All Outputs (35)

A novel method to measure the impact of water quality on judgement bias in wild juvenile fish   (2024)
Journal Article
Freire, R., & Nicol, C. (2024). A novel method to measure the impact of water quality on judgement bias in wild juvenile fish  . Global Ecology and Conservation, 54, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03086

Methods to examine judgement bias in free-living animals in situ are required to address ecological, conservation and animal welfare questions. Following on from recent research showing judgement bias in fish, we developed a novel approach to measure... Read More about A novel method to measure the impact of water quality on judgement bias in wild juvenile fish  .

An analysis of the welfare of fast-growing and slower-growing strains of broiler chicken (2024)
Journal Article
Nicol, C. J., Abeyesinghe, S. M., & Chang, Y.-M. (in press). An analysis of the welfare of fast-growing and slower-growing strains of broiler chicken. Frontiers in Animal Science, 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2024.1374609

Due to concerns about the welfare of fast-growing (FG) strains of broiler chicken, animal welfare organisations have advocated the use of certain slower-growing (SG) strains that meet key welfare targets under test conditions. However, a widespread t... Read More about An analysis of the welfare of fast-growing and slower-growing strains of broiler chicken.

Mind your language! Lessons from the application of an English published version of a Japanese horse personality instrument to a French population (2024)
Journal Article
Ricci-Bonot, C., Romero, T., Nicol, C., & Mills, D. S. (2024). Mind your language! Lessons from the application of an English published version of a Japanese horse personality instrument to a French population. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 273, 106237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106237

Replicability is a fundamental tenet of the scientific method and scientific reporting, but there is a preponderance to publish scientific research in English to increase international recognition, regardless of the country of origin of the research.... Read More about Mind your language! Lessons from the application of an English published version of a Japanese horse personality instrument to a French population.

An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): a pilot study (2023)
Journal Article
Ricci-Bonot, C., Romero, T., Nicol, C., & Mills, D. (2023). An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): a pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2023.07.004

Social buffering occurs when a companion helps to reduce a subject’s stress response during a stressful event and/or to recover more quickly from a stressful event. The aim of this study was to determine if any social buffering function of a horse co... Read More about An inconsistent social buffering effect from a static visual substitute in horses (Equus caballus): a pilot study.

The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Laying hen welfare (2023)
Journal Article
Nicol, C. (2023). The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Laying hen welfare. British Poultry Science, 64(4), 441-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2023.2211891

reference tests remain a useful tool in the assessment of laying hen welfare and have been used to establish what types of resources and enrichments are most likely to meet the birds’ needs. Evidence on the underlying structure of bird preference sug... Read More about The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Laying hen welfare.

Effects of external ambient temperature at loading, journey duration and flock characteristics on the dead-on-arrival rate in broiler chickens transported to slaughter in Great Britain (2023)
Journal Article
Allen, S., Parker, C., Verheyen, K., Nicol, C., & Chang, Y. (2023). Effects of external ambient temperature at loading, journey duration and flock characteristics on the dead-on-arrival rate in broiler chickens transported to slaughter in Great Britain. Poultry Science, 102(6), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2023.102634

Broiler mortality during transport and lairage, prior to slaughter, has negative welfare and eco-nomic implications. Knowledge of the factors affecting the dead-on-arrival (DOA) rate can help identify risk-mitigating strategies. The objectives of thi... Read More about Effects of external ambient temperature at loading, journey duration and flock characteristics on the dead-on-arrival rate in broiler chickens transported to slaughter in Great Britain.

Effects of ambient temperature, journey duration and flock characteristics on the dead-on-arrival rate in British broiler chickens transported to slaughter (2023)
Journal Article
Chang, Y.-M., Verheyen, K., Nicol, C., & Allen, S. (2023). Effects of ambient temperature, journey duration and flock characteristics on the dead-on-arrival rate in British broiler chickens transported to slaughter. Poultry Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2023.102634

Broiler mortality during transport and lairage, prior to slaughter, has negative welfare and economic implications. Knowledge of the factors affecting the dead-on-arrival (DOA) rate can help identify risk-mitigating strategies. The objectives of this... Read More about Effects of ambient temperature, journey duration and flock characteristics on the dead-on-arrival rate in British broiler chickens transported to slaughter.

Affective trajectories: Are hens influenced by positive and negative changes in their living conditions? (2023)
Journal Article
Paul, E., Browne, W., Mendl, M., Caplen, G., Held, S., Trevarthen, A., & Nicol, C. (2023). Affective trajectories: Are hens influenced by positive and negative changes in their living conditions?. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105883

Most studies of the effects of housing and husbandry on animals’ affective states and welfare investigate the impact of stable living conditions, comparing for example, animals living in enriched environments with those living in non-enriched ones. C... Read More about Affective trajectories: Are hens influenced by positive and negative changes in their living conditions?.

Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans (2023)
Journal Article
Rae, F., Nicol, C., & Simmonds, M. (2023). Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans. Animal Welfare Journal, 32, Article e18. https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.7

Human activities are increasingly impacting our oceans and the focus of attention tends to be on their environmental impacts, rather than consequences for animal welfare. Global shipping density has quadrupled since 1992. Unsurprisingly, increased le... Read More about Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans.

