Xavier Manteca

Autonomous University of Barcelona | UAB · School of Veterinary Science

The goal of the current study was to develop a pig model to investigate oxidative stress with a low negative impact on piglet welfare. Four independent trials (A, B, C, and D) were performed using a single intraperitoneal shot of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an immune challenge, aiming to assess the minimal LPS dose for piglets of different age to t...

(1) Reduced glutathione (GSH) is considered the first line of antioxidant defense. During oxidative stress, it is oxidized to glutathione disulphide (GSSG). (2) A simple and quick spectrophotometric method based on sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as a reductant to measure the total and reduced GSH in porcine saliva was analytically validated and evaluat...

Regrouping practices are frequent in pig production, altering hierarchy and triggering aggressive behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the physiological responses of piglets to an experimental model designed to induce stress through systematic social mixing in two trials. In Trial A, a total of 144 crossbred piglets (25 days postweanin...

The objective was to study the impacts of micro-climate conditions on truck and journey characteristics, on animal welfare, using Welfare Quality (WQ) assessment. Trips (n=103) were monitored. Sensors included a GPS tracker, DOL 114, and DOL 19. GPS tracker timestamped each stop. DOL 114 recorded temperature and humidity. DOL 19 recorded CO2 level....

Alternative farrowing systems that have been developed in recent years could have a positive effect on the welfare of sows during farrowing and lactation. Oxytocin measurements in saliva may provide information about positive animal welfare status. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in salivary oxytocin concentrations in sows dur...

Society is showing a growing concern about the welfare of cetaceans in captivity as well as cetaceans in the wild threatened by anthropogenic disturbances. The study of the physiological stress response is increasingly being used to address cetacean conservation and welfare issues. Within it, a newly described technique of extracting cortisol from...

Ensuring high standards of animal welfare is not only an ethical duty for zoos and aquariums, but it is also essential to achieve their conservation, education, and research goals. While for some species, animal welfare assessment frameworks are already in place, little has been done for marine animals under human care. Responding to this demand, t...

The responsiveness of the hypothalamic–pituitary‐adrenocortical axis to stressors is crucial for wild animals to survive and adapt to environmental changes without compromising individual welfare. We analysed the influence of prior weather conditions, seasonality, the influx of ecotourism, and nutrition on stress levels in a wild population of red...

Automation is an important element in modern livestock farming. Image computer analysis is the automation technology aiming to monitor farm animals by recording continuous images. Further analysis can be carried out to assess more precisely and effectively farm animals’ welfare. The aim of this study was to determine the applicability of the commer...

Despite its recognized sociocultural and ecological role, animals raised in extensive systems face important challenges that can endanger the sustainability of the pastoral system itself. The direct or indirect consequences of the damages caused by predator attacks, either wild carnivores or dogs, are among those challenges. In several Spanish comm...

Legislation can be a major driving force to improve pig welfare. This chapter reviews the legislation on pig welfare in the top pig-producing countries in Asia (China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Japan), America (the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico), and the European Union (EU). There are very large differences across countries in both...

Most pigs experience transportation at least once in their lives. However, the welfare of the pigs during transportation is often overlooked. The aim of the current study was to investigate potential welfare indicators measured by PLF technologies during truck transportation to the slaughterhouse. Two trucks were used in the study. One GPS tracker...

Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) is developing as a powerful on-farm tool to monitor animal welfare. ClearFarm aims to contribute to this by developing an algorithm that can assess animal welfare continuously, based on the five Welfare Domains. This study summarises the main achievements and barriers experienced in the development of the algorithm...

A brief journey of our achievements and barriers from the ClearFarm Work Package 2 (i.e., pig trials) when trying to aggregate animal welfare data collected from sensors and to construct platform algorithm.

Sheep production systems are diverse in Europe, and welfare assessment should consider this diversity, including differences in breed type, climatic conditions, and time of the year. The aim of this study was to evaluate welfare in 100 commercial sheep farms in Spain, and therefore in Mediterranean conditions, using a list of 24 indicators, compris...

