Chapter 3 - Husbandry, Housing, and Biosecurity

Question 1

Can high quality animal care be achieved in less than optimal facilities?

Answer 1

Yes, if personnel are well trained and motivated, with good programs.

Question 2

What can help alleviate facility demands?

Answer 2

More efficient experimental design, off-site collaboration, extramural funding, and redirection of existing funds

Question 3

Define extensive and intensive environments.

Answer 3

Extensive - Large outdoor area (Pasture, range)
Intensive - Confined area unable to support animals without provision of food, water, and shelter (houses, pens, cages)

Question 4

Are more sophisticated indicators of stress superior to clinical and behavioral measures? Can a single measurement alone determine the level of well-being? What are four assessment categories for well-being?

Answer 4

Not necessarily. No, multiple integrated indicators are best. Behavior patterns, pathological and immunological traits, physiological and biochemical characteristics, reproductive and productive performance.

Question 5

Whare human factors are important for animal well-being?

Answer 5

Good management and high level of stockmanship

Question 6

Do transgenic animals need special husbandry and care? How should practices to ensure the well-being of special strains be developed?

Answer 6

Transgenic animals may have special needs for husbandry and care. Practices to ensure well-being of special strains should be established independently of those made for the species in general.

Question 7

Should space requirements be based on floor area alone? What factors should be considered?

Answer 7

No. Enclosure shape, flooring, ceiling height, location, and dimension of feeders and waterers all important.

Question 8

What should housing space allow for? What factors should space requirements be based on? (6)

Answer 8

Should allow for normal postural adjustments. Based on body size, head height, stage of life cycle, behavior, health, weather conditions

Question 9

Environmental enrichment should be scientifically proven to benefit the animal. What enrichment has shown to benefit the animal?

Answer 9

Non-nutritive teats (calves), rooting material (pigs), nestboxes (hens), hanging objects (hens)

Question 10

What are the three most important environmental factors. What do these factors affect?

Answer 10

Air temperature, water vapor pressure, and air velocity. Affect thermal balance, and thus behavior, metabolism, and performance.

Question 11

Define thermoneutral zone. What occurs outside the TMZ?

Answer 11

TMZ - Environmental temperature range over which animals use the minimum amount of dietary energy to control body temp. Overall production efficiency is lower outside TMZ, but may be temporarily outside of this zone w/o harmful affects.

Question 12

What factors can serve as an indicator of well-being in relation to thermal environments?

Answer 12

Evaluation of thermoregulation or of heat production, dissipation, and storage

Question 13

Define effective environmental temperature.

Answer 13

The thermal environment that animals actually experience. Represents combination of several variables, including air temp, vapor pressure, sir speed, age, sex, weight, activity level, etc.

Question 14

What has been developed to overcome shortcomings of using ambient temperature as the only indicator of animal comfort? What is an example?

Answer 14

Thermal indices, which better characterize the influence of multiple environmental variables on the animal. Temp-humidity index extensively applied for moderate to hot conditions, de factor for classifying thermal environments in many animal studies.

Question 15

What is a major factor in prevention of respiratory and other diseases?

Answer 15

Adequate ventilation.

Question 16

What is the primary means to maintain desired air temp and water vapor pressure in the animal’s microenvironment? What should occur in the cold and warm seasons? What should humidity be maintained at?

Answer 16

Ventilation.
Cold season - Minimize ventilation, humidity should not fall <40%.
Warm season - Max ventilation (10x greater than winter ventilation rate), humidity below 70-80%)

Question 17

What methods can be used to reduce heat stress?

Answer 17

Fans, direct wetting (cattle and pigs), and sunshades to decrease heat stress

Question 18

When is atmospheric humidity a factor in environmental temperature?

Answer 18

Not until air temp reaches the animal’s surface temperature

Question 19

How should ventilation rate be calculated? How does this differ from traditional lab animals?

Answer 19

Based on animal mass rather than air exchanges per hour

Question 20

What method of ventilation provides better control of air exchanges in colder climates?

Answer 20

Mechanical ventilation with fans instead of natural ventilation.

Question 21

What is the max air speed for very young animals? What are the exceptions?

Answer 21

<0.25 m/s (50 ft/min)
No drafts on chicks and piglets

Question 22

Ventilation rate should maintain indoor temperature no more than X than outdoor temperature when outdoor temp is:

Answer 22

No more than 3C higher when outdoor temperature is >32C (90F) for smaller animals, >25 C (78F) for larger animals

Question 23

Define air quality. What factors define air quality?

Answer 23

Air quality - the nature of the air with respect to its effects on the health and well-being of animals and humans who work with them.
Defined in terms of air content of certain gases, particulates, and liquid aerosols, including those carrying microbes of various sorts.

Question 24

What usually results in acceptable air quality?

Answer 24

Good ventilation, waste management, and husbandry

Question 25

What are the air pollutants commonly associated with ag animals and their limits?

Answer 25

Ammonia - Ideally <10 ppm, should not exceed 25 ppm
Hydrogen sulfide - Ideally <10 ppm, should not exceed 50 ppm
Carbon monoxide - Should not exceed 150 ppm
Methane - Should not exceed 50,000 ppm

Question 26

Special ventilation is required for what type of manure handling system?

Answer 26

Underfloor pits due to potentially lethal levels of hydrogen sulfide and methane.

