Investigation of donkeys learning capabilities through an operant conditioning

Seganfreddo, Samanta; Fornasiero, Diletta; Santis, Marta De; Contalbrigo, Laura; Normando, Simona

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105743

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In the context of Animal-Assisted Interventions, aiming to maximize animal welfare, supplements could be used strategically: they can be used, for example, to introduce novelties into the living environment of animals. Alternatively, considering the unique abilities of the donkey species, they can be utilized to set up games with a cognitive component or employed as rewards to teach beneficial behaviors with a Positive Welfare approach [ 49 , 50 ]. As nutrition is not just about what, but also about how food is consumed, information regarding the method of administering feed has been investigated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Sobrero,

Dalla Costa,

Minero

2024

Animals

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People working in the field of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) often state that they perceive animal welfare as a matter of paramount importance; nevertheless, most scientific literature focuses on the effectiveness of interventions from the user’s perspective. Before focusing on the animals’ management and welfare during their interactions with users, it is important to ensure animal welfare during their “ordinary lives”. This article reports information and considerations about the management of donkeys involved in AAIs in Northern Italy. Six facilities with several years of experience in Donkey-Assisted Interventions were visited for the purpose of an initial data collection regarding the management of donkeys involved in AAIs. Some knowledge gaps regarding the nutritional needs of the donkey and its preventive medicine have been identified; this study also highlighted a need for efforts to create a more stimulating and enriched environment for animals involved in AAIs. Some possible areas for improvement in the management of donkeys involved in AAIs have been highlighted. Further studies are necessary to provide a more comprehensive picture of the welfare of donkeys involved in this context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Sobrero,

Dalla Costa,

Minero

2024

Animals

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“…Information about donkeys' age, sex, and height at the withers was collected along with the anamnesis of each individual. More details on animal selection and management are reported in a previously published study [41].…”

Section: Animals and Farm Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To induce the positive emotional state (positive (+) test), a feeding reward was used by exploiting an operant conditioning mechanism. The same feed reward was used successfully as reinforcement during the training phase [41]. On the other hand, the failure to receive feed has been assumed to elicit a negative emotion in donkeys under study (negative (−) test), as has been done in analogous studies conducted, for example, in cows [42], in calves [43], and in sheep [44].…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To reach the study's objectives, the selected animals were involved in operant conditioning as described by Seganfreddo et al (2022) [41] (the process is also briefly summarized in the 'Training and test' section of the present work). The three researchers involved in the data collection were females, always with tied hair (i.e., ponytail), and dressed in blue jeans and blue pile fleece.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The learning criterion was performing 10 successive button presses independently (i.e., without any intervention from the researcher). The detailed description of the training phase can be found in Seganfreddo et al (2022) [41]. The positive reinforcement used during the positive (+) test was the same utilized during all the training phases, while the negative stimulus was utilized merely in the negative (−) test.…”

Section: Training and Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys

Seganfreddo

Fornasiero

Santis

et al. 2023

Animals

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Recognizing animal emotions is critical to their welfare and can lead to a better relationship with humans and the environment, especially in a widespread species like the donkey, which is often prone to welfare issues. This study aims to assess the emotional response of donkeys through an operant conditioning task with two presumed different emotional contents. Specifically, a within-subject design including positive and negative conditions was conducted, collecting behavioural and physiological (heart rate variability and HRV) parameters. Facial expressions, postures, and movements were analysed by principal component analysis and behavioural diversity indexes (frequencies, activity budgets, richness, Shannon and Gini-Simpson). During the positive condition, both ears were held high and sideways (left: r = −0.793, p < 0.0001; right: r = −0.585, p = 0.011), while the ears were frontally erected (left: r = 0.924, p < 0.0001; right: r = 0.946, p < 0.0001) during the negative one. The latter was also associated with an increased tendency to walk (r = 0.709, p = 0.001), walk away (r = 0.578, p = 0.012), more frequent changes in the body position (VBody position = 0, p = 0.022), and greater behavioural complexity (VGini-Simpson Index = 4, p = 0.027). As for HRV analysis, the root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD) was significantly lower after the negative condition. These non-invasive parameters could be considered as possible indicators of donkeys’ emotional state.

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Investigation of donkeys learning capabilities through an operant conditioning

Cited by 2 publications

References 53 publications

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys

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