. 2% dark cutters, P < 0.01). There were no dark cutters among the bulls shipped individually. It is concluded that agonistic encounters among regrouped bulls was a far more important cause of dark-cutting than either load size or exposure to an alien environment.

Prrce, M. A., Me.ranpcnraN, M., TeNNEsseN, T. exo MernrsoN, G. W. 1983