Progress 02/01/09 to 01/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Outputs described in the project are aimed at a variety of audiences including livestock producers; undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students at MSU and beyond; colleagues in the scientific community; practicing veterinarians; and to a lesser extent, the general public. Specifically, target audiences for the research conducted related to animal behavior and welfare as well as the talks, workshops and symposia delivered at scientific meetings described in the project are members of the animal science, zoo, and veterinary professional communities. The research of an applied nature conducted within the scope of this project, such as that related to adaptation of dairy cows to automatic milking systems and temperament in beef cattle, is ultimately destined to be delivered to livestock producers through venues such as field days and extension publications. The target audience for the continuing education materials for veterinarians is vets that are working in the USDA APHIS system. The target audience for the bioethics instructional materials and university instructors who need to introduce students to a range of bioethical issues but lack formal training in this area. The group website is generally targeted at students and colleagues in academia, but also contains information useful to livestock producers and the general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Janice Siegford is the principle investigator for the activities described above and provides training and mentoring for a number of personnel associated with the lab. Dana Campbell is a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Siegford on the commercial laying hen housing project to examine the behavior of hens in an aviary system. Courtney Daigle worked as a technician on projects conducted in the Siegford lab until May 2014. Ali Witaifi continues his work a MS student with Dr. Siegford to evaluate the impact of feed and stall stocking rates on cows in automatic milking systems. Carly O’Malley started as a PhD student in August 2014, and Eileen Stefansky started as a dual MS/DVM student at the same time. Kaitlin Wurtz is in the second year of her PhD program and is jointly mentored by J. Siegford and J. Steibel. Over 30 undergraduate students worked on various projects in the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group in 2014. Three undergraduates completed their own undergraduate research projects in 2013 with Dr. Siegford ranging from examination of undergraduate involvement in behavior research to feather pecking in laying hens. Dr. Siegford served on the graduate committees of MS and PhD students in several departments: Lee Ann Kroll (MS, Large Animal Clinical Science--graduated), Marisa Erasmus (PhD, Animal Science--graduated), Prafulla Regmi (PhD, Animal Science), Monica List (PhD, Philosophy), Monica Atkin (MS, Animal Science), and Michelle Hunniford (PhD, Animal Science, University of Guelph). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated via numerous scientific, education and outreach presentations and publications as detailed above under products and publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
ACTIVITIES: In 2013-2014, research was conducted on: 1) the development of a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; 2) examining the impact of stocking rate on the behavior of dairy cows milking by automatic milking systems, and 3) behavior of laying hens in aviary housing systems. Teaching materials were prepared as part of funding received from 1) a USDA APHIS cooperative agreement and 2) USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant to provide continuing education for veterinarians in animal welfare and to create bioethics training materials respectively. EVENTS: 1) Delivered an invited lecture on low stress handling of pigs at the Michigan Pork Producers Symposium, February 2013; 2) Delivered an invited talk and served on a panel related to animal legal and ethical concerns of poultry confinement at the MSU College of Law’s symposium on Chicken Farming in the 21st Century; 3) Delivered a keynote presentation on behavior and welfare of laying hens in aviaries for the Animal Welfare Research Symposium at the University of Guelph; 4) Delivered an invited talk on scientific assessment of welfare at the American Veterinary Medical Associations Intraprofessional Conversation on Animal Welfare; 5) Delivered an invited presentation on animal welfare standards as part of the Standards Education for the Liberal Arts workshop held at MSU in September 2013; and 5) Delivered an invited presentation at the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association’s animal welfare conference on low stress pig handling, November 2013. AWARDS RECEIVED: 2013 Teaching Award of Merit, North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture and 2013 Excellence in Teaching–Established Teacher Award, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University. FUNDING RECEIVED: PI. Rackham Research Endowment. Siegford J, Steibel J, Ernst C, Bates R. $90,000. Using behavioral and genomic tools to identify pigs suited for group living. 7/1/2013-6/30/16. SERVICES: Provided guidance and resources to pet owners and veterinarians seeking assistance with companion animal behavior problems. Serve on animal welfare committees of Kroger and ALDI, Inc to provide science-based input on welfare policies and inform them of issues arising related to animal welfare.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Siegford JM*. 2013. Multidisciplinary approaches and assessment techniques to better understand and enhance zoo animal welfare. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 16(4):300-318. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2013.827914
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Elischer MF, Arceo ME, Karcher EL, Siegford JM*. 2013. Validating the accuracy of activity and rumination monitor data from dairy cows housed in a pasture-based automatic milking system. Journal of Dairy Science 96:6412-6422. doi: 10.3168/jds.2013-6790
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Daigle CL, Siegford JM*. 2014. When continuous observations just won't do: developing accurate and efficient sampling strategies for the laying hen. Behavioural Processes 103:58-66. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.11.002
|
Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Outputs described in the project are aimed at a variety of audiences including livestock producers; undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students at MSU and beyond; colleagues in the scientific community; practicing veterinarians; and to a lesser extent, the general public. Specifically, target audiences for the research conducted related to animal behavior and welfare as well as the talks, workshops and symposia delivered at scientific meetings described in the project are members of the animal science, zoo, and veterinary professional communities. The research of an applied nature conducted within the scope of this project, such as that related to adaptation of dairy cows to automatic milking systems and temperament in beef cattle, is ultimately destined to be delivered to livestock producers through venues such as field days and extension publications. The target audience for the continuing education materials for veterinarians is vets that are working in the USDA APHIS system. The target audience for the bioethics instructional materials and university instructors who need to introduce students to a range of bioethical issues but lack formal training in this area. The group website is generally targeted at students and colleagues in academia, but also contains information useful to livestock producers and the general public. Changes/Problems: An original objective of this project was to examine the behavior and welfare of organically raised hogs that were integrated into apple orchards as pest and weed control. However, this project, despite repeated submission to funding agencies was never funded to the degree which allowed my participation in the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Janice Siegford is the principle investigator for the activities described above and has mentored numerous undergraduates, graduate students and a postdoc in the previous year. Dana Campbell is working with Dr. Siegford on the commercial laying hen housing project to examine the behavior of hens in an aviary system. Courtney Daigle has worked as a technician on projects conducted in the Siegford lab and completed her Ph.D. under Dr. Siegford in Ausgut 2013 related to her work on the body-mounted sensors in laying hens project. Melissa Elischer completed her MS in May 2013 under Dr. Siegford and Dr. Elizabeth Karcher working on examining impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. Ali Witaifi continues his work a MS student working with Dr. Siegford to evaluate the impact of feed and stall stocking rates on cows in automatic milking systems. Over 30 undergraduate students have worked on various projects in the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group in 2013. Thirteen undergraduates completed their own undergraduate research projects in 2013 with Dr. Siegford ranging from examination of bedding substrates for mink to flight success in laying hens. Dr. Siegford served on the graduate committees of MS and PhD students in several departments: David Orban (MS, Zoology—graduated), Lee Ann Kroll (MS, Large Animal Clinical Science), Marisa Erasmus (PhD, Animal Science), Prafulla Regmi (PhD, Animal Science), and Monica List (PhD, Philosophy). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated via numerous scientific, education and outreach presentations and publications as detailed above under products and publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the coming year, a number of manuscripts will be prepared for publication to wrap up current laying hen and dairy projects. Funding for a new project examining the link between social phenotypes, genotypes and welfare in pigs has begun which will provide a useful selection tool to assist producers in selecting and managing animals for group housing environments.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Work continues to progress related to completing studies on laying hen behavior in aviaries as well as sensor development for monitoring hen behavior. Data collection has cocmpletely finished on 2 of 3 hen projects with presentations delivered relating to the findings and articles beginning to be published on these findings. The project examining the impact of stocking rate in dairy cattle continues--with all survey data collected and video from the experimental phase being decoded.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Siegford JM*. 2013. Multidisciplinary approaches and assessment techniques to better understand and enhance zoo animal welfare. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 16(4):300-318.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Elischer MF, Arceo ME, Karcher EL, Siegford JM*. 2013. Validating the accuracy of activity and rumination monitor data from dairy cows housed in a pasture-based automatic milking system. Journal of Dairy Science 96:6412-6422.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Daigle CL, Siegford JM*. Accepted. When continuous observations just won't do: developing accurate and efficient sampling strategies for the laying hen. Behavioural Processes.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Kroll LAK, Grooms DL*, Siegford JM. 2013. Behavioral responses of feedlot cattle following tail docking. Proceedings of the 46th Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, September 19-21, 2013 Milwaukee, WI.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Blatchford RA, Mench JA*, Siegford JM, Makagon MM, Campbell DLM, Swanson JC. 2013. The effectiveness of dust bathing substrates in enriched colony and aviary laying hen housing systems. Poultry Science 92(E-supplement 1):93.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Campbell DLM, Siegford JM*, Makagon MM, Swanson JC. 2013. Movement of hens housed in a commercial aviary system. Poultry Science 92(E-supplement 1):27.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Goodwin SL, Makagon MM, Swanson JC, Siegford JM*. 2013. Flight behavior and successful landings of laying hens housed in aviary systems with litter. Poultry Science 92(E-supplement 1):93.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Niewiadomski CN, Erasmus M, Siegford J*, Swanson J. 2013. Is increased fear associated with feather pecking in commercial turkeys? Poultry Science 92(E-supplement 1):94.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Colpoys JD, Gabler NK, Keating AF, Millman ST, Siegford JM, Johnson AJ*. 2013. Barrow approachability to a novel object when selected for feed efficiency. Journal of Animal Science 91(E-Supplement 2):288.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Colpoys JD, Gabler NK, Keating AF, Millman ST, Siegford JM, Johnson AJ*. 2013. Barrow approachability to a human when selected for feed efficiency. Journal of Animal Science 91(E-Supplement 2):689.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Elischer MF, Siegford JM, Karcher E*. 2013. Metabolic and oxidant profiles of periparturient pastured dairy cows milked in an automatic milking system. Journal of Dairy Science 96(E-Supplement 1):83.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Siegford JM*, Charlton G, Witaifi A, Pajor EA, Rushen J, Gibbons J, Vasseur E, de Passille AM, Haley D, Pellerin D. 2013. On farm assessment of milking behavior in dairies with automatic milking systems. Proceedings of the 47th International Congress of the ISAE 47:104.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Daigle CL, Siegford JM*. 2013. The body-behavior connection: associations between WQ� measurements and non-cage laying hen behavior. Proceedings of the 47th International Congress of the ISAE 47:103.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Jenkins J, Johnson A, Gabler N, Keating A, Millman S, Siegford J. 2013. Behavioral fear response to a novel or human stimuli in barrows selected for feed efficiency. Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 2013. A.S. Leaflet R2810.
