18 research outputs found
IoT gas and environmental sensors to monitor air quality in goat farms in Northern Italy to improve animal welfare and environmental sustainability
No full textThe air quality of livestock housing systems affects animal welfare and their environmental sustainability. Scarce data are available in literature for goat facilities. In this study we monitored the air quality of three goat farms in Northern Italy characterized by different buildings and frequency of litter renewal. Air quality was measured through an IoT gas and environmental sensors device to detect the concentrations of ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2). Temperature and humidity were also measured to calculate the temperature-humidity index (THI). Data were collected in two seasons (winter and summer) 3 days before litter renewal. The results show that, in all farms and in any climatic and bedding conditions, air quality and environmental parameters never exceed the suggested thresholds for goats. Significant differences among seasons for each farm were recorded. Farm A showed better air quality in winter, with ammonia (NH3) at 2.3 ppm and carbon dioxide (CO2) at 546 ppm. However, the THI value was the lowest at 46, below the thermoneutrality threshold for goats. Conversely farms B and C showed a better air quality in summer with NH3 of 1.9 ppm and CO2 of 618 ppm and 556 ppm, respectively. Moreover, in farm C the highest THI values (80) was recorded in summer highlighting a potential severe heat stress condition. This study highlights the importance of continuous monitoring for the detection of potential critical environmental quality conditions in dairy goat barns, as well as the challenge of maintaining low harmful gas concentrations and adequate environmental conditions simultaneously
Assessing the Welfare of Goats
No full textThe assessment of goat welfare must necessarily be based on science, using valid, reliable, and feasible animal-based indicators. In recent years, interest in goats and their welfare has increased significantly, culminating in the publication of the European AWIN welfare assessment protocol in 2015. Although this protocol is widely used, there are still many gaps to be filled for a comprehensive goat welfare assessment. Most studies address the welfare of dairy goats, while virtually no work specifically exists on meat or fibre goats. Only a few indicators have been developed to assess the welfare of bucks and kids, while some studies are available for extensively farmed goats. Feral and wild goats are rarely considered in animal welfare studies. Most validated indicators are useful for measuring the health status of goats, while few are suitable for assessing emotions. There is a great expectation towards Precision Livestock Farming technologies and how it will improve and simplify welfare assessment. While this is partly true, we must not forget that relying completely on technology brings with it risks that can be detrimental to animals
THE INTERPRETATION OF EMOTIONS IN SMALL RUMINANTS
No full textEnsuring that animals have a life worth living means not only reducing their exposure to stressful and/or negative situations, but above all ensuring that they can experience predominantly positive affective states and emotions. The aim of this thesis was to improve human knowledge of how small ruminants (goats, Capra hircus, and sheep, Ovis aries) express emotions, with a particular focus on the acoustic features of vocalisations that can be used as animal-based indicators of the affective states of these animals. To pursue this goal, a multidisciplinary approach was adopted in this thesis, ranging from the study of the direct perception and interpretation of vocalisations by humans to the use of traditional acoustic analysis to decipher the emotional content of vocalisations, through the extraction of acoustic features and the application of statistical models, and their practical application for the development of up-to-date Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies.
The general introduction of the thesis provided an overview of the state of the art of research on small ruminant emotions and included a review paper on the topic of human-goat relationship. In fact, in farmed animals like sheep and goats, the quality of the human-animal relationship (HAR) depends on the emotional connotations of the interactions that occur between the two parties. The review focused on how humans and goats communicate, which factors influence this relationship, which methods are available to measure it, and how it can be improved. The review showed that certain interspecies communication channels, particularly the acoustic ones, have received little attention so far, and highlighted the importance of early, frequent and positive interactions with goats to improve HAR, and the role of some socio-demographic variables, such as gender, in influencing behaviour and attitude towards these animals. The review also highlighted the poor feasibility of the validated measures available for farmers to use for self-assessment of HAR, and suggested that farmers’ sense of commitment to goats could be improved by increasing their awareness of goats’ ability to express emotional states.
The first research chapter presented the development of a wireless acoustic sensor network for the continuous and non-invasive monitoring of goat vocalisations. The design, architecture and implementation of the system were presented, together with the hierarchical classification of goat vocalisations adopted for the manual annotation of these acoustic signals. In this context, the study also presented the development of a web-based annotation tool of goat vocalisations, to allow the association of labels, namely the context of emissions, to goat vocalisations. Finally, the study presented the development of a smartphone application to alert farmers and inform them of the emotional state of their goats.
