The objective of this study was to assess the effects of the season, travel duration and trailer compartment location on blood creatine-kinase (CK), lactate and cortisol concentrations in 384 pigs and assess their relationships with trailer temperature, heart rate and gastrointestinal tract temperature (GTT), behavior, carcass damage scores and meat quality. Blood CK was greater in pigs transported in summer (p = 0.02), after 18 h transportation (p < 0.001) and in pigs located in C4, C5 and C10 (p = 0.002). In winter, the concentration of blood lactate was higher (p = 0.04) in pigs transported for 6 h in C5. Pigs located in C10 showed higher (p = 0.01) concentration of cortisol than those transported for 18h in C4 in summer. The highest correlations were between blood cortisol and GTT (r = 0.53; p < 0.001), and between blood CK and GTT (r = 0.41; p < 0.001), truck temperature (r = 0.42; p < 0.001), and pH_u in the longissimus muscle (r = 0.41; p < 0.001). In conclusion, although increased blood cortisol and CK levels appear to indicate a physical stress condition in transported pigs, the weak to moderate correlations with environmental and other animal welfare indicators suggest that blood stress parameters can only be used as a complementary measurement in the assessment of the pigs’ response to transport stress.

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether the level of concentrate allowance in an automated milking system (AMS) affects the feed intake, eating behavior, milking activity, and performance of lactating dairy cows. The secondary objective of this study was to describe how the response to concentrate allocation, specifically in feeding and milking behavior, varies with cow personality traits. Fifteen Holstein cows were used in a crossover design with two 28-d periods, each including 14 d of adaptation and 14 d of data collection. The cows were housed in a freestall pen with free-traffic access to the AMS. Treatments consisted of a basal partial mixed ration (PMR) common to both treatment groups, with a concentrate allowance (on dry matter basis) of (1) 3.0 kg/d in the AMS (L-AMS) or (2) 6.0 kg/d in the AMS (H-AMS). Between the 2 treatment periods, each cow was assessed for personality traits using a combined arena test consisting of exposure to a novel environment, novel object, and novel human. Principal component analysis of behaviors observed during the novel environment and object tests revealed 3 factors (interpreted as active, social, and alert-curious) that together explained 76% of the variance, whereas principal component analysis of the novel human test revealed 2 factors (interpreted as active-vocal and fearful of novel humans) that together explained 77% of the variance. When on the H-AMS treatment, PMR dry matter intake (DMI) was less (24.5 vs. 26.0 kg/d) and AMS concentrate delivery was greater (5.9 vs. 3.1 kg/d), as per design. Consequently, total DMI was greater on the H-AMS treatment (30.4 vs. 29.1 kg/d). When on the H-AMS treatment, cows who were more alert-curious consumed more PMR, whereas cows who were more fearful of the novel human were less likely to receive the maximum amount of AMS concentrate available, limiting their total DMI and increasing the day-to-day variability of that intake. Although this was a preliminary study, these data suggest an association between dairy cow personality traits and how cows respond to increased AMS concentrate allowance.

Cows spend more time lying down when stalls are soft and dry, and bedding plays a key role in the comfort of the lying surface. The first objective of this study (experiment 1) was to compare cow preference for 2 types of alternative deep-bedding materials, switchgrass and switchgrass-lime, using wheat straw on a rubber mat as a control. Nine Holstein lactating cows were submitted in trios to a 3-choice preference test over 14 d (2 d of adaptation, 3 d of restriction to each stall, and 3 d of free access to all 3 stalls). Cows were housed individually in pens containing 3 stalls with different lying surfaces: (1) rubber mat with chopped wheat straw (WS); (2) deep-bedded switchgrass (SG); and (3) deep-bedded switchgrass, water, and lime mixture (SGL). The second objective (experiment 2) was to test, in freestall housing, the effects of these 3 types of bedding on lying behavior, cow cleanliness, and teat end bacterial contamination. Bedding treatments were compared in a 3 × 3 Latin square design using 24 cows split into groups of 8, with bedding materials being switched every 4 wk. Lying behavior was measured with data loggers in both studies. During experiment 1, cows chose to spend more time lying and had more frequent lying bouts on SG (9.4 h/d; 8.2 bouts/d) than on SGL (1.0 h/d; 0.9 bouts/d). They also spent more time standing and stood more frequently in stalls with SG (2.0 h/d; 10.1 bouts/d) than in those with SGL (0.6 h/d; 2.6 bouts/d), and stood longer in stalls with SG than with WS (0.6 h/d). In experiment 2, the total lying time, frequency of lying bouts, and mean lying bout duration were, on average, 9.7 ± 1.03 h/d, 8.2 ± 0.93 bouts/d, and 1.2 ± 0.06 h/bout, respectively, and did not differ between treatments. No treatment effects were found for cow cleanliness scores. Bedding dry matter was highest for SG (74.1%), lowest for SGL (63.5%), and intermediate for WS (68.6%) [standard error of the mean (SEM) = 1.57%]. This may explain the higher teat end count of coliforms for cows on SGL (0.92 log10 cfu/g) compared with WS (0.13 log10 cfu/g) (SEM = 0.144 log10 cfu/g). In conclusion, cows preferred the deep-bedded switchgrass surface over the other 2 surfaces, and deep-bedded switchgrass appears to be a suitable bedding alternative for dairy cows.