Question 27

What are the OSHA permissible dust levels over an 8-hour day?

Answer 27

5 mg/m cubed for respirable dust
15 mg/m cubed for total dust

Question 28

What factors can decrease dust formation?

Answer 28

Oils/fat added to diet and increasing relative humidity

Question 29

What should lighting be sufficient for? What periods should be provided? What can red light or dim lighting be used for?

Answer 29

Sufficient to care for animals. Provide regular light/dark periods. Used to decrease certain behaviors, such as feather-picking and tail-biting.

Question 30

What should sanitation/excreta management systems provide? Different levels of sanitation may be appropriate depending on what?

Answer 30

Keep animals reasonably dry and clean and provide comfortable and healthful surroundings. Housing system.

Question 31

Why might animals be intentionally exposed to waste?

Answer 31

To enhance immunity to disease.

Question 32

If heat is used for sanitation, what temperature must water reach?

Answer 32

82 C (180F)

Question 33

Is spreading manure on pastures acceptable?

Answer 33

As long as animals not infected with known pathogens.

Question 34

What MUST be provided regarding food and water?

Answer 34

Animals MUST be fed and watered regularly.

Question 35

How often should water quality be tested?

Answer 35

Water quality should be tested regularly.

Question 36

How should bulk feed tanks be maintained? How should food be stored? What control measures should be in place in feed storage areas? What should not be stored in feed storage areas?

Answer 36

Securely covered and cleaned on a regular basis. Food stored off the floor and each container labeled. Vermin control program in place in feed storage area. No storage of toxic compounds in feed storage area.

Question 37

Are agricultural animals social by nature? How should they be housed? If animals cannot be housed socially, what should be provided?

Answer 37

Yes, social by nature and isolation is stressful. Should be housed in pairs or groups. Regular positive human contact is beneficial to animals. If not housed socially, animals should be able to see, hear, and smell others of its species.

Question 38

Why are ag animals of different species typically kept in different enclosures? Why might they need to be co-housed? How is mixing of compatible species more easily achieved? Who should be consulted?

Answer 38

Reduce interspecies conflict, meet the husbandry and environmental needs of the animals, and facilitate research and teaching. Co-housed for some research protocols or curricula. More easily accomplished in extensive productive systems that intensive systems. Vet or animal scientist should be consulted.

Question 39

Why might animals of different source and age be separated?

Answer 39

Source - Differ in microbiological status. Desirable to keep separated, at least until microbiologic status is determined.
Age - Reduce disease transmission and control of social interactions

Question 40

How often must animals in intensive and extensive housing be observed? What must illumination be adequate for?

Answer 40

Intensive at least daily, with illumination adequate for observation. Extensive animals observed often enough to ensure animal health and continuity of feed and water

Question 41

What MUST be developed regarding a disaster? Who MUST be named? When is vet care available?

Answer 41

Site-specific emergency plan MUST be developed to care for ag animals used for research and teaching. Plan MUST name employees or positions that are considered essential for providing proper animal management and care. Emergency vet care available after hours, weekends, and holidays.

Question 42

What type of identification should animals have? What are examples? Do all animals require individual records?

Answer 42

Animals should have permanent, easy-to-read identification.
Birds - wing or leg band. Mammals - ear notch, ear tattoo, ear tag, microchip, brand. Hot iron brand is more stressful than freeze-brand, but some states require hot iron brands of cattle.
Individual records needed for some animals.

Question 43

What should vermin control programs include? What should be used cautiously?

Answer 43

Insects, rodents, wild mammals, birds, and stray pets. Pesticides used cautiously, especially when animal products enter into human food chain

Question 44

Define standard agricultural practices. Who should review and approve their use? What should be encouraged?

Answer 44

Standard agricultural practices - Practices that are deemed necessary to sustain the long-term welfare of animals or their handlers, but which cause temporary pain or distress. Should be reviewed and approved by ACUC. Development of less stressful procedures should be encouraged.

Question 45

Why should employees be provided appropriate hearing protection and monitored for their effors?

Answer 45

Nosie from animals and animal care activities is inherent in the operation of any animal facility and occupational noise limitations have been established for workers

Question 46

Animals subject to intensive procedures requiring prolonged restraint, frequent sampling, or other procedures experience less stress if what?

Answer 46

They are trained to cooperate voluntarily with procedures. Can be trained with food rewards.

Question 47

Define the historical and new definition of biosecurity. What resulted in this change?

Answer 47

Old definition - Security measures taken to prevent the unintentional transfer of pathogenic organisms and subsequent infection of production animals by humans, vermin, or other means.
New, with advent of bioterrorism and designation of select agents - National and local policies and procedures that address the protection of food and water supplies from intentional contamination and is additionally used to define measure required to maintain security and accountability of select agents and toxins

Question 48

High-consequence livestock pathogens or the vectors responsible for transmission of disease causing high morbidity and mortality are identified by who, in what document? Use of these pathogens requires what?

Answer 48

USDA, Pathogens of Veterinary Significance in Appendix D of the BMBL. Facilities that meet specific criteria for design, operation, and containment features

Question 49

Does use of recombinant DNA molecules in ag research require additional considerations?

Answer 49

Yes, additional considerations when designing an animal facility. Published guidelines provide recommendations for physical and biological containment.