|
Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: ACTIVITIES: In 2012, research continued to be conducted on: 1) the development of a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; 2) examining the impact of robotic milking on cow behavior and welfare, 3) validation of various methods for assessing movement and rumination of dairy cows and 4) examining the impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. Teaching materials were prepared as part of funding received from 1) a USDA APHIS cooperative agreement and 2) USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant to provide continuing education for veterinarians in animal welfare and to create bioethics training materials respectively. In 2012, data was published from experiments examining: 1) impacts of wearing a wireless body-mounted sensor system on resource use and aggression in non-caged laying hens; 2) the ability of the wireless body-mounted sensor to successfully detect specific behaviors performed by laying hens; 3) the adaptation of cows to being milked by automatic milking systems; 4) the impact of cow behavior on the efficiency of automatic milking systems; and 5) an assessment of the educational needs of pork producers related to alternative sow housing. An invited literature review on the impact of automatic milking systems was published in Journal of Dairy Science. A manuscript related to teaching effort was also published on: 1) Michigan State University's animal welfare and ethics course for veterinary students. EVENTS: 1) Delivered an invited lecture on low stress handling of pigs at the Michigan Pork Producers Symposium, February 2012; 2) Delivered an invited talk on teaching animal welfare to college students as part of the Teaching Symposium at the Midwest ASAS-ADSA Meeting, March 2012; 3) Delivered two talks on using activity and rumination monitors to evaluate cow behavior in October and December 2012; 4) coached the MSU graduate team for the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest; and 5) Delivered an invited presentation at the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association's second animal welfare conference with Dr. Camie Heleski on using comparative scenarios to assess welfare, November 2012. SERVICES: Provided guidance and resources to pet owners and veterinarians seeking assistance with companion animal behavior problems. PRODUCTS: Website for the MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group at www.canr.msu.edu/animalwelfare. NVAP Module 22: Animal Welfare: An Introduction, which can be found at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/vet_accreditation/nvap_module s/AWIC/index.htm, was produced as part of the online training available to veterinarians accredited through the USDA APHIS's National Veterinary Accreditation Program. PARTICIPANTS: INDIVIDUALS: Janice Siegford is the principle investigator for the activities described above. Dana Campbell is working with Dr. Siegford on the commercial laying hen housing project to examine the behavior of hens in an aviary system. Courtney Daigle has worked as a technician on projects conducted in the Siegford lab and is a Ph.D. student under Dr. Siegford working on the body-mounted sensors in laying hens project. Melissa Elischer is a MS student under Dr. Siegford and Dr. Elizabeth Karcher working on examining impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. Ali Witaifi is a MS student working with Dr. Siegford to evaluate the impact of feed and stall stocking rates on cows in automatic milking systems. Dr. Siegford also has 11 undergraduate students currently working on various projects in the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group (Kaitlin Wurtz, Yufei Guo, Sarah Castle, Julia Bergen, Lorialyn Turner, Shelby Goodwin, Lachelle deVoe, Rachel Gohier, Samantha Kaplin, Kailynn Van de Water, and Diondra Voishich). Dr. Siegford serves on the graduate committees of MS and PhD students in several departments: David Orban (MS, Zoology), Lee Ann Peasley (MS, Large Animal Clinical Science), Marisa Erasmus (PhD, Animal Science), Prafulla Regmi (PhD, Animal Science), and Monica List (PhD, Philosophy). COLLABORATORS: Work on the body-mounted sensors and laying hen housing projects has involved collaboration from J. Swanson (ANS), S. Biswas (CENG), and D. Karcher (ANS). The Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests were team efforts led by C. Heleski (ANS) and involving J. Swanson (ANS). Validation of the technologies used to assess dairy cow activity and rumination were conducted in collaboration with S. Utsumi (ANS & KBS). Research on the impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism is being conducted with E. Karcher (ANS) and L. Sordillo (LCS, CVM). External collaborators for the work with laying hens include: Dr. Ruth Newberry and Dr. Marvin Pitts (Washington State University); Dr. Joy Mench and Dr. Cassandra Tucker (UC Davis); and Dr. Bas Rodenburg and Dr. Liesbeth Bolhuis (Wageningen University). External collaborators working on the educational material for USDA veterinarians include: Dr. Gail Golab and Dr. Emily Patterson-Kane (AVMA). External collaborators working on the bioethics instruction materials include: Dr. Candace Croney (Purdue), Dr. Gary Varner (Texas A&M), Dr. Ray Anthony (U Alaska, Anchorage), Dr. Ray Stricklin (University of Maryland) and Dr. Dane Scott (U Montana). TARGET AUDIENCES: Outputs described in the project are aimed at a variety of audiences including livestock producers; undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students at MSU and beyond; colleagues in the scientific community; practicing veterinarians; and to a lesser extent, the general public. Specifically, target audiences for the research conducted related to animal behavior and welfare as well as the talks, workshops and symposia delivered at scientific meetings described in the project are members of the animal science, zoo, and veterinary professional communities. The research of an applied nature conducted within the scope of this project, such as that related to adaptation of dairy cows to automatic milking systems and temperament in beef cattle, is ultimately destined to be delivered to livestock producers through venues such as field days and extension publications. The target audience for the continuing education materials for veterinarians is vets that are working in the USDA APHIS system. The target audience for the bioethics instructional materials and university instructors who need to introduce students to a range of bioethical issues but lack formal training in this area. The group website is generally targeted at students and colleagues in academia, but also contains information useful to livestock producers and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
As a result of ongoing experiments related to the behavior and welfare of production animals, one outcome will be a change in our scientific knowledge related to the management of livestock. Development of a body-mounted sensor system and processing software will allow for monitoring of behavior and welfare of individual animals housed in large groups. Understanding how to quantify the stress associated with novel milking environments and with robotic milking in particular can help ease difficulties associated with transitioning cows from one system to another. The annual Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment contest exposes undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students to the complexity of animal welfare assessment and provides training and experience to students in assessment, reasoning and public speaking. The educational materials being developed for USDA veterinarians and instructors teaching students about bioethics will help create a larger body of professionals educated with respect to animal welfare and ethics.
