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Munoz-Sanz, A. (2006). [Christopher Columbus flu. A hypothesis for an ecological catastrophe]. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin, 24(5), 326–334.
Abstract: When Christopher Columbus and his men embarked on the second Colombian expedition to the New World (1493), the crew suffered from fever, respiratory symptoms and malaise. It is generally accepted that the disease was influenza. Pigs, horses and hens acquired in Gomera (Canary Islands) traveled in the same ship. The pigs may well have been the origin of the flu and the intermediary hosts for genetic recombination of other viral subtypes. The Caribbean archipelago had a large population of birds, the natural reservoir of the avian influenza virus. In this ecological scenario there was a concurrence of several biological elements that had never before coexisted in the New World: pigs, horses, the influenza virus and humans. We propose that birds are likely to have played an important role in the epidemiology of the flu occurring on the second Colombian trip, which caused a fatal demographic catastrophe, with an estimated mortality of 90% among the natives.
Keywords: Animals; Atlantic Islands; Birds; Chickens; Disease Outbreaks/*history; Disease Reservoirs; Disease Susceptibility; Ecology; Europe/ethnology; History, 15th Century; Horses; Humans; Indians, South American; Influenza A virus/classification/genetics/pathogenicity; Influenza in Birds/epidemiology/history/transmission/virology; Influenza, Human/epidemiology/*history/mortality/transmission; Models, Biological; Orthomyxoviridae Infections/epidemiology/history/veterinary/virology; Poultry Diseases/epidemiology/history/transmission/virology; Reassortant Viruses/genetics/pathogenicity; Species Specificity; Sus scrofa; Swine Diseases/history/transmission/virology; Terminology; West Indies/epidemiology
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Rumiantsev, S. N. (1973). [Biological function of Clostridium tetani toxin (ecological and evolutionary aspects)]. Zh Evol Biokhim Fiziol, 9(5), 474–480.
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Beerwerth, W., & Schurmann, J. (1969). [Contribution to the ecology of mycobacteria]. Zentralbl Bakteriol [Orig], 211(1), 58–69.
Keywords: *Animal Feed; Animals; Cattle; Chickens; Ecology; Feces/*microbiology; *Food Microbiology; Germany, West; Horses; Hydroxides; Mycobacterium/classification/*isolation & purification; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification; Oxalates; *Sewage; Sheep; Sodium; *Soil Microbiology; Swine; *Water Microbiology
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Houpt, K. A. (1976). Animal behavior as a subject for veterinary students. Cornell Vet, 66(1), 73–81.
Abstract: Knowledge of animal behavior is an important asset for the veterinarian; therefore a course in veterinary animal behavior is offered at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine as an elective. The course emphasizes the behavior of those species of most interest to the practicing veterinarian: cats, dogs, horses, cows, pigs and sheep. Dominance heirarchies, animal communication, aggressive behavior, sexual behavior and maternal behavior are discussed. Play, learning, diurnal cycles of activity and sleep, and controls of ingestive behavior are also considered. Exotic and zoo animal behaviors are also presented by experts in these fields. The critical periods of canine development are related to the optimum management of puppies. The behavior of feral dogs and horses is described. The role of the veterinarian in preventing cruelty to animals and recognition of pain in animals is emphasized. Whenever possible behavior is observed in the laboratory or on film.
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Dixon, G., Green, L. E., & Nicol, C. J. (2006). Effect of diet change on the behavior of chicks of an egg-laying strain. J Appl Anim Welf Sci, 9(1), 41–58.
Abstract: Injurious pecking has serious welfare consequences in flocks of hens kept for egg laying, especially when loose-housed. Frequent diet change is a significant risk for injurious pecking; how the mechanics of diet change influence pecking behavior is unknown. This study investigated the effect of diet change on the behavior of chicks from a laying strain. The study included a 3-week familiarity phase: 18 chick pairs received unflavored feed (Experiment 1); 18 pairs received orange oil-flavored (Experiment 2). All chicks participated in a dietary preference test (P); a diet change (DC); or a control group (C), 6 scenarios. All P chicks preferred unflavored feed. In Experiment 1, DC involved change from unflavored to orange-flavored; Experiment 2, orange- flavored to unflavored. Compared with controls, Experiment 2 DC chicks exhibited few behavioral differences; Experiment 1 DC chicks exhibited increased behavioral event rates on Days 1 and 7. They pecked significantly longer at their environment; by Day 7, they showed significantly more beak activity. There was little evidence of dietary neophobia. Change from more preferred to less preferred feed led to increased activity and redirected pecking behavior.
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Nicol, C. J., Brown, S. N., Glen, E., Pope, S. J., Short, F. J., Warriss, P. D., et al. (2006). Effects of stocking density, flock size and management on the welfare of laying hens in single-tier aviaries. Br Poult Sci, 47(2), 135–146.
