Accurate and complete reporting of study methods, results and interpretation are essential components for any scientific process, allowing end-users to evaluate the internal and external validity of a study. When animals are used in research, excellence in reporting is expected as a matter of continued ethical acceptability of animal use in the sciences. Our primary objective was to assess completeness of reporting for a series of studies relevant to mitigation of pain in neonatal piglets undergoing routine management procedures. Our second objective was to illustrate how authors can report the items in the Reporting guidElines For randomized controLled trials for livEstoCk and food safety (REFLECT) statement using examples from the animal welfare science literature. A total of 52 studies from 40 articles were evaluated using a modified REFLECT statement. No single study reported all REFLECT checklist items. Seven studies reported specific objectives with testable hypotheses. Six studies identified primary or secondary outcomes. Randomization and blinding were considered to be partially reported in 21 and 18 studies, respectively. No studies reported the rationale for sample sizes. Several studies failed to report key design features such as units for measurement, means, standard deviations, standard errors for continuous outcomes or comparative characteristics for categorical outcomes expressed as either rates or proportions. In the discipline of animal welfare science, authors, reviewers and editors are encouraged to use available reporting guidelines to ensure that scientific methods and results are adequately described and free of misrepresentations and inaccuracies. Complete and accurate reporting increases the ability to apply the results of studies to the decision-making process and prevent wastage of financial and animal resources.

As the Iowa beef industry invests in environmental management, there has been increasing interest in systems that minimize runoff. One example of such a facility is the deep-bedded hoop barn. To date there is limited information comparing animals raised for beef production in regards to their behavior between the deep-bedded hoop barns and other housing systems for beef cattle. Identifying potential alterations in cattle behavior and overall temperament between different housing systems can help producers when redesigning facilities and in the creation of educational management tools, to maximize beneficial impacts for animal well-being and economical return. The objective of this study was to compare steer behavior and temperament between two housing treatments; hoop building (HP) vs. conventional feedlot (FD).

Increasing feed efficiency in swine is important for increasing sustainable food production and profitability for producers; therefore, this is often selected for at breeding. Residual feed intake (RFI) can be used for the genetic selection of pigs for feed efficiency. In our selection project, low-RFI pigs consume less feed for equal weight gain compared to their less efficient, high-RFI counterparts. However, little is known about how feed efficiency influences the pig's behavioral reactivity toward fear-eliciting stimuli. In this study, behavioral reactivity of pigs divergently selected for RFI was evaluated using human approach- (HAT) and novel object tests (NOT). Forty low-RFI (more feed efficient) and 40 high-RFI (less feed efficient) castrated male pigs (barrows; 46.5 ± 8.6 kg) from 8th generation Yorkshire RFI selection lines were randomly selected and evaluated once using HAT and once using NOT over a four week period utilizing a crossover experimental design. Each pig was individually tested within a 4.9 × 2.4 m test arena for 10 min; behavior was evaluated using live and video observations. The test arena floor was divided into four zones; zone 1 being oral, nasal, and/or facial contact with the human (HAT) or orange traffic cone (NOT) and zone 4 being furthest from the human or cone and included the point where the pig entered the arena. During both HAT and NOT, low-RFI pigs crossed fewer zones (P < 0.0001), had fewer head movements (P ≤ 0.02), defecated less frequently (P ≤ 0.03), displayed a shorter duration of freezing (P = 0.05), and froze less frequently (HAT: low-RFI = 4.9 ± 0.65 vs. high-RFI = 7.5 ± 0.96; NOT: low-RFI = 4.7 ± 0.66 vs. high-RFI = 7.2 ± 0.96; P < 0.0001) compared to high-RFI pigs. During HAT, low-RFI pigs also attempted to escape less frequently (low-RFI = 0.4 ± 0.14 vs. high-RFI = 1.1 ± 0.30; P = 0.001) compared to high-RFI pigs. In contrast, compared to the high-RFI pigs, low-RFI pigs took 48 s longer during HAT and 52 s longer during NOT to approach zone 1 (P ≤ 0.04). These results indicate that low-RFI pigs had decreased behavioral reactivity during HAT and NOT compared to high-RFI pigs. This may suggest that reducing a pig's behavioral reactivity is an important component of improving feed efficiency; however, it may have implications for animal handling and facility design.

Iowa’s beef cattle industry is comprehensively evaluating the environmental management of feedlots. As the Iowa cattle feeding industry focuses on environmental management, there has been increasing interest in systems where runoff is minimized, such as a bedded hoop barn. A three-year study evaluating the performance of yearling steers in a bedded hoop barn was conducted.

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for growth, body composition, and structural soundness traits in commercial gilt lines. The data included 1,449 gilts: 462 females from a grandparent maternal line and 987 from a parent maternal line. Growth was expressed as number of days to a constant 113.5 kg BW (DAYS) and compositional traits included loin muscle area (LMA), 10th rib backfat (BF10), and last rib backfat (LRF). Subjective structural soundness evaluation was completed using a 9-point scale and included: body length (BL), body depth (BD), body width (BWD), rib shape (BRS), top line (BTL), and hip structure (BHS); front legs: legs turned (FLT), buck knees (FBK), pastern posture (FPP), foot size (FFS), and uneven toes (FUT); rear legs: legs turned (RLT), leg posture (RLP), pastern posture (RPP), foot size (RFS), and uneven toes (RUT); and overall leg action (OLA). Genetic parameters were estimated with multivariate linear animal models, using the average information REML algorithm. Heritability estimates for growth and body composition traits ranged from 0.50 to 0.70, for body structure traits from 0.15 to 0.31, for leg structure traits from 0.07 to 0.31, and the estimate for OLA was 0.12. Several moderate to high genetic correlations were obtained among body structure traits, whereas correlations among leg structure traits were mainly low and nonsignificant. A strong correlation was found between FPP and OLA (P < 0.001); more upright FPP coincided with inferior OLA. Furthermore, FBK and FFS appeared to be favorably associated with OLA (0.05 < P < 0.10). Body structure trait correlations among each other and with leg soundness traits were primarily favorable. Correlations indicated that great BL and high BTL coincided with each other and deterioration of other structural soundness traits. Although genetic correlations obtained for DAYS and backfat measurements with structural soundness traits had an unfavorable trend, they were mainly low to moderate (i.e., simultaneous genetic improvement would be possible, including adversely associated traits). Due to greater heritabilities, faster genetic change could be expected for compositional and body structure traits than leg structure traits. Because of the genetic relationship among the trait groups, using information across traits when making selection decisions could result in genetic improvement among leg soundness traits.