From: IN%"lvcjn@ssa.bristol.ac.uk" "C.J.Nicol" 23-MAY-1995 02:51:04.18 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: PhD studentship I have a studentship available for someone to work on behavioural demand/ behavioural assessment of animal needs. If you are interested or know of any students who are interested I'd be grateful if you could contact me for further details. e-mail lvcjn@ssa.bristol.ac.uk fax (0)1934 853443 phone 0117 928 9473 Thanks Christine Nicol From: IN%"Rebecca.Ledger@brunel.ac.uk" 23-MAY-1995 09:49:12.67 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Hens & red light Dear All I am interested to know whether hens can see in red light. Can anyone offer any information or suggest any relevent references or citations about this? Hope to hear from someone soon! Rebecca Ledger Brunel University From: IN%"STOOKEY@sask.usask.ca" 23-MAY-1995 10:03:32.07 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Network concerns Dear All, There are a couple of points I would like to call to your attention: 1) Several individuals (myself included) have experienced a considerable time delay from the moment they send their message to the A-E network until the message is actually posted. I have no explanation for the delay, other than to suggest it is directly related to the rate at which the winter thaw proceeds in Saskatoon. Just as Saskatoonians realize that eventually the Province will heat up and the mosquitoes will emerge, you too can be assured that your message will eventually be posted on the A-E network (or forwarded to cyber space in the hopes of contacting alien life forms). Either way, it is best to wait an hour or so before you repost your message. 2) If you wish to unsubscribe from the network, or tell a friend they should subscribe, please remember to send your request to: Applied-ethology-REQUEST@sask.usask.ca (This goes to the list-server) DO NOT send your SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE request to: Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca (This goes to the entire network) Notice the difference between the two addresses? If you are having trouble subscribing or unsubscribing send a message directly to me (not the entire network) at: stookey@sask.usask.ca Hope this helps! Joe Stookey P.S. Occasionally someone wants to unsubscribe, because the A-E network does not discuss the applied-ethology topic(s) they are interested in discussing. In such cases, it is best to post the message directly to the entire network, stating your request to unsubscribe and the behavioural topic you had hoped to discuss. I can then remove your address from the mailing list and we can begin discussing the topic, once you are gone! This is a well thoughtout strategy that the original organizers of this network have all agreed to adhere to. If you have a topic that you secretly hope will be discussed, but you never raise the issue, we have agreed to honor your secrecy and we will not openly discuss the topic in your presence! From: IN%"STOOKEY@sask.usask.ca" 23-MAY-1995 10:40:48.79 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Urine drinking in pigs Dear All, Does anyone have any information or references concerning the behaviour of urine drinking by swine? I had a veterinarian call me about a client with pigs in a confinement operation (weighing > 35kgs) that were actively drinking urine from the other pigs. Water quality or quantity do not seem to be an issue. The vet, herself, observed some pigs drinking urine, some were observed trying to drink directly from the sheath of castrate males. I have not been successful at finding any references that mention this behaviour. Any ideas or references would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. Joe Stookey ============================================== Dr. Joseph M. Stookey Department of Herd Medicine and Theriogenology Western College of Veterinary Medicine University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W0 Canada stookey@sask.usask.ca From: IN%"wattsjon@duke.usask.ca" "Jon Watts" 23-MAY-1995 10:56:11.74 To: IN%"Rebecca.Ledger@brunel.ac.uk" "Rebecca Ledger" CC: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: Hens & red light Dear Rebecca, According to a book I saw recently, chickens can perceive a range of wavelengths similar to humans. According to this source they may see better in red light than in shorter wavelengths. Also given is the effect of different lighting colours on some developmental and production parameters. However the authors don't reference the source of this information, but presumably somebody did the research. Hope this helps. (?) Jon Watts (wattsjon@duke.usask.ca) University of Saskatchewan REF: North, Mack O. and Donald D. Bell (1990) Commercial Chicken Production Manual, 4th Edition. pp408-411. New York; Van Nostrand Reinhold. On Tue, 23 May 1995, Rebecca Ledger wrote: > Dear All > > I am interested to know whether hens can see in red light. Can anyone > offer any information or suggest any relevent references or citations about > this? > > Hope to hear from someone soon! > > Rebecca Ledger > Brunel University > > > From: IN%"DOMJEN@macollamh.ucd.ie" 24-MAY-1995 06:18:34.44 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Broody Hens Dear all, I am currently trying to gather as much information as possible about the broody period of the domestic hen. Does anyone have any refs. to hand about this subject. If so I would appreciate if you could forward them to me. Thanks, Domhnall Jennings, University College, Dublin 4. From: IN%"APN6JMF@SOUTH-01.NOVELL.LEEDS.ac.uk" "Mike Forbes" 24-MAY-1995 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Free-choice anaesthetics I believe someone out there has been studying the severity of pain by giving animals access to drinking water with or without anaesthetic (or analgesic) to see how much they choose to take in relation to different causes of pain. This is very elegant and I want to read about it. I could go through databases etc but I'll probably get a quicker and more comprehensive reply by asking Applied_Ethology_Network! ------------------------------------------------ Professor Mike Forbes, Department of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, University of Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Email: j.m.forbes@leeds.