Abstract: Management practices, stocking rate and flock size may affect laying hen welfare but there have been few replicated studies in commercial non-cage systems that investigate this. This study used a broad range of physical and physiological indicators to assess the welfare of hens in 36 commercial flocks. Six laying period treatments were examined with each treatment replicated 6 times. It was not possible to randomly allocate treatments to houses, so treatment and house were largely confounded. Three stocking rates were compared: 7 birds/m(2) (n = 2450), 9 birds/m(2) (n = 3150) and 12 birds/m(2) in either small (n = 2450) or large (n = 4200) flocks. In addition, at 12 birds/m(2), in both small and large flocks, birds were subjected to either standard (SM) or modified (MM) management. MM flocks had nipple drinkers and no nest-box lights. Bone strength, fracture incidence, heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, live weight, organ weights, serum creatine, serum osmolality, muscle pH and faecal corticosterone were measured on samples of birds at the end of the rearing period and at the end of lay. During the laying period, mortality, production and integument condition were recorded at regular intervals. Birds housed at 9 birds/m(2) had higher mortality than birds housed at 12 birds/m(2) by the end of lay, but not higher than birds housed at 7 birds/m(2). Birds housed at 7 and 9 birds/m(2) had lower percent liver weight, and worse plumage condition than most of the 12 bird/m(2) treatments. Modified management tended to improve plumage condition. There were no clear effects of flock size on the welfare indicators recorded. At the end of the rearing period fracture incidence was almost negligible and H:L ratio was within a normal range. By the end of lay fracture incidence was 60% and H:L ratio was high, with no treatment effect for either measure. This, together with information on faecal corticosterone, feather loss and mortality, suggests that the welfare of birds in all treatments was relatively poor by the end of lay.
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Haslam, S. M., Brown, S. N., Wilkins, L. J., Kestin, S. C., Warriss, P. D., & Nicol, C. J. (2006). Preliminary study to examine the utility of using foot burn or hock burn to assess aspects of housing conditions for broiler chicken. Br Poult Sci, 47(1), 13–18.
Abstract: 1. Eleven broiler chicken farms, representing 4 production system types, were visited during the last 5 d of the flock cycle: bird and flock details were recorded. Litter friability was assessed at 9 sites within the house, atmospheric ammonia was measured at three sites and bird cleanliness was assessed on a numerical rating scale. 2. For these flocks, hock burn, foot burn and breast burn were measured at the processing plant by standardised assessors. 3. Significant correlations were identified between the percentage of birds with foot burn and average litter score, average house ammonia concentrations and feather score. 4. No correlation was found between the percentage of birds with hock burn or breast burn and average litter scores, average ammonia concentrations or feather score. 5. No correlation was found between stocking density and foot burn, hock burn or breast burn.6. If confirmed, these findings may have implications for the draft EU Broiler Directive, for which it is proposed that permitted stocking density on farm may be determined by the incidence and severity of contact dermatitis measured on plant.
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Wilkins, L. J., Brown, S. N., Zimmerman, P. H., Leeb, C., & Nicol, C. J. (2004). Investigation of palpation as a method for determining the prevalence of keel and furculum damage in laying hens. Vet. Rec., 155(18), 547–549.
Abstract: Old breaks of the keel and furculum were identified by palpation in 500 end-of-lay hens from 10 flocks housed in free-range and barn systems, and the results were compared with the results obtained by a full dissection and inspection. The method was considered to be sufficiently precise to be used as a diagnostic tool although people using it would need to be trained. The results obtained by dissection indicated that 50 to 78 per cent of the birds in the flocks had breaks of the furculum and keel, but no other breaks of bones were detected.
Keywords: Animal Husbandry/methods; Animal Welfare; Animals; Bone and Bones/*injuries; Chickens/*injuries; Female; Fractures, Bone/diagnosis/epidemiology/*veterinary; Great Britain/epidemiology; Housing, Animal/standards; Oviposition; Palpation/methods/*veterinary; Poultry Diseases/*diagnosis/epidemiology; Prevalence; Sensitivity and Specificity
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Nicol, C. J. (2004). Development, direction, and damage limitation: social learning in domestic fowl. Learn Behav, 32(1), 72–81.
Abstract: This review highlights two areas of particular interest in the study of social learning in fowl. First, the role of social learning in the development of feeding and foraging behavior in young chicks and older birds is described. The role of the hen as a demonstrator and possible teacher is considered, and the subsequent social influence of brood mates and other companions on food avoidance and food preference learning is discussed. Second, the way in which work on domestic fowl has contributed to an understanding of the importance of directed social learning is examined. The well-characterized hierarchical social organization of small chicken flocks has been used to design studies which demonstrate that the probability of social transmission is strongly influenced by social relationships between birds. The practical implications of understanding the role of social learning in the spread of injurious behaviors in this economically important species are briefly considered.
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Nicol, C. J., Potzsch, C., Lewis, K., & Green, L. E. (2003). Matched concurrent case-control study of risk factors for feather pecking in hens on free-range commercial farms in the UK. Br Poult Sci, 44(4), 515–523.
Abstract: 1. The aim of the study was to compare the management and husbandry of free-range flocks in the UK where feather pecking was either present (case) or absent (control). 2. One hundred flocks were enrolled into a concurrent case-control study: 50 where birds had recently started feather pecking, and 50 matched control flocks where birds of the same age had not started feather pecking. 3. Information was obtained from a detailed interview with the flock manager, and by direct inspection of the flock, house and range. 4. Initial univariate analyses revealed that case flocks were more likely to comprise ISA Brown than Lohmann, were more likely to be restricted from litter areas to prevent floor eggs, and were less likely to use the outside range. 5. Cluster analysis indicated that feather pecking was not associated with any particular husbandry system. 6. The only influential risk factor significant in the multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was use of the outdoor range. The risk of feather pecking was reduced 9-fold in flocks where more than 20% of birds used the range on sunny days (odds ratio = 0.12). Use of the range was positively associated with the presence of trees and/or hedges on the range.
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