Research Information System
25TH INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CONGRESS ON LIFE, ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES, İstanbul, Turkey, 23 - 25 May 2026, pp.611-612, (Summary Text)
Profitability and product quality in animal production are directly related to factors such as animal health, animal welfare, herd management, genetics, and nutrition. Beef cattle farming is a livestock practice that generally uses young males and is carried out for meat production. Beef farming is fundamentally a production model aimed at achieving high body weight gain (BWG) while considering animal health and product quality. However, the aggressive behavior/temperament, jumping, and excessive activity exhibited by young males heavily used for fattening, especially after they reach one year of age and their body weight reaches levels where they can injure/disable each other, negatively impact both production performance and profitability in many different ways. Injuries/wounds resulting from undesirable behaviors within the herd cause significant economic losses, and when this is combined with the decline observed in BWG due to excessive activity, it becomes a matter that compels researchers to study. For this purpose, the present study was conducted to determine the effects of supplementing the daily diet of plant-derived essential oils, known to have sedative effects, on stress and behavior management in beef cattle. The animal material of the study consisted of 40 14-month-old beef cattle. The study lasted a total of 42 days, and a mixture obtained by mixing 5 different essential oils with carriers such as zeolite and bonkalite, containing a total of 21 g/kg of essential oils, was fed to the animals at a rate of 100 g/day/head. The animals consumed the product between days 0-21, and did not consume it during the last 21 days. Blood samples were taken by veterinarians on days 0, 21, and 42 during the trial period, and blood cortisol and glucose levels were determined. In addition, the animals' avoidance distance, reaction times and distances to foreign objects, and jumping behavior were observed on the same days. As a result, it was determined that the current essential oil mixture reduced average cortisol and blood glucose levels in the herd and it could be used in stress and behavior management for beef cattle. However, further research is needed to examine the effects of the mixture on fattening performance and meat quality characteristics.