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0113) 2333053 Fax: +44 (0113) 2333072 From: IN%"F.Toates@open.ac.uk" "F.Toates (Fred Toates)" 24-MAY-1995 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: pain and drinking water Dear all, In response to Mike Forbes request, one relevant reference might be Colpaert,F.C. et al Life Sciences, 27, 921, 1980. Regards, Fred Toates From: IN%"D.B.MORTON@BHAM.ac.uk" 24-MAY-1995 09:29:17.71 To: IN%"RUSHENJ@NCCCOT.AGR.CA", IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Free-choice anaesthetics Dear Members, I might be off beam here but water and food intake is a common way of assessing severity of scientific procedures in animal research. See Morton & Griffiths 1985 in Veterinary Record and AVMA 1987, ATLA 1990; Flecknell and Lyles (several publications in Laboratory Animals since 1992, and an overview in January 1994, 28, 222-231) David Morton >I believe someone out there has been studying the severity of pain by giving animals access to drinking water with or without anaesthetic (or analgesic) to see how much they choose to take in relation to different causes of pain. This is very elegant and I want to read about it. I could go through databases etc but I'll probably get a quicker and more comprehensive reply by asking Applied_Ethology_Network!<< Prof.David.B.Morton | Janet: D.B.Morton@uk.ac.bham Biomedical Science and Ethics | Internet: D.B.Morton@bham.ac.uk The Medical School | University of Birmingham | Birmingham | Tel: +44 - (0)121 414 3616 B15 2TT, UK Fax: +44 - (0)121 414 6979 From: IN%"RUSHENJ@NCCCOT.AGR.CA" "JEFF RUSHEN" 24-MAY-1995 13:11:50.62 To: IN%"D.B.MORTON@BHAM.ac.uk", IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Free-choice anaesthetics David Morton writes: "I might be off beam here but water and food intake is a common way of assessing severity of scientific procedures in animal research. See Morton & Griffiths 1985 in Veterinary Record and AVMA 1987, ATLA 1990; Flecknell and Lyles (several publications in Laboratory Animals since 1992, and an overview in January 1994, 28, 222-231)" People often use the fact that an animal is eating as evidence that its welfare is OK. This seems common sense but I wonder how good the evidence really is. A reduction in food intake doesn't seem very useful when examining how animals react to acute stress. Certainly among rodents the phenomenon of stress-induced eating seems well established, although I have not seen much on this in farm animals. I have done some experiments with sheep (unfortunately unpublished), which suggested such an effect. I was examining the stressful effects of different handling techniques. What I found was interesting in that the effect of the handling technique seemed to depend on where the treatment was applied. If I went into the sheep's home pen and restrained it (inverted in a sheep handling machine, with simulated shearing), then for an hour or so after, food consumption was reduced. However, if I took the sheep out of its home pen, restrained it in the same way, and then returned it to its home pen, food consumption was actually increased; the sheep generally started eating immediately they were returned to their home pens. I thought this might be explained by assuming that the sheep think of their home pens as a "safe place". Does anybody know of research on stress induced eating in farm animals? Jeff Rushen rushenj@ncccot.agr.ca From: IN%"jhowe@seagrant.acenet.auburn.edu" "Jeff Howe" 24-MAY-1995 To: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" "NETWORK ETHOLOGY" CC: Subj: Parrotfishes I have been trying to find citations concerning the mucous envelopes that some parrotfish secrete at night. If anyone knows of any citations concerning this subject matter it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Jeffrey Howe Auburn Univ. Marine Ext. & Research Center 4170 Commanders Drive Mobile, AL 36615-1413 (334)438-5690 (334)438-5670 FAX From: IN%"appleby@petbcent.demon.co.uk" 25-MAY-1995 01:36:30.00 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Free-choice anaesthetics > >>I believe someone out there has been studying the severity of pain by >>giving animals access to drinking water with or without anaesthetic >>(or analgesic) to see how much they choose to take in relation to >>different causes of pain. >>This is very elegant and I want to read about it. I could go through >>databases etc but I'll probably get a quicker and more comprehensive >>reply by asking Applied_Ethology_Network! > >>Professor Mike Forbes, > > >I would also like to hear about this (and I am sure many others would too)! Could the replies be sent to the whole net please. > >Jeff Rushen >rushenj@ncccot.agr.ca > > > Further to this can we please talk about stress and incidents of increased appetite in all animals ? David ============================================ Name:David Appleby address:The Pet Behaviour Centre, Upper street, Defford, Worcestershire. WR8 9AB.England. E-mail:appleby@petbcent.demon.co.uk ============================================ From: IN%"gfb1@email.psu.edu" "G. F. Barbato" 25-MAY-1995 05:54:11.23 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Free-choice anaesthetics At 08:14 AM 5/25/95 -0700, you wrote: >>>I believe someone out there has been studying the severity of pain by >>>giving animals access to drinking water with or without anaesthetic >>>(or analgesic) to see how much they choose to take in relation to >>>different causes of pain. >>>This is very elegant and I want to read about it. I could go through >>>databases etc but I'll probably get a quicker and more comprehensive >>>reply by asking Applied_Ethology_Network! >> >>>Professor Mike Forbes, >> >>I would also like to hear about this (and I am sure many >others would too)! Could the replies be sent to the whole net >please. >> >>Jeff Rushen >>rushenj@ncccot.agr.ca i don't know of a specific incidence of feeding/watering animals w/any analgesics/anesthetics in regard to stress/pain.... having said that, there is a large literature on free-feeding/watering opioids (esp. morphine) in single and binary choice situations among rodents. there are large strain differences in binary choice tests (both acute and long term expts) and morphine selection is strongly influenced by dietary factors (specifically, level of dietary fat and carbohydrate). not surprisingly, opioid drugs also effect choice in cafeteria feeding expts...increasing the %fat selected in the diet. similar work (i.e., free choice or selection) has been done with alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines and several other pharmacologic compounds. since there are sizable individual differences in free choice feeding of these compounds independent of stress, and each has its own set of physiological and psychological outcomes (as would simple analgesics, like aspirin/tylenol) i would be suspect of any value in evaluating stress, per se. just my $.02. guy ============================================== //// G. F. Barbato Phone: (814)-865-4481 < * ) Dept. Poultry Science FAX: (814)-865-5691 \ \__/// Penn State University Lab: (814)-865-3189 ( --- ) University Park, PA 16802 Email: gfb1@psu.edu \/ \/ **** URL: http://ps235.cas.psu.edu/ **** ============================================== " Education is what survives when what was learnt has been forgotten." -------- B.F. Skinner XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX From: IN%"Chris.Sherwin@bristol.ac.uk" "CM. Sherwin" 25-MAY-1995 06:57:42.73 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: "stress" induced feeding Dear all, re: "stress" induced feeding in farm animals. I recollect reading a paper sometime ago in which production data for lambs were related to their position in the shed (the ewes and lambs were housed in small group pens along the length of a large barn). It was reported that the lambs nearer the doors put on weight more quickly. I wrote to the authors asking what their explanation for this was. They suggested this was due to the alarm response of the lamb. When disturbed they run to the mother and subsequently start suckling. Because those animals nearer the door were disturbed more frequently, they fed more frequently and subsequently put on weight more rapidly. Chris Sherwin University of Bristol From: IN%"serpell@pobox.upenn.edu" 25-MAY-1995 07:28:23.96 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: self-administered anaesthetics Dear all, I found the following quote in C. Manser (1992) The Assessment of Stress in Laboratory Animals, RSPCA Publs., p. 190: "Animals which have been trained to self-administer narcotics will use them in response to painful stimuli (Zimmermann, 1986)." The cited reference is: Zimmermann, M. (1986) Behavioural investigations of pain in animals. In: "Assessing Pain in Farm Animals, eds. I.J.H. Duncan & V. Molony, pp. 16-27. Luxembourg: Office of Official Publications of the Eurpean Communities. I do not have access to this publication, but would appreciate it if someone who does would check this reference out and get back me (us). Many thanks, James Serpell From: IN%"CEM1008@phoenix.cambridge.ac.uk" 25-MAY-1995 09:15:50.14 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Self-administered analgesia James Serpell wrote ) rather like a human over-eater- the only time he had company, and was thereby "happier" was over the food bowl, so food became in itself a stree-reliever, if you would. BTW, we got another dog, and he no longer overeats :) Lani Lyman-Henley aka Snakelady From: IN%"RACORN@APS.UoGuelph.CA" "Rob Acorn" 26-MAY-1995 12:01:49.31 To: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Re:Sampling interval Dear Everyone: I am a master's student in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Guelph. Part of my project involves measuring what percentage of time the weaner pigs in my experiment spend lying alone or in groups, on their sides or on their stomachs, feeding and standing (but not feeding). I would like to find a reference describing the best way to determine how often to sample the pig's behaviour, if I am using a one- zero sampling method (rather than arbitrarily deciding to sample every 5 minutes). I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions anyone has to offer. Thank you, Rob Acorn Department of Animal and Poultry Science University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario RACORN@APS.UOGUELPH.CA From: IN%"appleby@petbcent.demon.co.uk" 26-MAY-1995 12:49:04.37 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Free-choice anaesthetics >Just a quick comment on the "eating & stress" line... I know it's only >anecdotal, but I also noticed my dog eating more when he was alone