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The aim of this study was to investigate the use and capacity of electronic feed stations (EFS) on commercial sheep farms. The study was conducted on four commercial farms and the numbers of pregnant ewes per EFS were 36, 70, 72 and 80, respectively. Each farm was visited once and behavioural observations were carried out. In addition the date and time for both entering and leaving the EFS and the amount of concentrates dispensed at each visit for extracted. The vast majority of the ewes used the EFS regularly. The number of rewarded visits per ewe per day varied from 3.2 to 5.9, whereas the number of unrewarded visits ranged from 6.0 to 21.5 per ewe per day. We conclude that feeding concentrates to groups of pregnant ewes in EFS function satisfactory, but the design of the entrance and exit gate still have to be improved considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Even if ruminants are fed roughage ad libitum, reducing the number of feeding places may have negative effects on both feed intake and behaviour. The aim of this experiment was to investigate effects of reduced feeding space on competition, activity budget and feed intake of ewes fed ad libitum on two types of roughages. A 3×2 factorial experiment was conducted with number of animals per feeding place (1:1, 2:1 or 3:1) and type of roughage (grass silage or hay) as main factors. A total of 48 pregnant, adult ewes of the Dala breed were randomly divided into eight groups of six animals; four of these groups were fed grass silage whereas the other four groups were fed hay. The ewes were video recorded for 24h at the end of each experimental period, and the activities such as feeding, queuing and resting of each ewe were scored using 10-min instantaneous scan sampling. Displacements from the feed barrier were scored continuously for the first 10min of every hour. Daily intake of silage was not affected by reducing the feeding space from 1:1 to 1:3, but for ewes fed on hay, the daily intake was significantly reduced by 6.8% (P <0.05). However, time spent eating hay was significantly longer than time spent eating silage (P <0.05). Irrespectively of type of roughage, time spent eating was significantly reduced (P <0.0001) whereas CV for eating was increased (P <0.05) when feeding space was reduced. Overall, the competition level was higher when the ewes were fed on hay than on silage (queuing: P <0.01; displacements: P <0.01). In the hay treatment, the time spent queuing increased from 0.3% in the 1:1 treatment to 5.3% in the 3:1 treatment, but this was not significant in the silage treatment (P <0.001). Number of displacements was low at one ewe per feeding place, but increased significantly when feeding space was reduced in the hay treatment (P <0.01). In conclusion, the ewes competed more for access to feed in the hay than in the silage treatment, and increased competition with reduced feeding space was only found when the ewes were fed on hay. Similar results were found concerning feed intake. Thus, the effects of reduced feeding space are likely to depend on the type of roughage used. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In a 2×3 factorial experiment we examined the effect of exercise (no exercise/daily exercise) and paddock size (small: 150m2, medium: 300m2 and large: 450m2) on the behaviour of horses. In both these treatment periods nine (three cold blood and six warm blood) adult horses were exposed to all the three paddock size treatments for 2h daily, for 1 week in each paddock size, and the order of paddock size treatments were rotated systematically. In between turnout in paddocks the horses were all housed in tie stalls. In the non-exercise period the horses walked significantly more, they travelled a longer distance, explored more and stood more alert, than in the period with exercise. The horses stood less passively in the large paddock compared to the medium and the small paddock, and they also travelled a longer distance in the larger paddock sizes. At days with heavy rain and wind, the horses were more restless and walked significantly more than in warmer weather. In conclusion; daily exercise significantly reduced the general activity in the paddocks. Increasing the paddock size to 450m2, increased the time spent eating grass from under the fence and decreased the time spent standing passively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Horses in a Nordic climate experience thermoregulatory challenges. • Most demanding weather types are chilly rain combined with wind, and severe cold. • Clipping and use of rugs interferes with natural thermoregulation mechanisms. • Horses should be given a freedom of choice to cope with varying weather. • Access to shelter and appropriate feeding is important to ensure thermal comfort. In the Nordic countries, permanent outdoor housing of horses in winter is gaining popularity. This practice will expose the horses to harsh weather conditions. However, horses that are kept indoors at night and turned out in the cold during daytime also experience thermoregulatory challenges. With emphasis on the special challenges in a Nordic climate, this paper aims to increase the understanding of thermoregulation in horses, and ultimately to improve management practices. First, factors related to the environment and the mechanisms of heat exchange are summarised, thereafter the factors related to the horse, such as anatomy and physiological mechanisms which are important for balancing heat gain and heat loss. Human utility of horses and management practices such as clipping, the use of rugs, and provision of shelter are discussed in the light of thermoregulation in horses. The management and care for horses should take into account the principles of thermoregulation and mechanisms of heat loss and gain, and horses should be given a freedom of choice to cope with changing weather conditions. This should include space for movement, protection from sunshine, precipitation and wind, dry bedding, and appropriate feeding. Several studies indicate that the combination of cold rain and wind is a very demanding weather type, not just very low ambient temperatures. A shelter offers the horse protection from wind, precipitation and radiation which it can use when needed, and is therefore a more flexible management solution than a rug, especially when weather conditions change rapidly. In inclement weather, a rug may be a useful supplement. Too