Publications
- Jacobs JA, Siegford JM. 2012. Invited review: The impact of automatic milking systems on dairy cow management, behavior, health and welfare. Journal of Dairy Science 95:2227-2247.
- Banerjee D, Daigle C, Biswas S, Siegford JM. 2012. Remote activity classification of hens using wireless body mounted sensors. Body Sensor Networks 107-112. Peer-reviewed article published as part of the Ninth International Conference on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks, London, United Kingdom. doi:10.1109/BSN.2012.5
- Nolan AM, Makagon MM, Swanson JC, Siegford JM. 2012. Use of feeders by laying hens housed in multiple-tier aviary system. Proceedings of the 11th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, May 11-22, 2011 Banff, Canada. 11:41.
- Banerjee D, Daigle C, Biswas S, Siegford JM. 2012. Remote activity classification of hens using wireless body mounted sensors. 9th International Conference on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks, May 10-12, London, UK.
- Elischer MF, Karcher EL, Siegford JM. 2012. Validating the accuracy of activity monitor data from dairy cows housed in a pasture-based automatic milking system. Proceedings of the 46th International Congress of the ISAE 46:212.
- Orban D, Snider R, Siegford J, Carter S, Geise G. 2012. Effects of guest feeding programs on captive giraffe behavior. Proceedings of the 88th Association of Zoos and Aquariums Annual Conference.
- Siegford JM, Elischer MF, Karcher EL. 2012. Validating the accuracy of activity monitor data from dairy cows housed in a pasture-based automatic milking system. The First Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium: Learning Journal 1:54. Extended abstract available at http://knowledgecenter.dairycattlewelfaresymposium.ca/30/1.
- JOURNAL ARTICLES Jacobs JA, Siegford JM. 2012. Lactating dairy cows adapt quickly to being milked by an automatic milking system. Journal of Dairy Science 95:1575-1584.
- Jacobs JA, Ananyeva K, Siegford JM. 2012. Dairy cow behavior affects the availability of an automatic milking system. Journal of Dairy Science 95:2186-2194.
- Abood SK, Siegford JM. 2012. Student perceptions of an animal welfare and ethics course taught early in the veterinary curriculum. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 39(2):136-141. doi:10.3138/jvme.0911.093R1
- Bates RO, Ferry E, Guthrie T, May G, Rozeboom DW, Siegford JM. 2012. Assessment of pork producer educational needs for adoption of group sow housing. Journal of Extension 50(3):3RIB6.
- Daigle C, Banerjee D, Biswas S, Siegford JM. 2012. Non-caged laying hens remain unflappable while wearing body-mounted sensors: levels of agonistic behaviors remain unchanged and resource use is not reduced after habituation. Poultry Science 91:2415-2423.
- ABSTRACTS Siegford JM. 2012. Multiple models for teaching animal welfare to college students (Invited talk). Journal of Dairy Science 95(Supplement 1):83.
- Daigle CL, Siegford JM. 2012. Accurate and efficient behavioral sampling strategies for non-cage laying hens. Proceedings of the 11th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, May 11-22, 2011 Banff, Canada. 11:18.
- Makagon MM, Siegford JM, Swanson JC. 2012. Use of open litter areas by hens housed in a commercial aviary system. Proceedings of the 11th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, May 11-22, 2011 Banff, Canada. 11:23.
