A comparison of post-mortem findings in broilers dead-on-farm and broilers dead-on-arrival at the abattoir

Broiler mortality during transport to abattoirs (dead-on-arrival/DOA) evokes concern due to compromised animal welfare and associated economic losses. The general aim of this study was to characterize pathological lesions associated with mortality in broilers close to slaughter. The specific aim was to investigate whether disease at the end of the growth period may be a predisposing factor for DOA by describing and comparing the pathological findings in broilers dead-on-farm (DOF) in the final days of the production cycle and in broilers DOA from the same flocks. Gross post-mortem examinations were performed on 607 broilers from 32 flocks, either DOF (371) or DOA (236). In DOF broilers, the most common pathological lesions were lung congestion (37.7%), endocarditis (29.4%), and ascites (24.0%), whereas the most common findings in broilers DOA were lung congestion (57.2%) and trauma (24.6%). Lung congestion was more prevalent among DOA broilers compared to DOF broilers (P-value of > 0.001). A possible cause behind the pathological finding lung congestion is sudden death syndrome (SDS). The study indicates that steps in the transportation process per se cause the majority of pathological lesions such as lung congestion and trauma that may have led to the mortalities registered. Pre-existing diseases such as ascites and osteomyelitis may also predispose for DOA. Thus, factors relating to on-farm health, catching, and transportation are all areas of future investigation in order to reduce transport mortalities and to enhance welfare in broilers.

Factors associated with cattle cleanliness on Norwegian dairy farms

Animal cleanliness in dairy herds is essential to ensure hygienic milk production, high microbial quality of carcasses, good hide quality, and animal welfare. The objective of this study was to identify on-farm factors associated with dairy cattle cleanliness. The study also examined differences in risk factors and preventive factors between contrasting herds regarding cattle cleanliness. In total, 60 dairy herds, selected from a national database, were visited by 2 trained assessors during the indoor feeding period in February and March 2009. In Norwegian abattoirs, cattle are assessed and categorized according to hide cleanliness, based on national guidelines, using a 3-category scale. Dirty animals result in deductions in payment to farmers. "Dirty" herds (n=30) were defined as those that had most deductions in payment registered due to dirty animals slaughtered in 2007 and 2008. "Clean" herds (n=30) were those that had similar farm characteristics, but slaughtered only clean animals during 2007 and 2008, and thus had no deductions in payments registered. The dairy farms were located in 4 different areas of Norway. Relevant information, such as housing, bedding, feeding, and management practices concerning cleaning animals and floors, was collected during farm visits. In addition, the cleanliness of each animal over 1 yr of age (4,991 animals) was assessed and scored on a 5-point scale, and later changed to a dichotomous variable during statistical analysis. Milk data (milk yield and somatic cell counts) were obtained from the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System. Factors associated with dirty animals in all 60 herds were, in ranked order, high air humidity, many dirty animals slaughtered during the previous 2 yr, lack of preslaughter management practices toward cleaning animals, animal type (heifers and bulls/steers), housing (freestalls and pens without bedding), manure consistency, and lack of efforts directed toward cleaning the animals throughout the year. Additional factors associated with dirty animals in the dirty herds were water leakage from drinking nipples/troughs into lying areas, bedding type, and feed type. In the clean herds, additional risk factors were water leakage from drinking nipples/troughs and low milk yield.

A frameshift mutation in the coding region of the myostatin gene (MSTN) affects carcass conformation and fatness in Norwegian White Sheep (Ovis aries)

Mutations in the coding region of the myostatin gene (MSTN) are known to cause an increased muscle mass (IMM) phenotype in several mammals, including mice, dogs, cattle and humans. In sheep, a mutation in the 3'-UTR region introducing a microRNA target site has been reported to cause an IMM-like phenotype because of downregulation of translation. Here we report a novel single base deletion in the coding region of the myostatin gene causing an IMM phenotype in Norwegian White Sheep, characterized by a high carcass conformation class and low fat class (EUROP classification system). The deletion disrupts the reading frame from amino acid (aa) position 320, ending in a premature stop codon in aa position 359. In our material, these MSTN mutations segregated in a pattern showing that they reside in two different haplotypes. The phenotypic effect of the single base deletion is more profound than that of the 3'-UTR mutation.

