Large Group Housing Systems in Fattening Bulls—Comparison of Behavior and Performance

Schneider, Laura; Volkmann, Nina; Spindler, Birgit; Kemper, Nicole

doi:10.3389/fvets.2020.543335

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Studying social interactions between individuals with different personality traits could help us to understand the impacts of social groups and whether housing sheep with similar or contrasting personality traits would be more likely to result in beneficial or detrimental consequences for the individuals' welfare. This type of research may also assist with understanding how groups of individuals interact and adapt to specific types of housing systems (Bøe and Faerevik, 2003;Schneider et al, 2020), which can have production as well as welfare benefits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Devices to Show a Limited Effect of Boldness and Fearfulness on Social Proximity in Sheep Grazing at Pasture

Keshavarzi¹,

Lee²,

Dyall³

et al. 2022

Front. Anim. Sci.

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Sheep are gregarious animals that can form close inter-individual relationships. Social bonds are affected by environmental and within-animal factors, but there is limited understanding of individual factors that influence social relationships, in part due to the challenges of accurately measuring individual social proximity within a group. This study used geospatially precise RTK-GNSS localization devices (Real-Time-Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System) to evaluate social proximity between individuals with different personality traits in small sheep flocks. First, unsupervised clustering algorithms were used to categorize 78 individual Merino sheep (from a research flock of 108 grazed together for 11 months prior) based on their behavior measured in four behavioral tests: arena, novel object, flight speed, and isolation box. Sixty-five sheep were then categorized into five cohorts of 13 individuals each (clustered into three bold, six bold/fearful, and four fearful animals per cohort). Bold/fearful animals were bold toward a novel object but fearful of a human. Sheep within a single cohort were released into a 0.70 Ha test paddock with RTK-GNSS devices attached to their backs for 3 days to monitor relative positions. All cohorts were tested sequentially over a 5-week period. Social network analyses of GNSS locational data with a distance threshold of up to 30 m for all cohorts together showed no significant effect of personality traits (P = 0.11). There were, however, some significant but inconsistent differences in distances based on personality traits within separate cohorts [i.e., cohorts 1, 3, 4 (P ≤ 0.02), cohorts 2, 5 (P ≥ 0.44)]. When GNSS locational data were analyzed with a distance threshold of up to 2 m (day 2 excluded from all cohorts due to missing values), there was a significant effect of personality traits (P = 0.01) across all cohorts combined. The bold animals showed greater distances from each other relative to their distances from fearful or bold/fearful individuals. Additionally, regardless of personality traits, the average distance between animals decreased 2.2 m over the 3 test days. Social interactions in sheep flocks may be influenced by personality traits of fearfulness and boldness, but further research with larger numbers of sheep across varying environments is needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Devices to Show a Limited Effect of Boldness and Fearfulness on Social Proximity in Sheep Grazing at Pasture

Keshavarzi¹,

Lee²,

Dyall³

et al. 2022

Front. Anim. Sci.

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Effects of group size on agonistic interactions in dairy cows: a descriptive study

Krahn,

Foris,

Sheng

et al. 2024

animal

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Determination of static space requirements for finishing bulls based on image analysis

Volkmann¹,

Stracke²,

Rauterberg³

et al. 2021

Anim. welf.

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In Europe, conventional housing systems for finishing bulls (Bos taurus) tend to consist of group pens with a high stocking density. Up until now there have been no regulations in place defining bulls' space requirements, even although insufficient space allowance is considered to impair animal welfare. Our study aimed to measure the surface area that finishing bulls occupy in standing and lying positions. We observed 46 bulls on a German fattening farm. The animals from one pen were assigned to one of three weight classes (W1: < 450 kg; W2: 450–649 kg; W3: ≥ 650 kg), and two pens of each weight class were examined. For image recordings, a camera trap was installed above the pens. To analyse the covered surface, the recorded images (n = 242) were edited. Furthermore, the observed lying postures were differentiated in terms of lying position and stretched-out legs. On average, the areas covered by the bulls increased with class of bodyweight. A finishing bull covered up to 1.21 m2 in a standing position and up to 1.57 m2 in a lying position, the most space being needed in an outstretched position. The calculated values provide information only about the surface a finishing bull covered in different positions in the pen. In practice, additional dynamic and social space must be taken into account for recommendations on space requirements, in order to ensure adequate inter-individual distances, social interaction and characteristic behaviours to improve animal welfare.

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Large Group Housing Systems in Fattening Bulls—Comparison of Behavior and Performance

Cited by 3 publications

References 53 publications

Using Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Devices to Show a Limited Effect of Boldness and Fearfulness on Social Proximity in Sheep Grazing at Pasture

Using Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Devices to Show a Limited Effect of Boldness and Fearfulness on Social Proximity in Sheep Grazing at Pasture

Effects of group size on agonistic interactions in dairy cows: a descriptive study

Determination of static space requirements for finishing bulls based on image analysis

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