Effects of stocking density on the behaviour and growth of farmed red deer hinds

Blanc, Fabienne; Thériez, M.

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(97)00080-4

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This has been reported with red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus) subjected to high stocking densities at pasture [8]. When the spatial constraint is severe, social tensions can be observed among fellow animals (increase of agonistic encounters, Fig.…”

Section: Behavioural Component Of the Adaptive Responsementioning

confidence: 55%

“…duration, Fig. 1b) [8]. Such behavioural coping strategies limit social tensions, at the same time enabling subordinate hinds to keep a total grazing time similar to that of dominant individuals.…”

Section: Behavioural Component Of the Adaptive Responsementioning

confidence: 97%

“…1a Figure 1. Effect of stocking density on the social and feeding behaviour of grazing red deer hinds (adapted from Blanc and Thériez [8]). 1 Agonistic encounters were defined as occasions when one hind physically attacked another or made a ritualised gesture associated with attacks that caused the other animal to move away.…”

Section: Behavioural Component Of the Adaptive Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptive abilities of the females and sustainability of ruminant livestock systems. A review

Blanc

Bocquier²,

Agabriel

et al. 2006

Anim. Res.

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-In a systemic approach, the breeder can be considered as the decisional component of the livestock system, whereas animals are usually depicted to be part of its biotechnical component. The animal itself is a biological system whose ability to survive, grow, reproduce and cope with the environnement and livestock practices play a major role in the ability of the livestock system to sustain. In such a conceptual representation of the system, the reproductive females draw a peculiar attention since they determine in a great part the productivity and the durability of the system through their abilities to maintain their own production level (milk production, numeric productivity) and to save their reproductive efficiency (repeated pregnancies and lactations) over years. Considering the animal level and its lifespan, it is clear that the abilities to adapt rely on behavioural and physiological regulatory processes. The study of the biological mechanisms involved in the adaptation to undernutrition is particularly interesting since regulatory processes implied in energy metabolism may interfere directly or indirectly with the reproductive function, and consequently, with the durability of the livestock system. A biological significance of such relationships between nutrition and reproduction is given that they allow the female to be informed about the associated risk of entering a productive process facing the uncertainty of the nutritional context. Although the general mechanisms implied in the ability to adapt to the underfeeding constraint are conserved among ruminants, the thresholds (or priorities) may largely differ according to the breed within the same species. Hence, in order to evaluate the ability of the ruminant livestock systems to perpetuate in hard environments (maintaining their production levels) or to assess sustainable objectives (opening bushy landscapes by increasing grazing pressure), animals' inherent adaptive potentialities have to be well known. Résumé -Capacités adaptatives des femelles et durabilité des systèmes d'élevage. Synthèse bibliographique. Dans une représentation systémique du système d'élevage, l'éleveur incarne la composante décisionnelle du système, tandis que l'animal constitue, avec la ressource, sa composante biotechnique. L'animal lui-même peut être considéré comme un système biologique soumis à un environnement contraignant, dont les aptitudes à survivre, croître, se reproduire et s'adapter jouent un rôle fondamental dans la pérennité du système d'élevage. Les femelles reproductrices tiennent une place particulière dans cette représentation car non seulement elles déterminent une large part de la productivité du système par leur propre niveau de production (production laitière, productivité numérique), mais elles en assurent également sa reproductibilité au cours du temps (investissement reproductif). A l'échelle de l'individu et de sa durée de vie, les modalités d'adaptation reposent sur des processus de régulations comportementales et physiologiques. De tels pro...

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Section: Behavioural Component Of the Adaptive Responsementioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Behavioural Component Of the Adaptive Responsementioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Behavioural Component Of the Adaptive Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Adaptive abilities of the females and sustainability of ruminant livestock systems. A review

Blanc

Bocquier²,

Agabriel

et al. 2006

Anim. Res.

