Human-animal interactions

The objective of this article is to discuss the human-animal relationship in animal production, emphasizing the importance of this relationship to the productivity and welfare of the animal, some of the factors that may regulate the relationship, and how to manipulate this relationship to improve the productivity and welfare of the animal.

Socialization, the sequencing of environmental factors, and their effects on weight gain and disease resistance of chickens

Weight gain following a 60-hr fast was influenced 1) by prior experiences of either a presence or an absence of a similar initial fast followed by either being moved to unfamiliar quarters or being fed corticosterone or 2) whether or not the chickens were socialized. Socialization, but not the environmental stresses, increased antibody response to erythrocyte antigens and increased resistance to Escherichia coli challenge. Although the experimental cockerels had increased heterophil/lymphocyte ratios following the feeding of corticosterone, their antibody response to erythrocyte antigen and their resistance to E. coli challenge were not altered. The presence or absence of water deprivation stress early in life failed to alter any results.

Effects of blood sampling by cardiac puncture on subsequent body weights of broilers

The effects of blood sampling via cardiac puncture in broiler chicks 2 to 4 weeks of age on subsequent body weights were examined in three experiments. No differences were found in chicks bled or stabbed with 18, 22, or 25-gauge needles when compared to chicks not blood sampled. However, male chicks bled at both 2 and 3 weeks of age with a 25-gauge needle demonstrated elevated body weights at 8 weeks of age when compared to chicks not blood sampled.