1. GroupHouseNet Working group meeting
Andrew M. Janczak
Bas Rodenburg
Judit Banfine Vas
COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020

2. Program 9:00 Updates by Chair, Vice Chair (and WG leaders)
Separate WG meetings
10:30 Coffee break
11:00 Separate WG meetings
12:30 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Plenary summary (WG leaders) and discussion
17:00 Wine tasting

3. Aim of GroupHouseNet
Reduce the incidence of damaging behaviours in group-housed animals by refining methods of genetic selection and by developing husbandry innovations that improve early and later life conditions
WG 1) Genetics and damaging behaviour
WG 2) Pre- and postnatal effects on damaging behaviour
WG 3) Relationships between health and damaging behaviour

4. Primary aim of WG meeting
Update one another on completed activities and plans
Form new collaborations / further work with WG composition
Further work with review articles and research agenda (updates and coordination)
Plan preparation of prioritized short-term and long-term research agendas
Suggest subjects and hosts for Short Term Scientific Missions
Suggest criteria for Conference Grants for PhD students and ECIs from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) , Vademicum p 37 Max 2,500 EUR
Suggest further scientific and dissemination activities (eg ISAE workshop) and activities proposed during Stakeholder meeting

5. Inclusiveness target countries
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Turkey.

6. Completed activities GP1 01/05/2016 to 30/04/2017
Activities budgeted at 126,000 (80,000)
MC meeting Brussels, Belgium March 2016
MC and CG meetings June 2016 Belgrade, Serbia
MC and WG meetings, Training School: Relationships between damaging behaviour and health Belgrade, Serbia November 2016
5 Short term scientific missions / research exchange visits
Website published
Info Brochure about GroupHouseNet
Formation and demise of discussion forum

7. Short term scientific missions
Five missions completed:
Katarina Pichova from Slovakia to The Netherlands
Elske de Haas from The Netherlands to Sweden
Amin Sayari from Norway to France
Alessia Diana from Ireland to Belgium
Dimitar Nakov from fyR Macedonia to Finnland
Reports:
NEW CALL FOR 10 NEW STSMs TO BE LAUNCHED SOON!

8. First training school completed
7 to 9 November 2016 in Belgrade
Damaging behaviour and health
30 trainees, 10 trainers
Trainees from 14 nationalities!
> Input for WG meetings!

9. Next training school WG2
Prenatal and early life influences on the development of damaging behavior in pigs and laying hens
Coordinated by Jo Edgar (Bristol), hosted by Inma Estevez (Neiker)
6-8 November 2017 in Bilbao, Spain

10. Planned activities GP2 01/05/2017 to 30/04/2018
Activities budgeted at 146,000
Stakeholder and WG meetings, Skopje, fyR Macedonia June 2017
Workshop at ISAE, Aarhus Denmark August 2017
MC, WG and CG meetings, Training School: The role of early life experiences in the development of damaging behaviour, Bilbao, Spain, November 2017
Preparation of first review articles in open access journals
10 STSMs (define subject areas and hosts, call to open shortly after meetings)
Conference Grants (define criteria)
Other activities (make suggestions)

11. ISAE Sattelite Denmark 7 August ‘17
From beak to tail - mechanisms underlying damaging behaviour in laying hens and pigs
Mechanisms underlying the link between health and damaging behaviour
Predisposing factors for damaging behaviour during early development
workshop/from-beak-to-tail-mechanisms-underlying-damaging- behaviour-in-laying-hens-and-pigs/
Free to attend, sponsors:

12. Deliverables for WG1 GENETICS, WG Leader Laurence Liaubet, Egbert Knol
Document describing methods for breeding pigs for increased robustness and disease tolerance, and better social behaviour (WG1). Deliver month 36 Coordinator Laurence Liaubet
Document that describes transgenerational epigenetic consequences of early life experiences in laying hens (WG1). 48 Coordinator Lubor Kostal
Document that describes methods for breeding laying hens for better social behaviour (WG1). 48 Coordinator Bas Rodenburg

13. Deliverables for WG2 DEVELOPMENT, WG Leader Joanne Edgar, Ivan Dimitrov
Document characterising pre- and postnatal conditions that effect the expression of damaging behaviour in laying hens (WG2). 48 Deliverable coordinator Joanne Edgar
Document characterising pre- and postnatal conditions that effect the expression of damaging behaviour in pigs (WG2). 48 Deliverable coordinator

14. Deliverables for WG3 HEALTH, WG Leader Anna Valros, Dimitar Nakov
A web-based map of research groups and private sector parties with competence in analysis and prevention of damaging behaviour in pigs and laying hens (WG1- 3). Deliver month 12 Mike Toscano and Anna Valros, questionnaire
Document that describes the relationship between health status, and damaging behaviour in pigs (WG3). 24 Deliverable coordinator Sabine Dippel
Document about the theoretical connections between health status and tailbiting
Document summarizing different definitions and measures of damaging behavior ?
Document that describes standardised methodologies for assessing disease tolerance in pigs (WG3). 24, Deliverable coordinator Dimitar Nakov with Slavca Hristov

15. Deliverables for WG3 HEALTH, WG Leader Anna Valros, Dimitar Nakov
Document describing the relationship between health status, and damaging behaviour in laying hens (WG3). 36 Deliverable coordinators Virginie Michel and Maryse Guinebretiere
Document summarising the cost-effectiveness of strategies to reduce damaging behaviour in pigs (WG3). 48 Deliverable coordinator Jarkko Niemi
Document summarising the cost-effectiveness of strategies to reduce damaging behaviour in laying hens (WG3). 48 Deliverable coordinator Jarkko Niemi
Document summarizing prioritized short-term and long-term research agendas that reflect important knowledge gaps related to the prevention of damaging behaviour in laying hens and pigs (WG1-3). 24 Deliverable coordinator Andrew M. Janczak (Report not review article.)

16. STSM suggestions from WG meeting Nov ‘16
Prioritise pig deliverables
WG2
Pre and post-natal influences on aggression in hens
Pre and post natal prevention strategies for feather pecking
Monitoring and measuring damaging behaviour during post-natal period in pigs
Pre and post natal prevention strategies for damaging behaviour in pigs
Relationships between litter size and aggression in pigs
WG 3
Link between condition of hens, damaging behaviours, and e. coli (Evangelia Sossidou, Greece, and Norwegian scientists)
Link between oxytocin and cortisol levels in milk and damaging and play behaviour of piglets (Manja Zupan, Slovenia)
Analysis of Finnish herd health data (Anna Valros, Finland)

17. PhD position in health and damaging behavior
The main aim of this project is to investigate the link between immune activation and social behaviour in finishing pigs in order to increase our understanding of tail biting. An important part of the project will be to investigate the effect of NSAIDs on the expression of inflammatory markers in the brain.
Combines pharmacology, physiology, ethology and lab analyses using data collected in experiments and farms
Veterinarian preferred but others will be considered
Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, MatInf, NMBU
Contact:
Can be advertised on GroupHouseNet Web pages

18. Focus of WG discussions and outputs
Preparation of first review articles and research agenda
10 STSMs (define subject areas and hosts, call to open shortly after meetings)
Conference Grants (define criteria)
Other activities (make suggestions)
Action plan for stakeholder involvement
Refinement of WG plans (STSM topics, training school programs, review papers)