and >only really having company over the food bowl. He hadn't been an >overeater when he lived in the house with us, this started when we were >"separated" by his becoming an outside-dog while we were off at work. I >assumed that it was a response to his "doggy-unhappiness" (let's not get >into appropriateness of anthropomorphisms, that's why I used scare-quotes >:> ) rather like a human over-eater- the only time he had company, and >was thereby "happier" was over the food bowl, so food became in itself a >stree-reliever, if you would. > >BTW, we got another dog, and he no longer overeats :) > >Lani Lyman-Henley >aka Snakelady > This is an interesting anecdotal observation. In contrast dogs that display anxiety related problematical behaviour when their owners are absent are often reported to leave food items they have been left with untouched. One might expect this as a consequence of anxiety induced by separation. However many owners report that on their return their dog rushes to consume the food item(s). The recent posting about sheep that consumed more on returning to their home pen following stress seems as if it may be a similar behaviour ie. increased consumption after stress. Any ideas or am I barking up the wrong tree? With specific reference to Lan's mailing polyphagia is one of the reported clinical signs of OCD/stereotypic behaviour expressed in response to stress perhaps explaining the dogs increased appetite. Any thoughts? David ============================================ Name:David Appleby address:The Pet Behaviour Centre, Upper street, Defford, Worcestershire. WR8 9AB.England. E-mail:appleby@petbcent.demon.co.uk ============================================ From: IN%"Melissa458@aol.com" 26-MAY-1995 16:08:29.48 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Iguana ethogram I am looking for an ethogram of green iguana (_Iguana iguana_) behavior other than the display behaviors described in Burghart & Rand. Any direction would be appreciated... Melissa Kaplan melissa458@aol.com RepEnvirEd 6366 Commerce Blvd #216 Rohnert Park A 94928 (707) 575-4170 From: IN%"louzhen@herald.usask.ca" "Zhensheng Lou" 26-MAY-1995 18:59:44.35 To: IN%"RACORN@aps.uoguelph.ca" "Rob Acorn" CC: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" Subj: Re:Sampling interval Hi, Rob, You have an expert right beside you - Dr. J. Frank Hurnik. He and a statistian in the U of Guelph published a paper long time ago (1982?) in Appl Ethol, regarding information redundancy of behavioural observation on pig, by using the Marchov Chain Analysis. You may ask him for the paper. Let me know if you have difficulty on the issue later. Regards Zhensheng Lou from Guelph On Fri, 26 May 1995, Rob Acorn wrote: > Dear Everyone: > I am a master's student in the Department of Animal and Poultry > Science at the University of Guelph. Part of my project involves > measuring what percentage of time the weaner pigs in my experiment > spend lying alone or in groups, on their sides or on their stomachs, > feeding and standing (but not feeding). > I would like to find a reference describing the best way to > determine how often to sample the pig's behaviour, if I am using a one- > zero sampling method (rather than arbitrarily deciding to sample > every 5 minutes). I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions > anyone has to offer. > > Thank you, > Rob Acorn > > Department of Animal and Poultry Science > University of Guelph > Guelph, Ontario > RACORN@APS.UOGUELPH.CA > From: IN%"ANJJM@ttacs.ttu.edu" 28-MAY-1995 07:51:47.29 To: IN%"RACORN@APS.UoGuelph.CA" "Rob Acorn" CC: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" Subj: Re:Sampling interval In answer to the question below, you might look up the following pig-specific paper and the second general technique paper. Good Luck. John McGlone Arnold-Meeks, C. and John J. McGlone. 1986. Validating techniques to sample behavior of confined, young pigs. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 16:149-155. Altmann, J. 1974. Observtional study of behavior: sampling method. Behaviour 49:227-267. Original Question On Fri, 26 May 1995, Rob Acorn wrote: > Dear Everyone: > I am a master's student in the Department of Animal and Poultry > Science at the University of Guelph. Part of my project involves > measuring what percentage of time the weaner pigs in my experiment > spend lying alone or in groups, on their sides or on their stomachs, > feeding and standing (but not feeding). > I would like to find a reference describing the best way to > determine how often to sample the pig's behaviour, if I am using a one- > zero sampling method (rather than arbitrarily deciding to sample > every 5 minutes). I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions > anyone has to offer. > > Thank you, > Rob Acorn > > Department of Animal and Poultry Science > University of Guelph > Guelph, Ontario > RACORN@APS.UOGUELPH.CA > From: IN%"lhenley@sunmuw1.muw.edu" "Lani Lyman-Henley" 28-MAY-1995 To: IN%"Melissa458@aol.com" CC: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: Iguana ethogram Have you tried looking up later stuff by/with A. Stan Rand or Gordon Burghardt? You also might try Dagmar Werner and Gordon Rodda. These people all worked together with iguanas at some time, and I know that Werner & Rodda have published recently on iguanas. Lani Lyman-Henley, Burghardt academic-descendant From: IN%"Per.Jensen@hhyg.slu.se" 29-MAY-1995 01:21:03.43 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Sampling interval Dear Rob (and other interested), The question of deciding sampling interval is more complex than usually assumed. Basically the accurate interval depends on the