Understanding the Behavior of Domestic Emus: A Means to Improve Their Management and Welfare—Major Behaviors and Activity Time Budgets of Adult Emus

Information on domestic emu behavior is sparse and hence a study was undertaken to identify and describe the behavior of domestic emus in a farm setting. The behavioral repertoires, activity time budgets, effect of time of the day, sex, weather, and relative humidity on activities of adult emus were investigated. Eight randomly selected emus were observed using one-zero sampling method for 12 days, each period of observation lasting 30 minutes. The major behavioral categories identified were ingestive drinking, standing, locomotion, grooming, socialization, vocalization, and resting. The emus spent most of their time walking, standing, and eating. Immediately after moving to a new pen, emus were found to huddle together to keep away from emus already resident in the pen. The time spent on each activity was not significantly different between the sexes. The findings from this study provided important information on the behavior and activities of emus. The observed behaviors need to be further examined to assess their relations to the birds’ welfare.

Effect of Piroxicam and/or Ascorbic Acid on Postoperative Pain in Orchidectomised Goats

The study evaluates effects of varied doses of ascorbic acid and piroxicam on behavioural signs of pain in orchidectomised Savannah Brown goats during their postsurgical pain management. The goats were divided into 6 groups of 3 goats each. Orchidectomy was performed on all animals under sedation with xylazine and linear infiltration with lignocaine. After surgery, varied doses of piroxicam (IM) and ascorbic acid (IV) were administered to the goats: Group A = piroxicam, 5 mg/kg + ascorbic acid, 100 mg/kg; Group B = piroxicam, 5 mg/kg + ascorbic acid, 200 mg/kg; Group C = piroxicam, 10 mg/kg + ascorbic acid, 100 mg/kg; Group D = piroxicam, 5 mg/kg; Group E: ascorbic acid, 100 mg/kg together with antibiotics, procaine penicillin, 20,000 IU/kg + streptomycin, 10 mg/kg (IM); and Group F (control) received only the antibiotics. After surgery, pain intensity was determined in each goat by numerical rating scale. Vocalisation, teeth grinding, rapid and shallow breathing, tail wagging, occasionally bleating, neck extension, and dorsal lip curling were recorded at varying degrees across the experimental groups. The goats in the control group showed the highest degree of behavioural signs of pain. It is concluded that treatment with a combination of piroxicam and ascorbic acid ameliorated pain more than either of the agents in orchidectomised Savannah Brown goats.

Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis of Freezable and Nonfreezable Mithun (Bos frontalis) Semen

The present study was undertaken to assess the motility and velocity parameters of sperm of freezable and nonfreezable ejaculates by computer-assisted sperm analyser (CASA) such as Hamilton-Thorne Semen Analyser IVOS 11 in mithun semen. Fifty ejaculates (twenty-five ejaculates each for freezable and nonfreezable semen ejaculates) were collected from ten matured mithun bulls. CASA parameters, motility parameters such as forward progressive motility (FPM) (%), nonprogressive motility (NPM) (%), total motility (TM) (%), and static sperms (SM) (%); velocity parameters such as curvilinear velocity (VCL) (μm/sec), straight line velocity (VSL) (μm/sec), average path velocity (VAP) (μm/sec), linearity (LIN) (%), straightness (STR) (%), wobble (WOB) (%), amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) (μm), and beat/cross-frequency (BCF) (Hz) were measured by CASA analyser. The result revealed that these parameters varied significantly (P<0.05) between the freezable and nonfreezable ejaculates and freezable ejaculates have significantly (P<0.05) higher value than nonfreezable ejaculates. It was concluded that most of the CASA parameters were significantly lower in nonfreezable ejaculates than in freezable ejaculates in mithun and confirmed that the CASA was effective for a quick and objective analysis of motility and velocity parameters in mithun semen.

Effect of Superoxide Dismutase on Semen Parameters and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Liquid Stored (5°C) Mithun (Bos frontalis) Semen

The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of superoxide dismutase (SOD) on sperm motility, and viability; total sperm abnormality; acrosomal and plasma membrane integrity; DNA abnormality; antioxidant profiles such as catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC); enzymatic profiles such as aspartate amino transaminase (AST), and alanine amino transaminase (ALT); and biochemical profiles such as malondialdehyde (MDA) production and cholesterol efflux. Total numbers of 50 ejaculates were collected twice a week from eight mithun bulls and semen was split into four equal aliquots, diluted with the TEYC extender. Group 1: semen without additives (control), and group 2 to group 4: semen was diluted with 50 U/mL, 100 U/mL, and 150 U/mL of SOD, respectively. These seminal parameters, antioxidant, enzymatic, and biochemical profiles were assessed at 5°C for 1, 6, 12, 24, and 30 h of incubation. Inclusion of SOD into diluent resulted in significant (P<0.05) decrease in percentages of dead spermatozoa, abnormal spermatozoa, and acrosomal abnormalities at different hours of storage periods as compared with control group. Additionally, SOD at 100 U/mL has significant improvement in quality of mithun semen than SOD at 50 or 150 U/mL stored in in-vitro for up to 30 h. It was concluded that the possible protective effects of SOD on sperm parameters are that it prevents MDA production and preserves the antioxidants and intracellular enzymes during preservation.