Combined approaches to reduce stress and improve livestock well-being: A review

It is well established that various stressors confer hazardous impact on the welfare, health, productive, and reproductive efficiencies of farm animals. Among the major stress stimuli, temperature, transportation, weaning, pathogens, diet quality, and routine handling are cardinal in causing diminished performance of livestock. It is hypothesized that the key to reducing disease incidence and animal discomfort appears to be centered at reducing their response to stress. To this end, strategies that involve thermal conditioning at an early age, dietary interventions, and identification of genetic and biochemical biomarkers to predict the risk for developing stress-related diseases early, have been studied by our research team during the last two decades as means to alleviate stress in Aves and ruminants. The findings from these studies are presented here to illustrate how the applied strategies have contributed to the following outcomes: 1. In layer hens: Improved regulation of body temperature, reduced mortality rates, and a delayed onset of heat shock protein induction. 2. In cattle: a. mitigation of intestinal diseases and prevention of blood parasite invasion; b. identification of genomic and proteomic biomarkers predictive of susceptibility to bovine respiratory disease, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among young cattle globally.