Animal-welfare-assessment protocols are important for identifying welfare problems in conservation programs. This study aimed to develop a baseline welfare protocol for the assessment of the welfare of Patagonian huemuls (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in conservation centers. This protocol is based on the Welfare Quality® (WQ) framework for cattle and was...

This study aimed to investigate the association between salivary biomarkers and three animal-based parameters measured by two PLF sensors in pigs. The two PLF sensors are: SoundTalks (SoundTalks NV, Belgium) and Peek Analytics (Copeeks SAS, France). SoundTalks measured Respiratory Health Status (ReHS) and Peek Analytics measured activity level (Act...

ClearFarm project intends to develop a platform to monitor animal welfare continuously throughout the value chain of pigs and dairy cattle using sensor technology. This platform relies on algorithms (for each species), built up with relevant welfare indicators measured by PLF (Precision Livestock Farming) technology. Before constructing the algorit...

Farrowing systems can influence the behaviour of sows during lactation -including their interaction with piglets and ability to move around-, hence improving their welfare. Oxytocin has been associated with positive emotions, and consequently to welfare improvement. The purpose of this study was to compare the welfare of sows through salivary oxyto...

Zoological institutions, such as zoos and aquariums, have made animal welfare a top priority, as it is not only a moral obligation but also crucial for fulfilling their roles in education and conservation. There is a need for science-based tools to assess and monitor animal welfare in these settings. However, assessing the welfare of zoo animals is...

Animal welfare assessment protocols are important for identifying welfare problems in conservation programs. This study aimed to develop a baseline welfare protocol for the assessment of welfare in huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in conservation centers. This protocol is based on the Welfare Quality® (WQ) framework for cattle, considering the availa...

Using sensor technology to support monitoring the environment and animal welfare on farm is becoming a common practice. An EU-funded project, ClearFarm, aims to use the data collected by PLF (Precision Livestock Farming) sensors to build an algorithm to assess animal welfare continuously across the value chain, with the focus on pig and dairy cattl...

Contemporary zoos house polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to serve the conservation efforts of these institutions. However, evidence of behavioural problems in captivity has highlighted the need for methods to assess polar bear welfare, why valid and feasible animal-based welfare indicators are a prerequisite. Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) has...

Acidosis is a major health and welfare issue, especially in high-producing dairy cows. During acidosis, rumination is affected, as early as a few days before diagnosis. For this reason, behavioral patterns can be considered as promising indicators for the early detection of acidosis. However, the power of behavior analysis to predict acidosis can g...

Convenience sampling in animal experiments may affect findings due to individual difference in temperament. The aim in this study was to assess the consistency of convenience sampling order (ORDER), and to study the association between potential factors (i.e., behaviors related to handling, and coping ability to weaning) and ORDER in pigs (n = 325)...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a short-acting antipsychotic (acepromazine) on the stress response to transport in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) . Twenty-one roe deer were submitted to a nine-hour road journey in order to reintroduce and restock this species into Catalonia (north-eastern Spain). The animals were divided into tw...

Cognitive dysfunction syndrome is the most common cause of cognitive decline in aged dogs. Early diagnosis is crucial because the sooner treatment is implemented, the greater the chance of slowing the progression of the disease. Assessment tools to assess cognitive decline may differ depending on the environment in which the dogs live. The aims of...

Poster presented in the 4th Annual Meeting of the EVCBMAW (European Veterinary Congress of Behavioural Medicine and Animal Welfare) 2022 Conference

Resting is important when assessing animal welfare and sensor technology can allow continuous on-farm monitoring of resting behaviour. The aims were to study resting behaviour over a three-month-period with a sensor, and to investigate the factors that may affect this behaviour. Four nursery pens (100 pigs/pen) and four fattening pens (13 pigs/pen)...

Behaviour is recognized as an important indicator of health and welfare of dairy cattle. In dairy cows, changes in behavioural patterns can be automatically monitored by PLF technology and used to early detect diseases such as mastitis, the most crucial health issue of high-producing dairy cows. The aim of the present study was to identify whether...

