Physical conditions in a cattle vehicle during spring and autumn conditions in Japan, and reactions of steers to long distance transport     

Toshie ISHIWATA  Katsuji UETAKE  Yusuke EGUCHI  Toshio TANAKA 《Animal Science Journal》2008,79(5):620-627

The objective of this study was to investigate transportation conditions and behavioral and physiological responses of beef steers to long distance commercial transport in Japan. In spring (May) and autumn (September), eight (16 in total) Japanese Black × Holstein steers (7.8 ± 0.6 month of age; 310.3 ± 13.9 kg) were transported by truck. The transport distance was 1013.1 km (25 h including lairage periods) comprising 627.6 km (6.4 h) on expressways, 143.5 km (3.5 h) on arterial roads and 242.0 km (10.5 h) by ferry. The loading space of the truck gave a space allowance of about 1.62 m²/head. Internal temperature (±SD) and humidity (±SD) of the truck were 14.7 ± 4.7°C and 72.7 ± 22.4% in spring, 24.4 ± 2.8°C and 70.8 ± 14.4% in autumn. Vibration acceleration (±SD) of the truck in the longitudinal direction was greater in spring (?0.19 ± 0.43 m/s²) than in autumn (?0.15 ± 0.20 m/s²) (P < 0.05). There were no effects of season and driving conditions on the internal noise. Internal airflow velocity (±SD) of the truck was greater in spring (0.75 ± 0.70 m/s) than in autumn (0.45 ± 0.40 m/s) (P < 0.05), and it was greater while moving on expressways (0.77 ± 0.40 m/s) and arterial roads (0.63 ± 0.61 m/s) than when parked (0.16 ± 0.26 m/s) (both P < 0.05). Steers lay down more frequently while moving on expressways than the expected frequency (χ² = 121.9, P < 0.01). Steers were oriented parallel to the direction of travel (to the front cabin: 27.9%; to the tailgate: 23.4%) more frequently than the expected probability (12.5%). Blood glucose concentration, serum ALT activity and plasma cortisol concentration were greater in spring than in autumn (all P < 0.05). Serum pH was higher in autumn than in spring (P < 0.01). Blood glucose concentration was significantly higher at the market before transport, and serum total protein, triiodothyronine and total cholesterol concentrations were also significantly higher at the market and just after transport than 1 week after transport (all P < 0.05). However, the other physiological measurements such as plasma cortisol and blood lactate concentrations, serum pH and heart rate did not change after transport. The results indicate that in Japanese spring and autumn conditions, long distance transport with appropriate conditions including low stocking density and enough lairage time with provision of food and water might not cause severe stress for steers.  相似文献   

Efficacy of leflunomide for treatment of refractory inflammatory colorectal polyps in 15 Miniature Dachshunds     

Kenjiro FUKUSHIMA  Nozomi EGUCHI  Koichi OHNO  Hideyuki KANEMOTO  Masashi TAKAHASHI  Hirotaka IGARASHI  Aki OHMI  Ko NAKASHIMA  Hajime TSUJIMOTO 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2016,78(2):265-269

Inflammatory colorectal polyp (ICRP), common in miniature dachshunds, presents with hematochezia, tenesmus and mucoid feces. Although an 80% response rate has been reported when treated with prednisolone and cyclosporine, effective treatment is needed for the remaining 20% of ICRP dogs. Leflunomide is an immunosuppressive drug reported as effective in several immune-mediated diseases. In the present study, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and adverse effects of leflunomide in 15 ICRP dogs that were refractory to treatment with prednisolone and cyclosporine. Treatment efficacy was assessed by endoscopy, clinical symptoms and rectal palpation. Adverse effects were determined by clinical symptoms and blood testing during follow-up. The leflunomide treatment response rate was 93.3%. The median dosage of leflunomide and the median response time were 3 mg/kg (range: 1.7–4.0 mg/kg) and 35 days (range: 20–119 days), respectively. Adverse effects observed included lethargy (3 dogs), anorexia (1 dog), respiratory symptoms (1 dog), leukocytopenia (2 dogs), thrombocytopenia (1 dog), anemia (1 dog) and liver enzyme elevation (8 dogs). Most of the adverse effects improved with symptomatic treatment and leflunomide discontinuation or dosage reduction. In conclusion, leflunomide treatment is effective in ICRP dogs refractory to treatment with prednisolone and cyclosporine. Because several adverse effects were observed, close monitoring is needed during leflunomide treatment follow-up.  相似文献   