Enrichment objects can be a practical way to provide rooting and chewing material to growing pigs, on which they can express species-specific behaviors. The challenge is to provide enrichment objects that will satisfy pigs’ behavioral needs, while being practical and low-cost for the producers. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of object characteristics such as design, location, cleanliness or degree of wear, on pigs’ interest over time. The first trial compared seven objects, varying in their design and location, presented individually for five consecutive days to groups of 12 ± 3 (average ± SD) pigs, weighing 61 ± 9.2 kg. The pigs’ interest in the objects was evaluated based on the frequency, total duration and mean length of manipulation with the objects. All objects were manipulated at different levels depending on their characteristics. On average, the pigs interacted more frequently (p < 0.001) with a chewable object made of three polyurethane balls, spring-mounted and anchored to the floor, and spent more time manipulating a dried wood beam on the floor (p < 0.05), which was destructible and chewable, than suspended ropes, plastics and rubber objects, and a plastic ball on the floor. The second trial used two-choice preference tests to compare objects varying in their degree of cleanliness or wear, presented in pairs to growing pigs weighing 47 ± 7 kg and housed in groups of 14 ± 1. Two identical objects were placed simultaneously in a pen over 5 days, and only one of them was cleaned or replaced daily (treatment) while the duplicate was left untouched (control). The results showed no clear preference between control and treatment objects, indicating that short-term maintenance of the objects might be unnecessary.

Training dairy cows on the automated milking system (AMS) can improve their performance; however, the ideal training method and how a cow's individual personality relates to training is unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the effect of AMS training method on adaptation of primiparous cows to an AMS, (2) whether the personality of a cow affects adaptation to the AMS, and (3) whether certain personality types adapt better based on the type of training they receive. Forty-eight primiparous Holstein dairy cows that had not previously been milked by an AMS, were enrolled in the study at ∼85 DIM and were assessed for personality traits using a combined arena test comprised of 3 parts: a novel arena test, a novel object test, and a novel human test. Cows were allocated into 1 of 4 AMS training treatments (n = 12): control (CON; no training), environment exposure only (ENV), environment and AMS concentrate provision (PEL), and environment and mechanics exposure (MEC). Cows in the ENV, PEL, and MEC treatments were subjected to training 4 times a day for 4 d, and then cows from all 4 treatments were milked on the AMS in the evening of the fourth training day. Milking activity and production were recorded for the first 14 d on the AMS. The PEL cows had fewer visits to the AMS, fewer milkings, and fewer voluntary milkings compared with CON cows across the 14 d. Cows on all experimental treatments had more fetching events than CON cows, and MEC and ENV treatment cows had a higher milk yield compared with those on the CON treatment. Principal component analysis of the behaviors recorded during the personality assessment revealed 2 factors interpreted as personality traits, "explore-active" and "bold." Across all cows, more "explore-active" cows had greater milk yield. Only the performance of ENV cows was associated with personality; ENV cows who scored low for "explore-active" differed from CON cows, through increased visits and voluntary milkings. Overall, the results demonstrate that providing concentrate on its own during AMS training may not be motivating enough to improve adaptation and performance. However, exposing cows to the mechanics (e.g., the robotic arm and sounds of the AMS) before first milking may improve milk yield. Finally, cow personality may influence the performance of cows trained using less complicated training methods, such as only exposing them to the environment of the AMS.