Computer vision is progressively integrated as a technology to monitor animal behavior on farm and can assist in applied research and decision making for farmers. However, the accuracy of computer vision needs to be assessed. This study compared a computer vision sensor developed by Copeeks (Copeeks SAS, France) with human-based observation on a co...

Incorporating sensing technology into on-farm welfare assessment is a trend in modern livestock farming. Using sensors to collect quantitative information from the environment and the animals can assist the producers on decision making. The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation of the parameters collected by two commercial sensors on...

Automatic Milking Systems (AMS) have been used for almost 30 years, but animal welfare studies are scarce and comparation between different AMS almost inexistent. The objective of this study was to compare the behaviour and welfare of cows in 3 AMS facility design.

The science of animal welfare has made significant advances in understanding the feelings of animals in production and proposing a variety of novel practices to create a fair balance between animal needs, production costs, and consumers' requirements. Nowadays, consumers base their buying decisions on their personal perceptions of value, resulting...

Poster presented in the 1st Scientific Meeting of Red CIBA - ISAE South West Europe Region (Red CIBA: Spanish animal welfare research network) (ISAE: International Society for Applied Ethology)

Observing behaviors on farm by naked eyes may produce biases due to the presence of observers. Additionally, the analysis of videos recorded continuously can be time-consuming. Change of the activity level, however, has been found to be associated with health or welfare problems in pigs. The aim of the pilot study was to investigate whether the act...

The intense nature of pig production has increased the animals’ exposure to stressful conditions, which may be detrimental to their welfare and productivity. Some of the most common sources of stress in pigs are extreme thermal conditions (thermal stress), density and mixing during housing (social stress), or exposure to pathogens and other microor...

The study investigated the effect of farrowing environment on the weaning adaptability of sows and piglets. One farrowing crate (FC) and two farrowing pens with temporary crating (TC: SWAP and JLF15) were compared. Sixty-four sows and 663 piglets were followed until 5 days post-weaning. At weaning (D24), sows and piglets were moved to group pens an...

The main conditions and diseases considered painful in dairy cows are mastitis, lameness, calving (including dystocia and caesarean section) and metritis. The cattle literature reports that deviation from normal daily activity patterns (both increased and/or reduced daily lying time) can be indicative of painful conditions and diseases in cows. Thi...

Dairy Cattle Welfare in Practice takes a very practical approach, first outlining what welfare is, then demonstrating how poor welfare can lead to economic losses and using case studies to show how welfare improvements have led to increased productivity.

Background Saliva is being increasingly used as a sample for measuring biomarkers in several species and shows a high potential of use to detect and monitor stress. The weaning and grouping in dairy calves are a particularly stressful time. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate a panel of antioxidant and oxidant biomarkers in the...

The study aimed to compare the welfare and performance of sows and piglets in three different farrowing systems (farrowing crate (FC) and farrowing pen with temporary crating (TC): SWAP and JLF15). One batch of crossbred Duroc was followed in every season. There were 18 sows (183 piglets) in FC, 23 sows (243 piglets) in SWAP, and 23 sows (237 pigle...

Convenience sampling in animal experiments may result in bias due to temperament. The aim was to assess the consistency of convenience sampling order (ORDER) and its association with some temperament traits in pigs. We followed 325 pigs and they were housed in 20 pens during suckling (14 piglets/litter), eight pens during nursery (initial density:...

3-minute oral presentation in FFL21 (Research updates: Experience with free farrowing / temporary confinement systems) https://www.freefarrowing.org/research/references/freedom-in-farrowing-and-lactation-2021-ffl21/

The temporary crating system is one of the alternatives to the farrowing crate that has been introduced recently. The study aim was to compare sow body movements related to crushing in three farrowing systems. In each batch, there were five conventional farrowing crates (CON), six SWAP and six JLF15 pens, which are the commercially available tempor...

The evaluation of zoo animals’ personalities can likely lead to a range of benefits, including improving breeding success, creating stable social groups, and designing and developing environmental enrichment programmes. The goal of this study was to use caretakers scores to evaluate personality in bottlenose dolphins and to assess the reliability o...