Comparison of time budget of behaviors between penned and ranged young cattle focused on general and oral behaviors     

Toshie ISHIWATA  Katsuji UETAKE  Robert J. KILGOUR  Yusuke EGUCHI  Toshio TANAKA 《Animal Science Journal》2008,79(4):518-525

To consider cattle welfare, time budget of behaviors of young cattle in pen and pasture conditions were compared. Behavioral observations of 103 steers in seven pens and 1136 steers in six ranges were performed during daylight over 3 days in each rearing condition. The pen condition had Japanese Black × Holstein cross, and the pasture conditions had assorted breeds of Angus, Murray Grey, Shorthorn, Hereford, Santa Gertrudis and their crosses aged 5–15 months. The ranges varied in vegetation from extensive native pasture to intensive improved pasture. The daytime proportion of behaviors and activity patterns were compared between rearing conditions. The proportion of walking was much lower in the pen condition (1.0 ± 0.2%) compared to all pasture conditions (at least 9.4 ± 4.0%; all P < 0.05), but grooming (5.9 ± 1.2%), investigating (2.5 ± 0.2%) and tongue playing (1.1 ± 0.2%) covered the loss. Fluctuation patterns of the proportions of eating (P < 0.001) and resting (P < 0.001) were different between pen and pasture conditions, whereas the pattern of the proportion of walking was not different. The proportion of eating in the pen condition (32.4 ± 0.3%) was not different to that in one on the farm (42.2 ± 12.6%), which had a thick improved pasture. However, the proportion of eating in the pen condition (32.4 ± 0.3%) was lower than that in two farms (58.8 ± 5.0% and 61.6 ± 16.5%) with low pasture availability (both P < 0.05). The proportions of oral behaviors such as self‐grooming (3.9 ± 1.0%), allogrooming (2.0 ± 0.2%), licking objects (1.3 ± 0.4%) and tongue‐playing (1.1 ± 0.2%) compensated for the lack of eating. These results indicate that we can learn a well‐balanced proportion of behaviors for cattle by making comparisons of time budget of behaviors and activity pattern between various rearing conditions. In addition, it is indicated that cattle under pen conditions under a restricted feeding period might compensate for a lower time spent feeding by performing other oral behaviors.  相似文献   

Behavior, physiology, performance and physical condition of layers in conventional and large furnished cages in a hot environment     

Tsuyoshi SHIMMURA  Satoshi HIRAHARA  Yusuke EGUCHI  Katsuji UETAKE  Toshio TANAKA 《Animal Science Journal》2007,78(3):314-322

The aim of the present study was to compare old layers' level of welfare and performance between conventional and large furnished cages under hot environmental conditions. At the age of 80 weeks, 104 Boris Brown layers were divided into two groups: 12 conventional cages (two hens/cage) and four large furnished cages (20 hens/cage, 240 cm wide × 62 cm deep). The room temperature was set to fluctuate between 25 and 33°C in a day. The hens' behavior, immune response, performance and physical condition were measured. Aggression and moving were more frequent in furnished than in conventional cages (P < 0.05 for both items). Egg production (P < 0.05), egg mass (P < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.01) were better in conventional cages than in furnished cages. No significant differences were found in the birds' immune responses or physical condition between the cage designs. In conclusion, under a hot environment, the performance of old layers in large furnished cages was lower compared with that in small conventional cages, which might be due to their greater aggressive interactions. However, it was not evident that welfare level was lower in large furnished cages compared with conventional cages. Hereafter, additional studies about large furnished cages using young layers over a long term should be performed.  相似文献