The present study compared behaviour, fear and stress levels of 456 crossbred rabbits reared in bicellular wire-net cages (2 rabbits/cage) with top and wire floor or open-top collective pens (20 to 54 rabbits/pen) with wooden slatted floor. The effect of pen size (small vs. large) and stocking...

Human infections with Salmonella Enteritidis are often attributed to the consumption of contaminated eggs, so the prevalence of this pathogen in egg-laying poultry is an important public health risk factor. Numerous and complex environmental influences on Salmonella persistence and transmission are ...

Maternal effects can shape the phenotypes of offspring, but the extent to which a layer breeder's experience can affect commercial laying hens remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal age and maternal environment on laying hens' behaviour and stress response. In our first...

Epidemiologic analyses have linked the frequency of human infections with Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Enteritidis to the consumption of contaminated eggs and thus to the prevalence of this pathogen in commercial egg-laying flocks. Contamination of the edible contents of eggs by ...

Metritis in dairy cows has been associated with changes in behavior at the feed bunk, but little is known about the effects on behavior at the lying stall. The aim of this study was to investigate stall use by primiparous dairy cows diagnosed with metritis, specifically time spent in the stall,...

The objectives were to evaluate quantitative animal-based measures of sow welfare (lameness, oral stereotypies and reactivity to humans) under commercial farm conditions, and to estimate the influence of housing, sow parity and stage of gestation on the outcome of these measures. Across 10 farms,...

Although social contact between dairy calves has broad effects on their behavioral development, influences of calf social housing on human-animal relationships are less well understood, despite implications for longer-term calf management and welfare. We characterized human-animal interactions in 3 ...

Laboratory rodent housing conditions vary significantly across laboratories and facilities. Variation in housing can be associated with animal stress leading to study variability and the subsequent inability to replicate experimental findings. Optimization and standardization of animal housing are...

Contaminated eggs produced by infected commercial laying flocks are often implicated as sources of human infections with Salmonella Enteritidis, but Salmonella serovars Heidelberg and Typhimurium have also been associated with egg-transmitted illness. Contamination of the edible contents of eggs is ...

Dairy calves are active around the time of milk-feeding and often perform nonnutritive oral behaviors, particularly during weaning. This study evaluated the interactive effects of social housing and human contact following feeding, including scratching to mimic brushing, on postfeeding nonnutritive ...