Dairy vs. beef production – expert views on welfare of cattle in common food production systems (2022)
Journal Article
Mandel, R., Bracke, M., Nicol, C., Webster, J., & Gygax, L. (2022). Dairy vs. beef production – expert views on welfare of cattle in common food production systems. animal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2022.100622

Consumers’ views and concerns about the welfare of farm animals may play an important role in their decision to consume dairy, meat and/or plants as their primary protein source. As animals are killed prematurely in both dairy and beef industries, it... Read More about Dairy vs. beef production – expert views on welfare of cattle in common food production systems.

Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences (2022)
Journal Article
Winter, J., Stratmann, A., Toscano, M. J., Cardwell, J. M., & Nicol, C. J. (2022). Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 253, Article 105686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105686

Smothering of laying hens, defined as death due to suffocation when hens tightly pile together in layer barns, is a well-known problem affecting the British loose-housed layer industry. However, knowledge about mechanisms contributing to piling in Br... Read More about Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences.

Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators (2022)
Journal Article
Paul, E., Browne, W., Mendl, M., Caplen, G., Trevarthen, A., Held, S., & Nicol, C. (2022). Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators. Animal Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.003

To assess the welfare of captive animals, validated measures – so called “welfare indicators” - are required. We used a triangulation approach to investigate the extent to which different measures converged to provide corroborating evidence of welfar... Read More about Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators.

The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets. (2022)
Journal Article
Baker, P. E., Nicol, C. J., & Weeks, C. A. (2022). The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets. Animals,

Injurious Pecking, commonly controlled by beak trimming (BT) is a widespread issue in laying hens associated with thwarted foraging. This controlled study compared the effect in intact and beak-trimmed pullets of providing pecking pans to 8 treatment... Read More about The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets..

A citizen science trial to assess perception of wild penguin welfare (2021)
Journal Article
Nicol, C., Freire, R., Massaro, M., McDonald, S., & Trathan, P. (2021). A citizen science trial to assess perception of wild penguin welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.698685

Wild penguins are facing increased threats to their populations and their welfare as a consequence of human activities.
Understanding the perception of animal welfare is essential to identify ethical concerns related to the negative impact of
anthr... Read More about A citizen science trial to assess perception of wild penguin welfare.

Associations between behaviour and health outcomes in conventional and slow-growing breeds of broiler chicken (2021)
Journal Article
Abeyesinghe, S., Abeyesinghe, S., Chancellor, N., Hernandez Moore, D., Chang, Y.-M., Pearce, J., Demmers, T., & Nicol, C. (2021). Associations between behaviour and health outcomes in conventional and slow-growing breeds of broiler chicken. animal, 15(7), Article 100261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2021.100261

Broiler chickens are prone to a range of complex health and welfare issues. To support informed selection of welfare traits whilst minimising impact on production efficiency and to address a major gap in understanding, we systematically explored asso... Read More about Associations between behaviour and health outcomes in conventional and slow-growing breeds of broiler chicken.

Social buffering in horses is influenced by context but not by the familiarity and habituation of a companion (2021)
Journal Article
C, R.-B., CJ, N., T, R., & DS, M. (2021). Social buffering in horses is influenced by context but not by the familiarity and habituation of a companion. Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88319-z

Social buffering applies when a companion can help to reduce the subject’s stress response during a stressful event and/or help to recover more quickly from a stressful event. The aim of this study was to determine if the social buffering function of... Read More about Social buffering in horses is influenced by context but not by the familiarity and habituation of a companion.

Rearing experience with ramps improves specific learning and behaviour and welfare on a commercial laying farm (2021)
Journal Article
Nicol, C., Norman, K. I., Weeks, C. A., Tarlton, J. F., & Nicol, C. J. (2021). Rearing experience with ramps improves specific learning and behaviour and welfare on a commercial laying farm. Scientific Reports,

To access resources in commercial laying houses hens must move between levels with agility to avoid injury. This study considered whether providing ramps during rear improved the ability of birds to transition between levels. Twelve commercial flocks... Read More about Rearing experience with ramps improves specific learning and behaviour and welfare on a commercial laying farm.

A Grand Challenge for Animal Science: Multiple Goals – Convergent and Divergent (2021)
Journal Article
Nicol, C. (2021). A Grand Challenge for Animal Science: Multiple Goals – Convergent and Divergent. Frontiers in Animal Science, 2, https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2021.640503

People want safe, affordable, high quality animal-derived foods, produced in ways that protect rural livelihoods and cultures and which are derived from animals that lived healthy and happy lives. These aspirations must be set alongside the overarchi... Read More about A Grand Challenge for Animal Science: Multiple Goals – Convergent and Divergent.

Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses (2021)
Journal Article
Winther Christensen, J., Peerstrup Ahrendt, L., Malmkvist, J., & Nicol, C. (2021). Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses. Scientific Reports,

The mechanisms underlying individual variation in learning are key to understanding the development of cognitive abilities. In humans and primates, curiosity has been suggested as an important intrinsic factor that enhances learning, whereas in domes... Read More about Exploratory behaviour towards novel objects is associated with enhanced learning in young horses.

Foraging efficiency, social status and body condition in group-living horses and ponies (2020)
Journal Article
Giles, S., Harris, P. A., Rands, S. A., & Nicol, C. J. (2020). Foraging efficiency, social status and body condition in group-living horses and ponies. PeerJ, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10305

Individual animals experience different costs and benefits associated with group living, which may impact on their foraging efficiency in ways not yet well specified. This study investigated associations between social dominance, body condition and i... Read More about Foraging efficiency, social status and body condition in group-living horses and ponies.