|
Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: ACTIVITIES: In 2011, research continued to be conducted on: 1) the development of a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; 2) examining the impact of robotic milking on cow comfort during milking, 3) validation of various methods for assessing movement and rumination of dairy cows and 4) examining the impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. Research was concluded on correlating the relationship of temperament, behavior, growth, carcass merit, and beef quality traits in Angus x Limousin crossbred cattle. In 2011, data was analyzed and prepared for presentation and/or publication from experiments examining: 1) impacts of wearing a wireless body-mounted sensor system on resource use and aggression in non-caged laying hens; 2) the adaptation of cows to being milked by automatic milking systems; and 3) the impact of cow behavior on the efficiency of automatic milking systems. Manuscripts related to teaching efforts were also submitted on: 1) Michigan State University's animal welfare and ethics course for veterinary students. EVENTS: 1) Delivered an invited talk titled "Challenges of Farm Animal Welfare" at the CZAW-MSU Animal Welfare Forum, January 2011; 2) Delivered four invited lectures on animal welfare and the veterinarian, animal behavior and animal welfare, legislative and social challenges affecting animal welfare, and relating measures of neuroendocrinology to animal welfare at the Farm Animal Behavior Short Course for the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, April 2011; 3) Conducted a demonstration and delivered a presentation on low-stress cattle handling to veterinary students in the Production Animal Summer Experience Program at MSU, June 2011; 4) Delivered talks during each day of the AgExpo on preparing for on-farm animal welfare audits, July 2011; 5) Delivered an invited presentation titled "Multidisciplinary approaches and assessment techniques to better understand and enhance zoo animal welfare" at the conference From Good Care to Great Welfare: Advancing Zoo Animal Welfare Science and Policy hosted by the Detroit Zoological Society, August 2011; 6) Co-hosted, organized, and developed four assessment scenarios for the 11th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest, November 2011; 7) Delivered an invited talk on dairy cow welfare at the 11th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest, November 2011; and 8) Delivered an invited presentation at the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association's first animal welfare conference with Dr. Camie Heleski on using comparative scenarios to train students to assess welfare, November, 2011. SERVICES: Provided guidance and resources to pet owners and veterinarians seeking assistance with companion animal behavior problems. PRODUCTS: Animal welfare assessment scenarios for the 11th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests: 1) racing horses, 2) farrowing sows, 3) pet parakeets, and 4) dairy cattle. Electronic copies of Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest materials. Website for the MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group at www.canr.msu.edu/animalwelfare. PARTICIPANTS: INDIVIDUALS: Janice Siegford is the principle investigator for the activities described above. Courtney Daigle has worked as a technician on projects conducted in the Siegford lab and is a Ph.D. student under Dr. Siegford working on the body-mounted sensors in laying hens project. Jacquelyn Jacobs successfully completed her MS in 2011 under Dr. Siegford working on cow behavior and welfare in an automatic milking system. Ms. Jacobs then received a Trillium Scholarship to attend University of Guelph to being her PhD with Dr. Lee Niel. Melissa Elischer is a MS student under Dr. Siegford and Dr. Elizabeth Karcher working on examining impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. Dr. Siegford also has six undergraduate students currently working on various projects in the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group (Kaitlin Wurtz, Yufei Guo, Aisling Nolan, Sarah Castle, Kelly Jaynes and Sarahbeth Barlas). Dr. Siegford serves on the graduate committees of several MS and PhD students in departments: David Orban (MS, Zoology), Lee Ann Peasley (MS, Large Animal Clinical Science), Marisa Erasmus (PhD, Animal Science) and Monica List (PhD, Philosophy) COLLABORATORS: Work on the body-mounted sensors and laying hen housing projects has involved collaboration from J. Swanson (ANS), S. Biswas (CENG), and D. Karcher (ANS). Research on the relationship of temperament, behavior and production traits is being carried out with C. Ernst (ANS). The Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests were team efforts led by C. Heleski (ANS) and involving J. Swanson (ANS). Validation of the technologies used to assess dairy cow activity and rumination were conducted in collaboration with S. Utsumi (ANS & KBS). Research on the impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism is being conducted with E. Karcher (ANS) and L. Sordillo (LCS, CVM). External collaborators for the work with laying hens include: Dr. Ruth Newberry and Dr. Marvin Pitts (Washington State University); Dr. Joy Mench and Dr. Cassandra Tucker (UC Davis); and Dr. Bas Rodenburg and Dr. Liesbeth Bolhuis (Wageningen University). External collaborators working on the educational material for USDA veterinarians include: Dr. Gail Golab and Dr. Emily Patterson-Kane (AVMA). External collaborators working on the bioethics instruction materials include: Dr. Candace Croney (Purdue), Dr. Gary Varner (Texas A&M), Dr. Ray Anthony (U Alaska, Anchorage), Dr. Ray Stricklin (University of Maryland) and Dr. Dane Scott (U Montana). TARGET AUDIENCES: Outputs described in the project are aimed at a variety of audiences including livestock producers; undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students at MSU and beyond; colleagues in the scientific community; practicing veterinarians; and to a lesser extent, the general public. Specifically, target audiences for the research conducted related to animal behavior and welfare as well as the talks, workshops and symposia delivered at scientific meetings described in the project are members of the animal science, zoo, and veterinary professional communities. The research of an applied nature conducted within the scope of this project, such as that related to adaptation of dairy cows to automatic milking systems and temperament in beef cattle, is ultimately destined to be delivered to livestock producers through venues such as field days and extension publications. The target audience for the continuing education materials for veterinarians is vets that are working in the USDA APHIS system. The target audience for the bioethics instructional materials and university instructors who need to introduce students to a range of bioethical issues but lack formal training in this area. The target audiences for the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest and related CD are undergraduate, veterinary and graduate students. The group website is generally targeted at students and colleagues in academia, but also contains information useful to livestock producers and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
As a result of ongoing experiments related to the behavior and welfare of production animals, one outcome will be a change in our scientific knowledge related to the management of livestock. Development of a body-mounted sensor system and processing software will allow for monitoring of behavior and welfare of individual animals housed in large groups. Understanding how to quantify the stress associated with novel milking environments and with robotic milking in particular can help ease difficulties associated with transitioning cows from one system to another. The annual Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment contest exposes undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students to the complexity of animal welfare assessment and provides training and experience to students in assessment, reasoning and public speaking. The educational materials being developed for USDA veterinarians and instructors teaching students about bioethics will help create a larger body of professionals educated with respect to animal welfare and ethics.