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The second research chapter is an investigation of human perception of goat emotions based on their vocalisations. This human ability was investigated taking into account the respondents’ previous experience with goats, their level of empathy towards these animals, and other individual characteristics that may influence the recognition of animal emotions, and by considering the dimensional framework of animal emotions, which considers them as characterised by the dimensions of valence (positive vs negative) and arousal (low vs high). It was found that humans are able to recognise the emotional dimension of valence in goat vocalisations, as suggested by the consistency of the qualitative description of these vocalisations with their context of emission. The study also revealed a bias in the human ability to classify goat vocalisations emitted in negative contexts, presumably due to the fact that signals emitted in negative emergency situations carry more important and urgent information than those emitted in positive situations. The human ability to classify goat vocalisations was found to be influenced by the level of experience with these animals, with people with frequent direct contact with goats showing higher correct classification rates of the context of emission. Other individual characteristics, such as the level of empathy towards goats, seemed to improve the association of bleats to the correct emission contexts, although further studies are needed to clarify the role of empathy, attitudes and their underlying factors. Having children, gender and university education were not found to influence the human ability to interpret goat vocalisations.
In the third research chapter, acoustic, behavioural and physiological markers of negative arousal in lambs were investigated in a two-phases isolation test (partial vs full) designed to induce negative emotions, but characterised by different intensities of emotional arousal. Results showed that lambs produced more vocalizations per time unit and with higher frequencies (energy quartiles, formants, fundamental frequency) and Wiener entropy when experiencing negative arousal. These acoustic features were also found to increase with the bodily activation of the individual (namely the level of activity) as the arousal increased. Although the use of thermography as a method of detecting emotional states in animals seems promising, the results using temperature as a physiological indicator were inconsistent. Finally, the individual level of sociability did not affect the behavioural and physiological response of lambs to isolation, while an effect of the size of the lamb was found; both factors deserve further investigation.
Overall, the results of these studies advance the understanding of the expression of emotions in small ruminants, with practical implications for improving the quality of the human-animal relationship and the level of animal welfare, and highlight an important and potential role for PLF technologies in the automated collection and interpretation of emotions in sheep and goats
Humans and Goats: Improving Knowledge for a Better Relationship
No full textThere is consensus that the quality of the human-animal relationship (HAR) is relevant to guarantee appropriate levels of animal welfare. Given the impact that HAR may have on both goats and human beings, the aim of the present review is to elucidate: (1) how humans and goats communicate; (2) which are the factors affecting human-goat interactions; (3) how we can measure the quality of this relationship. The systematic review led to the selection of 58 relevant articles. Effective human-goat communication takes place by means of visual, tactile and auditory stimuli and, to a less extent, via olfactory and gustative stimuli. Goats have well-developed socio-cognitive abilities and rely on humans to get relevant information. A deep knowledge of goats' communication means and socio-cognitive abilities may greatly help improving the human-goat relationship. Management practices (e.g., rearing methods, amount and quality of interactions), as well as genetic selection for suitable individual traits, may contribute to improving HAR. Several measures to assess the quality of HAR have been validated, including avoidance in the pen and at the feeding rack and latency to first contact. Finally, farmers' attitudes and empathy with goats, as well as their motivation to work with animals, should be improved through appropriate training
Capre, in stalla con la Plf qualità aria sotto controllo
No full textMonitorare con la Plf le condizioni ambientali all’interno della stalla è risultato molto utile per valutare le differenze in base alle caratteristiche strutturali dell’edificio e alla loro gestione nei diversi mesi dell’anno. Il volume disponibile per il movimento degli animali e la ventilazione naturale che si riesce a stabilire sono aspetti cruciali per assicurare un buon livello di benessere animale
Exploring positive welfare measures: preliminary findings from a prototype protocol in loose housing dairy cattle farms
No full textIntroduction: Following the increasing interest about the development of indicators of positive welfare and affective state in farm animals, the aim of this research is to present some preliminary results on the application of a prototype protocol based exclusively on positive welfare measures and to suggest potential benefits that can promote positive welfare. Methods: The protocol was applied in 20 loose housing dairy cattle farms (6 on deep litter with straw, 14 in cubicles) and included only indicators of positive welfare and emotional states: feeding and resting synchronization, rumination during resting, comfortable lying postures, no visible eye white, relaxed ear postures, percentage of cow contacts with humans in the Avoidance Distance test. Potential benefits in terms of housing, feeding and management were then related to these variables (Mann-Whitney U test). Qualitative Behavior Assessment (QBA) was also carried out and analyzed by Principal Component Analysis to explore the effect of factors that were not evenly distributed in our sample (number of feed distributions, access to pasture, presence of paddock or environmental enrichments, automatic milking systems). Results: When hay was included in the diet, higher feeding synchronization (93.7 ± 1.6 vs. 52.2 ± 4.7%; p < 0.01), percentage of cows with relaxed ear postures (35.8 ± 5.4 vs. 15.5 ± 2.1%; p < 0.01) and percentage of cows with no visible eye white (55.9 ± 17.0 vs. 36.6 ± 4.1%; n.s.) were recorded. A higher level of feeding synchronization was observed also when the feeding places/cow ratio was > 1 (72.1 ± 9.9 vs. 53.8 ± 5.8%), although differences were not significant (p = 0.14). Deep litter had a more positive effect than cubicles on comfort at resting, with a significantly higher percentage of ruminating cows (65.8 ± 10.2 vs. 34.2 ± 3.7%; p < 0.01), a higher percentage of cows with no visible eye white (55.6 ± 9.9 vs. 33.1 ± 3.7%; p < 0.05) and a higher percentage of cows in a more comfortable posture, with stretched legs (14.3 ± 5.1 vs. 5.6 ± 1.6%; p = 0.09). QBA highlighted the most positive emotional state in the only farm that allowed access to pasture. Conclusions: This study represents a first attempt to apply a protocol for on-farm welfare evaluation based exclusively on the use of positive welfare indicators and provides suggestions on possible benefits (e.g., deep litter, feeding places/cow ratio > 1, hay in the diet and access to pasture) to enhance dairy cattle welfare
Management options to reduce the environmental impact of dairy goat milk production
No full textAlthough numbers are still low compared to cattle rearing, intensive dairy goat farms have been widely spreading in the Italian livestock systems. Since goats are quite rustic, they can easily adapt to different management practices; however, improving the efficiency can make the difference, both in productivity and on the environmental impact attributed to goat milk production.