Self Cite

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“…Space allowance must also take into account the age, sex and weight of the animals (DEFRA, 2006). High densities may induce social stress and modification of grazing patterns, especially in subordinate individuals (Blanc and Thériez, 1998). Furthermore, high densities induce the animals to form larger groups (Putman, 1988) in which the nearest neighbour distance tends to decrease, thus producing an increase of aggressive interactions (Clutton-Brock et al, 1982).…”

Section: Accommodation and Housingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare issues of modern deer farming

Mattiello

2009

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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This paper will start with briefly outlining the recent domestication history of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and fallow deer (Dama dama), followed by a description of the present status of modern deer farming. It will then review the main welfare issues of deer farming. The following aspects will be considered: accommodation and housing, management and handling, nutrition (feed and water provision), transport and slaughter, plus a short mention of velvet harvest. As a summary, the following practices can be recommended to ensure animal welfare in modern deer farming: the adoption of suitable housing systems and of adequate management techniques (e.g. specific handling pens and drop-floor cradles or crushes) and the respect of specific needs (e.g. provision of protection and shelter from predators as well as from climatic extremes, such as cold winds or direct solar radiation). Handling and yarding operations will be easier when they occur in dim light. Special attention must be paid to the manipulation of the newborns. At the slaughterhouse, facilities must be designed specifically for deer. The presence of well trained stockpersons, with a sound knowledge of deer physiology and behaviour, is also a key-factor for improving welfare levels in deer farms. To achieve these aims, training of the managers and stockpersons and the adoption of specific codes of conducts are highly recommendable.

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“…Social groups impose constraints on subordinate individuals. In grazing red deer, for example, the subordinates do not have access to preferred patches [2] are less synchronised with the dominants [10] and have a lower biting rate when near the dominants [49]. Similar hierarchical social relationships may, for example, be expected to reduce the foraging efficiency of subordinate members of groups of domestic herbivores at the high stocking densities in each successive paddock in a rotational grazing system.…”

Section: Scaling Issues: Preferences May Change With Scale Due To Socmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial heterogeneity and grazing processes

Parsons

Dumont

2003

Anim. Res.

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-Large-scale spatial patterns, whether in the height, density, or species composition of vegetation, are one of the most demonstrable and widely recognised features of heterogeneity in large herbivore grazing systems. But to understand how their existence relates to grazing processes, and what the implications of the patterns are for plants, animals, and for land users, requires adding spatial concepts, and dynamics to our knowledge of the interactions between plants and animals. Neither approach has been traditional in agricultural research. In this paper, we provide an overview of what we propose are some of the key topics and questions that arise in attempts to understand spatial aspects of the interaction between plant growth (food resources) and animals'behaviour. Rather than review advances in any one area in detail, we look at some basic principles of the fundamentally different ways in which animals eating from vegetation (with or without selectivity) affect the components of plant regrowth; the variance about these; the way this 'seeds' the creation and maintenance of heterogeneity, and most important the outcome (intake) for the animals. Likewise we outline some basic features of animals' behaviour, given heterogeneous and so spatially distributed food, which includes the expected rates of encounter; learning and memory; and both the benefits and costs of social interactions when foraging as a group. In this way we combine knowledge from several disciplines (plant physiology; animal science; behavioural ecology and not least from practical agriculture) with a goal of providing a basis for the development of simple pragmatic means for manipulating a grazed but multipurpose landscape to balance diversity, heterogeneity and agricultural performance.cognitive abilities / foraging costs / optimal grazing / rate of encounter / social behaviour Résumé -Pâturage et hétérogénéité spatiale. Les motifs d'hétérogénéité à large échelle, en terme de variabilité de hauteur, de densité ou de composition botanique du couvert, sont l'un des aspects les plus reconnus de l'hétérogénéité spatiale dans les systèmes pâturés. Afin de comprendre en quoi ils résultent du processus de pâturage, et ce qu'ils induisent pour l'évolution des couverts, les performances animales et les décisions des gestionnaires, il est indispensable de prendre en compte la composante spatiale des dynamiques de végétation et du comportement animal, ce qui représente en soi une approche innovante. être les éléments clés des interactions spatiales entre les herbivores et les couverts pâturés. Nous dé-clinons comment différents modes de prélèvement de la végétation (sélectifs ou non) affectent la croissance des repousses, leur variabilité spatiale, les motifs d'hétérogénéité à large échelle, et les performances des animaux qui exploitent ces couverts. Ce faisant, nous soulignons les processus mis en jeu lorsque des herbivores exploitent l'hétérogénéité spatiale des couverts, en particulier le rôle des probabilités de rencontre avec les items al...

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Effects of stocking density on the behaviour and growth of farmed red deer hinds

Cited by 30 publications

References 18 publications

Adaptive abilities of the females and sustainability of ruminant livestock systems. A review

Adaptive abilities of the females and sustainability of ruminant livestock systems. A review

Welfare issues of modern deer farming

Spatial heterogeneity and grazing processes

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