Publications
- Heleski C, Golab G, Millman S, Reynnells R, Siegford J, Swanson J. 2011. The Animal Welfare Judging & Assessment Competition (AWJAC). Proceedings of the 45th International Congress of the ISAE. 45:152.
- Siegford J, Heleski C, Golab G, Millman S, Reynnells R, Swanson J. 2011. Animal Welfare Judging & Assessment Competition (AWJAC): live and virtual assessments. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level. 5:109.
- Daigle C, Siegford J. 2011. Non-cage laying hen resource use is not reduced by wearing a wireless sensor after habituation. Proceedings of the 45th International Congress of the ISAE. 45:39.
- Jacobs JA, Siegford JM. 2011. Effect of exit alley blocking and back-up incidences on the accessibility of an automatic milking system. Proceedings of the 45th International Congress of the ISAE. 45:40.
- Jacobs JA, Siegford JM. 2011. Do cows adapt quickly to being milked by an automatic milking system Proceedings of the Animal Welfare Forum: Zoo/University Partnerships in Applied Studies of Animal Welfare. January 23, 2011. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- Daigle CL, Quwaider MQ, Siegford JM, Biswas SK, Swanson JC. 2011. Monitoring laying hen location and activity using a wireless body-mounted sensor system. Proceedings of the Animal Welfare Forum: Zoo/University Partnerships in Applied Studies of Animal Welfare. January 23, 2011. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- Orban DA, Siegford JM. 2011. Scenarios as welfare training tools: giraffe case study. Proceedings of the Animal Welfare Forum: Zoo/University Partnerships in Applied Studies of Animal Welfare. January 23, 2011. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- NEWSLETTERS Siegford J, Jacobs J. 2011. Effect of exit alley blocking incidences on the accessibility of the automatic milking system. Michigan Dairy Review. 16(1):18-20.
- Siegford J, Jacobs J. 2011. Do cows adapt quickly to being milked by robots Progressive Dairyman. Online at http://www.progressivedairy.com/index.phpoption=com_content&task=vie w&id=5739.
- Siegford J, Jacobs J. 2011. Exit alley blocking incidences and automatic milking systems. Progressive Dairyman. 25(9):75-76.
- Siegford JM. 2011. Challenges of farm animal welfare. Proceedings of the Animal Welfare Forum: Zoo/University Partnerships in Applied Studies of Animal Welfare. January 23, 2011. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- ABSTRACTS Heleski C, Golab G, Millman S, Reynnells R, Siegford J, Swanson J. 2011. Review of the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Competition (AWJAC) through 2010. Poultry Science Association 2011 Annual Meeting.
|
Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: ACTIVITIES: In 2010, research continued to be conducted on: 1) the development of a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; 2) correlating the relationship of temperament, behavior, growth, carcass merit, and beef quality traits in Angus x Limousin crossbred cattle; 3) examining the impact of robotic milking on cow comfort during milking, and 4) examining the impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. In 2010, data was analyzed and prepared for presentation and/or publication from experiments examining: 1) a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; 2) the effect of lengthening gestation stalls on sow behavior; and 3) the impact of automatic milking systems on cow comfort during milking. Manuscripts related to teaching efforts were also published on: 1) learning about animal welfare through online courses; 2) an introduction to a symposium on helping scientists understand bioethics; and 3) use of virtual animal welfare assessment tools by the zoo industry. EVENTS: 1) Co-hosted, organized, and developed four assessment scenarios for the 10th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest, November 2010; 2) Delivered an invited presentation to the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association's annual conference on using online educational materials to learn about animal welfare, January, 2010; 3) Delivered an invited ADVANCE seminar at Iowa State University called "Relating Measures of Neuroendocrinology to Animal Welfare" as well as a roundtable session on navigating the path to tenure as a woman, April 2010; 4) Delivered talks during each day of the AgExpo on preparing for animal agriculture's future, July 2010; and 5) Delivered an invited talk titled "Challenges of Farm Animal Welfare" at the CZAW-MSU Animal Welfare Forum, December 2010. SERVICES: Provided guidance and resources to pet owners and veterinarians seeking assistance with companion animal behavior problems. PRODUCTS: Animal welfare assessment scenarios for the 10th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests: 1) meat birds, 2) police and service dogs, 3) giraffes, and 4) beef cattle. CDs of Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest materials. Website for the MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group at www.canr.msu.edu/animalwelfare. PARTICIPANTS: Janice Siegford is the principle investigator for the activities described above. Courtney Daigle has worked as a technician on projects conducted in the Siegford lab and is a Ph.D. student under Dr. Siegford working on the body-mounted sensors in laying hens project. Jacquelyn Jacobs is a M.S. student under Dr. Siegford working on cow behavior and welfare in a robotic milking system. Melissa Elischer is a M.S. student under Dr. Siegford working on examining impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism. COLLABORATORS: Work on the body-mounted sensors and laying hen housing projects has involved collaboration from J. Swanson (ANS), S. Biswas (CENG), and D. Karcher (ANS). Non-abrupt weaning work and early exposure to