FARM ANIMALS
Overview || Current Research || Dairy Lameness CD-ROM
Piglet Vocalizations
OVERVIEW
To date most of our work on farm animals has concentrated on dairy cattle. There are relatively few researchers world-wide working in this important area and, as several significant areas of dairy production exist near Vancouver (including the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan, and, as UBC has excellent research facilities for dairy cattle (See UBC Dairy Education & Research Centre for details), the Animal Welfare Program is ideally situated for this work.
Dairy producers have also played an important role in supporting the Program (see our Donor Section for details), allowing research in this area to continue as a priority.
The Program's dairy research is led by faculty members:
We also benefit from our collaboration with high-profile dairy researchers such as:
Karen Beauchemin, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta. (link to bio)
Anne Marie de Passillé, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC.
Jeff Rushen, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC.
Doug Veira, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC.
We have recently expanded our focus on cattle to include more issues relevant to beef production. Our research concentrates on welfare issues in cow-calf ranching, as almost no other researchers are working in this area and this is an important aspect British Columbia' s agricultural production.
Beef research is led by faculty member Dr. von Keyserlingk, with Doug Veira - Kamloops Range Station- as a key collaborator.
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CURRENT RESEARCH
SOCIOLOGY - Ethical Treatment of Food Animals
DAIRY - Calf Welfare || Cow Comfort and Management || Feeding Behaviour || Lameness
BEEF - General Management
Sociology - Ethical Treatment of Food Animals
Understanding perspectives and resolving conflicts over the ethical treatment of food animals
David Fraser (Principal Investigator), Catherine Schuppli and David Tindall (Co-Investigators), Jeffrey Spooner (Graduate Student), Susan Cox (Collaborator)
Please note that we have now concluded our interviews for this project. Many thanks to all who have contributed their time and effort.
Animal agriculture is currently experiencing the rapid emergence of programs and standards, created by corporations, international agencies and industry organizations, designed to ensure a high level of animal welfare. These various programs create very different animal welfare standards. Moreover, research in other jurisdictions shows major disagreements between different stakeholders (for example, producers versus consumers) over what such programs should include.
The purpose of our study is to develop an in-depth understanding of the values, beliefs, attitudes and ethical concerns of various groups of Canadians (livestock producers, rural and urban public, and members of animal advocacy organizations), about the appropriate care and treatment (welfare) of agricultural animals. Our study will determine what issues are relevant to these groups and how views differ. By providing an in-depth account of the values and concerns of Canadians whose opinions have not been previously recorded, this work will promote a more inclusive discussion among major stakeholders. The work should also form a basis for reducing the conflicts that are beginning to emerge with the introduction of different programs of animal welfare standards.
Please contact Catherine Schuppli by phone: (604) 827-5527 or email: schuppli@interchange.ubc.ca to request additional information and/or to arrange to participate in the research.
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Dairy - Calf Welfare
Separating calf and cow:
Typical industry practice is to house and manage dairy calves in ways that these animals would never experience in nature.
One of the very first experiences a calf must endure is the removal of her mother, generally within 24 hours after birth.
Researchers in our program have explored the effects of early or delayed separation on both cow and calf performance and behaviour.
Feeding:
Another focus of our calf research has been on how to improve feed management. After separation from the cow, calves are commonly fed milk twice daily from buckets,
typically 10% of their body weight daily. Our work has shown positive effects of providing free access to milk, as well as milk via a teat rather then a bucket. Using
these feeding management techniques calves drink more milk and gain weight more quickly, compared to conventional feeding regimes.
Housing:
Calves are social animals, but on most dairy farms they are housed in individual pens or hutches. Our research has shown that with careful management and a free-access
feeding system dairy calves can be reared successfully in small groups. Group rearing allows for the social interaction during early development that has been shown to be
important in the development of normal social responses later in life.
Dehorning:
Dairy calves are routinely dehorned, using either caustic paste or a hot iron, and this procedure causes the calf considerable pain.
Work by our Program has focused on evaluating the effects of these two dehorning procedures on subsequent calf behaviour and performance, as well we have evaluated the effects of
administering drugs to reduce pain responses during and after this procedure.
- Dehorning dairy claves by Daniel M. Weary, May 2000
Weaning:
Another major focus of our calf research is in improving weaning management. Transitioning calves from a milk-based diet to solid food (weaning) is stressful for the calf typically because on most farms the change occurs abruptly. Our work has looked into gradual milk restriction, accomplished by diluting the milk with water, on calf weight gains, starter, hay and water intake before weaning. Are work continues to explore various weaning methods on the behaviour, performance and health of dairy calves during this difficult transition.
Illness:
A new and current research area for our program focuses on early detection of common calf illnesses to allow for better disease treatment and prevention. This research will greatly benefit from the technology and calf housing facilities available at the Westgen Calf Research Center, which was completed in the fall of 2006. This facility will allow researchers in our program to monitor every aspect of calf feeding, drinking, and social behaviour.
