1,022 Results Found

Data are available in the scientific literature concerning the quality and usefulness of donkey milk for human consumption. However, there is a lack of studies related to the understanding of the welfare of dairy donkeys. The only attempt, at a Europ...

This review aims to examine the effects of the photoperiod on farm animals and to provide insights into how lighting management can optimize production performance, reproduction, and welfare. The production performance of farm animals is influenced b...

The views that food companies hold about their responsibilities for animal welfare can strongly influence the lives and welfare of farm animals. If a company’s commitment is translated into action, it can be a major driver of animal welfare. The Busi...

The objective of the present work was to categorize the risks in the on-farm welfare of dairy sheep in semi-extensive systems in order to highlight if risks in welfare vary according to the farm size. To the best of our knowledge, this study constitu...

In this paper, the dairy cattle waste management systems on farms in Aydın region in Turkey were investigated. Number of farms and livestock herd size, type of barn, type of machinery and farm labour force were studied. The collection, management and...

Although there now exists a wide range of policies, instruments and regulations, in Europe and increasingly beyond, to improve and safeguard the welfare of farmed animals, there remain persistent and significant welfare issues in virtually all types...

The implementation of management activities depends on both the attitude of the people performing the work and their understanding of why the work should be performed. In the context of animal husbandry, the implementation of such practices is crucia...

Severe bushfires in South-Eastern Australia during the summer of 2019/2020 killed tens of thousands of livestock, while many more survived on fire-affected properties. At the time, the literature on bushfire and livestock in Australia primarily descr...

For millennia, cats have been valued worldwide as biological agents for rodent control. Our previous qualitative research found that Australian dairy farmers valued cats for rodent management and companionship, while also highlighting welfare and ope...

Dairy production is an important source of nutrients in the global food supply, but environmental impacts are increasingly a concern of consumers, scientists, and policy-makers. Many decisions must be integrated to support sustainable production—whic...

Virtual fencing (VF) technology represents an innovative approach to livestock management, utilizing GPS-enabled collars to establish invisible boundaries through auditory and mild electrical stimuli. While VF offers potential benefits such as enhanc...

Wearable collar technologies have become integral to the advancement of precision livestock farming, revolutionizing how dairy cattle are monitored in terms of their behaviour, health status, and productivity. These devices leverage cutting-edge sens...

The Australian alpaca industry has continued to grow since the introduction of alpacas in the 1980s. Little is known about the geographical distribution of alpacas or on-farm management practices. This study aimed to address this and identify key pro...

Animal health strategies in rural Colombia face significant challenges due to a gap between institutional technical approaches and the sociocultural contexts of local communities. This study examines the social representations of animal health and we...

Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) ensures food security and maintains genetic diversity. The efforts to conserve FAnGR are minimal in Bhutan. In the pursuit of increasing livestock productivity, farmers are rearing livestock that narrows the rang...

Reproductive efficiency of farm animals has central consequences on productivity and profitability of livestock farming systems. Optimal reproductive management is based on applying different strategies, including biological, hormonal, nutritional st...

Farm management can directly and indirectly affect animal care. We explored how farm management affected animal care on two large dairy farms in China (anonymized as Farm A and Farm B). We used a mini-ethnographic case study design whereby the first...

Pain causes behavioral, autonomic, and neuroendocrine changes and is a common cause of animal welfare compromise in farm animals. Current societal and ethical concerns demand better agricultural practices and improved welfare for food animals. These...

Background: Farm animals (FAs) are frequently used in biomedical research. Recommendations for the purchase, housing and health monitoring of these animals (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs) are still missing, and many institutes have developed their ow...

A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as injuries from horns or feather pecking. These p...

Backyard production systems (BPS) are highly distributed in central Chile. While poultry BPS have been extensively characterized, there remains a notable gap in the characterization of swine BPS in central Chile. In addition, there is evidence that z...

Extensive breeding of farmed cervids, similarly to other livestock, affects the vegetation of grasslands in different seasons. For this reason, the impact of the rotational grazing of fallow deer on the chemical and species composition of the pasture...

Virtual fencing (VF) offers a promising alternative to conventional or electrified fences for managing livestock grazing distribution. This study evaluated the behavioral responses of 25 Rarámuri Criollo cows fitted with Nofence^® collars i...

The 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2) is an endogenous metabolite of thyroid hormones, whose administration to rodents fed high-fat diet (HFD) prevents body weight increase and reverts the expression pattern of pro-inflammatory factors associated to HF...

Italy is among the most important countries in Europe for milk production. The new European policies encourage a transition towards sustainability and are leading European dairy farms to follow new trajectories to increase their economic efficiency,...