concentrates was conducted with D. Buskirk (ANS). Research on the relationship of temperament, behavior and production traits is being carried out with C. Ernst (ANS). The Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests were team efforts led by C. Heleski (ANS) and involving J. Swanson (ANS). Research on the impacts of milking frequency and pasture on cow behavior, immunology and metabolism is being conducted with E. Karcher (ANS) and L. Sordillo (LCS, CVM). TARGET AUDIENCES: Outputs described in the project are aimed at a variety of audiences including livestock producers; undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students at MSU and beyond; colleagues in the scientific community; practicing veterinarians; and to a lesser extent, the general public. Specifically, target audiences for the research conducted related to animal behavior and welfare as well as the talks, workshops and symposia delivered at scientific meetings described in the project are members of the animal science and veterinary professional communities. The research of an applied nature conducted within the scope of this project, such as that related to weaning of beef calves and stall length for gestating sows, is ultimately destined to be delivered to livestock producers through venues such as field days and extension publications. The target audiences for the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest and related CD are undergraduate, veterinary and graduate students. The group website is generally targeted at students and colleagues in academia, but also contains information useful to livestock producers and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
As a result of ongoing experiments related to the behavior and welfare of production animals, one outcome will be a change in our scientific knowledge related to the management of livestock. One outcome related to the research described above includes information about a variety of less stressful ways to wean beef cattle that can be used by producers. Research that revealed no change in sow lying time or time spent in comfortable lying positions following an increase in the length of gestating stalls can be used by producers when making decisions regarding alterations to stall housing systems or transitions to group systems. Development of a body-mounted sensor system and processing software will allow for monitoring of behavior and welfare of individual animals housed in large groups. Understanding how to quantify the stress associated with novel milking environments and with robotic milking in particular can help ease difficulties associated with transitioning cows from one system to another. The annual Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment contest exposes undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students to the complexity of animal welfare assessment and provides training and experience to students in assessment, reasoning and public speaking.
Publications
- Siegford JM. 2010. Virtual cage-free hens and hypothetical happy cows: MSU's online course in animal welfare assessment can teach you to weigh the evidence. Michigan Veterinary Conference 2010 Proceedings. January 23-25, 2010. Lansing, MI.
- Siegford JM, Yue Cottee S, Widowski TM. 2010. Opportunities for learning about animal welfare from online courses to graduate degrees. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 37(1):49-55.
- Siegford JM. 2010. Bioethics Symposium: A scientist's guide to approaching bioethics. Journal of Animal Science. 88:E73-E74. doi:10.2527/jas.2010-2897.
- Quwaider M, Daigle CL, Biswas SK, Siegford JM, Swanson JC. 2010. Development of a wireless body-mounted sensor to monitor activity and location of laying hens in a non-cage housing system. Transactions of the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers 53(5):1705-1713.
- Agnew DW, Daigle CL, Siegford JM, Heleski CR, Swanson JC. 2010. Virtual animal welfare assessment: a tool for developing international proficiency. Wildlife Conservation, Health, and Disease Management - a Post-Millenium Approach. February, 3-5, 2010. Chennai, India.
- Daigle CL, Carter S, Geise G, Siegford JM, Snider R, Swanson JC. 2010. Development of a zoo and university animal welfare working group in the state of Michigan. Proceedings of the 86th Association of Zoos and Aquariums Annual Conference.
- Daigle CL, Quwaider MQ, Siegford JM, Biswas SK, Swanson JC. 2010. Laying hen location and activity can be monitored in a non-cage environment using a wireless body-mounted sensor system. Proceedings of the 10th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, May 27-27, 2010 Pullman, WA. 10:22-23.
- Daigle CL, Quwaider MQ, Siegford JM, Biswas SK, Swanson JC. 2010. Monitoring laying hen location and activity using a wireless body-mounted sensor system. Proceedings of the CZAW-MSU Animal Welfare Forum. December 13, 2010. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- Jacobs JA, Siegford JM. 2010. Do cows adapt quickly to being milked by robots Proceedings of the 44th International Congress of the ISAE. 44:215.
- Jacobs JA, Siegford JM. 2010. Do cows adapt quickly to being milked by an automatic milking system Proceedings of the CZAW-MSU Animal Welfare Forum. December 13, 2010. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- Orban DA, Siegford JM. 2010. Scenarios as welfare training tools: giraffe case study. Proceedings of the CZAW-MSU Animal Welfare Forum. December 13, 2010. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- Siegford JM. 2010. Challenges of farm animal welfare. Proceedings of the CZAW-MSU Animal Welfare Forum. December 13, 2010. Detroit Zoological Society, Detroit, MI.
- Siegford J, Jacobs J. 2010. Do cows adapt quickly to being milked by robots Michigan Dairy Review. 15(4):8-11.