duration and frequency of the behaviour to be sampled and the proper interval may vary between different behaviours. To determine a correct interval, one has to decide whether one needs an estimate of the true frequency of a certain behaviour in order to compare with the same behaviour under another condition; or whether one needs to estimate the frequencies of different behaviours in order to compare them with eachother. The reference for this is Mullen et al (1980), Appl Anim Ethol, 6:83-86. Per ******************************************************************* Per Jensen Professor of Ethology __/\______________9 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,\ o I Department of Animal Hygiene, \- I Section of Ethology \_______________I SKARA, SWEDEN /\ /\ E-mail: Per.Jensen@hhyg.slu.se / \ / \ ******************************************************************* From: IN%"buenger@tzv.fal.de" 29-MAY-1995 06:59:08.94 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Re:Sampling interval >Dear Everyone: > I am a master's student in the Department of Animal and Poultry >Science at the University of Guelph. Part of my project involves >measuring what percentage of time the weaner pigs in my experiment >spend lying alone or in groups, on their sides or on their stomachs, >feeding and standing (but not feeding). > I would like to find a reference describing the best way to >determine how often to sample the pig's behaviour, if I am using a one- >zero sampling method (rather than arbitrarily deciding to sample >every 5 minutes). I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions >anyone has to offer. > >Thank you, >Rob Acorn > >Department of Animal and Poultry Science >University of Guelph >Guelph, Ontario >RACORN@APS.UOGUELPH.CA > > Dear Rob, in the last time I have made observations about the behaviour of weaning piglets on deep compost bedding or on flat decks. We have made observations over 48 hours on the day 3 to 4 of housing with a time intervall of 5 minutes for the parameters Lying, Quality of lying, Walking/Standing and Rooting and a continuous observation for the parameters Feeding, Drinking, Defecation, Urination, Fighting, Biting, Threatening, Displacing, Massaging, Suckling on other piglets, Chrewing on other piglets, Mounting, Comfort, Social contact, Playing, Playing with chain , Sitting. 5 minutes are a good intervall for lying and for motoraktivities like rooting. For the other parameters is a 5 minutes intervall to large. By sows and fattened pigs you can take a intervall from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to observation the lying behaviour without loss from informations A good book is in my oppinion Philip N. LEHNER Handbook of ethological methods Colorado State University Garland STPM Press New York & London 1979 Beate Dr. Beate Buenger Inst. Anim. Husbandry and Anim. Behaviour Trenthorst D - 23847 Westerau Tel: ( ) 4539 201 Fax: ( ) 4539 457 Mail: buenger@tzv.fal.de From: IN%"Marek=Spinka%Student%VH.WAU@Vines2.WAU.NL" 29-MAY-1995 10:19:18.98 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: ...no subject... Dear all! Until June 19, I can be reach on the e-mail address Marek=Spinka%student%vh.wau@vines2.wau.nl Starting with June 21, I will be back at vuzv1@csearn.bitnet or vuzv1@earn.cvut.cz All the best, Marek Spinka From: IN%"BJORN.FORKMAN@bbsrc.ac.uk" "Bjorn Forkman" 30-MAY-1995 01:28:06.89 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Sperm competition in poultry and thanks Dear all, Thank you for all your responses to my question concerning the time that a hen can keep sperm to fertilise her eggs. Most of the answers said around 2 to 3 weeks but some of the answers I got ranged from 10 days up to 32 days so perhaps this would be something worth studying... Once again, thanks Bjorn Forkman bjorn.forkman@bbsrc.ac.uk From: IN%"peter.penning@bbsrc.ac.uk" "PENNING" 30-MAY-1995 03:14:33.12 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "applied ethology" CC: Subj: Sampling Interval Another reference that deals with methods of calcultaing sampling intervals and the effects of increasing interval on error is: Rook and Penning (1991) Stochastic models of grazing behaviour in sheep. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 32: 167-177 Peter Penning IGER North Wyke From: IN%"MAPPLEBY@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk" "Mike Appleby" 30-MAY-1995 04:07:42.63 To: IN%"MATTHEWSL@ruakura.cri.nz" CC: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: Beak trimming > Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 10:38:29 +1200 (NZST) > From: MATTHEWSL@ruakura.cri.nz > Subject: Beak trimming > To: applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca > > In New Zealand, we are currently updating our Code of Conduct for the > keeping of Layer Hens. > > I am interested in hearing about the latest research on two topics > in particular: > > 1. Beak trimming - is it still regarded as necessary for hens kept > in groups of 3 to 6 in cages. Is it more important to beak trim in order > to reduce cannibalism during the rearing phase? > Is anyone running commercial operations with non-beak trimmed > hens in cages? If so, what are the light levels and what are the > benefits? disadvantages? There are quite a lot of poultry farms with non-beak-trimmed birds in cages - kept in dim light, although I don't know the details. I haven't heard of cannibalism as being a problem during rearing. The most important research being done, now as before, is by Mike Gentle. He recently found that beak trimming of turkey poults, at a few days old, does NOT cause formation of neuromas. This implies that, contrary to his earlier