Animal welfare is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of sustainable livestock production. CCSAW researchers are investigating how farm animals experience their environments, respond to management practices and interact with emerging technologies. Their work is helping farmers, veterinarians and industry leaders make evidence-based decisions that support both animal well-being and agricultural success.
Understanding Individual Differences in Farm Animals
Just as people have unique personalities, farm animals respond differently to their environments and management practices. CCSAW researchers are exploring how these individual differences can be used to enhance welfare and optimize care.
Dairy Cow Personality and Nutrition
Sarah Bruner investigated whether dairy-cow personality influences responses to nutritional interventions during the dry period. While cows showed no overall preference between diets, less-bold animals consumed more feed containing a novel additive, and personality traits were associated with differences in feed-sorting behaviour.
Why it matters: Understanding behavioural differences among dairy cows can help producers adopt more targeted nutrition and management strategies that better meet the needs of individual animals.
Dairy Cows and Automated Milking Systems
Working with Dr. Trevor DeVries, Dr. Anna Schwanke examined personality traits in dairy cows using automated milking systems. As precision livestock technologies become more common on Canadian farms, this research is helping identify how individual animals adapt to increasingly technology-driven production systems.
Why it matters: Automated systems offer unprecedented opportunities to monitor animal health and behaviour, but their success depends on understanding how different cows interact with and adapt to these technologies.
Improving Health and Welfare on Ontario Farms
Supporting Down Dairy Cows
John Brindle's PhD research examined how Ontario dairy producers and veterinarians manage down cows, or animals that are unable to stand. His work identified variation in management practices and highlighted practical challenges that can affect adoption of evidence-based welfare recommendations.
Why it matters: By understanding barriers to implementation, researchers and industry partners can develop more practical protocols that improve outcomes for compromised animals while supporting on-farm decision-making.
Helping Calves Get a Strong Start
The first days of life are critical for dairy calves. Kristen Lutz investigated whether a naturally sourced caffeine extract derived from green tea could improve newborn calf vigour.
Calves receiving the supplement demonstrated greater early vigour, improved health scores and higher weight gains during their first month of life.
Why it matters: The findings point to a promising nutritional strategy that could help support calf health during one of the most vulnerable stages of life while laying the groundwork for future research.
Poultry Research Driving Industry Improvements
Designing Better Environments for Laying Hens
Dr. Alexandra Harlander focuses on laying-hen behaviour, health and welfare across different housing systems. Her research examines how housing design influences movement, enrichment use and behavioural outcomes, helping producers create environments that better meet the needs of birds.
Her work has contributed to the National Farm Animal Care Council's Codes of Practice and practical industry tools, including a national feather-scoring system. In 2026, she was named the Egg Farmers of Canada Research Chair in Poultry Welfare, supported by a renewed $1.3 million investment in applied poultry-welfare research.
Why it matters: Understanding how hens interact with their environment allows producers to make informed decisions about housing, enrichment and management practices that support bird welfare and farm sustainability.
Enrichment and Housing Innovation
CCSAW graduate researchers have examined topics including pecking blocks, feather pecking, locomotor development, perching behaviour and management practices affecting laying hens and pullets.
More recent studies have explored how hens use different enrichment materials and how health conditions such as keel bone injuries and footpad problems influence perch use and access to elevated spaces.
Why it matters: These findings help ensure housing systems and enrichment programs are designed to meet the needs of birds with varying behavioural preferences and physical conditions.
From Research to Real-World Impact
For more than four decades, Dr. Tina Widowski has been a leader in farm animal welfare research, studying how housing, early-life experiences and management practices affect behaviour, physiology and welfare in poultry and pigs.
Her work has informed science-based Canadian Codes of Practice and practical guidance for producers, demonstrating how welfare research can translate into meaningful improvements on farms.
Why it matters: Effective animal welfare research creates impact when it moves beyond the laboratory and into everyday agricultural practice, helping producers adopt solutions that are both practical and evidence-based.
The Future of Farm Animal Welfare
Several key themes are emerging across CCSAW's agriculture-focused research:
- Precision livestock technologies and automated monitoring
- Individualized approaches to animal care
- Earlier detection of health and welfare challenges
- Improved housing and enrichment systems
- Better pain management and health outcomes
- Stronger integration of animal welfare science into farm management
Under the leadership of Dr. Derek Haley, a professor in OVC's Department of Population Medicine, CCSAW continues to advance research focused on beef and dairy cattle, including transportation, weaning stress and the welfare of culled dairy cows. His appointment as director in 2025 reflects the centre's ongoing commitment to translating scientific discoveries into practical improvements for livestock industries.
Supporting a Strong Agricultural Future
As Ontario Agriculture Week celebrates the people, innovation and dedication behind the province's food system, CCSAW's research highlights the important role animal welfare plays in sustainable agriculture.
From improving calf health and supporting dairy cows in automated systems to advancing poultry housing and management practices, CCSAW researchers are generating knowledge that benefits animals, producers and the agricultural sector as a whole.
By combining scientific discovery with practical application, CCSAW is helping ensure that Ontario agriculture remains innovative, compassionate and globally competitive for generations to come.
About CCSAW
The Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW) at the University of Guelph advances animal welfare through research, teaching and service. Working across disciplines and livestock sectors, CCSAW researchers develop science-based solutions that improve the lives of animals while supporting the people and industries that care for them.
