Responses of cattle to different space allowances, pen sizes and road conditions during transport

Abstract

Angus x Shorthorn heifers weighing about 350 kg were used to study the responses of heart rate and behaviour to different pen sizes, space allowances and road conditions during transport. In experiment 1, 6 groups of 9 heifers were transported at contrasting space allowances (0.9 and 1.1 m2/animal) on two 135- km journeys over a predetermined route of country, highway and suburban roads. Space allowance was varied by adjusting pen size. In experiment 2,4 groups of 8 heifers were used in a 2 (space allowances [0.8 and 1.0 m2/animal])x2 (pen sizes [8 and 16 m2]) factorial experiment to determine animal responses during a 31 km journey over sealed suburban roads. Space allowance was adjusted by adding non-experimental animals from the same herd. In experiment 3,6 groups of 7 animals were used to study the response of cattle to 2 space allowances (0.89 and 1.14 mVanima1) during a journey of 424 km. Space allowance was adjusted by using non-experimental animals from the same herd. In all experiments, animals transported at the lower space allowances had 3.9-6.7% lower heart rates (P < 0.05) and l27-260% lower movement scores (P < 0.05) than did animals transported at higher space allowances. In experiment 1, road type significantly affected heart rate (P<0.05) but not movement. In experiment 2, both heart rate and movement were significantly (P<0.01) less in small pens compared with large pens (heart rate 68.8 v. 71.7 bpm; number of movements 7.1 v. 15.8). There was a significant (P<0.05) interaction between space allowance and pen size on heart rate, but not on the amount of movement. In experiment 3, the stage of the journey did not affect the difference in heart rate between space allowance treatments. It is concluded that, within the ranges of the variables examined, road transport was less demanding on cattle in small pens with a small space allowance. It is suggested that space allowances can be more readily manipulated in transport vehicles with small pens and so minimise risks to animal welfare during rapid changes in vehicle motion.