work on hens of 14 weeks or so, beak trimming of young birds may not cause long-term amputation pain. I believe that he is repeating this work on young chicks. Mike > 2. Space allowance - is there any work underway (or recently completed) > on the effects of space allowance (controlling for group size) on welfare > and production in caged hens. From: IN%"MAPPLEBY@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk" "Mike Appleby" 30-MAY-1995 04:32:10.21 To: IN%"jhills@metz.une.edu.au" "James Hills" CC: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: cows > I have recently taken on a PhD project in the area of `behaviour and > nutrition interactions in ruminants'. This study will be carried out in > NSW Australia, in conjunction with the university of New England Armidale > Animal Science Department and the Cattle and Beef Industry Cooperative > Research Centre (CRC). > > At this stage it appears that the focus of my research will involve > initially looking at the feeding behaviour of feedlot cattle and the way > social structure, dominance and other interactive behaviours influence > individual and group diurnal patterns of feeding. Also the extent to > which individual animals select feed components within mixed loose feeds > and the mechanisms that may be involved to influence this selectivity are > also of interest to me. This will possibly lead to experimental work > associated with the sensory perception of cattle. ie how cattle perceive > their surrounding and what impact this has on preference and selectivity > of dietary components. Dear James I've done some work in this area (MANSON, F.J. & APPLEBY M.C. 1990. Spacing of dairy cows at a food trough. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 26: 69-81) The most interesting idea I've heard recently was from Shusuke Sato in Japan. He fixed a small video camera on a cow's head to record what it was looking at - he showed, for example, that they spent longer looking at a familiar cow than a stranger. He was planning to use it to investigate diet selection on pasture, but I don't know if he has started yet. Mike Appleby From: IN%"MAPPLEBY@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk" "Mike Appleby" 30-MAY-1995 04:36:38.48 To: IN%"m.vandermeer@pobox.ruu.nl" CC: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: Transgenic animals Dear Miriam > I am investigating the recent > developments of research concerning transgenic animals in the EC. This > researchproject mainly consists of a literature survey and questionnaires > and will result into an English written report. What is your time scale? I am also investigating this area and I may have something for you soon. Meanwhile, the new issue of Animal Welfare (volume 4 number 2) has an article by Trevor B. Poole on 'Welfare considerations with regard to transgenic animals' (pp 81-85). Mike Appleby From: IN%"RACORN@APS.UoGuelph.CA" "Rob Acorn" 30-MAY-1995 09:38:38.68 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: re:sampling reference Dear Everyone, Thank you all for you helpful suggestions. Several people e- mailed me to ask if they could also get the reference that Zhensheng Lou mentioned. The reference is: Hines, W.G.S., Hurnik, J.F., & Mullen, K., 1983. Analysing Qualitative Behavioural Data: a Markov Chain Aid. _Applied Animal Ethology_ 11:111-121. Rob Acorn Racorn@aps.uoguelph.ca Dept. Animal and Poultry Science University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada From: IN%"STOOKEY@sask.usask.ca" 30-MAY-1995 12:02:07.27 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: A cow's eye view > The most interesting idea I've heard recently was from Shusuke Sato > in Japan. He fixed a small video camera on a cow's head to record > what it was looking at - he showed, for example, that they spent > longer looking at a familiar cow than a stranger. He was planning to > use it to investigate diet selection on pasture, but I don't know if > he has started yet. > Mike Appleby I am fascinated by this idea of using a camera to get an image of what the cow is viewing. However, considering the large area of monocular vision and the relatively small area of binocular vision in cattle how do you actually determine if the image from the camera is the area of "attention" by the cow? I could be convinced that some stimuli (ie predators, novel objects, etc.) would be the focus of both eyes and a camera overlapping the binocular vision would be great. I wonder if an object of "peripheral" concern, which could be either a familiar conspecific or a stranger, would match the camera's view? The concept of using a camera is great and I could be convinced that if attached to my forehead (or Mike's) the camera would be able to accurately record a large portion of the stimuli that I focused upon during the day of filming (but not all of it, since sometimes I sleep, day dream or cast sideways glances). I suspect that ungulates and prey species with larger fields of vision may use their vision very differently than we do. There is an interesting paper (SENSITIVITY TO INFORMATION SPECIFYING THE LINE OF GAZE OF HUMANS IN SPARROWS (PASSER DOMESTICUS) 1994. An. Behav. 