Institute for Breeding Systems and Animal Welfare

The Institute deals with the evaluation and design of husbandry systems with emphasis on animal requirements and environmental limits. Several diverse types of farms are observed under different soil and climatic conditions in Slovakia.

The majority of the research capacity is devoted to observations of animal behaviour, constitution, excitability and adaptation abilities in relation to health and yield, as well as the need to adjust management to the given species, breeds and utility types.

Results obtained in the field of animal welfare are introduced into practice through type projects, optimising the use of husbandry techniques and management. In addition to constructional, technological and organisational parameters emphasis is on the health in relation to climate in housing.

The influence of the systems of husbandry upon the environment is observed and possibilities of eliminating negative impacts are proposed. Special attention is paid to ammonia emissions.

Scientific and research priorities of the institute:<

  • Evaluation of the causes of disorders in social behaviour; the occurrence of abnormal behaviour in cattle; and definition of maternal and adoptive behaviour.
  • Studies into the ontogenesis of behaviour, the manifestation of animal relationships with man, and the effects of breed and temperament upon behaviour.
  • Optimisation of the parameters of housing system technology for cattle in relation to animal requirements.
  • Studies into the behaviour of pigs housed in systems using different technologies of feeding, watering and removal of excreta.
  • Evaluation of the reactions of dairy cows to the functional parameters of milking equipment.
  • Investigations into the effects of social dominance upon the reactions of sheep and goats to housing and milking technologies.
  • Definition of submissiveness, and the adaptability of pigs to an unfamiliar environment.
  • Ethology of lambs and their mothers at various ways of lamb raising (very early, early), production levels of mothers and concentrations of animals, with the aim to optimize the farming system for milk sheep.
  • Herd management of non-milk (meat) sheep, ethological aspects, optimization of sheep breeding in different categories of sheep, with the stress put on effective utilization of permanent grassland.
  • Evaluation and optimisation of the microclimate in animal breeding premises.