Several precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies, conceived for optimizing farming processes, are developed to detect the physical and behavioral changes of animals continuously and in real-time. The aim of this review was to explore the capacity of existing PLF technologies to contribute to the assessment of pig welfare. In a web search for...

Background The possible use of oxytocin in saliva as an indicator of positive emotions in bovine species has been poorly investigated. In the present study, two new assays (one using a monoclonal antibody and the other using a polyclonal antibody) for the measurement of oxytocin in bovine saliva were developed and validated. Also, the changes in ox...

Many factors can lead to an inadequate development of piglets during their first days of life, including poor maternal behavior, which can be due to pain caused by farrowing, and reduced colostrum ingestion. This study investigates the action of meloxicam administered orally at farrowing on piglet weight gain and immunity transfer. Thirty-five mult...

Captive polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are well-documented as being prone to behavioural disorders and, as a result, their welfare is the cause of increasing concern. There is therefore a need for an evidence-based approach to the assessment of the welfare of this species and identification of valid welfare indicators is the first step towards achie...

The aim of the present work was to study group size, group composition and habitat use of Iberian pigs along the year when reared outdoor. This consists of a regimen in which animals are reared free range from 2 months of age until at least 14 months of age. In a first stage, animals are supplemented with concentrates, and in a second, called monta...

(esp) El alojamiento durante el parto y la lactación influye en la forma en que una cerda y sus lechones interactúan. En las jaulas de parto, el movimiento y la interacción de la cerda con sus lechones están restringidos, lo que compromete el bienestar de las cerdas lactantes y de sus lechones. Las parideras con jaulas temporales están diseñadas pa...

Changes in facial expression have been shown to be a useful tool to assess pain severity in humans and animals, but facial scales have not yet been developed for all species. A facial expression scale in sows was developed using farrowing as a pain model. Five potential facial zones were identified: (i) Tension above eyes, (ii) Snout angle, (iii) N...

The present study had 2 objectives: the first was to analyze the possible impact of transport on weight loss and mortality during transport, and first-week mortality. The second was to monitor the environmental condition (i.e., temperature, humidity, and so on) variability during transport with an effect on day-old chicks. Probe equipment was insta...

Vaccination is reported as a stressful and painful event for animals. This study investigated whether needle-free intradermal vaccination improves the welfare of weaned pigs through the reduction of stress and pain biomarkers and improvement of behavioural parameters compared to traditional intramuscular injection with a needle. A total of 339 wean...

On-farm practices like premature weaning and frequent regrouping induce stress to pigs. Early socialization or environmental enrichment in piglets reduce weaning stress, as suggested in previous studies. Little research with both effects and in commercial settings was found. The aim was to investigate the effects of preweaning socialization and env...

Traditionally, research on farm animal welfare has mainly been focused on welfare problems thought to be common in intensive systems, whereas the welfare of animals kept in extensive systems has attracted much less attention. This may be due to the generally held belief that extensive systems are advantageous in terms of animal welfare. Although it...

Compost-bedded pack (CBP) barns for dairy cows mainly use sawdust as bedding material. The objective of this study was to compare forest biomass to sawdust as bedding material for CBP. Variables evaluated included CBP moisture, temperature and C:N ratio, bedding microbial counts, and behavior and welfare measures of nonlactating cows. The experimen...

The aim of the study was to assess lactating sow welfare in three farrowing systems. The farrowing systems included one conventional permanent crating (CON) and two temporary-crating systems (SWAP and JLF15, produced by Jyden, Denmark). Four batches of crossbred Duroc sows were studied: 18 sows in CON, 24 sows in SWAP and 23 sows in JLF15. The day...

The aim of this study was to assess piglet welfare in three farrowing systems on an intensive farm in Spain. The farrowing systems included one conventional crate system (CON) and two commercially available temporary-crating systems (SWAP and JLF15, designed by Jyden, Denmark). Four batches of crossbreed Duroc were studied from birth to weaning: 18...

Poster presented in UFAW 2020 Animal Welfare Conference

Technical report published in pig333.com (https://www.pig333.com/articles/free-farrowing-systems-on-commercial-farms-in-denmark-and-spain_16153/)