130 (1-2):41-51 that reports sparrows are determining if they are the focus of attention based upon seeing both of the predator's eyes. A side profile from a predator is not as alarming as a frontal view. What an animal sees and how it interprets the information is indeed fascinating and useful to know. Joe Stookey From: IN%"MAPPLEBY@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk" "Mike Appleby" 31-MAY-1995 06:55:22.13 To: IN%"STOOKEY@sask.usask.ca" CC: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: A cow's eye view Joe Stookey writes > I am fascinated by this idea of using a camera to get an image of what the cow > is viewing. However, considering the large area of monocular vision and the > relatively small area of binocular vision in cattle how do you actually > determine if the image from the camera is the area of "attention" by the > cow? I could be convinced that some stimuli (ie predators, novel objects, etc.) > would be the focus of both eyes and a camera overlapping the binocular vision > would be great. I wonder if an object of "peripheral" concern, which could be > either a familiar conspecific or a stranger, would match the camera's view? All this is clearly correct, and Sato's camera showed what the cow had in its binocular field. It was convincing, though: he showed slides in familiar/unfamiliar pairs - either of cows or of humans - and in each case the cow faced the familiar one for most of the time: i.e. it appeared to be preferentially observing the familiar cow or human using its binocular vision. > The concept of using a camera is great The remarkable thing was that on the flight TO Japan I saw a short film about fixing cameras to the back of sharks, turtles and sealions. The brief clips of film they had from those cameras was AMAZING: presumably they were saving the bulk for a proper programme - has anyone seen or heard of it? Anyway, I speculated on using the technique on cows or whatever, only to get to Japan and find that Sato had done it! >There is an > interesting paper (SENSITIVITY TO INFORMATION SPECIFYING THE LINE OF GAZE OF > HUMANS IN SPARROWS (PASSER DOMESTICUS) 1994. An. Behav. 130 (1-2):41-51 that > reports sparrows are determining if they are the focus of attention based upon > seeing both of the predator's eyes. A side profile from a predator is not as > alarming as a frontal view. Dennet in 'Consciousness Explained' suggests - presumably reporting someone else's ideas - that it is symmetry that is important, because it will usually indicate predator, prey or conspecific. Anyone know anything about animals' responses to symmetry? Mike From: IN%"RUSHENJ@NCCCOT.AGR.CA" "JEFF RUSHEN" 31-MAY-1995 09:11:08.47 To: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: A cow's or a camera's eye view? Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Mike Appleby writes: >All this is clearly correct, and Sato's camera showed what the cow >had in its binocular field. It was convincing, though: he showed >slides in familiar/unfamiliar pairs - either of cows or of humans - >and in each case the cow faced the familiar one for most of the time: >i.e. it appeared to be preferentially observing the familiar cow or human >using its binocular vision. I have become increasingly skeptical about how animals do respond to slides or video images of animals etc. Some species seem to have difficulty relating a slide of an animal to the animal itself (Ryan and Lea Behav. Processes 1994 33:155). I will abuse my position as a reviewer of ISAE abstracts to say that one paper which will be given at the Exeter conference throws considerable doubt on whether poultry really do see a video image of a chicken as another chicken, rather than just a coloured visual pattern. (If you want more info you will just have to come to the conference!). I was involved in an experiment with Lene Munksgaard and others. We trained cows to avoid one person and approach another, but we found absolutely no difference in how the cows reacted to slide photos of the same people. Looking at the cows, I certainly didn't get the impression that they saw the slide as a person. (Perhaps slides are more convincing if they are placed further away so that other cues such as smell aren't likely to interfere). A camera mounted on a cow would certainly record head and body orientation, what plants were eaten etc. but I think it would need to be aligned very carefully to the binocular field of vision before it could give useful information as to where cows were looking. I suspect the "visual field" of the camera would be much wider than the binocular field of the cow, especially at large distances. >Dennet in 'Consciousness Explained' suggests - presumably reporting >someone else's ideas - that it is symmetry that is important, because >it will usually indicate predator, prey or conspecific. Anyone >know anything about animals' responses to symmetry? V. Geist Life Strategies, Human Evolution, Environmental Design New York, Springer, 1978 talks a bit about the importance of the visual image of the shapes of animals, and how this can be affected by the patterns of colouration etc. I doubt that in this case symmetry itself is important because a predator facing directly away will be as symmetrical as one facing directly forward. I suspect an antelope would react differently in the two cases. What is important is that if you see an animal's face as symmetrical then it is more likely that the animal is looking at you. Furthermore, since you are in the animal's binocular field then the animal is more able to judge distances accurately. If I was an antelope, and I realized that a cheetah was looking at me, and that it was calculating the distance between us, then I would probably be concerned! Someone (Desmond Morris ?) has argued that since "looking at" is a very important social signal, that facial symmetry and the presence of some facial features such as eyebrows have evolved because they make it easier to judge the direction of gaze of conspecifics. Jeff Rushen From: IN%"RUSHENJ@NCCCOT.AGR.CA" "JEFF RUSHEN" 31-MAY-1995 09:19:39.44 To: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: symmetry Mike Appleby asked about "symmetry". The