|
Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: ACTIVITIES: In 2009, research was conducted on: 1) the development of a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; 2) correlating the relationship of temperament, behavior, growth, carcass merit, and beef quality traits in Angus x Limousin crossbred cattle; and 3) examining the impact of robotic milking on cow comfort during milking. In 2009, data was analyzed and prepared for presentation and/or publication from experiments examining: 1) the effect of early exposure to concentrates on acceptance of concentrates at weaning in beef calves; 2) the effect of lengthening gestation stalls on sow behavior; 3) the effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of captive clawless otters; 4) a wireless body-mounted sensor system to describe behavior, space use, and resource use in non-caged laying hens; and 5) the effect of early exposure to concentrates on acceptance of concentrates at weaning in beef calves. EVENTS: 1) Co-hosted and organized the 9th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest, November 2009; 2) Delivered a presentation (w/Ben Bartlett) on beef handling strategies at Cattlemen's Boot Camp, September, 2009; 3) Delivered an invited presentation AVMA AAVMC Animal Welfare Symposium on online and graduate opportunities for animal welfare education, November, 2009; 4) Organized a bioethics symposia: "A Scientist's Guide to Approaching Bioethics" at American Society for Animal Science Annual Meeting, July 2009; and 5) Organized and chaired a bioethics workshop: "Working through Bioethical Issues in Practice" at American Society for Animal Science Annual Meeting, July 2009. SERVICES: Provided guidance and resources to pet owners and veterinarians seeking assistance with companion animal behavior problems. PRODUCTS: Animal welfare assessment scenarios for the 9th Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests: 1) white-tailed deer, 2) laboratory rats, 3) meat goats, and 4) sheep. CDs of Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest materials. Website for the MSU Animal Behavior and Welfare Group at www.canr.msu.edu/animalwelfare. PARTICIPANTS: Janice Siegford is the principle investigator for the activities described above. Courtney Daigle has worked as a technician on projects conducted in the Siegford lab and is a Ph.D. student under Dr. Siegford working on the body-mounted sensors in laying hens project. Jacquelyn Jacobs is a M.S. student under Dr. Siegford working on cow behavior and welfare in a robotic milking system. COLLABORATORS: Work on the body-mounted sensors has involved collaboration from J. Swanson (ANS), S. Biswas (CENG), and D. Karcher (ANS). Research on the effect of stall length on gestating sows has been done with B. Straw (CVM). Non-abrupt weaning work and early exposure to concentrates was conducted with D. Buskirk (ANS). Research on the relationship of temperament, behavior and production traits is being carried out with C. Ernst (ANS). The Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contests were team efforts led by C. Heleski (ANS) and involving J. Swanson (ANS). TARGET AUDIENCES: Outputs described in the project are aimed at a variety of audiences including livestock producers; undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students at MSU and beyond; colleagues in the scientific community; practicing veterinarians; and to a lesser extent, the general public. Specifically, target audiences for the research conducted related to animal behavior and welfare as well as the talks, workshops and symposia delivered at scientific meetings described in the project are members of the scientific community. The research of an applied nature conducted within the scope of this project, such as that related to weaning of beef calves and stall length for gestating sows, is ultimately destined to be delivered to livestock producers through venues such as field days and extension publications. The target audiences for the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest and related CD are undergraduate, veterinary and graduate students. The low stress cattle handling demonstration at the Cattlemen's Boot Camp was targeted towards livestock producers. The group website is generally targeted at students and colleagues in academia, but also contains information useful to livestock producers and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
As a result of ongoing experiments related to the behavior and welfare of production animals, one outcome will be a change in our scientific knowledge related to the management of livestock. One outcome related to the research described above includes information about a variety of less stressful ways to wean beef cattle that can be used by producers. Research that revealed no change in sow lying time or time spent in comfortable lying positions following an increase in the length of gestating stalls can be used by producers when making decisions regarding alterations to stall housing systems or transitions to group systems. Development of a body-mounted sensor system and processing software will allow for monitoring of behavior and welfare of individual animals housed in large groups. The annual Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment contest exposes undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students to the complexity of animal welfare assessment and provides training and experience to students in assessment, reasoning and public speaking.
Publications
- Sanderson, M.S., Daigle, C.L., Stark-Posta, B., and Siegford, J.M. 2009. Assessing immediate and long-term effects of environmental enrichment: implications for welfare of African clawless otters (Aonyx capensis). Animal Keepers Forum, 36(9): 471-476.
- Jacobs, J.A. and Siegford, J.M. 2009. Combining pasture-based and automatic milking systems: A marriage of opposites or a match made in heaven Program and Abstracts of Oral Presentation and Posters: 9th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P 17).
- Daigle, C.L., Kenyon, E.A., Distel, E., Hardee, A.A., and Siegford, J.M. 2009. Behavior of cage-free laying hens under different lighting conditions. Program and Abstracts of Oral Presentation and Posters: 9th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P 32).
- Dik, M., Daigle, C.L., and Siegford, J.M. 2009. Effect of flavor on acceptance of and preference for grain in unweaned beef calves. Program and Abstracts of Oral Presentation and Posters: 9th ISAE North American Regional Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P 49).
- Agnew, D., Siegford, J., Tubbs, M., Daigle, C., Snider, R., and Swanson J. 2009. Virtual animal welfare assessment: educational and husbandry tools for the zoo industry. Proceedings of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Annual Conference, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- Siegford, J. 2009. Cow comfort at the new KBS Dairy. Michigan Dairy Review 14(4):1-3.
- Siegford, J., Biswas, S., Karcher, D., Swanson, J., and Armstrong, J. 2009. Development of a wireless sensory system to monitor behavior and activity in non-caged laying hens. Animal Science Spartan Spirit Spotlight Summer: 2.
- Powers, W. and Siegford, J. 2009. Alternative animal production systems and environmental considerations. Invited presentation and paper. Proceedings of the Midwest Poultry Federation Annual Meeting.
- Rumph, J.M., Ernst, C., Siegford, J., Daigle, C., Buskirk, D., and Hawkins D. 2009. Correlation of docility and exit velocity with economically relevant traits. Proceedings of the Beef Improvement Federation 41st Annual Research Symposium. Sacramento, CA (P 151-159).
|
|