Surveyed attitudes, perceptions and practices in Norway regarding the use of local anaesthesia in piglet castration

The last two years piglet castration in Norway has been performed by veterinarians and with the use of anaesthesia. In order to evaluate this new policy, veterinarians and pig producers were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their experiences with the new castration practices. The answers showed that the piglets were most often castrated using a combination of subcutaneous and intratesticular administration of lidocaine with adrenaline at an average age of 10 days. The effect of the anaesthesia was regarded as good by 54% of the veterinarians and 19% of the producers. Post-operative complications were rare. The overall evaluation showed that two-thirds of the veterinarians, but only one-third of the pig producers were satisfied or very satisfied with the implemented policy. However, while two-thirds of the pig producer had a negative attitude to the policy before it was implemented, only one-third were dissatisfied after two years experience.

Eradication of lice in cattle

The purpose of this field study was to develop and evaluate eradication as a strategy to control lice in cattle. Thirty-three herds of cattle were selected and observed during a period of two and a half years. Before eradication, biting lice (Damalinia bovis) were present in 94% of the herds and 27% of the animals. Sucking lice (Linognathus vituli) were present in 42% of the herds and 5% of the animals. These levels were very similar to those reported from other countries in Northern Europe. The eradication strategy was successful in 28 of 33 herds, but lice were still present in 5 herds 3 to 6 months after treatment. Biting lice were present in all these 5 herds, sucking lice were present in 3 herds. During the next 12 months, nine of the 28 herds were reinfected with lice. Six herds were reinfected with just biting lice, 2 herds with just sucking lice and one herd was reinfected with both. There was no significant difference between the 2 louse species regarding the risk of unsuccessful eradication or reinfection. The only significant risk factor for reinfection was either purchase of livestock or use of common pasture, combined with failure in pre-treatment of newly introduced animals.

The effect of eradication of lice on the occurrence of the grain defect light flecks and spots on cattle hides

The influence of an eradication programme for lice on the prevalence of light flecks and spots on cattle hides was studied in 33 dairy cattle herds during a period of two and a half years. Lice were eradicated from the main group of herds after 9 to 12 months and the quality of the hides before and after treatment was compared. Hides from slaughtered animals were collected during the study period, tanned and examined with special emphasis on the occurrence of the grain damage light flecks and spots. The prevalence of hides without light flecks and spots increased from 24.2% before treatment to 61.6% after treatment. The prevalence of hides free from the damage increased significantly in all examined anatomical regions. The improvement in hide quality was most marked in the shoulders and neck region which corresponded to the major predilection site of cattle lice. The prevalence of hides with light flecks and spots started to decrease in the first period (2-40 days) after eradication. The changes after treatment suggested that most healing process took place over a period of about 4 months. The eradication programme eliminated the seasonal variation in the prevalence of light flecks and spots which was present before treatment.

Morphology of the leather defect light flecks and spots

The skin histology and the scanning electron microscope morphology of the hide defect light flecks and spots after tanning were studied in 11 steers infested with biting lice (Damalinia bovis). Nine steers from herds free of lice were used as controls. Skin biopsies from 6 of the animals in the lice infested group showed mild to moderate hyperkeratosis and moderate perivascular to diffuse dermatitis with infiltration of mainly mononuclear cells and some eosinophilic granulocytes. The steers were slaughtered at an age of 18 to 23 months. Light flecks and spots occurred on all examined hides from the infested group after tanning. No examined hides from the control group demonstrated similar damage. Both light microscopic examination of sections of tanned hide with light flecks and spots and scanning electron microscopy of the same defects showed superficial grain loss and craters with a irregular fibre base encircled by smooth and intact grain. The association between louse infestation at an early age and damage of hides following slaughter 6 to 15 months later, suggested that louse infestations lead to a prolonged or lifelong weakening in the dermis. This weakening may cause superficial grain loss during the tanning process.

Variation in the level of grain defect light flecks and spots on cattle hides

The occurrence of hide damage light flecks and spots was determined on tanned hides from 28 herds during a period of 8 to 12 months. Light flecks and spots are described as small areas of grain loss up to 3 mm in diameter that are seen on dyed crust cattle leather. Damage was found on 75.8% of all hides. The neck and shoulders were the anatomical region with the highest prevalence of damage. Sixty-eight per cent of all hides had light flecks and spots in this region. The forelimbs and dewlap were the anatomical region with the second highest occurrence with a prevalence of 39.1%. This distribution corresponded to the known distribution of lice in cattle. No significant differences were observed in age, sex, prevalence of lice in the herd assessed in March or infestations with different lice species. The frequency of light flecks and spots varied significantly during the year. The frequency was highest in the late winter and early spring, decreased significantly during the summer and was lowest in the autumn. This variation supported the importance of lice in the development of light flecks and spots and suggested a relatively long healing period for the damages induced by lice.