In the present study, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach was used to quantify the potential environmental impact of goat milk production system in 17 farms in Lombardy (Northern Italy). Together with the environmental assessment, statistical analysis was carried out in order to determine whether it was possible to identify any relation among the variables that characterise this farming system.
From an environmental point of view, it has been shown that the lower the individual milk production, the more it affects the environmental impact: specifically, the carbon footprint appears higher than the one emitted by cattle milk production. Climate Change resulted, on average, equal to 2.67 kg CO2 eq/kg Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM) with a wide variability (min: 1.12 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM; max: 5.05 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM). Purchased feed was the main hotspot for several environmental impact categories (such as freshwater eutrophication, land use and mineral, fossil and renewable resources depletion). Enteric emissions and emissions from manure storage were hotspots for climate change, particulate matter and terrestrial acidification. The C sequestration during crop cultivation was not considered. As shown by the statistical analysis, the main driver which influenced the 6 main impact categories was, in fact, individual milk production. The environmental assessment was also performed considering a second Functional Unit (FU) (i.e. 1 ha of land) and the statistical analysis conducted on this FU showed the relevance of livestock intensity. In addition to this, the statistical analysis also showed how a restricted land availability can negatively affect the environmental outcome. This study represents one of the first studies on the environmental impact assessment of dairy goat milk production. Additionally, studying two FUs and using a statistical analysis approach helped to identify the main management options to which farmers should pay attention to improve goat milk production from an environmental point of view
Wool fiber quality of Pecora Ciuta, a local sheep breed from the Italian Alps
No full textIntroduction Pecora Ciuta is an indigenous breed from Valtellina and Alto Lario, primarily raised for meat production intended for consumption in local farm stays; wool remains a by-product. In the past, this breed provided wool which, although in limited quantity, was well utilized once spun and knitted into clothing and quilts, or carded to stuff mattresses. The VAL3CIUTA project aims to characterize and enhance the products of the Ciuta sheep. In this context, the present study intends to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Ciuta sheep wool, with the objective of contributing to its valorization and, in the future, the development of a local processing supply chain.
Materials and methods Ninety-six wool samples were collected from three partner farms of the project during the shearing carried out in September 2023. The following parameters were measured using instrumental analysis: fleece weight (kg), yield (%), fiber fineness (μm), variability of fineness (%), and comfort factor (%). Descriptive statistics were calculated for the obtained parameters, and comparisons were made using the least squares method (JMP Pro 17 software from SAS) to test the effect of the farm of origin, the number of shearings (first shearing vs. non-first shearing), and the age of the animals (1-9 years). The presence of any correlations between the parameters was analyzed using a multivariate correlation matrix
Results and discussion The average weight of wool obtained from each shearing per animal is 1.5 ± 0.5 kg, with a good yield on the greasy wool: 73.3% for farm 1, 73.5% for farm 2, and 79.3% for farm 3, highlighting differences in farm management of the animals. The average fiber diameter is 30.3 ± 3.2 μm, with a coefficient of variability (CV) of 35.9 ± 6.6% and a comfort factor (CF) of 61.8 ± 12.3%. The farm of origin significantly influenced all measured parameters (p<0.01), while the number of shearings (p<0.001) and the age of the animals (p<0.05) showed a significant effect exclusively on fleece weight, with the highest quantity (2.0 ± 0.6 kg) recorded in 5-year-old animals at subsequent shearings, and the lowest quantity (1.2 ± 0.4 kg) in younger animals, lambs and yearlings up to 1 year of age, and at the first shearing. No significant correlations were observed between the parameters. In conclusion, the fleece weight of the Ciuta is in line with the average production of non-Merino sheep breeds of similar size. The average fineness is coarse but usable for textile purposes. Unfortunately, the high CV negatively impacts the spinnability and final yarn count, while the low CF indicates a high percentage of fibers above 30 μm, with a strong likelihood of medullation, responsible for the prickle effect in yarns and fabrics
