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Biomedical subjects

D G Wood-Gush

Publications and source records attributed to D G Wood-Gush.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Social relationships in a herd of 11 geldings and two female ponies.

The social behaviour of a small herd of 10 Exmoor geldings, two Exmoor mares and one Highland pony gelding was studied in order to see whether any specific associations existed between ponies and, if so, whether these applied to all or only some of the ponies' main activities of grazing, eating hay and sleeping. Such relationships were found but only in a small number of cases did they apply to all activities. The results are discussed in relation to the individual histories of these ponies and in relation to the welfare of horses.

Aggression↗
PubMed1985

Genetic analysis of strain differences in pre-laying behaviour in battery cages.

The behaviour of hens of two strains during the 10 min before laying in battery cages was studied. Hens of one strain typically exhibited backward-and-forward pacing before laying. Hens of the other strain did not pace and tended to sit. Individual hens of both strains were consistent in their expression of pacing and sitting before laying. There was genetic variation in the expression of both pacing and sitting before laying, and both traits responded to selection. Crosses between the two lines indicated additive genetic variation in the expression of sitting behaviour and non-additive variation in the expression of pacing behaviour.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Pre-laying behaviour in battery cages.

The pre-laying behaviour of hens from two strains of domestic fowls housed in battery cages was studied. Hens from one strain exhibited stereotyped pacing before laying, whereas hens from the other tended to sit during the pre-laying period. Hens from both strains performed vacuum nest-building behaviour before laying. Implications of these findings in relation to the improvement of animal welfare are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

The identification of behavioural key features and their incorporation into a housing design for pigs.

An ethological approach is presented which aims at meeting the welfare requirements of domestic pigs by satisfying their motivations and behavioural needs. Based on the causation of behaviour, welfare may be defined by motivational balance and behavioural needs by environmental and behavioural key features that are essential for the performance of behavioural sequences. Ethological minimum requirements were determined from observations of adult and juvenile large-white pigs in semi-natural enclosures, in increasingly restricted and in conventional conditions. Obligatory features in the environment which consistently enabled the pigs to perform their frequent or regular sequences of behaviour were the design factors for the enriched pens. Each is composed of a nesting, an activity and a rooting area and includes a corridor connecting 4 neighbouring pens. Such an unit houses 4 familiar sows with their fattening offspring, a boar and replacements. Basic features of social structure of the outdoor reference groups were maintained in such pig families. The social contacts in stable family groups enhance the synchrony of heats and lactational oestrus. Thus 2.3 litters/year may be obtained if sows are well fed before mating. As there is no weaning check, the growers reach bacon weight for market around 155 days of age. The system shows, what basic ethological research may contribute to reach practical housing conditions which meet the main behavioural requirements of a species.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Behaviour of thoroughbred foals during nursing.

Thoroughbred foals were found to nurse in bouts of nursing activity delimited by intervals of non-nursing activity lasting 27 secs or longer. Nursing activity included nosing, sucking and interval behaviour. During the first week after birth, foals nursed, on average, seven times an hour with a mean bout duration of 147 secs but were not successful at sucking during all nursing bouts. Time spent nursing decreased as the foals grew older until before weaning, at 24 weeks of age, the foals were nursing once an hour with a mean bout duration of 74 secs. The dams hindered their foals' nursing activity in several ways during Weeks 2 and 3 post partum and it was suggested that at this time nursing was painful for the dams.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Agonistic behaviour in domestic hens: the influence of housing method and group size.

The incidence of agonistic behaviour was recorded over 1 year in laying hens of two strains, housed either in battery cages or in deep-litter pens in groups of either three or six birds. Aggressive head-pecking was more frequent in pens than in cages and in groups of six than in groups of three. Threats were more frequent in pens and in groups of six light-hybrids. Other pecking at the plumage was more common in cages in groups of six and in the light-hybrid than in the medium-hybrid strain. Observations showed that hens occupy a considerable area when engaging in threat displays: this suggests that the physical restraint of crowding may play an important part in limiting this behaviour. Two reasons for the reduction of aggressive head pecking in caged birds were suggested: firstly, inhibition of the subordinate hens' behaviour because they were constantly in the sphere of influence of the dominant bird and secondly, because agonistic encounters may be triggered only by the entry of other birds into an individual's 'personal space' and not by continuous proximity.

Aggression↗
PubMed1977

Coprophagia as seen in thoroughbred foals.

Four Thoroughbred foals were seen to quickly eat part of the faeces deposited by their own dams on some 40 per cent of the mare-defaecating occasions observed between the second and fifth week after birth. They did not do it before or after this period. This behaviour was thought to be a feeding pattern which formed a normal part of the foal's development.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

The effects of exogenous oestrogen and progesterone on laying and nesting behaviour in the hen.

1. It has been shown that if oestrogen and progesterone are given to ovariectomised hens nesting behaviour will occur. Thus if these hormones are given to normal hens the excessive pacing found in some hens before laying might be reduced. 2. Experiments showed that oestrogen produced no noticeable effects and progesterone caused a high incidence of delayed oviposition and abnormal behaviour.

Animals↗