Effect of loading practices and 6-hour road transport on the physiological responses of yearling cattle
- 1 January 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by CSIRO Publishing in Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
- Vol. 48 (7), 1028-1033
- https://doi.org/10.1071/ea08051
Abstract
A controlled study using 16 yearling Angus steers was conducted to determine the physiological responses associated with loading practices followed by 6 h of road transport and 17 h of post-transport recovery. The cattle were quietly mustered from grazing at pasture and directly loaded onto a truck for transport. During loading, cattle received either four consecutive prods with a commercial electric prodder (n = 8) or no prodding (control, n = 8). The experiment was performed in four replicates, conducted on consecutive days, with four animals (n = 2 per treatment) utilised on each day. On the truck, cattle were confined to pens that each held a single animal facing the direction of travel. Blood samples were taken via jugular catheters before and during the 6 h journey and during the 17 h recovery phase. Samples were analysed for haematology, osmolality and plasma cortisol, total protein, creatine kinase, blood urea nitrogen and the acute phase protein haptoglobin. The physiological measurements indicated that most stress occurred during loading and the initial stages of transport, but after this, the cattle habituated and were able to cope with the 6 h of transport. After 17 h of recovery, nearly all the variables measured had returned to their pre-transport levels. Use of an electric prodder during loading did not modify the physiological responses to loading, transport or the rate of recovery compared with the controls.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of transportation and commingling on the acute-phase protein response, growth, and feed intake of newly weaned beef calves1Journal of Animal Science, 2003
- Effects on cattle of transportation by road for up to 31 hoursVeterinary Record, 1999
- The use of electrolyte solutions for reducing transport stress.Journal of Animal Science, 1997
- Assessment of stress during handling and transport.Journal of Animal Science, 1997
- Hormonal and physiological effects of a15 hour road journey in sheep: Comparison with the responses to loading, handling and penning in the absence of transportBritish Veterinary Journal, 1996
- Adrenocorticotropic hormone dose response and some physiological effects of transportation on pregnant Brahman cattle.Journal of Animal Science, 1996
- Kinetics of a Cellular Response to Interleukin 6Cellular Immunology, 1994
- Bovine haptoglobin as a possible immunomodulator in the sera of transported calvesBritish Veterinary Journal, 1993
- Responses of cattle to different space allowances, pen sizes and road conditions during transportAustralian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 1988
- The Effect of Road Transportation on the Blood Constituents and Behaviour of Calves. I. Six Months OldBritish Veterinary Journal, 1983