Page 12 of articles about behaviour-welfare in Abstracts

In the European Union, the group-housed pregnant sows have to have a minimal legal available area of 2.25 m2/sow. However, it has been observed that an increased space allowance reduces agonistic behaviour and consecutive wounds and thus induces better welfare conditions. But, what about the environmental impacts of this greater available area?

Stress caused by reduced space allocation may disrupt the cellular immune system in piglets and stimulate the releases of cortisol.

The effects of an extended photoperiod around parturition and throughout lactation on performances of primiparous sows and their piglets were studied.

Feed disappearance on the day after weaning tends to be greater in pigs housed in a prolonged photoperiod. Nevertheless, prolonging the photoperiod during the first 4 days after weaning does not influence feed disappearance or body weight gain over the entire nursery phase.

High energy creep feed may enhance piglet performance during the sucking period.

Salivary cortisol (a stress hormone) is an outcome measure that can be used along with health, behaviour, and productivity. Saliva sampling has the potential to be a relatively non-invasive method of determining cortisol concentration. However, techniques have not yet been validated or standardized for use in grower-finisher pigs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect that different sampling regimens have on salivary cortisol concentration.

The extent of inflammation associated with tail biting in finishing pigs was evaluated. Tail histopathology, carcass condemnation and the concentration of three acute phase proteins (APPs), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid-A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp), were examined in 12 tail-bitten and 13 control pigs.

Combining behavioral and physiological measures of stress provides a robust picture of piglet welfare during transport at different space allowances.

We assessed how piglets play, fighting and biting behaviour before and after weaning were affected by the housing system and weaning age as well as how the three behaviours are related to each other and piglet post-weaning weight gain.

This study evaluated the difference between the levels of cortisol in the plasma of piglets under stress (simulated castration) or in pain (castration), under controlled conditions.

The experiment aimed to investigate the effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on explorative and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs. Thirty-six pens with partly slatted concrete floor were allocated to one of four treatments: (1) low space allowance and maize silage as rooting material, (2) high space allowance and maize silage as rooting material, (3) low space allowance and straw as rooting material, and (4) high space allowance and straw as rooting material.

Allowing the sow to move freely before farrowing, reducing the constipation state and avoid excessive fattening during late pregnancy all appear to be key factors in shortening farrowing time and reducing perinatal mortality.

The provision of alternative comfort flooring may provide welfare benefits to breeding sows, though environmental temperature needs to be considered when providing rubber mats.

The effects of feeding level (treatment 1 vs. 2) and access to wood chip (treatment 2 vs. 3) were investigated in a normal situation, a competitive situation (reduced feeder space) and a conflict situation (delayed feeding).

Intermittent suckling (IS) has proven to stimulate creep feed intake in suckling piglets. This paper describes the development of feeding behaviour in three litters with high (H) and three litters with low (L) feed intake during lactation in both control (C) and IS treatment.

Provision of enhanced TRP diet reduced behavioural activity and aggressiveness of grower gilts, and these results are likely mediated by activation of brain serotonergic system. Short-term high-TRP dietary supplementation may be used to reduce aggression at mixing in young pigs.