many horse owners clip their horse, which often necessitates the use of rugs on a regular basis. More knowledge is needed on how to best manage sport horses, especially when being sweaty after exercise in winter, to ensure good welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the preference of ewes for different floor materials at low ambient temperatures. A total of 30 non-pregnant ewes were sheared and allocated to one of ten stable groups with three animals per group. Ten pens were constructed with two different floor materials and ewes could eat and drink through a continuous feed opening on both floor materials. Groups were habituated to all floor material combinations and systematically rotated through the ten pens. Behaviours standing/walking; resting and eating/drinking were scored from 20 h video recordings using instantaneous sampling in 10 min intervals. Location in the pen (section A or B) and physical contact during resting was also recorded. Sheared ewes showed clear preferences for standing/walking (F 4,80 = 14.6, P < 0.0001) and resting (F 4,80 = 34.8; P < 0.0001) on solid floor materials than on slatted floors. Sheep tended to spend a larger proportion of time resting on solid rubber than solid wood in pen 10 (Fig. 3; T = 2.26; P = 0.09). Between the different slatted floor materials we found no significant difference in behaviour parameters. Floor material per se and temperature category interacted significantly for the behaviour standing/walking (F 16,80 = 2.42; P = 0.005). Heat conductivity properties were very different between floor materials and the largest temperature drop was observed on solid rubber mat (8.4 °C), while the smallest temperature drop was evident on a layer of straw (3.1 °C). In conclusion, there are other properties than heat conductivity of the materials that influence sheared ewes’ preference for floor materials in low ambient temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the use of items intended to provide enrichment during turnout, both for individual and group kept horses in an attempt to reduce the amount of passive behaviours. The study was divided into two parts, where study 1 involved eight horses rotated through eight individual paddocks, each containing one of seven enrichment items and one paddock being kept without item, functioning as a control. The horses’ item-directed behaviours; passive behaviours or other non-item related activities were scored using instantaneous sampling, every minute for 1h at the beginning and the end of the turnout period. Study 2 involved six horse groups (3–6 horses) and the same scoring methods and ethogram as in study 1. The four items that the horses interacted the most with during study 1 (straw STRA, ball filled with concentrates CBALL, branches BRAN and scratching pole POLE) are investigated in study 2. In addition, the amount of social interactions was recorded. Both horses kept individually (P <0.05) and in groups (P <0.0001) performed significantly more item-directed behaviours towards edible items like STRA and CBALL than other objects. There was, however, no overall relation between the numbers of item-directed behaviours and the number of passive behaviours observed, indicating that the enrichment items did not alone reduce the amount of passive behaviours during turnout periods. Such a reduction was, however, only apparent when horses spent more time eating green leaves growing on the paddock surface (R =−0.97 study 1, R =−0.67 study 2, P <0.0001). Access to STRA in group kept horses also seemed to reduce the amount of agonistic behaviours (P <0.0001). In conclusion, if grass is not available in paddocks, the provision of roughage reduces the amount of passive behaviours in singly kept horses and it also reduces the risk of agonistic interactions between horses kept in group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To measure farmed foxes’ motivations for full, naturalistic social contact, we constructed an apparatus where they could perform an operant to access stimuli, but then leave freely and thence determine their own bout lengths. Motivational measures based on demand curves can be invalid in such set-ups, and we therefore sought to validate the measure ‘maximum price paid’. This was achieved by measuring six silver fox males’ maximum operant responding for access or proximity to three resources differing in biological significance: food, vixens in oestrus and males. We predicted that if valid, maximum price paid would be highest for food and vixens. Maximum price were 970±399 (S.E.) for food, 677±173 (S.E.) for vixens and 389±101 (S.E.) for other males (P <0.05). In contrast, our complementary measures of motivation – price elasticity, expenditure and consumer surplus – did not differentiate between the resources, and ranked them in different orders (albeit not significantly). This was because the foxes rescheduled their behaviour with increasing costs, decreasing bout number while increasing bout length, to different extents with the three resources. Additional findings showed that all subjects ‘overpaid’, performing the operant response more than was required. This increased as the costs increased, perhaps due to increasing ‘time outs’ on the time-restricted schedule (DRH) as the task got harder. However, the overpayment was also highest when males were the resource, suggesting that operant responding was slowest and least efficient when working for less-valued resources. The resources present also affected how the foxes used the rest of the apparatus and influenced their behaviour; subjects staying more in the operant compartment when the resource was social (especially a female), but retreating to a distant compartment when it was food. While proximity to oestrous vixens elicited higher levels of tail wagging and only low levels of pacing, indicating a positive motivation, proximity to males elicited relatively high levels of pacing plus agonistic gaping, suggesting that the motives for seeking contact with males related to aggression. Thus, although our operant set-up reveals a drive to approach other males, the possible aggressive motives suggest that this sort of social contact would not necessarily improve their welfare in a traditional housing system. Overall, these results help improve the design and interpretation of preference tests, and confirm maximum price paid as a useful motivational measure for farmed foxes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]