Behavioural response to mixing of entire bulls, vasectomised bulls and steers

Raj, A. B. M.; Moss, B.W.; McCaughey, W.J.; McLauchlan, W. Russell; Kilpatrick, D. J.; McGaughey, S J

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(91)90002-f

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Immediately after mixing, the mixed bulls exchanged more interactions than unmixed bulls. They exchanged more agonistic and sexual interactions, and their fights lasted longer, which agrees with previous findings (Kondo and Hurnik, 1990;Mohan Raj et al, 1991). The proportion of agonistic interactions (fights, butts, threats, and flights) compared with interactions as a whole was higher in groups of mixed animals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The total of the sexual interactions (sniffing and licking the anogenital area of another animal, head on the back, mounting, and flehmen) and the duration of licking of anogenital parts between animals were all increased with mixing. Mounting is often observed after the mixing of bulls (Tennessen et al, 1985;Kenny and Tarrant, 1987;Mohan Raj et al, 1991). Hinch et al (1982) suggested that immediately after mixing, mounting plays a role in the establishment of dominance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, however, the frequency of mounting did not differ between mixed and unmixed bulls. According to Mohan Raj et al (1991), dominance is established more through agonistic interactions and less through sexual interac- tions when the production of testosterone is low. Our bulls were probably not already pubescent at the time of mixing, and so aggressiveness might have been expressed essentially by agonistic interactions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior, physiology, and performance of bulls mixed at the onset of finishing to form uniform body weight groups

Mounier

Veissier²,

Boissy³

2005

Journal of Animal Science

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In some production settings, beef bulls are mixed at the beginning of the finishing period to obtain homogeneous groups to facilitate finishing and to produce more homogeneous carcasses. Given the stress induced by mixing, we questioned whether this practice was profitable. Sixty-four young bulls were finished in groups of four over 8 mo. They were either mixed or unmixed and had either homogeneous vs. heterogeneous BW at the beginning of finishing. Behavioral traits (social behavior following mixing and general activities during the finishing period), stress measurements (cortisol concentration, adrenal weight, catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme activity, and pain sensitivity), and production traits (growth rate, homogeneity, feed efficiency, and carcass measurements) were evaluated. Bulls reacted to the mixing with increased frequency of social interactions (agonistic interactions: 17.9 in mixed vs. 1.2 in unmixed bulls, P < 0.001; sexual interactions: 9.6 vs. 1.7, P < 0.001; nonagonistic interactions: 5.25 vs. 3.1, P < 0.05). Agonistic and sexual interactions were more frequent between bulls of homogeneous BW (P < 0.05). Throughout the finishing period, the synchronization of activity tended to be lower between mixed bulls (P = 0.09). At slaughter, the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, a catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme, was increased in mixed bulls (1.52 vs. 1.16 nmol.h(-1).mg(-1), P < 0.05), which may indicate chronic stress. No differences were noted in ADG or carcass traits among treatments. The variability of BW within groups increased in groups that were initially homogeneous, whereas it decreased in groups that were initially heterogeneous. In conclusion, mixing young beef bulls at the beginning of the finishing period did not have detrimental effects on health and production, but mixing induced stress, perhaps due to decreased cohesion within groups. Thus, we failed to confirm the proposed benefit of mixing bulls to homogenize their BW at the onset of finishing because BW homogeneity within groups was not maintained throughout the finishing period.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior, physiology, and performance of bulls mixed at the onset of finishing to form uniform body weight groups

Mounier

Veissier²,

Boissy³

2005

Journal of Animal Science

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“…Underlying sex differences in intrinsic muscle properties such as fibre type (Mohan Raj et al, 1991a) or collagen (Cross et al, 1984) may be related to the influence of method of castration on testosterone levels. Mohan Raj et al (1991b) postulated a possible relationship between pituitary/ adrenal function and testosterone to explain the aggressive nature and consequent high pH u values of vasectomized bulls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of surgical and immunocastration of male cattle on instrumental measure of tenderness and dissected lean

et al. 1993

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“…Different production systems may cause alteration in behavior patterns of calves or steers, which could affect their welfare. One of the most common aspects of these systems, reported as influencing behavior, is housing (Bokkers and Koene, 2001b;Andrighetto et al, 1999;Bak Jensen et al, 1997;Hepola et al, 2006), but also diet (Phillips, 2004;Morisse et al, 2000;van Ackeren et al, 2009), group size (Hepola et al, 2006;Babu et al, 2004) and handling (Gupta et al, 2008;Mohan Raj et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caracterización de sistemas de producción de porcino y vacuno de engorde en Uruguay

Velazco¹,

Ricardo²

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En verdad quisiera agradecer a todas las personas que han hecho posible la realización de mi Doctorado, pero debería escribir un segundo tomo dedicado a ellos e igualmente podría olvidarme de algunos que merecen el agradecimiento. Por ello, voy a abreviar destacando a algunas personas que han tenido una participación significativa en alguna parte del proceso. En primer lugar, un enorme agradecimiento a mis Directores, Antonio Torres y Arantxa Villagrá, quienes fueron mucho más que un soporte académico ya que desde el punto de vista personal también hicieron que a pesar de las distancias, siempre estuviera en mi casa. A Salva y Fernando, por que han estado en tantas cosas que ya ni me acuerdo, seguro que en muchas más de las que hubiesen querido, pero bueno… Les tocó en suerte por decirlo de alguna manera!!

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Behavioural response to mixing of entire bulls, vasectomised bulls and steers

Cited by 19 publications

References 15 publications

Behavior, physiology, and performance of bulls mixed at the onset of finishing to form uniform body weight groups

Behavior, physiology, and performance of bulls mixed at the onset of finishing to form uniform body weight groups

Effect of surgical and immunocastration of male cattle on instrumental measure of tenderness and dissected lean

Caracterización de sistemas de producción de porcino y vacuno de engorde en Uruguay

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