Relationship between different livestock managements and stress response in dairy ewes

Abstract

Abstract. The gradual diffusion of intensive and semi-intensive production systems, especially in dairy sheep breeds, has led to the growing concern of consumers about the life conditions of farmed animals. Space allowance and structures of sheep houses are described as the main potential sources of discomfort for housed flocks, together with inappropriate milking procedures and human-animal interactions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the structure relative to milking room could represent a stressor in Sarda dairy ewes. Animals were divided into two groups according to their farm of origin. Group A (n = 40) was from a farm whose milking room was an old warehouse with a waiting area limited and located outdoors and at a different level with respect to the milking room. The passageway of the entrance in the milking room was narrow and perpendicular to the milking positioning so the animal must bend 90 • to enter in the room. Group B (n = 40) was from a farm whose milking room was wide and modern with a large waiting area located at the same level. From all animals blood samples were collected at T 0 (2 h before milking procedure at 06:00), at T 1 (immediately after the animals entered the milking room, about 08:00) and at T 2 (after milking procedure). In addition plasma cortisol and glucose values were evaluated. Statistical analysis showed significant effect of milking room (P < 0.001) and of sampling time (P < 0.05) on cortisol and glucose levels. The results obtained in the present study suggest that, in addition to milking, the characteristics of the room where this procedure occurs represent stressful stimuli that could influence negatively the productivity and welfare of dairy ewes.

Temporal variations of herbage production and nutritive value of three grasslands at different elevation zones regarding grazing needs and welfare of ruminants

“…However, in extensive production systems, problems concerning the animals' welfare maybe arise from several issues, such as decreased forage availability, forage nutrient deficiencies, lack of access to water and shelter, inappropriate stable installations, inadequate veterinarian care, etc. Research about the welfare of livestock has been mainly conducted to intensively farmed animals with or without access to pastures (Turner and Dwyer, 2007;Charlton and Rutter, 2017;Carcangiu et al, 2018) and to certain regions (Mikuš et al, 2018). For this reason, information concerning the welfare of grazing ruminants is quite restricted (Bojkovski et al, 2014;Topczewska, 2014;Antkowiak et al, 2012;Karasabbidis et al, 2014;Gilhaus and Hölzel, 2016).…”

Mitigating Cold Stress in Livestock by Nutritional Interventions: A Comprehensive Review

“…Variations in blood parameters depends on the species, sex, age and nutritional and physical condition of animals (Arfuso et al, 2016;Fiore et al, 2017;Fiore et al, 2018). The investigation of blood parameters in animals represents a crucial tool in the advancement of management conditions, especially concerning the detection of healthy versus infected or stressed animals (Carcangiu et al, 2018;Arfuso et al, 2023;Perillo et al, 2021;Arfuso et al, 2022). Blood metabolic profiles including the biochemicals, lowmolecular metabolites, cations and anions are the indicators of the metabolic status in ruminants (Zaitsev et al, 2020).…”

DNA methylation pattern of the goat &lt;i&gt;PITX1&lt;/i&gt; gene and its effects on milk performance

“…Lactation performance is a complex quantitative trait affected by several crucial factors including genetic background, nutrition, and environment (Carcangiu et al, 2018). Over the past decade, the influences of genetic variations on milk performance in animals have been extensively studied (Koufariotis et al, 2018).…”

“…During early pituitary development, PITX1 activates the transcription of couples of pituitary hormone genes and transcription factor genes such as the LIM family, the POU family, and the SIX family (Poulin et al, 2000). Notably, PITX1 has been characterized as an activator of the POMC gene and a partner of Pit1 causing differential expression of GH, PRL, and TSH, and thereby affecting milk performance in animals (Carvalho et al, 2006). In 2013, both the PITX1 gene and another PITX family member, PITX2, were identified as being associated with milk performance in dairy goats (Lan et al, 2013b;Zhao et al, 2013).…”