following article has some interesting ideas: M. Enquist, A. Ark Symmetry, beauty and evoultion Nature November 1994 372: 169-172 Jeff Rushen From: IN%"SMILLMAN@APS.UoGuelph.CA" "Suzanne Millman" 31-MAY-1995 09:23:39.41 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: cow's eye view I don't know if you are familiar with an episode of Nova called "Through Animal Eyes" in which the film-makers attempted to portray how animals see the world. Overlapping video images, colour modified film and motion sensitive film were some of the techniques used and there were entertaining segments regarding cattle and cats. Suzanne Millman Dept. of Animal & Poultry Sci. University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario Canada From: IN%"wattsjon@duke.usask.ca" "Jon Watts" 31-MAY-1995 10:09:11.34 To: IN%"MAPPLEBY@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk" "Mike Appleby" CC: IN%"STOOKEY@sask.usask.ca", IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" Subj: RE: A cow's eye view I find this idea of attaching cameras to animals pretty interesting too. (I understand they are putting them inside football helmets these days) I think this might be more useful for identifying how the animals divide their time between different activities, how they use space, or to study social structure. Using a camera to find out what animals are looking at might mislead us. Direction of visual gaze may well not correspond to what an animal is actually *attending* to. Especially where direct gaze may be perceived as a threat or challenge. Thus an animal may avoid looking directly at an individual which is very much the focus of its attention. On the other hand, direct looking at a familiar individual may tell us something about the social relationship between them. Perhaps that the animals concerned have a long-standing association, or that their relative dominance status is understood and accepted. On the other hand (which makes three) perhaps the direct gaze indicates that the interaction we are observing is actually a competitive one. Hmmmm..... Jon Watts wattsjon@duke.usask.ca University of Saskatchewan From: IN%"RUSHENJ@NCCCOT.AGR.CA" "JEFF RUSHEN" 31-MAY-1995 13:18:49.41 To: IN%"APPLIED-ETHOLOGY@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Animal Behaviour Web Site (forwarded from "Ethology") Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 14:24:20 -0500 From: William Wagner Subject: Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group WWW Pages ========================================== Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group World-Wide Web Pages ========================================== The Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group is pleased to announce the opening of our World-Wide Web server at the following URL: http://cricket.unl.edu/NBBG.html The NBBG is a multi-campus program in animal behavior that combines the resources of three universities in eastern Nebraska: Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Our web pages provide access to the following resources: Program details Faculty contact information, research interests and publications (some abstracts) Information on NBBG graduate students and postdoctoral fellows Tables of contents for selected animal behavior journals A dowloadable bibliography compiled from the selected journals (under development) A listing of animal behavior meetings A listing of animal behavior related jobs A listing of grants and fellowships for graduate research in animal behavior Links to other animal behavior related web sites Links to selected biology web sites Most of the above features are currently available, but some are only partially completed. Nonetheless, there should be information useful to anyone interested in animal behavior. Please stop by and take a look at our site. Questions and suggestions can be directed to William Wagner (wagner@niko.unl.edu). My apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement. Note: the pages at our site look best when viewed with Netscape Navigator 1.1. William E. Wagner Jr. Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group School of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588 USA e-mail wagner@niko.unl.edu phone 402-472-0742 fax 402-472-8722 From: IN%"TSIGNAL@waikato.ac.nz" 31-MAY-1995 16:14:42.39 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: possums Hi all, I am just about to embark on my Dphil at Waikato University (New Zealand). I will be investigating the learning and psychophysical abilities of the common brush-tail possum, a fluffy critter which is a major pest here in New Zealand. Does anyone know of any behavioural studies done on the possum, I have heard rumors of some in Australia but have yet to track them down. Secondly, can anyone point me to a good psychophysical method for investigating vision capabilities. We have a methos in mind but what to have a good look at what other techniques have been used with 'new' species. Thank you Tania Signal Dept Psychology University of Waikato New Zealand From: IN%"NY6@CU.NIH.GOV" "D. Smucny" 31-MAY-1995 19:00:09.96 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: ABS meetings in Nebraska Does anyone on the Applied Ethologists' Network know the NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS (E-MAIL OR SNAILMAIL) of the organizer of this year's ABS meeting in Nebraska? Although I won't be attending the meeting, I would like to distribute/post some flyers concerning the Reconciliation Study Grp at the meeting....WHO is in charge of local arrangements there? Thanks for the information.... Darlene Smucny NIH Animal Ctr Poolesville, MD USA ny6@cu.nih.gov