The potential application of the digital twins concept and its principles to all industries, including agriculture, has recently been the subject of considerable research interest. Since livestock farming is one of the mainstays of the agricultural i...

This study addresses the challenge of subjective remounting decisions in calf and heifer rearing, typically driven by the animal caretaker’s feelings and experience, lacking a robust data foundation. Key factors such as developmental delays, di...

The objective of the study was to compare three quantification methods to a “garbage can audit” (reference method, REF) for monitoring antimicrobial usage (AMU) from products other than medicated feed over one year in 101 Québec dairy farms. Data wer...

Knowing the exact nutrient composition of organic fertilizers is a prerequisite for their appropriate application to improve yield and to avoid environmental pollution by over-fertilization. Traditional standard chemical analysis is cost and time-con...

The concept of animal welfare (AW) has many meanings. Traditionally, AW has been considered as freedom from disease and suffering. Nowadays, growing attention goes to the concept of “positive animal welfare” (PAW), which can be interpreted within the...

Seventy-eight calves from Asturiana de los Valles, Retinta, and Rubia Gallega breeds, under extensive and intensive farm systems and animal mixing and non-mixing conditions, and during the transport and lairage in slaughterhouses, were studied. This...

This systematic review critically examines the diverse applications of Blockchain technology in the food supply chain and identifies areas where its potential remains underutilized. By analysing 60 Blockchain-based frameworks, the study highlights th...

The behavior of ruminants can influence their productive efficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of young zebu and composite bulls kept in pasture production systems, either in a crop-livestock-forest integration or without aff...

Rodents on farms are a substantial issue due to the damage they cause to produce and infrastructure, and the risk they pose to food safety. As a result, farmers need to control rodent populations around farms. In a previous study, farmers indicated a...

Metabolic disorders are a key problem in the transition period of dairy cows and often appear before the onset of further health problems. They mainly derive from difficulties the animals have in adapting to changes and disturbances occurring both ou...

Dairy cattle are typically disbudded or dehorned. Little is known, however, about the biological function and role of horns during thermoregulatory processes in cattle, and thus about the potential physiological consequences of horn removal. Anecdota...

This technical note critically evaluates the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sensor technologies in the swiftly evolving dairy livestock export industry. We focus on the novel application of the Internet of Things (IoT) i...

Grazing management is one of the most widely practiced land uses globally. Quantifying the spatiotemporal distribution of livestock is critical for effective management of livestock-grassland grazing ecosystem. However, to date, there are few convinc...

Structural changes and growth of animal production systems have resulted in greater volumes of manure. Current manure storage methods pose a potential environmental threat. Lessening these issues is a key concern for the animal production industry. T...

Prompt identification of clinical signs and early treatment of hoof problems are essential to effectively manage and reduce lameness in dairy farms. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of days in milk (DIM), parity, and milk yield (MY) on the...

Rodents are significant agricultural pests in Australia and internationally. Recent proposals to address the Australian problems by allowing farmers to obtain desexed cats, at tax-deductible cost, to control rodents on their properties are, superfici...

Natural social systems within animal groups are an essential aspect of agricultural optimization and livestock management strategy. Assessing elements of animal behaviour under domesticated conditions in comparison to natural behaviours found in wild...

The expansion of dairy cattle farms and the increase in herd size have made the control and management of animals more complex, with potentially negative effects on animal welfare, health, productive/reproductive performance and consequently farm inc...

It may become advantageous to keep human-managed animals in the social network groups to which they have adapted. Data concerning the social networks of farm animal species and their ancestors are scarce but essential to establishing the importance o...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the welfare of dairy goats of 32 farms located in Northwestern Italy, applying an on-farm assessment protocol, centered on animal-, resources- and management-based measures. The farms were classified as ‘intensive...

Around the world, cattle farming systems are diverse and lead to diverse environmental and socio-economic consequences. To assess these consequences, the diversity of cattle farming needs to be represented. A conceptual framework based on three inter...

The objectives were to determine the socio-demographic profiles of small ruminant dairy farmers and to study associations with management practices, production outcomes and health parameters on their farms. In total, 325 sheep flocks and 119 goat her...

This paper reports findings regarding patterns of reproductive management in 325 sheep flocks and 119 goat herds throughout Greece. The objectives were to describe the patterns of reproductive management in sheep and goat farms, to highlight factors...

On 24 September 2019, the Ministry of Health issued an explanatory circular containing clarifications on the implementation methods of the National Improvement Plan for the application of Legislative Decree 122/2011. The Plan states that “In al...

Animal welfare assessments have raised farmers’ awareness of their management practices, contributing to measurable improvements. However, these protocols often highlight critical points without providing clear guidance on the prioritization of...