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Dairy - Cow Comfort and Management
How can we design environments for animals that meet their needs but are also practical for farmers? One focus of our research has been on creating suitable stalls for cows to lie down in. We have examined features of the stall such as bedding and aspects of stall geometry, to determine the preferences of cows, how much cows use stalls, and the effects of design on production and stall management. We are also working on how stall design can affect the prevalence of injuries such as hock lesions and udder health, and studying the basic movements of cows when they get up and lie down, as a way of understanding their requirements.
Another focus of research in this area is the improving the comfort at the feed bunk. Our research has focused on examining ways to improve feed bunk design and management (i.e. stocking density) to improve access to feed and reduce competition while feeding.
Dairy cows also spend a significant proportion of their time standing, so in new research we are looking at the design of the flooring surface for improved comfort while standing. We are also interested in exploring ways to improve environmental enrichment in free-stall housing systems and are currently examining the effects of mechanical brushes on the scratching and grooming behaviour of dairy cattle.
One of the ways we assess cow comfort is by evaluating the social behaviour of dairy cows. Currently we are examining how particular management practices such as re-grouping or mixing influence the social behaviour (e.g. aggressive interactions, displacements) of individual animals and the social dynamics of the group. In addition we are interested in determining if stressful management practices particularly during high-risk periods such as the period around calving increase the susceptibility of dairy cows succumbing to disease.
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Dairy - Feeding Behaviour
We are studying the links between the feeding behaviour and the health, welfare, and productivity of dairy cows. One focus of this work is on finding how changes in feeding behaviour can serve as an early indicator of disease. This applied work also requires a better understanding of the basics of feeding behaviour, such as how often cows eat, how these bouts are divided into meals, and how feeding behaviour is affected by the way cows are managed (e.g. timing and frequency of feed provision). Many diseases experienced by dairy cattle are particularly common at around calving, so we are concentrating on this period in much of our research. To complete this research we are fortunate to have a new Feed Intake Research Facility that is equipped with state-of-the-art technology (INSENTEC) that is unique in North America. With this feed intake system we can monitor all aspects of individual feeding and drinking behaviour and individual feed and water intake in group housed cows, something that very few dairy research facilities around the world are capable of.
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Dairy - Lameness
Lameness is a major welfare challenge for the modern dairy cow, and an important area of research by our group. We have used an epidemiological approach to identify management practices and housing conditions that increase the risk of cows experiencing hoof injuries, one important cause of lameness. In more basic studies, we are working to establish more reliable and objective methods of identifying sub-clinical lameness in dairy cows, an approach we believe will help with prevention and early treatment. For example, we are using biomechanical techniques to analyze cow gait, similar to techniques used to study animal athletes such as racehorses. We are also using these measures to understand the effects of alternative flooring surfaces for dairy cattle.
Current work in lameness research being completed by our group is looking into identifying early behavioural indicators of hoof injuries in dairy cattle.
The following documents describe a common hoof ailment, laminitis, that leads to lameness:
- Laminitis: a producer-oriented overview by Erin Bell (pdf.)
- Photos of laminitic lesions compiled by Erin Bell (pdf.)
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Beef - General Management
We are now expanding our focus on cattle to include more issues relevant to beef production. Some of our research has concentrated on welfare issues in cow-calf ranching, as almost no other researchers are working in this area and this is an important aspect of British Columbia' s agricultural production. Specifically we have examined the effects of water quality on the drinking behaviour of beef cows. In the beef production system, cattle spend summer months on rangeland where water is often scarce or of poor quality due to pollutants that reduce palatability. Environmental damage may result when cattle drink directly from ponds, dugouts or streams. Our research has shown that given an opportunity, cattle will drink from water troughs instead of other water bodies. In order to determine from which water bodies or from where within a water body we should pump water to troughs, researchers are studying cattle behaviour to answer questions about which water the cattle find most acceptable.
Another major concern in the beef industry particularly affecting feedlot cattle is the incidence of acidosis. Ruminal acidosis occurs when cows consume too much grain in the diet causing their rumen to fill with gas. If this condition is left untreated it can be fatal. Our work in this area has assessed the effectiveness of buffers such as sodium bicarbonate for reducing the incidence of ruminal acidosis. Currently we are evaluating the effects of feed preference to determine if cattle will appropriately select the levels of forage and grain they need to consume to maintain performance and health. Social behaviour at the feed bunk (i.e. competitive interactions) may also influence the ability of beef cattle to access feed therefore our work is also examining this area in further detail.
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DAIRY LAMENESS CD-ROM
Research conducted by the UBC Animal Welfare Program helped to inform "Firm Steps: Identifying Lameness in Dairy Cattle", a CD-ROM aimed at producers, educators and veterinarians and produced by Alberta Agriculture and Food. More information and a CD order form is available in our Outreach section.
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PIG VOCALIZATIONS
Although not part of our current research, pig behaviour and welfare has been an area of study for Drs. Fraser and Weary. The following game shows the variety of vocalizations made by piglets in different situations, as well as some of the computer techniques used to analyse these calls.
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