Defining the composition and properties of manure in livestock production is critical in order to minimise possible environmental impacts stemming from its management. In this study, a nitrogen balance was carried out during two identical fattening periods (Experiments 1 and 2) in growing rabbits from weaning (age 28 d and live weight about 0.6 kg) to slaughter (age 61 d and live weight about 1.8 kg). The breeding conditions were typical for Spanish rabbit production. The objectives were to quantify the total nitrogen excreted by the animals and to estimate the average efficiency in the use of this nutrient, in comparison to other species. Animal weight, feed intake, and the production of faeces and urine were monitored weekly in a set of eight cages with nine rabbits in each, performing weekly analyses for nitrogen content in feed, urine and faeces. The overall nitrogen excretion was 50.2 g N per animal in Experiment 1 and 46.9 g N per animal in Experiment 2, which corresponded to about 58% of the total nitrogen intake. Urine and faeces contributed to overall nitrogen excretion in approximately the same proportions. The nitrogen excretion ratio was 40 grams per kilogram of animal produced. According to this ratio, rabbit breeding is less efficient in the use of nitrogen than raising broilers, but more than fattening pigs.

There are opportunities to improve livestock family farms (LFFs) sustainability in Uruguay by using the co-innovation approach to change management practices and incorporate technologies. To harness these opportunities, between 2012 and 2015, a research project was implemented in Eastern Uruguay, where three simultaneous processes occurred at three levels: farm, region, and research team. At farm level, the work was carried out in seven LFF as case studies following three steps: (i) characterization and diagnosis; (ii) redesign; and (iii) implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. At the regional level, a participatory approach to planning, monitoring, and evaluating the project’s progress with regional stakeholders was adopted. At the team level, a Participatory Action Research approach was used. Consensus on the objectives and methods allowed for combined knowledge to solve practice-oriented problems. The 3-year project demonstrated the effectiveness in improving LFF sustainability, opened a learning space with stakeholders, and utilized a co-innovation model to improve rural development outcomes.

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-The objective of this work is to characterize two contrasting systems of fattening pigs in Uruguay. A total of 96 pigs (average 41.7 kg) were divided into eight groups of 12 animals, representing two production systems: (IN) pigs confined in pens of 12 m 2 or (OUT) kept in plots with field shelters and access to pasture. Behavioral observations were performed by scan sampling at 5-minute intervals, three times a day during weeks 6, 8, 10 and 12 of the experiment. Aggressions were also observed at the end of the experimental period. Blood samples were taken for cortisol analysis and other physiological parameters, during growth period and slaughter and meat quality characteristics were assessed after slaughter. Differences were found in carcass characteristics, wherein IN presented a higher dorsal fat. These animals presented an overall lower activity and spent less time resting, with a stable pattern throughout the day. In OUT, pigs usually rested at midday hours, more active in the morning and afternoon. The number of total reciprocal aggressions in the observation period was 4.2±3.7 for IN and 2.3±2.2 for OUT. Cortisol levels and biochemical profile did not show evidence of important problems in the animals. Welfare is not compromised in any of the systems, although higher levels of cortisol and aggressions could be indicating some stress problems in the confinement system. Meat characteristics in OUT were considered better than in IN from a nutritional point of view.

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The objective of the present study was to characterise the behaviour of Holstein steers in three different production systems. Forty-eight castrated Holstein males were randomly divided into three groups and allocated to the following three outdoor treatments: (T1) animals confined in a yard with an area of 210 m2, (T2) animals confined in a similar-sized yard but with 6 h of access to a pasture plot, (T3) animals maintained throughout the experiment on a pasture plot. Behaviour was recorded by scan sampling, 12 h a day (from 0700 hours to 1900 hours), 3 days per week, for 4 weeks evenly distributed from Week 7 to Week 16 of the experiment. So as to assess their patterns of behaviour, a negative binomial regression, correspondence analysis and logistic regressions were performed. Grazing was the predominant behaviour among Groups T2 and T3, while ‘eating hay’ was the most frequent behaviour among Group T1. For all treatments, lying was the second-most frequent behaviour. Despite animals in T2 having access to pasture for only half of the time with respect to those in T3, there was no difference between both treatments in the time spent grazing. Correspondence analysis of behaviour as a function of weather conditions showed that several behaviours were close to certain weather conditions, e.g. ‘standing’ and ‘ruminating while standing’ were closer to light rainy weather, while ‘lying’ or ‘ruminating while lying’ were more related to sunny weather.’Lying’ tended to increase along the day in all treatments, while ‘eating hay’ increased along the day within Group T1, but decreased within Groups T2 and T3. It is concluded that the management conditions associated with the systems that were studied produced different behavioural patterns in the steers. Grazing behaviour is important for the animals, and the permanent or restricted possibility to perform it, determined by the production system, meant that the patterns of other behaviours changed to give priority to pasture intake.

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