Phenotypic characterization of naturalized swine breeds in Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia

Foram colhidos dados morfométricos de 859 suínos naturalizados do Brasil (Piau, Tatu, Nilo, Caruncho, Casco de Burro, Moura, Monteiro e Rabo de Peixe), Colômbia (Criolla Zungo, Sanpedreño e Casco de Mula) e Uruguai (Mamellado) Dados sobre raça, sexo e idade foram coletados, assim como varias avaliações morfométricas. A análise de variância foi realizada utilizando-se o procedimento PROC GLM do SAS sobre os dados morfométricos. Os coeficientes de variância oscilaram de 11,50 a 83,81% e o coeficiente de determinação foi de moderado a alto. As fêmeas foram em geral menores na maioria das avaliações em relação aos machos, indicando dimorfismo sexual. A Moura foi a raça naturalizada mais próxima das raças comerciais, seguida da Piau, enquanto a Monteiro apresentou-se mais distante. O dendograma obtido a partir de informações morfológicas apresentou divisão dentro de três grupos. A caracterização foi possível utilizando-se dados morfológicos e morfométricos.ABSTRACT: Morphometric data was collected on 859 naturalized swine in Brazil (Piau, Tatu, Nilo, Caruncho, Casco de Burro, Moura, Monteiro and Rabo de Peixe), Colombia (Criolla Zungo, Sanpedreño and Casco de Mula) and Uruguay (Mamellado), both on farm and in published material. Information was collected on breed, sex and age, as well as various morphometric measurements. Analysis of variance was carried out using PROC MIXED of SAS ® on phenotypic data. The coefficients of variance varied between 11.50 and 83.81%, and the coefficient of determination was medium to high. Females were in general smaller for most measurements than males, showing sexual dimorphism. The Moura was the closest naturalized breed to the commercial breeds, followed by the Piau, while the Monteiro was the furtherest. The dendrogram obtained from morphological information showed a division of the pigs into three groups. Characterization was possible using morphological and morphometric data

Savaging behaviour in domestic gilts: a study of seven commercial farms.

Piglet-directed aggression at farrowing was investigated on seven large, new pig units. Gilts were subject to a light (continuous or diurnal light) and/or sound (newborn piglet vocalisations or no vocalisations) treatment around the time of farrowing. Behaviour records were collected for the first farrowing of 6625 crossbred gilts. The incidence of savaging, number of piglets affected by it and factors associated with piglet-directed aggressive behaviour were recorded. Piglet-directed aggression was scored as 0 (none), 1 (moderate) or 2 (severe). Effects of the light and sound treatments, situation of the farrowing crate within the farrowing room and time (from first to fourth fill of the farrowing rooms) were examined. Three hundred and thirty-one gilts (5.3%) displayed some degree of aggression towards their piglets (scoring either 1 or 2), while 201 (2.9%) killed piglets

Increasing available space in a farrowing crate does not facilitate postural changes or maternal responsiveness in gilts.

A study was designed to test the effects of gestation and farrowing accommodation on the postural behaviour and maternal responsiveness of gilts. It was hypothesized that increasing available space would allow gilts to move more easily, facilitating maternal responses. Twenty-four gilts were allocated to either an individual stall or small group for gestation, followed by either a narrow crate (42.5 cm wide), wide crate (80 cm wide) or pen (2.4 m×2.4 m) for farrowing and lactation. Postural time budget and standing and lying behaviour were observed on seven occasions during farrowing accommodation occupancy. Maternal responsiveness was tested on d 2 after farrowing by observing each gilt's response to a tape recorded piglet distress squeal, played while she was in the process of lying down. Five days before farrowing (d-5) and one day before farrowing (d-1), postural behaviour indicated restlessness: 65% of time was spent lying laterally, compared to over 80% immediately after farrowing (d 1), and gilts spent about twice as much time standing and sitting on d-5 and d-1 as they did on d 1. Gilts changed posture more than four times as often in the prepartum period than postpartum. This prepartum restlessness was more marked in the wide crate than in the narrow crate or pen, particularly when gilts had gestated in groups. On d-1, gilts in the wide crate spent less time lying in lateral recumbency (55% of time vs. 76%, p<0.01) and more time lying in sternal recumbency (20% of time vs. 10.5%, p<0.05) than gilts in the narrow crate or pen. Occupants of the wide crate displayed more bouts of both kinds of lying (p<0.01) than other gilts, and shorter bouts of lateral lying (p<0.05) than gilts in the pen on d-1. In the wide crate, gilts that had gestated in groups lay sternally for 30% of time prior to farrowing, compared to 10% of time in previously stalled animals (p<0.01), and displayed more bouts of sternal lying (p<0.01). Gilts in the wide crate lay down more slowly (18.2 s) than those in either the narrow crate (13.1 s) or pen (12.0 s), (p<0.05). Wide crate occupants also used the crate side for support during lying down less than half as often as gilts in the other two kinds of farrowing accommodation (on 35% vs. 72–89% of occasions, p<0.01), but use or non-use of a support did not affect time taken to lie down in the wide crate. Maternal response to the squeal playback was very variable, and was not affected by gestation or farrowing accommodation. The widened farrowing crate appeared less comfortable than either the narrow crate or pen, particularly when it followed gestation in a group. Contrary to expectations, increasing the available space in a crate did not facilitate posture-changing behaviour. The importance of controlling for type of gestation accommodation when examining the effects of farrowing housing on behaviour is emphasized

Parturient behaviour and offspring-directed aggression in farmed wild boar of three genetic lines.

The farming of ‘alternative’ species such as wild boar is becoming increasingly common in western agriculture. Relatively little has been published about the behaviour of wild boar in captivity, and data about parturition and maternal behaviour are particularly scarce. Twenty-four primiparous farmed wild boar females of three genetic lines (SD, San Diego; PK, Peter Kalden; S, Scandinavian) were videotaped before and during parturition, and production data were recorded. Sows were housed in individual, well-strawed pens measuring m. The duration of parturition, duration of inter-birth intervals (IBIs), frequency of posture changes before and during parturition and nature of parturient behaviour were recorded. Offspring-directed aggression displayed by the sows was scored as 0 (none), 1 (moderate) or 2 (severe). A score of 2 indicated that a sow killed one or more of her young and/or human intervention was required to control her aggression. Mean±S.D. litter size was 5.4±1.5 young. Mean±S.D. duration of parturition was 81.4±79.2 min. Litter size and duration of parturition did not vary with genetic line. Eight sows (33.3%) showed some offspring-directed aggression; of these, two killed one or more of their young. Aggression score varied with sows’ genetic line: SD sows (62.5% of which scored 1 or 2) were more aggressive than either PK (22.2%) or S (14.3%; P<0.05), and only SD females exhibited severe aggression. Parturition lasted longer in sows scoring 2 (mean±S.E. duration=211.8±27.3 min; n=4) than those scoring either 0 (56.0±13.7 min; n=16) or 1 (52.8±27.3 min; n=4; P<0.001). Similarly, IBIs were longer in sows scoring 2 (mean±S.E. IBI=51.6±9.5 min) than those scoring 0 (13.1±4.8 min) or 1 (12.7±9.5 min; P<0.01). Sows scoring 2 changed posture more often (mean±S.E. changes=65.8±12.0) during parturition than those scoring 0 (12.3±6.0) or 1 (2.8±12.0; P<0.01). These findings contribute to our limited understanding of maternal behaviour in wild boar, and may be useful in helping to explain savaging behaviour in domestic sows